I'll come clean, I'm on the juice.

Over the summer I fell in love with juice. Specific juice. I visited Breathe Yoga and Juice Bar in Pittsford and got hooked on some of their cold pressed juices. They also offer juice at their juice bar that you can have made to order while you wait. The cold pressed juices are prepared ahead of time, bottled and they last for 2-3 days. Even though they are pretty pricey (9-10 dollars for 16 oz.) I got them semi-regularly and used them for breakfast. I have my favorite flavors, my two favorites contain pineapple and are on the sweeter side. They have a filling, lasting effect and they are a cool, refreshing treat on a hot summer day.  

Cold pressed juice on the left, juice bar on the left.

This got me thinking, would I be saving money if I actually bought a juicer and made my own? Would they, could they, taste just as good? Would I actually use it or would it just sit in the cabinet collecting dust? I started doing some juicer research, compared different brands, checked out consumer reviews and decided if we bought one it would be a Breville juicer. The price was way more then we could afford though.

Breville for sale at Macy's

Around the same time I was doing research, I started seeing those commercials on TV for the documentary Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. Even though I haven't seen the documentary, the commercials made me curious and so I went to the website to check out what the big deal was. While I was on the website I noticed that "Joe the Juicer" uses Breville juicers exclusively. I also found this helpful page for describing the different styles of juicers and helping you choose which type of juicer would be best for you. The website also has great recipes, healthy properties & benefits of different fruits & vegetables and an EZ prep guide for tons of fruits and veggies for when you are actually ready to juice.

I found the juicer that worked best for us for sale at Macy's for $250. Yea, big bucks. Even though it was on sale for less and we had a wedding gift card it was still way too much. We also had some wedding money/discounts at Bed Bath and Beyond so I thought I'd check them out. The same exact juicer was sold for $100 less at BB&B!!! The juicer shown above started at $149.99. With the discount from our registry and gift cards, the juicer would cost us around $90. I probably spent more than $90 at Breathe this summer, so I totally justified that it would be worth it. I asked the hubs if I could use our wedding gifts for it and he gladly obliged! I was going to do it even if he didn't agree, but now that we are married I figured I should probably ask!!

Here she is!! 

When we did our weekly grocery shopping I picked up some apples, prepped pineapple, mangos and lemon juice. I have since experimented with pears, carrots and strawberries. My first juice was apple, pineapple and mango, with a hint of lemon juice. This was a bit too sweet. Since I wasn't following an exact recipe and I didn't quite know how much juice would be yielded I just kinda tossed stuff in. I was pleasantly surprised that it made more then I thought it would and it tasted good! Some fruits and veggies take prep work, others you can toss right in. The juicer has a lot of parts and it looks confusing, but it is really easy to assemble and use quickly. Clean up is also pretty easy. When doing my research I found that this juicer is almost entirely dishwasher safe, which is a big bonus in my book. Even though I have only hand washed it so far, since it is so easy. I have gotten into the habit of making my juice while I am cooking dinner. I refrigerate it over night and it is cold and ready to go to work with me in the morning. I am not a huge breakfast eater, especially during the work week, so this is an easy, portable, healthy alternative. It also keeps me pretty full until lunch!

For strawberries you have to remove the greens.

Small apples and carrots get thrown right in!
Normally I would use two carrots but I only had 1. 

Somewhere in my research I read that if you
use produce bags to catch the waste from
the food that it makes clean up a lot easier.
It really does!!!

This juicer has two speeds. Low for softer food,
like the strawberries and high
for harder food like the apples and carrots.

In goes the carrot, out comes juice!

In goes the apples, out comes a lot
of juice.

Last to go in is the strawberries.

Time to clean up!

The waste in the produce bag, remove
and toss into the trash.

Juice and the froth on top. This batch
didn't make as much as other batches
have, but since it is the end of the week
I am running out of produce.

The catcher/dispenser has a separator
built in to remove the froth.

Finished juice in my fancy juicer/travel
cup. It isn't that fancy, it cost $5 at
Wegmans and we bought it for
the wedding.

If you have any juicing questions let me know! Since I am pretty new to it I would recommend checking out the website links I shared above. I plan to get some more veggies when we go shopping this weekend. I also hope to try some of the actual recipes I have bookmarked on my computer. My juicing plan has kept me out of the Dunkin' drive thru this week and I am pretty sure it helped me be successful in the Ton of Fun challenge.

Do you own a juicer?

What are some of your 

favorite fruits and veggies to juice?

