Training... Week 1

Week One... SUCCESS and not Scary! :-)

ok, so i have had my first week. Da Ta... and i am still here.  just kidding.

it has been great.  the coaches are starting everyone off very basic, which is awesome because they are making it fun and not scary.

we technically had "off" last Monday, but i did Crossfit (don't tell anyone), Tuesday was our first swim practice with tons of drills and i am not going to lie, they are definitely not the funnest thing in the world.  if you get the chance, swim (1) length of a pool (25m or 50m) on just your left side, both arms at your side, kick from your hips and face down to the bottom of the pool, only turning up to breath... let me know how much fun you are having and keep in mind my first swim was that plus a few others for 1hr straight.  i am not complaining, because the technique will make me a better swimmer, but man, not that fun. :-)  but there was a little icing on the cake... when i finish, i looked up to see one of my oldest friends, Jeremy Glazer, at the edge of the pool.  Randomly, he was there to check out TNT, but deep down, i know it was to see me. :-)

Wed was another off day and Thursday we had our first morning run. Now that was a challenging start for me, but ended up not to bad.  I had warned my coach that i am terrible runner, so she started me off on 1:1 (run a min/walk a min)... that was awesome!  especially, since our "warm up run" nearly wiped me out.  And No, i am not kidding.  this running part is going to be awful, but each week i should build up, so this thursday run i will be 2:1 and then 3:1 and so on.  so in time, i am going to kill the running part or die trying!

i also did Crossfit Thursday night.

Friday we had a homework pool assignment to do all those drills... so bright an early i headed down to the Culver City pool and knocked em out.  it was a "thrilling" way to start my weekend.  hee hee.

Saturday was running 101.. which i clearly need.  we did a 45min running session and we learned some new drills and running technique in regards to foot placement and cadence and of course breathing. We even had running experts come to tell us about sneakers and so forth... and little ole me got fitted properly and you are looking at the owner of a brand new pair of Brooks baby!  my first official running sneakers - after treadmill and street tests!! Wahooo!! i think i am going to have some happy feet...

and then finally, sunday, we had a breezy 7mi ride.

it was great.  but ya know what is really great, is having this team through TNT.  every other race i have trained for, i have done on my own or through group rides or swims, but nothing official and definitely not my own "team." it is nice to accountable them and to learn the proper techniques to be more efficient in each area.  i can truly say, that i think this entire experience is going to be great.  going into it, i was exited about the finish line at Cozumel and of course training, but now i am more looking forward to the journey that i am going to go through, mentally and physically to get there.  i think it is going to be amazing.

anyway... i know this was a very tactical post about the training week.  just so you know, they won't all be like this.

anyway... i am attaching a few pictures from the swim and my morning runs.

i hope to update twice a week.

thanks again for your support.

Love,
Rach

   

Glazer and Griffin

Behind an Ironman

Hello my dear friends and family,

By now you are aware that I have embarked on the journey to become an Ironman... or IronWOMAN I should say.

My entire life I have been an athlete and too be honest, I'm not the best athlete, but I'm not the worst either. I enjoy the thrill of the game and races, and if you ask anyone they will tell you I am "slightly" competitive, but that being said, I also know that I am not going to place on the podium and I am OK with that. As long as I am having fun, that is all that really matters to me.

I have been doing triathlons on and off since 2006 and have always had the sneaky desire to do an Ironman, but didn't think it would be something that "I" could do. After all, I HATE running and who really wants to run a marathon AFTER swimming 2.4 miles in the ocean and biking 112miles?? ... but then I got to thinking. Why Not? I can do that, right? Maybe? And the answer was YES! Like my mom and dad always said: "You can do anything if your put my mind to it."

So, here we are... I am committed to doing the 2014 Cozumel Ironman on November 30th. Crazy, right!?!?! The next 10 months are going to be extremely challenging, exhausting and of course, FUN! I am super excited of what lies ahead and did I mention -- scared out of my mind? :-)

To help me train properly, I have joined Team in Training. it is an excellent organization that helps athletes train for endurance events all while raising money for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society -- please donate to in support of me and this amazing cause. http://pages.teamintraining.org/los/VineHIrn14/RachelHGriffin

I will be updating this blog regularly to share with you all my progress as well as what I would assume to be amazing and hysterical stories of my trials and tribulations along the way. So please check back from time to time as I am sure you will have a good laugh... whether with me or at me! :-)

Thanks for you love and support...

Love always,

Rachel

Update...

Hey everyone,

I know I have been slacking on the updates. I promise to update soon with my adventures to Birmingham, Toronto, Stuck in NY becasue of the Iceland Ashes, Paris, and Cinque Terra.

Stay tuned!

Lot of Love and Laughs,

Rach

Random Videos of Europe

Hey Everyone,

As we all know, I LOVE to travel, and thankfully, my new job has allowed me to do just that! Some of my journeys have been with the santuary of the Euro-Rail others by flight, but, i am not complaining, because i have been able to inform you all of all the amazing places throughout the world and i have been able to edit many of the videos i have taken. Granted, some were from my adventures in 2007 but most of them are from this past year.

