So much has happened since my last post, I couldn't possibly go back and write about everything in detail. So here are some of the highlights:
My triathlon season was sub-par. I didn't stay on top of my training. I didn't lose the weight I needed to. I switched my original race schedule around to only doing Philly Tri (Olympic) and three sprints - Philly Women's Tri, SheROX, and Timberman Sprint. I'm running the PDR half-marathon next week despite being ill-prepared to run it. I'm looking forward to this season being over and heading into the off-season for base training, losing weight, and have a much more stellar and focused season in 2009. I'm having that conversation with the coach after the PDR, so i'll write more in that regard then. Despite poor performance, I still love being part of my team and participating in these events. It helps me to carry over these lessons I learn through training and competition into my professional and personal life.
I finally moved downtown! I moved into my new condo on August 1st. I did some work on it (fresh paint, new vanity in the bathroom, building a closet for my bikes and athletic gear) and have bought all new furniture. I'm hoping to get everything in place by the end of this month to have people over. And then, i'll officially be broke. But I love it. I love my neighborhood - I love walking to work. And I love finally living on my own again.
Personally, I met an amazing guy the beginning of the summer. I don't like getting that personal on this blog, so I won't write much about it. I'll only say, this came as a surprise, but has made me very happy, and I can only hope that it will last for quite some time! Regardless, I'm just enjoying every day I have with him.
Professionally, i'm torn. I love what I do but hate what I do at the same time. It's just a very hard line of work to be in, both emotionally and financially, and i'm not sure how long I'll be able to do this. But i've committed (in my mind) to being sure I stay on to carry out a few projects through to completion. It's hard to say what the future holds - I have many ideas and interests. I'm quietly exploring some options, but nothing that i'll be acting on in the near future.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
Start of the Season - the Broad Street Run
The official start to my 2008 Season came in the form of the Broad Street Run on May 4th. I felt incredibly unprepared for this race. I hadn't run 10 miles since the NYC marathon last November. My shorter, low intensity training runs were few and far between as I struggled to find my work/training balance with my new job in my life. I tried to back out of doing it, but my coach wouldn't let me. "You're not racing this race" he reminded me - "you're using it as a training run". The goal was take 2 miles to warm up, pick up the tempo for the next 6 miles, then go push it just to my edge the last 2 miles.
When I first did this race 2 years ago in 2006, I was in top form. I had only been running in races for 6 months. I had run my first half-marathon just the week before. I hadn't experienced any running injuries at that point. I was at the lowest weight I had been in since my dancing days and having worked with my awesome personal trainer for 18 months up to that point, I was strong. The weather was perfect that day - sunny and in the 60s. There were several musical acts along the route to put a pep in my step and I ended up posting a time 10 minutes faster than when I had run my only other 10 miler 5 months before. I knew there wasn't any chance I was going to repeat this performance at this particular time and since my focus was different, I shouldn't even be thinking about it.
It's a little chilly and overcast this morning, and i'm waiting on the corner of Albert Einstein Drive and Broad Street with my sweats on for some of my tri teammates who were also doing this race. With the exception of maybe 2 or 3 of them, all of us were treating this as a training run. I wasn't sure to base my strategy on time (my minute/mile pace) or heartrate (which, my coach and I discovered during a lactate threshold run test I had done a few weeks prior, is abnormally high). I know my coach and I discussed this strategy, but for some reason, it didn't stick in my mind, and this would be my first problem as I waited in the throngs of runners waiting to cross the starting line.
I corraled myself somewhere in between the 9 and 10 minute milers. After standing a few minutes and chatting with the runners around me, I heard a big cheer from the front of the pack. The starting horn must of have blown, but we couldn't hear it in the back. We stood for a few more minutes, then slowly started walking the two blocks to the starting line. It took 8 minutes for me to cross the starting line towards the back of the 15,000 runners that were participating in this race. Immediately, we start running downhill, which make it difficult to hold back if you're pacing yourself. Within that first mile, you run under a bridge holding the septa train tracks in North Philly. I had remembered a group of 10 students from a North Philadelphia High School banging their drums under this bridge two years ago, and they really put a pep in your step. Not this time - they were nowhere to be found. In general, alot of the acts or distractions that I recalled in 2006 weren't there in 2008, with the exception of Roman Catholic's High School band just North of City Hall and the guy blasting the Rocky theme song a few hundred meters before you entered the Navy Yard in South Philly.
My pace was slow - I was averaging 10:30 MM. I wasn't feeling taxed, but I wasn't feeling like I could give much more either. I wasn't able to get any sports drink until mile 7 because they were out at the water stations beforehand (that's what i've discovered happens when you're in the back of the pack). My heartrate remained in my LT zone the entire time - which is frustrating because I was already going slowly. So this was an indication that I wouldn't be able to sustain a much faster pace. Although, in the LT run test I did in the lab with my coach, we discovered that despite climbing into my LT zone fairly quickly, the amount of Lactic Acid in my blood remained relatively the same (around 4 milimoles) as I increased my intensity past this point. In other words, the level of Lactic Acid in my blood measured approximately the same at an 8:30 MM pace as it did at a 9:30 MM pace - and we believe that this might be related to my unusually high heartrate, which at LT is 190. So what does this mean? My coach thinks it means I can handle suffering longer doing this kind of intensity for me than others would be able to - so it's a bit of an advantage.