Ton of Fun- Week Two

How has it already been a week since I last posted?! I have every intention of doing a post on my experience thus far with our juicer, but every time I am done and washing the juicer, I remember that I wanted to take photos of the process. Hopefully now my post can live up to the hype, whenever it gets done. But anywho, we are really here to discuss week two on the ToF weight loss challenge. To find out how week one went, click here.

Week one wasn't perfect and I really wanted to try to make more changes for week two, since I am sort of getting into a good groove. I have officially logged in and tracked for 13 days in a row on My Fitness Pal, if you haven't downloaded this free app what are you waiting for? Go ahead, check it out, I'll wait. Also, you can just go to the website if you don't have access to apps. There are some extra bonus features there that you can't get on the app.

So back to trying some new things for week two... I figured since I polished off a half gallon of ice cream during week one, maybe I should just not buy the ice cream in the first place, that way I am not tempted. Mission accomplished! I also decided to be more diligent about juicing, since I am using it as my breakfast to avoid the Dunkin' drive thru. On Saturday, Rob and I went to the farmers market in Fairport to get some veggies for dinner and to use for juicing experimentation. Week one I had only juiced with fruits and my sugar intake was really high. I also decided instead of juicing every night for the next morning, to make a double batches instead. I went four days in a row with no trips to Dunkin'! I hope they don't forget my usual.

Yes, I have too much time on my hands.

As far as my weekly exercise I really slacked off over the weekend so I hit the ground running Monday. Instead of yoga I went to the gym and did 45 minutes of hard cardio. On Tuesday I returned to my former Tuesday tradition of the Cobb's Hill run and I brought Rob. This was very eye opening. Cobb's Hill is always pretty challenging, but during half marathon training I got pretty good at it and even enjoyed it occasionally. Well on Tuesday I couldn't make it up the hill without a walk break. I figured this is a good gauge of starting over and it can only get better from here. Wednesday was my usual spin class, we had a sub, but she was pretty good.

4.6 pounds lost so far! 

Must be all the changes I made helped because according to the FF scale I lost over 3 pounds!!! Way better results compared to week one. I think I have found my groove for sure. How did I celebrate? My favorite Half Moon salad and I splurged and got a Mountain Dew. I really like to live on the wild side.

Looking ahead to week three I hope I can continue to stay in the groove with these changes and make healthy choices overall. It might be hard since my birthday is coming up and I am a fan of sweets, maybe I'll make a special birthday cake juice...carrots, pineapple, mango and some sprinkles? Maybe I'll just stick a candle in it!

Ton of Fun- Week One

Last week I wrote about my latest personal challenge, which is Ton of Fun. Click here in case you haven't been stalking me as much as you should! Well the challenge started Saturday and Molly and I had our first official weigh in. Of course we went to Fleet Feet together, to keep ourselves accountable and we even dragged Rob along. When we arrived at the Brighton store, the two locations are having an East vs. West contest, I'm an East-sider all the way, the line stretch a third of the way across the store! The line moved pretty quickly and we got to catch up with lots of familiar faces and do a little window shopping. When we got to the front, Kim offered to take our "before" picture. Seriously?!? I know what I look like, that is why I am in this line, but I obliged anyway. Molly went into one room and I went into the other. Kim took my measurements and recorded them into a program on her tablet. I then swapped rooms with Molly and another FF staffer weighed me. The scale at the store had me slightly lower then our scale at home. After the relatively quick and painless process, we were off to conquer the week.

Sorry for the lack of photos, I forgot what being
a blogger was all about. Don't worry I'll make up
for it shortly!

I have heard amazing things about the My Fitness Pal (MFP) app from a huge range of people, and Rob is currently using it, so I went home, downloaded it and got to work. I like that it has so many foods in the database, including everything Wegmans. I also like that it gives you so much more then just calorie count. I have used it consistently every day! One day I even tracked my breakfast and lunch the night before.

In addition to using MFP and making some changes in food choices, I started using our new juicer as a morning treat switcheroo so I can avoid the Dunkin' drive-thru! I plan on doing a post on this very soon. I also got back into my weekly fitness routine. Sunday, I got back into running races with the Iron Angel 5k. Monday I went to Molly's Yoga Corner, where I have practiced yoga for over two year. I've had to cut back my spending this year so I go less, but it is worth it every time. Especially the day after a hilly race! Tuesday Molly and I got back into our weekly running ritual. We were planning on attending the hill workout at FF but her work meeting ran late. So we ran around our hood, the weather was amazing. On Wednesdays I take Trish's spin class at the RAC in Pittsford. It is a crazy, killer good work out and I missed her torture over the summer.

Smiles for being done with week one.

