Lyssa's Gotta Run

Ironman Lake Placid - aka The Best Day Ever!

2015-08-06T08:50:00.001-04:00

(Pre-race days here) Race Day! I slept pretty solidly from about 9:45 -1:30, and was wide awake and raring to go at 1:30, just as I expected might happen. I stayed in bed, reading and watching some TV on my iPad. I figured even if I wasn’t sleeping at least I was resting staying off my feet. I read an article about the fire stating that there was a chance the swim would be cancelled due

Ironman Lake Placid - Pre-Race Days

2015-08-06T07:15:00.000-04:00

Halfway there… I’ve been yelling and screaming and waving my arms at anyone who dares suggest to me that we’re nearly halfway done with Otzma, yet here I am making it the title of my blog post. Ok. I get it.

Conflict and Hope

2012-11-13T12:49:00.000-05:00

Over the last week I and my fellow Otzma participants have been participating in a seminar called Conflict and Hope. Our amazing staff put together an incredible journey that while tough and exhausting, allowed us to really dig into the conflict and see it from many sides while attempting to form our own opinions. We heard from historians, tour guides, the Rabbis for Human Rights, soldiers

Nike Night Run Tel Aviv

2012-11-03T16:24:00.000-04:00

I'm still not sure if this was a rave or a race or a dry land simulation of a triathlon swim, but it was definitely one of the coolest races I've ever done. Nike definitely put on a show! I traveled down to Tel Aviv with a friend and our jaws hit the floor when we entered Rabin Square. Excitement had been building since we got off the train with hundreds of other runners, and only

Status Update

2012-10-17T01:01:00.004-04:00

I know it's been so long since I've written here, but it's not for a lack of things to talk about. On the contrary - I sometimes feel overwhelmed (in the best way possible), because there is just no way to share everything and do justice to the experiences. My biggest writing block has been Yom Kippur. I just feel like there are no words for how meaningful it was spend the holiest day of

Forgive Me?

2012-09-24T15:27:00.000-04:00

My fellow Otzmanikim and I are Jerusalem bound at the lovely hour of 6 am tomorrow, to spend Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish year, in the holiest city in Judaism. It's a pretty powerful thing, I'm I am honestly looking forward to it despite the early wake up call. Prior to the start of the holiday, we'll be participating in several Yom Kippur workshops, including Torah Yoga (

Getting My Mojo Back, Running Israel Week 3

2012-09-17T04:27:00.001-04:00

Wow. Three weeks of running posts? The days and weeks go by so fast here, but when I look back on the time as a whole, you'd have a hard time convincing me that it hasn't been a year and I wouldn't have it any other way. I think it means I'm enjoying everyday and living life to the fullest. So now that I've completed my third straight week of running all over Karmiel, I'm thrilled to be able to

Random Thoughts

2012-09-15T15:32:00.002-04:00

Been thinking about a few things, but nothing major enough for a full blog post. So, bullets.... - Shabbat here is special. Even if you do nothing to observe it, it feels different from the rest of the week. It's more relaxing than a weekend day at home and I love the way it feels. - I feel so lucky to be where I am right now. Despite the hectic schedule, volunteering, 12 hours of Ulpan each

Israel and the Environment, Education Day 2

2012-09-13T16:01:00.001-04:00

Tuesday dawned brighter and earlier than almost every day on Otzma so far (except for our hikes the first two days). We boarded a bus at 6 am(!) for a day of learning about Israel and the Environment. I have to preface this blog post with a question posed by one of my fellow Otzmanikim at the end of the day. He asked, "If Israel is so environmentally conscious, why is there still

Marathon Thoughts and Running Israel, Week Two

2012-09-09T16:39:00.001-04:00

Aside from the one line of the really annoying Hannukah song from 3rd grade that is stuck in my head, there has been one constant theme on all of my runs this week. Marathons. Yup, you read that right. I've got marathons on the brain. I've literally been analyzing every minute of every run, thinking about how I feel, if I'm mentally tough enough to basically train myself to run 26.2, if I can

It's Not All Fun and Games

2012-09-06T16:16:00.000-04:00

So Israel isn't all just running and pretty views, though that is a big part of it. We have also been spending 12 hours a week in Hebrew Ulpan, a few hours on Thursday in Beit Midrash (Jewsih learning), in addition to our weekly education days that we have in conjunction with our ITF buddies. This past Tuesday was our first Education Day, Minorities in the Galilee. We first drove to a small

Running Israel, Week One

2012-09-01T16:52:00.000-04:00

At the end of my run tonight, I came to the realization that I just completed my first 6-run week in Israel (and first since tri training picked up in April). The thought made me smile, and also realize that I wanted to start a little series on the blog. Since this is supposed to be a running blog, and I do want to chronicle my running adventures here, along with all the other adventures, I

One Week

2012-08-29T15:41:00.000-04:00

It is incredibly hard to believe that we have only been in Israel for one week. It feels like we have been here for months already! Yet, at the same time, the days are flying by. I think it is because we have been so busy getting settled, learning our way around our new home of Karmiel and starting to volunteer. It's also amazing to me how fast a group of strangers can become like a family. To

Tiyul

2012-08-26T15:41:00.003-04:00

It’s hard to believe it has already been 5 days since I said goodbye to by friends and family. It’s also hard to believe it has only been 5 days since I left. On one hand, the time is already flying by, and on

Israel, Day 1

2012-08-22T04:34:00.000-04:00

Hey, just a quick post from my phone on my first morning in Ertez Yisrael (the Land of Israel)! We arrived safe and sound in Tel Aviv this morning after a surprisingly smooth and easy(but very full) flight from Newark. There were 20 other Otzmanikim on my flight, so not only did we get to meet each other before the flight, but our staff met us at the airport with a bus to take us to

USAT Age Group National Championships

2012-08-19T22:41:00.001-04:00

Stepped a little outside of my league this weekend and headed north to Burlington, VT, home of this year's USA Triathlon Age Group National Championships. I had qualified for the Olympic distance race, but opted to race the Sprint on Sunday instead. With my trip to Israel looming very closely (36 hours!) I was glad I opted for a distance that I was familiar with. You're reading the blog of one of

The Final Push

2012-08-07T05:09:00.000-04:00

Today marks two weeks until I'm on a flight bound for Israel, which means that my second 'A' race of the season is less than two weeks away. I'm trying to live in the present, enjoying every minute of my two weeks left at home, instead of only looking ahead to all of the exciting changes that are coming. But I do need to start packing. Does anyone have advice on how to pack for 10 months in two

Athleta Iron Girl Syracuse 2012

2012-08-05T21:57:00.001-04:00

Athleta Iron Girl Syracuse 2012. My third time at this race. So much for 3rd time's the charm. Here we go again. Another post, another race report with nothing in the middle. This blog is starting to feel like a PB+J with no peanut butter and no jelly. I keep thinking I'm going to have more time and more to write about but then the days go by and all of the sudden here I am, racing

Musselman 70.3 Race Report

2012-07-19T16:17:00.002-04:00