I cross the finish line - felt like it was an uneventful race for me - didn't feel proud of anything. Coming to a complete stop after crossing the finish line, waiting to get some food and drink, I cramped up pretty badly and started hobbling - it felt like a major sciatic pain shooting down my lower back and pain. It's frustrating to feel like you're moving backwards. The first six months of running I had increased my MM pace to 8:30 and was handling half-marathon distances pretty well. Now - distance was tough and speed was not there. I do hope I come back from my injury, start to regain fitness and speed. My running goal is to someday be able to consistently run sub-8's in races. Then i'll be happy. I have alot of work ahead of me.
When I first did this race 2 years ago in 2006, I was in top form. I had only been running in races for 6 months. I had run my first half-marathon just the week before. I hadn't experienced any running injuries at that point. I was at the lowest weight I had been in since my dancing days and having worked with my awesome personal trainer for 18 months up to that point, I was strong. The weather was perfect that day - sunny and in the 60s. There were several musical acts along the route to put a pep in my step and I ended up posting a time 10 minutes faster than when I had run my only other 10 miler 5 months before. I knew there wasn't any chance I was going to repeat this performance at this particular time and since my focus was different, I shouldn't even be thinking about it.
It's a little chilly and overcast this morning, and i'm waiting on the corner of Albert Einstein Drive and Broad Street with my sweats on for some of my tri teammates who were also doing this race. With the exception of maybe 2 or 3 of them, all of us were treating this as a training run. I wasn't sure to base my strategy on time (my minute/mile pace) or heartrate (which, my coach and I discovered during a lactate threshold run test I had done a few weeks prior, is abnormally high). I know my coach and I discussed this strategy, but for some reason, it didn't stick in my mind, and this would be my first problem as I waited in the throngs of runners waiting to cross the starting line.
I corraled myself somewhere in between the 9 and 10 minute milers. After standing a few minutes and chatting with the runners around me, I heard a big cheer from the front of the pack. The starting horn must of have blown, but we couldn't hear it in the back. We stood for a few more minutes, then slowly started walking the two blocks to the starting line. It took 8 minutes for me to cross the starting line towards the back of the 15,000 runners that were participating in this race. Immediately, we start running downhill, which make it difficult to hold back if you're pacing yourself. Within that first mile, you run under a bridge holding the septa train tracks in North Philly. I had remembered a group of 10 students from a North Philadelphia High School banging their drums under this bridge two years ago, and they really put a pep in your step. Not this time - they were nowhere to be found. In general, alot of the acts or distractions that I recalled in 2006 weren't there in 2008, with the exception of Roman Catholic's High School band just North of City Hall and the guy blasting the Rocky theme song a few hundred meters before you entered the Navy Yard in South Philly.
My pace was slow - I was averaging 10:30 MM. I wasn't feeling taxed, but I wasn't feeling like I could give much more either. I wasn't able to get any sports drink until mile 7 because they were out at the water stations beforehand (that's what i've discovered happens when you're in the back of the pack). My heartrate remained in my LT zone the entire time - which is frustrating because I was already going slowly. So this was an indication that I wouldn't be able to sustain a much faster pace. Although, in the LT run test I did in the lab with my coach, we discovered that despite climbing into my LT zone fairly quickly, the amount of Lactic Acid in my blood remained relatively the same (around 4 milimoles) as I increased my intensity past this point. In other words, the level of Lactic Acid in my blood measured approximately the same at an 8:30 MM pace as it did at a 9:30 MM pace - and we believe that this might be related to my unusually high heartrate, which at LT is 190. So what does this mean? My coach thinks it means I can handle suffering longer doing this kind of intensity for me than others would be able to - so it's a bit of an advantage.
I cross the finish line - felt like it was an uneventful race for me - didn't feel proud of anything. Coming to a complete stop after crossing the finish line, waiting to get some food and drink, I cramped up pretty badly and started hobbling - it felt like a major sciatic pain shooting down my lower back and pain. It's frustrating to feel like you're moving backwards. The first six months of running I had increased my MM pace to 8:30 and was handling half-marathon distances pretty well. Now - distance was tough and speed was not there. I do hope I come back from my injury, start to regain fitness and speed. My running goal is to someday be able to consistently run sub-8's in races. Then i'll be happy. I have alot of work ahead of me.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Updated 2008 Season
My 2008 race season started a few weeks ago at the Broad Street Run. I'll post a race report at a later date. As i'm refocusing this weekend, i'm looking ahead at what my coach and I have planned for me this season:
May 4 - Broad Street Run (Philadelphia, PA)
May 25 - Jim O'Donnell 2 Mile Lake Swim (Reston, VA)
June 8 - 1 Mile Bay Swim Challenge (Chesapeake Bay)
June 22 - Philadelphia Triathlon (Olympic Distance)
July 20 - New York City Triathlon (Olympic Distance)
August 17 - Timberman Half-Ironman Triathlon (Aqua-Velo portion)
September 21 - Philadelphia Distance Run (Half-Marathon)
September 27 - Chesapeake Ultraman Swim Fest (2.4 mile Swim in MD)
I'd like to see if I can get in a later season Sprint Tri in after Timberman - but we'll see how i'm feeling and what's out there. This will be a learning and growing season for me. I'm nowhere near where I wanted to be fitness-wise and my head isn't in the game. My main focus is to train my mind this year - get rid of the mental demons that seem to hinder any kind of decent performance I might have in me.