Enjoy and love always,

Rachel

Barcelona, Spain


Galway, Ireland


Dublin, Ireland


London, UK


Prague, Czech


Salzburg, Austria


Santiago, Spain


Zorbing, Switzerland

Malaga & Marbella, Spain

IN HONOR OF MY DEAR FRIEND LAURA'S MOM, SIRKKA MAIRE HAIKONEN.

Hello my dear trusty followers,

Just before i headed to Nuremberg for work, my friend Laura's mom passed away suddenly. It was heartbreaking and after being down that road before with the passing of my own mother, i knew i had to be there for her, as it is not an experience one wants to face alone.

With that, I flew from Nuremberg to Malaga, Spain, where Laura grew up. Ironically i have always wanted to go there and maybe this was Sirkka's way of getting me there, as she knew that i wanted to go there, too!! She was a very sweet lady with a big heart. So I am glad i was there with her friends and family to say good bye, but i am also glad i was able to experience Malaga with such a great family and friends.

Seeing a city through a "local's" eyes makes that city that much more interesting and exciting and fun. I saw this beautiful park with a playground on one of our walks around town and Laura and her sister told me that they used to hang out there all the time as kids, but only on one side and the other side was for "the other kids." the way it was said made me think: LOST or West Side Story. I couldn't quite put my finger on it and i think the girls saw that and explained... needless to say, it was more West Side Story! :-)

So, Malaga is beautiful and simple and not very touristy, granted i was there in February and not prime season where i can imagine it gets crazy, but i really liked it. It felt like home.

I don't know how many of you know where Malaga is, but it is the Southeast coast of Spain on the Meditterranean Sea. The water was a bit chilly but clear and amazing anyway. The Shells on ths beach, gosh, EVERY SINGLE ONE was beautiful and in perfect condition. It was so hard to decide which ones to keep, that i think i kept them all!!

And the kids there were adorable and outdoorsy. Instead of taking to drinking and drugs, these kids were doing flips on the beach and encouraging each other to get better or to try a different technique. It was amazing.

I highly suggest a trip to Malaga.

In addition to Malaga, Laura took me and her boyfriend to Marbella, Spain. Picture Malaga was kind of like Venice Beach, CA and Marbella is like Newport or Laguna Beach, CA. Both are amazing, yet Marbella clearly has a bit more "investors." ... everywhere we turned were massive yachts and sailboats, it was gorgeous but almost too much. but i still loved it!

I think in my next life, i am going to come back as a Spainard. I LOVE SPAIN!!!

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the videos and pics... although i just noticed i don't have pics of Marbella, so refer to the video! :-).

There is more to come as i am in Paris right now!! :0) and WOW, i forgot how amazing this city is!!!

Stay tuned and lots of love.

Nuremberg, Germany

So... In early February, i found my way to Nuremberg, Germany for work.

Surprisingly, it was actually fun and the city is quite magnificent. The trade show was not your typical show, in fact, if you have ever been to the Javitts Center in NYC and thought that was big, think again! The Nuremberg International Toy Fair consists of 12 Javitts!! Unreal!! Thank god my internal GPS was working because that could have been a nightmare!

Anyway... in between meetings, my colleague and I took in the city. It was snowing, but not an obnoxious amount of snow. It was actually quite peaceful and inviting, if snow can be inviting. I think it also helped that despite it being freezing, there was no wind, so it wasn't actually too cold, so I thoroughly enjoyed being outside.

The city is breathtaking. There is this massive church that sits on this equally massive square. i imagine in the summer it is rammed with farmer's markets and tourist stands and all that funness!

Anyway... we walked around the city and over the canals that runs through it and up to the castle and took in the amazing view.

The rooftops reminded me a little of Prague, but still fantastic non-the-less.

Anyway... Nuremberg is a great city. Part of it is completely updated. I think we counted 6 Starbucks in 2 block radius, but i still enjoyed it.

Unfortunately, work dominated this visit, so i wasn't able to take in the sites, but i will be sure to next time!

Enjoy the video and pics!

Rach

Bath, UK

I am extremely late with this entry and for that, I apologize.

Bath, UK is an absolute amazing town. It is known for its Natural Hot Springs and great history and architecture. And i must tell you, the visit exceeds its reputation!

i highly suggest making a weekend trip to Bath.

Fortunately, I had the opportunity to spend a fantastic Sunday in Bath. Unfortunately, it wasn't longer!! But i will definitely be back!

My friend Laura and my cousin Martyn joined me on this fun-filled day. We walked through the Roman Baths and the checked out the sites and of course enjoyed a Tea with Jane Austin... OK.. obviously not the REAL Jane Austin but in the Jan Austin "Museum" which was basically a tribute to the MOVIE Jane Austin... not the book... with actual paintings of Colin Firth and Kiera Knightly! it was actually hysterical!! But to be fair the tea and dessert were amazing!

Did i mention that we enjoyed a delicious Sunday Lunch at the Smallest Pub in the World! Which was really quite cozy... the only HUGE downer with that Pub smoke/fire alarm went off the ENTIRE time we were there... and it was NOT pleasant!

The architecture and the river that ran through the city was breathtaking and the company of course made all the difference!