I get by with a little help from my friends...

Apologies to John, Paul, George and Ringo but I'm changing that to "I get by with a Lot of Help from my friends".

Back from Kona and have started to put the experience into perspective. Will write up a race report later but in short, the race was hot, humid and (at least for me) hard. Heat and humidity have never made for great race conditions and Saturday, they were present in abundance. I tried to stay on top of my salt tabs but by the time the bike was done, I was too. Almost. I made it through about mile eight on the run before I was experiencing full body cramps. I knew I was in big trouble when I tried to wipe the sweat out of my eyes and my bicep cramped. Chills followed and I was ready to call it a day. Fortunately, I saw my friend Scott and he walked with me for a couple of miles. I started to feel a bit better and even found a way to shuffle run. At my next low point, I once again had an angel land on my shoulder as Stephanie arrived on a bike and delivered tums and a dry shirt. That did it and I knew I'd finish.

As I mentioned, full race report later. But until then...thanks Friends!

Noggin Design

Just finished an 18 mile run that was more uncomfortable than I'd have liked. I ran in the afternoon, so the temperature was warmer than usual, probably around 75. Consequently, I perspired like the proverbial pig. Tried to stay on top of my fluids by hitting the water fountains on a regular basis but I couldn't help but wonder if the hair on my head (which is getting a bit long) was hindering my cooling a bit.

Now I'm pondering a buzz cut. A lot of the pros keep their mop short and it even looks pretty good on a few of them. No one can argue that Crowie is a good looking guy and he's just got a bunch of stubble on top. My mission for the next couple of days is to (1) find out if short hair provides any meaningful cooling benefit and (2) discern the shape of the noggin. If the head is fairly uniform and round...who know, we may have a hair cutting party.

Trying to get motivated for a swim now and will be up early to hit Palomar with Steph and Brit tomorrow.

Tick Tock

So, the clock keeps ticking toward Kona. Roughly three more potential big weeks of training to go. Funny how clear things get this close in to a race. No dips in motivation, no questioning why I need to watch what I eat, stretching and rolling find their way into my day. Just wish it was possible to bottle that kind of enthusiasm and take sips during the winter when working out takes a back seat to bread pudding!

Decent workouts over the long weekend with a six hour ride on Saturday and a 15 mile run on Sunday. Monday was recovery with just a quick weight room session.

Rode with Steph on Saturday for almost four and a half of the six hours. She's just a week off her 10 hr 40 minute finish in Louisville and seems to almost completely recovered. Kebby's coming along as well but I still catch a peek of her going down stairs sideways from time to time.

Thinking about trying to pull a group together for a ride in Borrego Springs at the end of the month. Conditions there should be very similar to Hawaii and Arizona for folks doing IMAZ. Will check out vrbo houses and see what I find.

Long time no post

A little slow on the posting recently. No real excuses. Training has been going well and I'm still relatively uninjured. Still marveling at the results that Kebby and Steph put up in Louisville. Both went under 11 hours and Kebby managed to grab a slot to Kona.

It goes to show you what a good couple of months can do for a person. At Oceanside, Kebby was coming off of knee surgery and Steph was doing her second half. Now just a couple of months later, they're both in a different league!

Plan tomorrow calls for five hours on the bike. I bought a red bull to help me get up and make it an early start!

Hot Hot Hot

Spent the weekend in Borrego Springs this weekend with Kebby. Great training location. Lots of empty roads with wide shoulders and heat a plenty. Got in four hours of riding Saturday with a core workout and light swim. Eight miles on the hot pavement sunday.

Recovery

Fairly light weekend planned. I'm feeling a little beat up with a sore left knee and left hip. I suspect I've been favoring my left side a bit even though I can't tell that I'm uneven. Probably makes sense to do some treadmill running in front of a mirror and stay aware of my balance.

Steph and Brit are off to Vineman this weekend. We're looking forward to following them on-line. I suspect we'll see them both post great times.

The Plan

So I made my payment to multisports and now have my plan. I had one for IMCDA too but probably only followed it half the time. The other half of the time I ad-libbed and did what I felt like or what felt right.

I'm going to try and be a little more disciplined this time. The one exception may be a few of my swim workouts. We've started swimming in the canal behind the house and I love the variety. It's open water and we can go for about 3/4 of a mile before we have to turn around. For some reason it is much easier mentally to swim for an hour in the canal than it is to do the same distance in the pool.