My current work situation and my move this summer will be training obstacles i'll have to learn to work with. But I believe that mentally, if I can stay in the game, regardless of how much physical training I can stay on top of, i'll come out alright. On a macro level, 2008 is a building block of the next several years to when I feel ready to tackle a full Ironman. 2008 - stay healthy, stay focused, and progress will be made.
May 4 - Broad Street Run (Philadelphia, PA)
May 25 - Jim O'Donnell 2 Mile Lake Swim (Reston, VA)
June 8 - 1 Mile Bay Swim Challenge (Chesapeake Bay)
June 22 - Philadelphia Triathlon (Olympic Distance)
July 20 - New York City Triathlon (Olympic Distance)
August 17 - Timberman Half-Ironman Triathlon (Aqua-Velo portion)
September 21 - Philadelphia Distance Run (Half-Marathon)
September 27 - Chesapeake Ultraman Swim Fest (2.4 mile Swim in MD)
I'd like to see if I can get in a later season Sprint Tri in after Timberman - but we'll see how i'm feeling and what's out there. This will be a learning and growing season for me. I'm nowhere near where I wanted to be fitness-wise and my head isn't in the game. My main focus is to train my mind this year - get rid of the mental demons that seem to hinder any kind of decent performance I might have in me.
My current work situation and my move this summer will be training obstacles i'll have to learn to work with. But I believe that mentally, if I can stay in the game, regardless of how much physical training I can stay on top of, i'll come out alright. On a macro level, 2008 is a building block of the next several years to when I feel ready to tackle a full Ironman. 2008 - stay healthy, stay focused, and progress will be made.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Any readers left?
So, I figure due to my slacking with blogging as of late, there are probably only 2 people who will read this. So this is for Beth and Jenna.
Let me start by saying - god damn Rod Barajas! As I type the Phillies game has just ended in a 6-3 loss to the Blue Jays. I was out to the movies tonight so I missed the game. As they were about to roll the credits, the "player of the game" was named - Rod Barajas. I was confused, because I knew he wasn't playing for the Phils anymore (Thank God! I would have traded him for a sack of balls!) and to be honest, I wasn't sure he'd be playing anywhere these days. But apparently not only is he catching for the Blue Jays now, he brought in 5 of the 6 runs they scored, with one at bat being a grand slam! Are you kidding me?? WTF!??! It was a good day if he didn't make a costly mistake when he was with the phils (like waiting for a guy to come at him at the plate with the ball in his glove, then standing up with his legs wide open with a straddle as he allows the guy to slide through his legs and score - pure brilliance this guy). I'd be amazed if I pulled up his stats to find he batted over .150 with our team. Couldn't stand him! Still can't stand him.
Anyway - what a week! It started out as a cold, windy, rainy Monday. I was working from home because my car had been broken into the previous Friday in the lot I park in at work, my passenger door window had been smashed. The earliest I could find someone to come and replace the window was Monday - and I had no intentions of driving into Philly and parking anywhere without a window. So while i'm waiting for the auto glass guy, i'm trying to get some time sensitive work done when my phone rings. It's my mortgage company. I'm very nervous when I see the number on my phone because it's 2 days before i'm going to settlement and as far as I knew, they had had everything they needed from me. Both I and my realtor had followed up with them several times the week before - and the week before that, but heard nothing.
But of course, because I already had this black cloud over me after my car got broken into, this couldn't possibly go smoothly. It started out with the loan closer needing me to resend my HUD from the sale of my NY coop because it's legal size and got cut off in the letter size they received - as well as some pages that were missing from one of my bank statements. Only problem was, I was at home, and all these papers were in my office. So I asked my financial manager at work to fax the documents over for me. Crisis diverted - or so I thought.
Then, I spoke with my realtor, who was going over my checklist with me for closing, and he asked about my condo insurance. I told him I wasn't planning on purchasing it until I would actually be moving in - which was August - since its mainly just a contents and liability insurance. But then he suggested I look into getting a Landlord type of insurance - I hadn't even thought of that. You see, the sellers were willing to settle early with me, so I could lock in a decent mortgage rate, but asked to rent from me for a little over 2 months after settlement, since that is when they were scheduled to move to San Francisco for his next residency. So I started calling around for different quotes. Meanwhile, i'm still trying to beat my deadline for work as well as try to find out the ETA of the guy who was coming to install the new glass.
While all this is going on, I get another call from my mortgage company. I had filled out my mortgage application on March 21st. As part of that application, I sent them a copy of my sales agreement, with all addendums, including the lease agreement. So despite having this document for close to 2 months, they (my mortgage company) decide to read it 2 days before settlement, and subsequently decide that this is an investment property, therefore they will not approve the loan as this agreement stands. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?! So while my realtor and I talk about our different options, I get a call from my mother to tell me my Aunt's mother died that morning. I just wanted to crawl into a dark hole. Why was all this happening in the first place - and why all at the same time???