Which brings us to today! For the Ton of Fun challenge you get to pick your weigh in day and time. Basically you can go whenever the store is open. Molly and I decided we would try to weigh in together, ya know for moral support. We also decided that Thursday would be the day! So even though it hasn't quite been a week we headed to Fleet Feet to face the scale.

Pulling up my stats!

When we got there we were met by one of the lovely FF employees, who was super nice and didn't mind my crazy photo requests. She pulled up my data, I confirm and we headed to the scale. The scale is located in one of the dressing rooms so it is really private. Unless you bring your own personal photographer.

Here goes nothing!

I have to admit, since I cheated and used my scale at home throughout the week I was pretty excited about getting weighed, but the result was just a tiny loss. Now, I know this is better than gaining so I don't want to sound whiney, but since my home scale showed a 2.4 pound loss (wooohooo) over what I weighed on the scale right before weighing in at the store on Saturday, I was expecting to see something similar. Improvement is improvement so I'll take it. Cheers to being less of a fatty!

I feel like I look like I am in time out.

Molly had an amazing week too. I know her weight loss challenge is a personal journey so I wont share  too many of her details, but if you're wondering how much she lost, this photo may be a clue...

Ready for week two!

I feel like I am off and running, pun intended, with getting things back to the way they were earlier this year. In fact I just signed up for my first, post marathon, half-marathon. The Lake Effect Half Marathon in Syracuse, February 2014. I ran it this year and PR'd!! Watch out week two, here I come!!!

Race Report- Iron Angel 5k

Well I did it, my first official race as a Warchol! That's my married name, just in case you didn't know. Yup, I got to go to the second half of the alphabet line at pack pick up, exciting stuff. It did dawn on me that when my dad and I run the same race that our numbers wont be consecutive, so that is a little. Any who, back to the race report...

About 14 months ago a local teacher, triathlete, mother, wife, etc. was hit and killed by not one, but two drunk drivers while out on an early morning training bike ride. This incident affected the community immensely and the trial and the out come was just as disheartening. Last year a small community run/walk was held in her honor, but this year the group of women she trained with, Moms in Motion (MIM's), held a larger, timed run and walk as a fundraiser for the trust for her two small children. To check out more info or to donate go here. I found out that some of my friends were running and I thought this would be a great jump back into running since it was for such a great cause. The race was capped at 500 and I signed up after the deadline to get a shirt, but I went to packet pick up on the first night and got a shirt anyway!

Great shirt, a little big and white, but happy to get one!

On Sunday morning I woke up and got ready. There is so little prep that is involved when preparing for a 5k, I love it! Plus I now realize how much I over did it when I was a newbie. I swung by and picked up Molly and then I headed to the Tucker house to pick up Evan and Abby. The four of us arrived at center park, we were greeted by smiling volunteers and a parking spot, nice! We walked to the main building at the park and caught up with fellow friends and runners and chatted while we waited for the pre-race ceremony. 

Gathering for the start. Great family atmosphere race!

Molly and I ran into three of our girls who participated in Girls on The Run this spring and it was great to see them out at a race. As an additional fundraiser MIM's was also selling HFB memorial items.

Around 8:50am Heather's husband spoke and a letter from one of her friends was read, also two of her colleagues sang the National Anthem. There was a solemn tone, but it was clear that everyone who came was there to fight the good fight. Everyone was so positive and supportive, I wish all races had this kind of vibe.

Evan & Abby

Me and Molly, back in the game!

At 9am the gun went off and down the field we went. I have neglected to say that the course was a cross country course. I had heard at packet pick up that the course was very challenging and I was a little hesitant about running on the hilly, damp grass. The weather was amazing and the course was partially shaded so that was a bonus. The course was hard for sure, but it was lined with smiley volunteers, both MIM's and the Fairport Cross Country team. Everyone was so encouraging, cheery and happy to be out there. Even though my time was pretty slow and I did walk a few of the hills, I was so happy to be out there. As Molly and I came into the finish line our friends (and strangers) were cheering us on, love that feeling.

Only missing Thea who couldn't wait for us slowpokes!

I honestly can't say a bad thing about this race. Except for maybe that the course was challenging, but that probably has something to do with the lack of running lately!! It was a great morning and I am so happy to be able to help a worthy cause.

Ever run a memorial race?

Baby I was Born to Run....slowly

I'm back baby and pretty sore! Thursday I dragged Molly to the Fleet Feet Pub Run at Char at the Strathallen hotel. They had a 3 or 5 mile option and even though a few months ago I would have chosen the five, I was hoping to just be able to go the distance at 3. The weather was amazing Thursday night and I was so excited to be back out there.

Alright guys, summer vacation is over!