Workout plan for tomorrow calls for a turbo-trainer session which is nice since that's what we've been doing every Tuesday anyway. Kebby, Steph and I will be in the pain cave first thing in the morning. As an added bonus, we've brought in a couple of heaters and humidifiers to simulate race conditions.

Hammer time or pillow time?

Had a strong week of training....I think. Kebby left on Saturday and I got in a three hour ride after dropping her off. Ran and lifted on Sunday. Followed the normal routine with a swim on Monday and Wednesday and a good bike session in the pain cave on Tuesday.

Steph joined me on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, so those sessions were particularly intense. Thanks to my many hours training with Kebby, I felt right at home as Steph swam away from me on Wednesday and dropped me on the hills Thursday. Nope. No concerns at all. I've seen this movie before. Start together and end together but that's about all the "together" you get out of the "training together" with those two. It's cool though to see how much Steph has improved over the last six months. She absolutely ripped the hills on the ride.

Now the reason I said it has been a good week of training "I think" has nothing to do with the intensity of frequency of workouts. Rather it has to do with a note from my new bff - Heather. I signed up again for the multisports.com program for Hawaii last Friday. The first time I signed up, I received the password and my training plan almost immediately. This time it took a couple of days, so I sent a note saying that I needed the password and wanted to get training again.

I got the password but also received a very stern note from Heather saying that I shouldn't be working out at all for at least two weeks after IMCDA and shouldn't start training with any intensity again for three to four weeks! Wow. I'm sure she knows what she talking about but I think I feel fine. My question now, is do I really know how to read my body? How are you supposed to feel when you can train hard and when should you hold back? Obviously I don't know but my mission now is to figure it out.

Runnin legs

Starting to feel normal again on the run. Did a fairly easy four mile run up canon street this afternoon. Coming down actually felt worse than going up.

Whew!

Ended up getting in a nice ride today with five repeats up the tide pool hills. Came within a bugs but of having a catastrophic fall though. I rode over to Cabrillo and began the repeats. The legs felt great and I was having a great time. Unfortunately, things got pretty hairy on the third descent. I was zipping back down the hill when my rear tire popped. I heard it blow and started to slow down when the brakes locked and I began to skid. My rear wheel began to fishtail and for a moment, I thought I was going over the side. Luckily I was able to use the front brake and I popped a foot out and literally dragged it on the ground when I got slow enough to do so.

After checking my shorts, I crossed the road and found a flat spot where I could set up and make the change. After I pulled the wheel off, I saw where the tire had been worn flat when the rear brakes grabbed. I wasn't quite sure what to do, so I went ahead and put in the new tube and inflated. The pressure held for all of two seconds and that tube blew out through the hole in the tire. It was then that I became keenly aware that everyone I knew to call was gone, so I began the long walk home.

After about ten minutes a cyclist stopped and asked if I needed help. I told him about the tire and said that I would just walk home. Lucky for me, this guy was not only kind enough to stop but he was experienced as well. He said to try putting a dollar bill between the tube and the tire and seeing if that would work. Lo and behold it did! Never caught the guys name but if you're reading this...THANK YOU! If not, rest assured, I'm sending good karma vibes your way. I made it home on my patched up tire and proceeded to grab a bite to eat, put on a new tire and turn around and head back out. Got in another two repeats and called it a day. All in all, it was four hours from start to finish with probably three hours actually in the saddle.

Words that don't make sense

Well...I'm officially starting my training for Hawaii. Never thought I'd say (or write) those words. After a fair amount of debating over the "legitimacy" of the slot, I have come to terms with it. Wrote the big check yesterday and am gearing up for hill repeats today.

Back to Reality

Well...I survived IMCDA. Managed to finish with a 13 in front of my time (note that I failed to mention the number of minutes that came after the 13 but it rhymes with mifty mix).

Still...the entire experience was wonderful. Race report to come later but highlights of the trip include hanging out with Paula Newby Fraser and Greg Welch, meeting some great guys as part of the executive challenge and eating like an absolute pig after the race (if someone can explain why I craved hash browns and ketchup I'll buy you a beer).

I've now gone five days without working out and feel like I'm turning to goo. Plan is to start working out again starting tomorrow and begin "training" next week.

Weird start to a taper

So I'm a couple days into my taper and can't say that I'm pleased. In addition to a minor cold, I had an incredibly weird accident on Saturday. I was getting ready to go for a short ride and was looking for a spare helmet since my original had been sent with my bike on tri-bike transport.