And wait - it's not over. I'm not sure i've mentioned anything about the feral cats we captured back towards the end of December. A Feral cat had a litter in our backyard sometime in the fall. We were able to catch two of them right around Christmas - we think they were probably at least 3 months at that point. We've been trying to socialize them, but no luck. They'll play around and explore the house and even come up to sniff me, but they won't let me touch them. The plan was to keep them inside during the winter, get them fixed, then let them back out when the weather got nicer, and continue to feed them outside.
We found a place nearby who fix feral cats and give them shots/tests fairly inexpensively. They lent us two cages to bring them in. We would have to drop them off between 7 - 9 pm on Monday night and pick them up between 7 - 9 pm Tuesday night. We realized it would be difficult to catch them both in the same room - once one of them set the trap door, the other would run. So we seperated them in different rooms. We caught Nita no problem. Westbrook on the other hand, was more difficult. She kept trying to run back into the back room (which is their home so to speak), repeatedly banging herself into the sliding glass door. Then, she hid somewhere - we couldn't find her. And time was running out - so, we took Nita to get fixed. I was so distraught - poor Nita was petrified -and poor Westbrook was probably hurt and scared as well and we couldn't find her. I was emotionally exhausted by the end of Monday.
I don't want to make this a novel (I realize i've already submitted the mini-novel version), so in the end, everything worked out. It was stressful and busy up until settlement on Wednesday at 3 pm - but by 4:30 pm that day, the condo was mine. The auto-glass guy came in the later part of the afternoon and it's all fixed now. It was a hard week for my Aunt, Uncle and cousins. The funeral was on Friday, the cemetary was 2 hours away (in North Jersey) from the church (in the Oak Lane section of Philadelphia). We had family come and stay from Maryland. I somehow made the deadlines at work only being in the office 2.5 days because of all these other issues I had to tend to. And both cats are back in the backroom, back to their old selves (although we are going to try to catch cage Westbrook next week to get her fixed).
This week was a bit extreme, but the type of week that it is has been somewhat typical for me since I began working for my new job the end of February - only I would be spending the most of the time at work or events for work. Notice the one thing I didn't talk about is my training. The biggest struggle for me. I'm lucky if I get in half of the workouts that my coach schedules for me each week. I feel like i'm gaining more weight and my progress is moving backwards in regards to my athletic performance. My first Tri of the year is scheduled for tomorrow, May 18th, in Columbia Maryland. With all the events of the week - mostly due to the funeral and out of town family visiting - I emailed with my coach and told him I just don't think I could do it this weekend. Physically, I feel incredibly unprepared, but what's worse is mentally and emotionally. I'm just not there. The one thing he told me is that I could go and finish any race I wanted to right now - but it's the difference of "just hoping to finish" or having performance goals. He also told me to ask myself why i'm doing this and mentioned what would be the point of doing it if I didn't enjoy it but instead just had it cause me more stress. Of course he's right on all accounts - so while I hate feeling like i'm a quitter, I decided I needed to regroup and spend time with my friends and family this weekend.
So, i'm not sure what to take away from the tough week, but i'm glad to have experienced it and survived it, and i'm glad to put it behind me.
Let me start by saying - god damn Rod Barajas! As I type the Phillies game has just ended in a 6-3 loss to the Blue Jays. I was out to the movies tonight so I missed the game. As they were about to roll the credits, the "player of the game" was named - Rod Barajas. I was confused, because I knew he wasn't playing for the Phils anymore (Thank God! I would have traded him for a sack of balls!) and to be honest, I wasn't sure he'd be playing anywhere these days. But apparently not only is he catching for the Blue Jays now, he brought in 5 of the 6 runs they scored, with one at bat being a grand slam! Are you kidding me?? WTF!??! It was a good day if he didn't make a costly mistake when he was with the phils (like waiting for a guy to come at him at the plate with the ball in his glove, then standing up with his legs wide open with a straddle as he allows the guy to slide through his legs and score - pure brilliance this guy). I'd be amazed if I pulled up his stats to find he batted over .150 with our team. Couldn't stand him! Still can't stand him.
Anyway - what a week! It started out as a cold, windy, rainy Monday. I was working from home because my car had been broken into the previous Friday in the lot I park in at work, my passenger door window had been smashed. The earliest I could find someone to come and replace the window was Monday - and I had no intentions of driving into Philly and parking anywhere without a window. So while i'm waiting for the auto glass guy, i'm trying to get some time sensitive work done when my phone rings. It's my mortgage company. I'm very nervous when I see the number on my phone because it's 2 days before i'm going to settlement and as far as I knew, they had had everything they needed from me. Both I and my realtor had followed up with them several times the week before - and the week before that, but heard nothing.
But of course, because I already had this black cloud over me after my car got broken into, this couldn't possibly go smoothly. It started out with the loan closer needing me to resend my HUD from the sale of my NY coop because it's legal size and got cut off in the letter size they received - as well as some pages that were missing from one of my bank statements. Only problem was, I was at home, and all these papers were in my office. So I asked my financial manager at work to fax the documents over for me. Crisis diverted - or so I thought.
