Santa Barbara

Great weekend of training with Kebby, Brit and Stephanie. Went up to Santa Barbara on Friday and got in two rides, one run and about five bottles of wine.  Hey!  They were red...that counts as antioxidant supplementation....right?

We got up Saturday morning and drove to wine country and did a ride called the Sideways wine tour ride.  Went past several of the landmarks in the movie and got in some good solid climbing.  The road was long with a wide shoulder so I was able to drop into the aero position  for long stretches.  No doubt about it, the shoulders and neck are not ready for Ironman Coeur d' Alene by a long shot.  The legs felt good though and we got in 40 miles of rolling hills.

Sunday was going to be a recovery ride but I should have checked the map.  The second road we turned on was called mountain road.  And in California, they generally know their mountains.  We spent the first half hour of the 15 mile ride climbing hard. Brit and Kebby took off like banshees and I didn't see them until they stopped at turns to wait  The road then flattened and we were granted an incredible view of the ocean as we road the top part of the ride.  The last half was almost all down hill and was a great way to end.  Followed up with a two mile transition run with 8:35's per mile.

Unfortunately, the knees are a bit sore, so I'll probably have to ice and take a few days off.

Consistency

Have managed to maintain a bit of consitency this week. Lifted on Monday and got in a three mile trot today. I think I'm at least conditioning myself to get something done before work. Hopefully, this incredible discipline will carry over to when I actually start training.

On a lighter note, I sent a note to Scott's new coach warning her about what she's getting in to. Despite my prediction of dire consequences, she replied that she was keeping him as a student.

Big Mo

Well...looks like the momentum of seeing Chrissie Wellington carried over for at least a day. Got up early and headed out to the mountains with Kebby and Steph.

We did the Laguna ride which starts in Pine Valley and goes up at 6 to 9% grade for the first 12 miles. We turned around at a Ranger station and extended the downhill past pine valley for another 3 miles.

I felt decent the whole day and was pleased with the workout. Kebby and Steph both kicked tail too. Kebby spent the day riding ahead then descending to the back of the group before passing everyone on the way up again. Despite a nine mile run on Saturday, Steph was strong too. About half way up Laguna, she dropped the hammer and dissapeared until a malicious bee stung her and slowed her down.

Officially, I start my Ironman Coeur d' Alene training on November first but this was one of the best "non-training" days I've had to date.

Built for Speed

Had a slightly below average week in terms of working out. Got in one run, one bike and one session in the weight room but took off Thursday and Friday.

Highlight of the week was seeing Chrissie Wellington speak at Coastal Sports on Friday night. I received an e-mail on Thursday afternoon from Coastal saying that Chrissie was going to be doing an interview with Bob Babbitt and that it was open to the public.

I went over right after work and met up with Kebby and our neighbor Stephanie. Chrissie walked in about 20 minutes early without much fuss. It didn't take more than one look to tell that she was "cut from different cloth" so to speak. She was taller than I expected, quite tan (especially for a Brit) and her legs looked like they were made of cold rolled steel! No kidding, her calves looked like they were going to explode off of her legs. Her arms were thin and muscular and her back was absolutely shredded.

She and Bob sat down in front of the crowd and went through a 20 minute interview. Have to say, she was very very impressive. While being humble and funny, there was no doubt that she was also quite confident of her abilities. Interesting enough, she said that she doesn't train with a power meter or a heart rate monitor. I'm sure the polar and srm reps were pretty disappointed to here that!

A positive for me was that the interview left me so motivated that I was able to drag my but out of bed today and actually get in a swim. Let's hope that I keep the momentum and get in a decent ride tomorrow.

Big Bear

Headed up to Big Bear with Kebby and the dogs this weekend. This was the first time that I'd been up to Big Bear and was surprised at (1) the beauty of the place, (2) the altitude (over 7,000 feet) and (3) that it could snow in early October.

We checked into the cabin in the dark and could tell that the temparature was dropping. Not a huge deal since we had plenty of cold weather rides on the Silver Comet in Georgia. But...when I woke up in the morning to get everything ready, I literally stumbled on the stairs when I looked out the window. I stared dumbfounded at a blanket of white! First snow of the season...what luck! Especially since the forecast called for clear.

Since it was a fairly light dusting, we decided to head into town and explore. We'd ride later in the afternoon. First stop was Starbucks and then we headed over to the local bike shop to hang for a while. The shop (Big Bear Bikes) was the epitomy of a local shop. Kinda messy, bike parts everywhere and a couple of really laid back dudes working. I was wearing an Ironman hat and one of the guys asked me which races I'd done. It felt good to tell him that I did IMAZ in April and was signed up for CDA in June. He kidded me that triathletes have to pay double since they were generally faster than him. The best part though was that roadies had to pay triple (because of attitude...not speed). Seems that most of the bikers in the area rode the proverbial "fat tires".

After lunch, the snow had pretty much melted away and we saddled up for a ride. It wasn't a barn burner in terms of distance but the altitude, the wind and the 9 to 14% grade made me feel like I had at least done something. We ended up riding for just under an hour.

After knocking out a tail light on the jeep when I slid down the still iced over driveway, we headed back to Starbucks to watch the end of the Hawaii Ironman on the computer. Really cool that Chrissie Wellington and Craig Alexander won. I couldn't think of two better representatives for our sport.

We finally called it a night around 10:00 pm (wow...talk about partying) and headed back to the cabin.

Uneventful drive back to San Diego Sunday. Let's hope for a solid week of training this week.

Short Run

Got a quick 2 1/2 mile run in this morning. Kebby went for a ride but I felt like I needed to get some shoe time on the pavement.

Back at it

Took yesterday off for recovery. Legs were a bit tired from the ride in the hills. Got up before work this morning and hit the weight room. Nothing too intense but at least I kept some momentum from the weekend.

I still plan on officially starting my training in November. Will probably sign on with Sergio at San Diego X training. He has partnered with Chrissie Wellington's coach and offers an interesting training program that is lighter on volume and has you go by feel (I think).

Some of the details can be at Ironguides.net.

Head for the hills!

Got in a good ride near Pine Valley this morning. Kebby, Steph and I made the drive in-land to the mountains and climbed Mount Laguna. Started in Pine Valley and began climbing immediately. 15 Miles of climbing at about a 6% grade did a number on the legs. Total ride was 30 miles.

Oh...and the picture is the bike start at Ironman CDA. Has nothing to do with the ride today. Of course it does scare the shit out of me. So I guess that's good.

Family in the house

Mom and sister came in from L.A. (Los Angeles...not Lower Alabama) last night. They left this afternoon and we basically spent the time eating and talking. No working out going on today. Lots of desert and coffee though.

Hope to make up for it by getting in a good ride on Sunday though.

That's a wrap

Well, I'm closing the book on the week of training. All in all I'm satisfied. Got a short (3 miles) run in on Thursday and a 35 minute bike ride in on Friday. Had another session with "Stretch to Win" trainer Friday afternoon.

Family coming in town tonight so will probably be a light weekend.

Still, since I'm really just getting ready to train, I'm feeling pretty good about the week.

Rubberband man...not

Got up and did a 45 minute ride with Brit and Steph. After that went down to see a pt that specialized in a technique called "stretch to win". It's a fairly gentle routine that (in theory) helps you gain flexibility. The therapist straps one of your legs down and then bends the other like a pretzel. I have to say that I do feel a little bit more flexible after the session. A little lighter in the wallet too. Who knows, if it keeps me from getting injured it will be worth every penny.