I actually couldn't remember the last time I used my running sneakers, until I saw all the dirt on the bottom and realized I used them hiking in Lake Placid about two months ago! We were all in for a rude awakening. I picked up Molly and we were down right ecstatic on the drive there, kinda like some middle school girls on the way to a One Direction concert. Since I have been away from the Fleet Feet family for a bit there were lots of new faces, but a ton of familiar faces too. It was like coming home again and we picked up right where we left off. 

Proof that I ran! Or stood around with a bunch
of people in running clothes!

We got the 3 mile route from Ellen and we off and moving. The majority of the group were off and in the distance in no time. Molly and I pulled up the back and pacing us, without really knowing it were Amy and Dave. After a half mile or so I couldn't believe how good I felt and even though we weren't going as fast as I have in the past, I was going faster then I thought I would be able to go. I was also shocked at my endurance level, my heart wasn't beating out of my chest and my breathing was surprisingly controlled. When we hit 1 mile I was so happy that I didn't need to walk and this kept me energized for mile 2. During mile 2, I started to feel some aches and pains in my knee and legs but nothing bad enough to make me stop or slow. Molly dropped back a bit and I ran and chatted with Amy and Dave. We caught back up with each other at a red light and I told her my goal of running to one of the last streets, take a short walk break and then run the rest of the way. Even though the route was 3 miles, Fleet Feet always gives you the gift of going slightly farther without officially saying it so the route was more like 3.4ish. As we made the final turn on to East Ave to head back to the hotel we chatted about our surroundings and past runs and how good it felt to be back out on the streets. When we returned to Char we hung out for a bit and then headed home.

Slow but steady and got it done!

My final pace on the Garmin was 13:29. I did forget to pause it for a couple red lights so really it was slightly better then that! By the time I got out of the car my usual running pains were back, but I wore them like a badge of honor. Turns out you can jump back on the wagon and I feel like I appreciate my body and mind more now for it. Now I am recharged and ready to go for my first weigh in for the Ton of Fun challenge and my first 5k as a Warchol. I'll be posting about both soon.

Ever take a break from exercise and are shocked by your progress when you return? Either good or bad. 

Having a Ton of Fun

So I mentioned in my last post that the spark is coming back! I am actually excited. Some may say giddy! You know how deep down you know all the right things you NEED to do, but sometimes your brain likes to play games? That is how I have been feeling lately. Hopefully at some point you are finally strong enough to over take it and say, shut up this is what I am doing. I decided that to get back into the groove and community atmosphere, I would join the Ton of Fun challenge at Fleet Fleet.

Courtesy of FF website.

It is a 12 week challenge to lose weight and be active. I thought it was just the right thing I needed to get in gear. The program costs $50 but you have the opportunity to earn it back through store credit by losing weight. There are other fun prizes along the way. You know I am game for anything that involves prizes, sticker charts and goal tracking. I have enjoyed FF training programs in the past and have met some of my closest friends by participating in them. It can be intimidating at first, but quickly it becomes your favorite thing in the world. I plan to post updates throughout the 12 week program. Not sure just yet if I am comfortable putting my weight on here for all to see, but I do want to cover the ups and downs.

Actual weight...of a small child.

One of our wedding gifts was a new, fancy, bells and whistle scale so I am excited about using it and seeing some change. A benefit of running is that it helps your body to be more toned. One disadvantage  to less running is more jiggle. In addition to maybe losing a pound or two, I hope this challenge can help the jiggle reduction.

That wont ever happen, let's not be too lofty with our goals.

So I hope you join me over the next 12 weeks to track my progress, root for me, help me celebrate my success and keep me out of the Dunkin' drive thru! Seriously, I could really use your help on that last one, anyone available between 6:30-7:00am?

Ever had success with a weight loss challenge?

The Runner Who Doesn't Run

So truth be told I actually created this post back in June! Three months later and I am still a runner who doesn't run. But that is all about to change, I feel the fire and excitement coming back. In case you don't know, I ran my first full marathon in May. Then I got completely burned out and tired with training and running. I became a machine who ran because a piece of paper told me to do it, not because I actually wanted to. I guess part of me liked being out there or I would have given up before I even crossed the start line, but you get the point. Summer vacation and the heat started to kick in and then the stress and busyness of wedding planning kicked into high gear and I just had a million reasons to not run. Plus I just didn't really want to. I ran the Boilermaker with my Dad in July and ran every now and then on the treadmill at the gym, but nothing more then a 5k and that was it. I did spend the summer in the AC of the gym and got really into strength training and taking multiple spin classes each week.

I didn't win the challenge but those darn stickers did
keep me pretty motivated!

I also maybe got into the Fro-Yo craze that seems to have taken over the Rochester area recently. I guess it is better for you than Coldstone though. Hopefully.