Then, I spoke with my realtor, who was going over my checklist with me for closing, and he asked about my condo insurance. I told him I wasn't planning on purchasing it until I would actually be moving in - which was August - since its mainly just a contents and liability insurance. But then he suggested I look into getting a Landlord type of insurance - I hadn't even thought of that. You see, the sellers were willing to settle early with me, so I could lock in a decent mortgage rate, but asked to rent from me for a little over 2 months after settlement, since that is when they were scheduled to move to San Francisco for his next residency. So I started calling around for different quotes. Meanwhile, i'm still trying to beat my deadline for work as well as try to find out the ETA of the guy who was coming to install the new glass.
While all this is going on, I get another call from my mortgage company. I had filled out my mortgage application on March 21st. As part of that application, I sent them a copy of my sales agreement, with all addendums, including the lease agreement. So despite having this document for close to 2 months, they (my mortgage company) decide to read it 2 days before settlement, and subsequently decide that this is an investment property, therefore they will not approve the loan as this agreement stands. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?! So while my realtor and I talk about our different options, I get a call from my mother to tell me my Aunt's mother died that morning. I just wanted to crawl into a dark hole. Why was all this happening in the first place - and why all at the same time???
And wait - it's not over. I'm not sure i've mentioned anything about the feral cats we captured back towards the end of December. A Feral cat had a litter in our backyard sometime in the fall. We were able to catch two of them right around Christmas - we think they were probably at least 3 months at that point. We've been trying to socialize them, but no luck. They'll play around and explore the house and even come up to sniff me, but they won't let me touch them. The plan was to keep them inside during the winter, get them fixed, then let them back out when the weather got nicer, and continue to feed them outside.
We found a place nearby who fix feral cats and give them shots/tests fairly inexpensively. They lent us two cages to bring them in. We would have to drop them off between 7 - 9 pm on Monday night and pick them up between 7 - 9 pm Tuesday night. We realized it would be difficult to catch them both in the same room - once one of them set the trap door, the other would run. So we seperated them in different rooms. We caught Nita no problem. Westbrook on the other hand, was more difficult. She kept trying to run back into the back room (which is their home so to speak), repeatedly banging herself into the sliding glass door. Then, she hid somewhere - we couldn't find her. And time was running out - so, we took Nita to get fixed. I was so distraught - poor Nita was petrified -and poor Westbrook was probably hurt and scared as well and we couldn't find her. I was emotionally exhausted by the end of Monday.
I don't want to make this a novel (I realize i've already submitted the mini-novel version), so in the end, everything worked out. It was stressful and busy up until settlement on Wednesday at 3 pm - but by 4:30 pm that day, the condo was mine. The auto-glass guy came in the later part of the afternoon and it's all fixed now. It was a hard week for my Aunt, Uncle and cousins. The funeral was on Friday, the cemetary was 2 hours away (in North Jersey) from the church (in the Oak Lane section of Philadelphia). We had family come and stay from Maryland. I somehow made the deadlines at work only being in the office 2.5 days because of all these other issues I had to tend to. And both cats are back in the backroom, back to their old selves (although we are going to try to catch cage Westbrook next week to get her fixed).
This week was a bit extreme, but the type of week that it is has been somewhat typical for me since I began working for my new job the end of February - only I would be spending the most of the time at work or events for work. Notice the one thing I didn't talk about is my training. The biggest struggle for me. I'm lucky if I get in half of the workouts that my coach schedules for me each week. I feel like i'm gaining more weight and my progress is moving backwards in regards to my athletic performance. My first Tri of the year is scheduled for tomorrow, May 18th, in Columbia Maryland. With all the events of the week - mostly due to the funeral and out of town family visiting - I emailed with my coach and told him I just don't think I could do it this weekend. Physically, I feel incredibly unprepared, but what's worse is mentally and emotionally. I'm just not there. The one thing he told me is that I could go and finish any race I wanted to right now - but it's the difference of "just hoping to finish" or having performance goals. He also told me to ask myself why i'm doing this and mentioned what would be the point of doing it if I didn't enjoy it but instead just had it cause me more stress. Of course he's right on all accounts - so while I hate feeling like i'm a quitter, I decided I needed to regroup and spend time with my friends and family this weekend.
So, i'm not sure what to take away from the tough week, but i'm glad to have experienced it and survived it, and i'm glad to put it behind me.
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Been a long time...
I'm sorry i've been absent from this blog. It's certainly not for lack of "happenings" in my life: The Season at my new job, my training, the first "race" of my season, PJ's first 5k!, my teammates, the birth of Owen Charles McHugh, becoming a homeowner again, cats and mice, Philadelphia sports, the fact that I miss my friends so terribly it hurts. I'm hoping to have the opportunity to correct that last point in the coming months.
It's late - i'm exhausted - so I will sign off but promise to update at some point in the next few days.
It's late - i'm exhausted - so I will sign off but promise to update at some point in the next few days.
Friday, March 21, 2008
It's Official!!!
As of today, I am under contract to be a homeowner yet again! This was all so unexpected. 3 weeks ago today, on a whim, I contacted a realtor to show me a few condos in the fairmount section of Philadelphia. It was more to be informational than anything - I wasn't planning on purchasing anything until the fall at the earliest. But then, I came across this spacious, outdated, empty condo right across from fairmount park in a 20 year old low-rise building with a single car garage. I couldn't let this opportunity pass me by, so we started collecting information to decide on what to offer. But, as I wrote in my last post, I was a day too late as someone else made an offer and executed an agreement. I was really bummed. But my realtor was committed to helping me find my new home, even if it took a year.
