Welcome to the Kramer blog winter triathlon special! (yay).  Today we will be covering the elements of training in the winter – How to run in the snow, bike in the living room and swim in the … pool (boring I know).  Now that I have a workout plan until May, I can relax and quietly prepare for my debut at the half ironman in Florida.  They won’t even see me coming…

Run in the snow

We’ve all done it.  Your running in the snow and you think that nobody is looking.  Slowly you lift your head , panic and quickly make sure that nobody is around one more time.  You lift you head a second time, flex your tongue out as far as it can go and wait for that faithful snow flake to hit your taste buds.  This process isn’t complete without closing your eyes because, what if a snow flake falls in one?? Where would you be then??  Obviously the strange looks are soon to follow but, hey, I’m a tourist here and I can do whatever I want.

The bottom line is that running in the snow is slow but fun.  It has the feeling of running in sand but not quite as messy.  Your either a patter or a sinker.  If you step right on the top of certain snow, you pack it down; whereas if you run on deep snow, you sink.   It’s important to follow peoples foot steps and beware the slush if you want your toes to stay dry.  At some point, if I keep this up, I will have to start looking at GORTEX running shoes but for now, a little bit of dampness wont kill me.

Bike in the living room

Winter means snow.  Snow means ice.  Ice means slipping, and slipping with your bike into the road and getting run over by a car and getting taken to the hospital and being revived and going through physical therapy and being in a wheelchair… isn’t a good idea.  This is why we have invented the Livingroom Biking Event.  The concept is simple – Everyone shows up at my house with their cycling trainers and we all cycle for several hours while watching previous Ironmans on DVD.
Sharone and Sunny showed up and we had a great workout in the comfort of my home. I guess this is the solution to the slipping problem and I can live with that.

Swim in the pool

It’s time to take my swimming to a whole other level.  Now that I have myself filmed on tape, I can fix all of the issues with my stroke.  I must become a water ninja by the time winter is over so check out my video :

Here is what I need to work on:

• Rotation – Need to turn those hips more
• Entry – Hand needs to come in deeper into the water and the tips shouldn’t go up.
• Head – I look down too much and I need to look a bit forward
• Right side breathing – My left hand comes back too quickly so my timing is off.
• Kick – My kicks don’t turn along with me

Try watching the video again and finding these mistakes… I’m trying to work on all of them but I can only really concentrate on one or two at a time.  It’s a process….

Future Plus Update
When I have a detailed plan, I will post it and also I will try to post my actual workouts and comments as much as possible.  To view my complete workout log : WORKOUT LOG

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First things first. I’m officially the breadwinner of my household. Actually the modern term might be something like the finedinningwinner of my corporateapartmenthold. I’ve never really worked in Israel, so you could say that this is my first real job experience. Yesterday something strange happened at work and it made me think. After some kind of reorganization, my boss was laid off; my bosses’ boss was laid off and (get ready) my bosses bosses boss was laid off. Needless to say, it was a strange day at the office and it’s really too bad because I actually really liked my boss… and my bosses’ boss… My boss often used the word ‘groovy’ which was entertaining and he taught me… well… everything I know so far about the company. After all of this happened, there was a conference call meeting where everyone, out of awkwardness, talked about which type of bagel is their favorite and the main differences between sweet and salty, a topic which isn’t debated enough if you ask me. By the time we had all figured out who had what for breakfast, the conference call was underway and in many fancy long descriptions, we were told that life goes on. I know that ‘Life goes on’ is always true as long as you can say it, so this was no new concept for me.

What culinary discoveries you ask? Well, if you squint until you look Chinese and see beyond the frozen lean cuisine and edamame dinners, you will notice that I’m beginning to form an interest around my own culinary skills. Last night, I defrosted some chicken breast, cut up peppers and onions, made rice, flipped it all up in a pan with stir fry sauce and walla! I was Chinese! I’ll be Chinese tomorrow too I think because I made a very large portion. My next goal is to duplicate my moms special coleslaw which I love and after that … who knows…

What about other meals? Breakfast has taken two forms:

1. Low fat yoghurt and blueberries. Blueberries are such a startup. People in Israel don’t eat them enough. Anyway, I like fruit names that describe what your eating.
2. Egg white omelet and turkey bacon. Why did I not know about turkey bacon? I love bacon and to have a piece of bacon that’s 20 calories blows my mind. Another great concept is the egg whites. Why hover over a bowl and separate yolk from white when you could simply purchase the egg whites in a carton. Genius…

Lunch? Well, recently I have been bringing in wraps that I make at home. There were two days when I actually went home, ate, and came back. Luckily, there is a nice Mediterranean place downstairs called Mezza that has good salads and wraps. We buy or bring food and sit in the kitchen and eat…. It’s the employee way. One day, it will be late night pizza in a basement (when my startup is underway), but until then, I will have to deal with the paper bag and aluminum foil lunches. This part of my life is called ‘healthy eating’. (guess what movie I’m referencing?)

Alright so we are saving the best for last. I have discovered a triathlon training place called ‘well fit’. It’s owned by an Israeli guy (Sharone) who moved to the US fifteen years ago and started this company. I met him through someone and participated in one of his running classes. Yesterday though, I had one of the best workouts since arriving in the US.

Sharone sent me a message on facebook telling me to come to an indoor cycle class on trainers. I told him I would come and didn’t think much of it. After a frustrating experience in the spinning class in my building, I was willing to try anything. I rode my bike a few blocks, got lost, consulted my map, found my way, and arrived at this University gym. Down the steps and into the basement I went, to discover a mound of triathletes with their bikes, mounting them on trainers and getting ready. You always think that your brain can control your movements if you aren’t having a seizure but I couldn’t control a smile when I saw what I was in for.

I have never used my bike on a trainer and I was surprised at how easily it slipped right in. Cinelli’s first steps, Cinelli’s first fall / slip and Cinelli’s first trainer… awwww… I love my bike. The feeling on the trainer was much different than a spin bike but once you get control of your legs and add resistance, then it’s a great workout. We even concentrated on single legs by taking the other food out of the cleat and spinning with the other. The workout lasted about an hour and I got a free waterbottle. Woo hoo!

What’s next?

• Next week I’m going to a concert which only cost me 12 bucks because my Upenn student ID is valid until 2010. When I found this out, I began rubbing my hands together in a circular motion and saying ‘excellent’.
• Next month is the country music festival which I am excited for. Taylor Swift and Gretchen Williams here I come. Yee Haw.
• Guess who is getting her first paycheck tomorrow?
• I ate at one restaurant from my company (Star of Siam) and should get cash back for eating there. If you live in the US, go to Rewards Network and get money back for eating out!

Here are some photos:

Jazz Club (Tal and myself)

You can go too : Andy’s Jazz Club
11 E Hubbard St, Chicago, IL

(312) 642-6805

Andy

Leane Cuisine w/ added fun