Strawberries, graham crackers and
cheesecake & strawberry fro-yo.

Now that the wedding is done, the school year has begun, routines have reappeared and the weather has cooled drastically I am ready to get out the running gear. My first step? I signed up for a 5k in 6 days!! Yea, maybe this was a bit drastic, but drastic times call for drastic measures. Plus the race is for an amazing cause. I love the fall/winter race calendar and am looking forward to some more 3-peat races in the upcoming months. I am also missing my running girls terribly and am hoping we can reconnect soon.

So for now I'll leave you will some gratuitous wedding photos, but come back soon for more running chit chat!!

Have you ever fallen off the running wagon?

Want to help me reach 10,000 blog views?

Keep coming back for more!

Ironman Lake Placid Volunteer Recap- Part Two

After Andy Potts came out to start his second loop we knew it was time to head back to transition to begin the real work of our shift. When we got back Randy gave us instructions for what to do and what to tell the athletes. At this point it started raining off and on, not too heavily but enough to make the transition area slippery. We all positioned ourselves around the gear bag area and waited patiently to hear the crowd start cheering for the leader out of the water. Before we knew it Andy Potts came barreling around the corner, knocking down some of the fencing, and was smiley, gracious and even apologized for the mishap as he zoomed by. One of the perks of being a pro is that you get a little more TLC, so as pro's came around the corner we would shout out their numbers and volunteers would pull their bags for them. Everyone else that came out of the water (in a hazy stupor) had to figure it out for themselves.

All of a sudden there was a constant stream of athletes coming through the transition chute. Due to the rain and the fact that they were all wet, the grass and concrete became very slippery. More volunteers positioned themselves to act as catchers as people went down, others yelled out to athletes to slow down and watch their footing. The gear bags were in a new area this year, and even though I can't compare it to what it was, it seemed slightly dangerous. Athletes had to navigate their way around, grass, old wooden boards, concrete and because transition is in the former olympic speed skating oval, they had to worry about stepping over the lip of the track. You can see some of what I mean in the photo below.

Lots of neon tape to make the athletes more aware. 

As more and more athletes came in they became foggier and foggier. At one point an older gentleman walked by me and something didn't seem quite right. I had been yelling to the athletes to grab their blue (bike) bags and head to the changing tents. But when he walked by I saw a red bag. I quickly yelled at him that he had the wrong bag and when he turned around he had dark swim goggles still covering his eyes. No wonder he couldn't tell the color of the bag!! He still wasn't quite comprehending me so I kept yelling you need your blue bag, you have the wrong bag. He finally got the idea and headed back to his spot, but still was wearing the swim goggles. The rows of bags were kind of confusing and to athletes who had just swam over 2 miles and were disoriented it was even harder to figure out. Some athletes would just stand at the end of the row, staring at the sign, hoping it would shout out to them which direction they had to go. For a lot of athletes we could see their body markings, or they would  tell us their numbers and we could help to guide them.

You can sort of make out the small sign
on the end of the gear bag rack. 

After a while there were just a handful of blue bags left hanging and fewer athletes were coming in. We had about twenty minutes left in our shift and lots of new volunteers were coming into the gear bag area. Now our job was to take the 2000+ blue gear bags, all thrown into a HUGE pile, and hang them back on their rightful hook. Randy reminded us that it was super important to get the numbers right so they weren't searching for bags for the athletes after midnight. I must have checked those number labels a million times. The bags were heavy, they had all of the athletes wet swim gear in them and wet because of the rain and puddles they were resting in. A little after 9am Rob, Molly and I made our way over to the merchandise tent and looked around and then headed to get some breakfast. We have a favorite sandwich/creperie deli to go to and as we approached the line was out the door. But it was well worth the wait. I got the Gulf Brook, an amazing breakfast burrito and we all sat on a bench and wolfed down the goodness.

Taken from the link above.

While we were enjoying our breakfast Rob happened to spot a childhood friend who was in town to watch the race. He himself is an accomplished triathlete who has gone to Kona to race in the Ironman World Championships. Rob has talked about Travis for a while and so it was neat to finally meet him. We then headed to my really favorite spot in Lake Placid...

Taken from the link below.

Last year they had dill pickle popcorn for the first time and I loved it so much I was really hoping they would have it again. Apparently it has become so popular they have made it one of their daily flavors, woohoo!! When I told Molly about the dp popcorn I think I got a disgusted look or at least a shocked one, but when she tasted it she was instantly converted and got some for herself. The owner also recommended mixing the dill pickle with the cheddar and I told her we would be back often and would try that combo too. With popcorn in hand we headed to the bike turn on Main Street to watch the cyclists finish their first loop and head back out on to their second loop.