Every night, new listings that met my search criteria would be emailed to me. Last Thursday night, a listing with a fuzzy picture of the exterior of a building that looked very similar to the one that my "lost" condo in was sent to me. So my realtor and I rushed to see the condo. It was smaller but still a decent sized one-bedroom - in great condition. It has new rosewood floors, new kitchen cabinets with granite countertops, new washer/dryer and air conditioning condensor. It also had a single car garage as well as an open parking space behind the garage. The asking price was the same as the outdated one. It was almost too good to be true.
So Monday morning, my realtor and I were busy putting together an offer - it was off by Monday afternoon. Then we waited. and waited. and waited. 30 hours later, we finally got a counter offer. This negotiation process has been a long ordeal. The sellers wanted a July settlement date since that's when they're moving to San Francisco. I was fine with that only, I couldn't lock in a mortgage rate with it being 4 months away, so I had to make the deal contigent upon capping the rate I could lock in. Naturally, that made them nervous so they asked if we could push up the settlement date and they could rent from me for two months. I wasn't thrilled of the idea of being a landlord, but in the end, with lots of protection for me with the agreement my realtor put together, I as able to lock in a low mortgage rate, make money off the rent they will be giving to me, and have extra time to put more money away (to furnish the condo the way I want to). So after 5 days of negotiations and amendments to the agreement, all parties signed the contract today - so it's officially my condo to lose right now!
I don't want to get ahead of myself - there's still the inspection, and reviewing the condo documents, and getting the mortgage approved. But, i'm remaining optimistic and looking forward to being a homeowner again come May 14th!
I feel like everything is coming full circle - i'm finally in a career that I enjoy and can see myself in for quite some time and i'll be back in my own home in the neighborhood i've greatly desired to live in (and train in). I'll have a social life back. And i'll be within walking distance to my office. Please keep all your fingers and toes crossed and pray that all this comes through for me!
Every night, new listings that met my search criteria would be emailed to me. Last Thursday night, a listing with a fuzzy picture of the exterior of a building that looked very similar to the one that my "lost" condo in was sent to me. So my realtor and I rushed to see the condo. It was smaller but still a decent sized one-bedroom - in great condition. It has new rosewood floors, new kitchen cabinets with granite countertops, new washer/dryer and air conditioning condensor. It also had a single car garage as well as an open parking space behind the garage. The asking price was the same as the outdated one. It was almost too good to be true.
So Monday morning, my realtor and I were busy putting together an offer - it was off by Monday afternoon. Then we waited. and waited. and waited. 30 hours later, we finally got a counter offer. This negotiation process has been a long ordeal. The sellers wanted a July settlement date since that's when they're moving to San Francisco. I was fine with that only, I couldn't lock in a mortgage rate with it being 4 months away, so I had to make the deal contigent upon capping the rate I could lock in. Naturally, that made them nervous so they asked if we could push up the settlement date and they could rent from me for two months. I wasn't thrilled of the idea of being a landlord, but in the end, with lots of protection for me with the agreement my realtor put together, I as able to lock in a low mortgage rate, make money off the rent they will be giving to me, and have extra time to put more money away (to furnish the condo the way I want to). So after 5 days of negotiations and amendments to the agreement, all parties signed the contract today - so it's officially my condo to lose right now!
I don't want to get ahead of myself - there's still the inspection, and reviewing the condo documents, and getting the mortgage approved. But, i'm remaining optimistic and looking forward to being a homeowner again come May 14th!
I feel like everything is coming full circle - i'm finally in a career that I enjoy and can see myself in for quite some time and i'll be back in my own home in the neighborhood i've greatly desired to live in (and train in). I'll have a social life back. And i'll be within walking distance to my office. Please keep all your fingers and toes crossed and pray that all this comes through for me!
Sunday, March 09, 2008
Chaotic 2 weeks
I'm tired today, and I don't think it's only to do with losing an hour as we sprung forward last night. The past two weeks I was splitting my time between my old and new job. The old one is pretty much functioning without me and the new one needs both me and my clone to put in overtime, so i've parted ways with the old one. It feels pretty good to cut those ties.
Last week was a great week of training for me - 12 hours of workouts that I stayed on top of and executed the way there were suppossed to be executed. I felt great. Then, I went home shopping - I couldn't resist looking considering its a buyers market out there. I found the perfect place for me. A large corner one bedroom condo with views of center city, the art museum, across from Fairmount park. 1 mile from my work and it had a single car garage. It needed some work, which I was looking forward to doing. It had been on the market for 140 days. As I was waiting to get some answers regarding the property before making an offer, someone else came in and made an offer. I was one day off! I was pretty heartbroken.
This week of training went by the wayside - I worked 24/7 to beat some deadlines at the new job. Now that i've parted ways with the old job, i'm hoping to figure out a new schedule - now that we're into march and only 2 months away from the start of my season, I can't afford to not be on top of my training. That, and I start to feel like a fat pig when i'm not working out. I went to the Flyers game with my cousin last night. It was nice to catch up and watch an awesome game (we edged our way into the 8th playoff spot in the East with the win).