We noticed a lot of the athletes were eating at this point and we saw everything from bagels, to sandwiches to uncrustables. The athletes were in good spirits and a lot of them encouraged the spectators to cheer louder by yelling or making arm movements. At one point there were three cyclist whizzing by and one female athlete was screaming and not in a good way, it turns out a toddler had somehow gotten under the barrier and was making her way towards the cyclists who were heading downhill (see in the photo above). It could have been a scary situation but luckily a volunteer had heard the scream and ran over to scoop the little girl up and return her to her mom.

Okay small rant break: I know I am not a parent, but exactly how does that happen?!?!?! Plus what made it worse was that the mom didn't even seem thankful or appreciative. She just wrestled the (seemingly) wild and hysterical little girl back into her stroller. Molly said she was practically sitting on her to buckle her in. REALLY?!?! I would have told them to leave. I also saw them a later in the day and the little girl was still being unruly.

After watching for a while and moving to a new spot I was getting tired of standing, here I am complaining about standing, so we decided Rob would swim and Molly and I would find a place to hang and relax for a little while. Molly wound up going to hang with the Towpath crew at their tent and I made my way to the top of the hill by the beach and parked myself there for a new vantage point. It was here that the cyclists were getting their bike special gear bag. Ahhh that explains why they were all eating just a short bit down the road at our previous spectating spot. As cyclists would approach, their numbers were called through a megaphone and volunteers grabbed their bags and assisted the athletes with what ever they needed. Then they would push them off on their way again. I sat there on the curb and loved cheering and calling out numbers as they rode by. Since this was a much less crowded spectating spot, I actually got some smiles, thanks and thumbs up. I also chatted up a woman next to me who turned out to be from Rochester too.

Once Rob finished swimming we decided we would take the shuttle back to his car to unloaded his wetsuit and some stuff from our bags we weren't using. I think we both just wanted a break from the hustle and bustle too. We didn't have to wait long and we enjoyed being chauffeured around town. Once we swapped stuff at the car we got back on the bus and headed into town again.

The wheels on the bus...

When we met up with Molly she was standing at the run entrance/exit of transition cheering on runners some of whom were starting their first loop and the pro's who were finishing their race! By this time we were getting hungry again and jumped into a near by pizza shop for halfway decent pizza. After some more spectating and a quick trip into a bar for some free popcorn and adult beverages we decided we would take the shuttle to the car, take the car to get gas and head back to the campground for some relaxation before we came back to cheer the last hour. In hindsight this was probably a bad idea. For a short portion of our drive we were following alongside the run course and so we cheered, and Molly rang her cowbell out the window. We saw lots of tired, weary athletes but they were all still moving.

Once we got back to the campground Molly and I decided to close our eyes, we were exhausted and the day already felt like the longest day ever. At around 9:15 I was awoken by Rob who was also getting ready to take a nap, he had turned off the tv and the lights and was going to bed. Apparently we weren't going to make it back to Placid for the last exciting hour. Molly was passed out and even though I thought I had just fallen asleep I guess I had been out for a while. We all were in agreement that we would go to bed and we didn't wake up until the garbage truck woke us a little after 7am Monday morning.

Overall volunteering at IMLP was an amazing experience and we were already talking about next year and what we would do differently. First: not volunteer at the butt-crack of dawn. We weren't sure how easy or hard it would be to get around town from Wilmington but apparently it is pretty manageable. Second: I think it would be fun to volunteer out on the course. Third: get back to town for the last hour of competition. You can't help but be inspired by the people and their stories and what keeps them moving, for some, up to 17 hours!!!! Soon I'll have a post about the volunteer dinner we attended the day after the race and the rest of our time in Lake Placid.

Have you ever volunteered at a race?

What was your favorite part?

Ironman Lake Placid Volunteer Recap- Part One

Mirror Lake- Swim Course

I have known about Ironman Lake Placid (IMLP) for quite some time now because we have been vacationing there most summers and you tend to see the flags, banners and hear chatter around town. This was the races fifteenth edition. About five years ago, a close family friend Scott (the one responsible for bringing Rob into the cycling cult) attempted IMLP and because of health reasons related to his diabetes, had to pull out during the run. Scott and his family have volunteered at the race numerous times and so last summer while camping at the KOA we decided to reserve camping sites for 2013, volunteer and at the time, Rob planned on signing up for the 2014 race. My friend and training partner Molly and some of her friends decided they would sign up also and Molly reserved us a volunteering shift in transition, doing gear bags from 5-9am. We had also planned to stay until the last hour to watch the final athletes come in before midnight, we knew it would be a really long day.