Last week was a great week of training for me - 12 hours of workouts that I stayed on top of and executed the way there were suppossed to be executed. I felt great. Then, I went home shopping - I couldn't resist looking considering its a buyers market out there. I found the perfect place for me. A large corner one bedroom condo with views of center city, the art museum, across from Fairmount park. 1 mile from my work and it had a single car garage. It needed some work, which I was looking forward to doing. It had been on the market for 140 days. As I was waiting to get some answers regarding the property before making an offer, someone else came in and made an offer. I was one day off! I was pretty heartbroken.
This week of training went by the wayside - I worked 24/7 to beat some deadlines at the new job. Now that i've parted ways with the old job, i'm hoping to figure out a new schedule - now that we're into march and only 2 months away from the start of my season, I can't afford to not be on top of my training. That, and I start to feel like a fat pig when i'm not working out. I went to the Flyers game with my cousin last night. It was nice to catch up and watch an awesome game (we edged our way into the 8th playoff spot in the East with the win).
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Daily Victories
Life isn't easy - but let's face it, I created my life. And i'm pretty happy with the life I created. Sure, there are things i'd like to change, and i'm working on changing. Changing my eating habits to be healthy and lose weight has proven to be extremely challenging for me. It's a battle that some days, most days it seems, i'm not winning. But i'm not out - just because I have a bad day with it doesn't mean tomorrow won't be a better day.
I started my new job yesterday - I was a bit nervous - my job entails responsibilities that i've never had before, and others that it's been years since i've done. But, i've been in this position before, where I had to learn and grow, and I was up for the challenge. I also have to realize (or rather I have realized) I know more than I think. I am prepared for this job. And most importantly, I have passion for this work.
I got to meet the dancers at a rehearsal and saw a run-through of one of the pieces in our upcoming season. They are all so beautiful - nothing moves me like contemporary dance. My Artistic Director called them my "babies". They are my babies in a way - it's my job to nurture them so they can continue to do what they do. It's my new family. I really felt like I finally came home.
I'm in a good place with my training right now. It's not too hard, but just challenging enough. I'm finally getting a more efficient swim stroke down - and my coach, who was an olympic trials swimmer, took notice of it. I had a good cycling class this morning - I was able to stick all the intervals in the appropriate zones and am starting to achieve a more efficient pedal stroke, engaging my hamstrings in addition to my quads.
I'm tired right - very tired. Training takes up about 12 hours a week - i'm splitting my time between the old and new job right now while in transition - i'm an active volunteer with my triathlon team. But i'm happy - i'm very happy with the life i've created and looking forward to making more progress with it all. What makes me happy is recognizing these daily victories - every day, there has to be something to feel good about. Today was my cycling class and upper body workout at my gym. What was your daily victory?
I started my new job yesterday - I was a bit nervous - my job entails responsibilities that i've never had before, and others that it's been years since i've done. But, i've been in this position before, where I had to learn and grow, and I was up for the challenge. I also have to realize (or rather I have realized) I know more than I think. I am prepared for this job. And most importantly, I have passion for this work.
I got to meet the dancers at a rehearsal and saw a run-through of one of the pieces in our upcoming season. They are all so beautiful - nothing moves me like contemporary dance. My Artistic Director called them my "babies". They are my babies in a way - it's my job to nurture them so they can continue to do what they do. It's my new family. I really felt like I finally came home.
I'm in a good place with my training right now. It's not too hard, but just challenging enough. I'm finally getting a more efficient swim stroke down - and my coach, who was an olympic trials swimmer, took notice of it. I had a good cycling class this morning - I was able to stick all the intervals in the appropriate zones and am starting to achieve a more efficient pedal stroke, engaging my hamstrings in addition to my quads.
I'm tired right - very tired. Training takes up about 12 hours a week - i'm splitting my time between the old and new job right now while in transition - i'm an active volunteer with my triathlon team. But i'm happy - i'm very happy with the life i've created and looking forward to making more progress with it all. What makes me happy is recognizing these daily victories - every day, there has to be something to feel good about. Today was my cycling class and upper body workout at my gym. What was your daily victory?
Friday, February 15, 2008
The Beginning of the Rest of my Life
I'm a little delayed in posting this, so some of you already know. I've landed my dream job! I will be the Managing Director of a Modern Dance Company in downtown Philadelphia! It's perfect! The company is in it's 8th season right now and poised to grow and I feel i'm in the right stage of my career to grow into a seasoned cultural leader as this company realizes it's potential.
I'm realistic - I know some days will be tough. But i'm ready for this responsibility. I'm coming up on 2 years the end of this spring of having moved back to Philly. It's been a chaotic 2 years. Changing jobs several times, tackling first marathons and triathlons and dealing with injuries, dealing with a difficult real estate market, dealing with psychotic men in relationships.
Now, I finally feel like everything is falling into place. I've sold my place, for a profit. I'm very happily single, which makes me feel i'll be more successful in a relationship if I happen to meet someone and if I don't, it doesn't matter, because i'm feeling quite fulfilled in my life at the moment! I'm no longer injured and am steadily progressing in my training, thanks to my coach and teammates. Now, I finally have a career that excites me. I'm anxious to wake up in the morning and make things happen!