Beach/Boat House on Mirror Lake

Since we were going to be away from the campground for the entire day, we all packed bags and brought what we thought we would need to survive the day. I brought a magazine, which I wound up never using and Rob brought his wetsuit so he could swim the course after our shift had finished. Our priorities are slightly different! We figured out logistically where we had to be and when and set our alarm for 3:00am. Don't worry, we planned on hitting snooze at least once. When the alarm went off Rob and I were surprisingly awake, I think it was the excitement of the day, and we weren't even racing!! Rob went out to make some coffee with the Keurig and it was quickly realized that Dad only had stock piles of decaf coffee. What the heck was that going to do for us?!?! Not too shortly after, Molly awoke from her slumber and joined us as we stumbled around the RV trying to get ready when it was so dark out still. The volunteer shuttles began at 4am and since we had a little bit of a drive to the lot and because we weren't quite sure how long the wait was going to be and because I am a worry wort, we left the RV at 3:45am. The funny thing was that as we were leaving the campground so were about five other cars, not something we expected to see even though we knew a lot of volunteers and participants were staying at the KOA. We made our way down the dark and twisty route 86 and turned on to River Road. Because both of these roads would hold a couple thousand athletes later in the day we loved seeing the signs, banners and spray painted messages along the road. If we weren't already excited it was really hitting us now. Somewhere on River Road the low gas signal came on in Rob's car and so of course I began to panic. The panic only lasted, well most of the day, as I knew getting around town would be challenging and didn't know what would be open when we left at 1:00am. I knew where we had to go, but it was so dark and there seemed to be no other civilization awake that I started to get nervous, until we came upon a field that had a couple people and a school bus. We were the first volunteer cars to actually pull into the field and I thought maybe my need to be early might not have been warranted.

Rob and Molly on the Shuttle sometime
around 4:15am.

We stopped at the other lots and picked up a couple volunteers, okay I wasn't the only crazy early one, and we eventually arrived at our destination at the shuttle lot near the ice arena. Even though it was so dark still, the place was bustling with activity and we made our way around transition to find where we needed to report for volunteering.

Transition and finishing chute. 

Along the way we passed the body marking area where lots of athletes were stripping down to their skivvies to be written on. In addition to numbers and ages we saw lots of smiley faces being written in thick, black marker.

Lots of excited volunteers and anxious athletes.

The emails we received from the transition coordinator, Randy, leading up to the big day were funny and we were looking forward to meeting him in person to put a face with the emails. Since he did not hold a meeting the day before, we were told to tell security that we were working with Randy and that he would give us our wristbands and t-shirts when we started our volunteer shift. Well when we approached the, not too friendly security, they gave us a hard time about not having wristbands and didn't seem too happy with "who ever this Randy guy was". They made us walk all the way around transition to a back entrance to talk to whoever was there. I think they just wanted us out of their hair.

Athletes doing last minute bike prep.

The three of us walked around back and approached a couple people setting up the bike entrance/exit. They were much nicer and pointed us to someone who pointed us to the right place. However, when we arrived there was no Randy, or other volunteers for that matter. Chalk it up to being there a just a tad early. A couple other guys (one who we later found out was the race director) gave us some (unclear) info about what to do and told us that is how they thought Randy did it, but saved by the bell, Randy arrived before they walked away and quickly informed us that is NOT how he does things. He was very laid back, but still organized and put me in charge of handing out shirts as the other transition volunteers arrived. The first hour from 5-6am was all about answering athlete questions and pointing them in the correct direction. The most common questions were: what do we do with our (green) morning clothes bag, where do our special needs bags go, what time is transition open until, where is the exit for transition, where is body marking? Some of these questions I thought were funny, because if they found their way into transition, couldn't they find their way out? Plus most of the athletes had to walk right by body marking to get into transition. But based on the many, many, deer in the headlights looks we got, I knew they had a lot going on in their minds. I even had an athlete frantically come up to me asking if I had a cell phone. Apparently he had forgotten all of his water bottles and needed to call for back up. He was so appreciative and I was happy to help put out one small fire. At 6am we corralled all of the athletes out of transition and got the low down on what we would need to do once athletes came back for their transition onto the bikes. Since Randy was so laid back and we didn't have any work to do until the athletes finished their swim, we all headed to Mirror Lake to watch the swim start.

 
The swim start at IMLP has always been epic and I have not only heard about how cool it is, but have even watched YouTube videos of it. All athletes start in the water and start swimming at the cannon blast. Well about a month or so ago we heard that Ironman was testing a new start at some races, a
self-seeded start, and that this year's IMLP would indeed be testing it as well. So we weren't quite sure what to expect and we were too far away from the beach to really be able to tell what was going on.