In a few months, i'm planning on moving into the city, within walking distance of my work. I'm in no rush. I want to get acclimated working in this new neighborhood and i'd like to enjoy the pool at my mother's house this summer. But I feel like this year represents the Beginning of the Rest of my Life.
I was trying to remember when things began to change for me - when I started feeling unhappy. I had an amazing childhood. College was a blast as well as the first several years out of college. Even when I began my full-time arts administration career, I was still having a ball. So when was it?
Then I remembered how awful I felt when I learned I had cancer in October of 2004. That was the turning point. That's when I felt unhappy in my career, in my love-life, in living in New York. I was done - I was over it all.
So, this transition has lasted for close to 3 and a half years. I don't know if i'm totally in the clear. But the future is looking much brighter for me. I feel much happier - so that says something. Now, if only we can get the Republicans out of office, 2008 will be a great year!!
I'm realistic - I know some days will be tough. But i'm ready for this responsibility. I'm coming up on 2 years the end of this spring of having moved back to Philly. It's been a chaotic 2 years. Changing jobs several times, tackling first marathons and triathlons and dealing with injuries, dealing with a difficult real estate market, dealing with psychotic men in relationships.
Now, I finally feel like everything is falling into place. I've sold my place, for a profit. I'm very happily single, which makes me feel i'll be more successful in a relationship if I happen to meet someone and if I don't, it doesn't matter, because i'm feeling quite fulfilled in my life at the moment! I'm no longer injured and am steadily progressing in my training, thanks to my coach and teammates. Now, I finally have a career that excites me. I'm anxious to wake up in the morning and make things happen!
In a few months, i'm planning on moving into the city, within walking distance of my work. I'm in no rush. I want to get acclimated working in this new neighborhood and i'd like to enjoy the pool at my mother's house this summer. But I feel like this year represents the Beginning of the Rest of my Life.
I was trying to remember when things began to change for me - when I started feeling unhappy. I had an amazing childhood. College was a blast as well as the first several years out of college. Even when I began my full-time arts administration career, I was still having a ball. So when was it?
Then I remembered how awful I felt when I learned I had cancer in October of 2004. That was the turning point. That's when I felt unhappy in my career, in my love-life, in living in New York. I was done - I was over it all.
So, this transition has lasted for close to 3 and a half years. I don't know if i'm totally in the clear. But the future is looking much brighter for me. I feel much happier - so that says something. Now, if only we can get the Republicans out of office, 2008 will be a great year!!
Friday, February 01, 2008
In the Moment
It's become more apparent to me recently how difficult it is to remain present in the moment. To not worry or daydream about the future or reminisce about the past. It's almost impossible for me to do.
If I can stay true to where I am at that particular moment, I think i'll make the most progress, specifically in regards to my training.
For instance, yesterday morning I was at my cycling center working on a sub-LT interval. 3 minutes in zone 3 with a cadence of 60-70 rpm followed by a 2 minute interval in zone 3 with a cadence of 90-100, then a 1 minute recovery in zone 1 at 90-100 rpms, so on and so forth. The total interval lasted about 45 minutes. Keeping my watts at about 170 for 45 minutes isn't impossible, but still a bit challenging. I had to keep reminding myself I needed to focus on that 3 minute block, of keeping my watts and rpms in range, and making the most efficient pedal stroke possible - it doesn't matter what happened in the previous block and only a slight thought of what gear i'll shift into and movement i'll make to get into the next block. But in that moment, I have to achieve what the goal is for that block.
Could you imagine how different life would be if we all could live like that - do or be the best you can do or be at that one particular moment? It's one of my aspirations this year.
I know i've been absent from posting for a bit. I started writing some blog entries and have saved drafts but haven't finished. They were about reflecting on what happened and what I learned in 2007 and how i'm going to apply those lessons to 2008. I will eventually finish that post and will update you to what's happening in my life.
If I can stay true to where I am at that particular moment, I think i'll make the most progress, specifically in regards to my training.
For instance, yesterday morning I was at my cycling center working on a sub-LT interval. 3 minutes in zone 3 with a cadence of 60-70 rpm followed by a 2 minute interval in zone 3 with a cadence of 90-100, then a 1 minute recovery in zone 1 at 90-100 rpms, so on and so forth. The total interval lasted about 45 minutes. Keeping my watts at about 170 for 45 minutes isn't impossible, but still a bit challenging. I had to keep reminding myself I needed to focus on that 3 minute block, of keeping my watts and rpms in range, and making the most efficient pedal stroke possible - it doesn't matter what happened in the previous block and only a slight thought of what gear i'll shift into and movement i'll make to get into the next block. But in that moment, I have to achieve what the goal is for that block.
Could you imagine how different life would be if we all could live like that - do or be the best you can do or be at that one particular moment? It's one of my aspirations this year.
I know i've been absent from posting for a bit. I started writing some blog entries and have saved drafts but haven't finished. They were about reflecting on what happened and what I learned in 2007 and how i'm going to apply those lessons to 2008. I will eventually finish that post and will update you to what's happening in my life.
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