Athletes finishing their practice swims.

Getting corralled on the beach.

What it seemed like was that all athletes started on the beach and lined up behind placards with different expected finish times, for example 0-60 minutes, etc. When the cannon went off Pro men and then Pro women went off running into the water. Then a few minutes later went everyone else, almost single file into the water. The process took so long that when Pro leader Andy Potts got out of the water to begin his second loop, there was a line of athletes still feeding into the lake for their first loop. The start wasn't as exciting as what I would think previous years would have been, but I think it was safer for the athletes and that is what is important. Plus it was still neat to be able to get to watch the start!!

Part Two Coming Soon! 

Go Dacks

Every year I look forward to spending time in the Adirondack Mountains. My grandparents had a house in Big Moose, near Old Forge, so I grew up going there multiple times a year. Now that I am an adult, Rob and I love to go and hike, bike, run and swim in Lake Placid and surrounding towns. Most of those exercises he loves to do and I love to hang out and read and relax. As you probably already know Rob is a triathlete and the idea of racing the Lake Placid Ironman is something he has been considering for a long time. This year we decided to "borrow" my parents RV and camp in Wilmington, volunteer at Ironman and spend the greater part of the week relaxing and having fun.

Before we left last Saturday we were dealing with a small, singular (hopefully) mole problem that you may have read about here. Well to up date you on the story, Mr. Mole exited our apartment by way of mouse trap thanks to the fantastic maintenance workers of our apartment complex. I guess it had been captured while we were at work and when the workers came to check things out, they were nice enough to remove it for us. They even cleaned up the chalk outline.

Too bad it was really a mole, or this would be even funnier. 

Once the mole was taken care of we were able to pack and prepare for our getaway. But you can be sure I had Rob get my suitcase out of the closet for me. We left for the Adirondacks at 6am last Saturday, and because Molly had signed up to volunteer also, she followed en route to my parents house in Cicero. Since my parents were nice enough to let us borrow the RV, but not trustworthy enough to let us drive their baby, they drove the RV and towed their vehicle while Molly and I followed in hot (code word for: super slow) pursuit. Actually I just don't feel comfortable driving it and they kindly offered to drive and set-up/tear down. I also joke about the speed but my Dad has this RV driving thing down, and he even got a compliment, while we were stopped at a McDonalds, from a complete stranger who had been following him. Nice, but creepy gesture. I love our drive up North because it is like visiting an old friend who you haven't seen in a year. We have a comfortable routine of places we stop and like to see what is new in the area. Overall from Fairport the drive is about 5 hours. 1.5 to my parents house, 1 hour to Watertown and 2.5 hours through small towns and back roads.

My parents have been to Placid during Ironman weekend and have talked about it for the last five years. We couldn't wait to get there and feel the electricity. Originally we were going up to volunteer so Rob could sign up for next year. Due to the fact that it sells out quickly (3-4 minutes for 2014) the best way to ensure a spot is to volunteer and then you are allowed to jump the line on Monday morning. Well Rob had to go and ruin everything when he proposed in January, so the timing and especially the money (over $600 bucks) wasn't going to work for now. We still wanted to go and experience it and I would recommend it to everyone, whether you are a fan of the sport or not. Once we passed Saranac Lake, which is the last major town before Placid, we started spotting cyclists and runners, everywhere!!   Once we got into Placid there were beautiful, athletic people crawling like ants. We go to Placid every year and I have never seen it with so many people walking the streets. We had to drive by all of the festivities, tents and transition area on our way to Wilmington and there was so much to look at it was hard to drive. From Placid to Wilmington the main route you drive is the route for the bike course. We saw hundreds of cyclists and we couldn't believe that so many people were riding the course the day before the race. We realized later that the majority of them were not people who would be participating the next day. Our caravan pulled into the KOA and I raced in ahead of Mom so I could pay, because I knew she would insist that they pay. Our site was located in the front row, near the office and we had camped at or near the same spot last year. Mom and Dad started setting everything up and we unloaded our stuff and learned the ways of the RV. Me the inside and Rob any business pertaining to the bathroom and plumbing.

After we were settled we all grabbed lunch together and then Molly, Rob and I went back to Placid so Rob could visit one of his favorite bike stores and Molly could visit with a friend who was competing the next day. We also got our plans in order for what time we had to get up and where we had to be for volunteering on race morning. We said our goodbyes to Mom and Dad, who got a hotel room for one night and hit the hay early since our alarms were set for 3:15am. Ugh!

Volunteering Recap Coming Soon!