I opened a closet in the garage and was shocked when the entire door came off the hinge and landed on my right foot with a thud. I can't describe how bizarre and unexpected that was! Still can't believe it. At a minimum, I gave myself a huge bruise on the top of my foot. At worst...may have a little break or fracture. The good news (if you can call it that) is that the damage is on the top of my foot. It's swollen but triathlon specific activity (i.e. pushing off) doesn't hurt except when my shoe touches the top of my foot.

The cold appears to be fairly minor so I'm hoping that it will clear during the next three to four days.

I guess that's a wrap

Finished my last hard weekend of training. We put in a seven hour ride in palm springs that had a little bit of everything on Saturday. I guess I should have anticipated wind when the route headed for an f'ing wind farm. I'm talking full blown fields of those giant white turbines. About 45 minutes into the ride we left town and headed north. The wind began picking up until it was (no kidding) about 35 miles per hour. When it was to our side we crept along waiting to get blown over (even had to walk our bikes over bridges out of fear of getting pitched over the side) then when we turned into it, we had moments where we were descending a 5% grade at less than eight miles per hour. Wild! The strangest part though was when we finally turned south and had the wind at our backs. For a period of time I was going about 35 miles per hour and it was absolutely still. I guess we were moving at the same speed as the wind and consequently, there was almost no sound whatsoever. Eventually we got out into the desert and the ride turned somewhat normal.

This morning, I got up and did a 14 mile run to close the book on my IMCDA training. While I feel fairly good, I do wish I had done more long swims during my training. And more long rides too. With more hills. Oh...and I wish I'd done a couple of big bricks. Probably should have thrown in a couple more long runs.

Oh well, nothing to do now but put in a quality taper and see what race day deals me.

Well...this is it

Last weekend for hard training. The great motivator known as "fear of death" has finally gone to work and I'm having no problem getting the training in now. Swam 3,700 meters last night (with great help from Kebby, Steph and Brit) and plan on getting in one last century ride this weekend. My knee will dictate how much I run on Sunday but after that, I guess the "hay is in the barn" so to speak.

Of course now I wish I'd been this motivated a couple of months ago but I suppose there is nothing I can do about it now. Thinking about heading out of town perhaps to Palm Springs to get some heat training in.

Gettin Close

Roughly four weeks to go and I kinda sorta think I'm close to ready. Did a 70 mile bike yesterday and a 16 mile run today. While the distance wasn't really close to ironman distance, I'm making an estimation of my fitness baesed on how I feel now. Not tired and not sore. I'm guessing I've got about two weeks of hard training left then it's time for the taper. If everything cooperates, I'd like to get in one more century and one 20 miler before starting to wind down.

San Diego Century

Wow! Long time, no post. No real reason. Workouts are going ok, just missed a few days posting and "got out of the habit".

Just a month and a half or so until IMCDA and I feel ok about my training. I'm convinced that I'll never feel like I'm doing enough but I think I'm in better shape than I was before Arizona. Did the San Diego Century today (second century in three weeks) and felt respectable at the end of the ride. While that is encouraging, I didn't swim 2.4 before the ride and I didn't really feel like running a marathon aftwards...so there you have it. Not doing enough.

I hope to get in a decent run in the morning and a long swim on Wednesday.

Oceanside

Finished my first race of the season yesterday. Kebby, Brit, Stephanie (and 2,000 other close friends) all did oceanside yesterday.

Good race for everyone. Kebby got second in her age group (and a clearwater slot), Steph had a great race and got a roll down to clearwater too, Brit PR'd and I got some great prep for IMCDA. While I didn't pr, I did learn some good lessons. First, I need to do more strength running (i.e. hills) and my nutrition was light on the bike. I think I'll be packing more bonk breaker bars during my long ride in addition to the infinit.

We took today off an absolutely pigged out at breakfast but it's back on starting Tuesday.

Happy Training!

Reg

What a great ambassador

Before I say anything about my training, I have to pay tribute to our homestay xterra athlete - Renata Bucher. She's been with us for about a month and I can honestly say that I've never been associated with someone who has so much talent and so little ego. Now don't get me wrong, she's competitive as hell in the pool, on the bike and on the run but as soon as the racing is done, she morphs into the kindest, most gentle person you'd ever want to meet.

Kebby and I definitely got more out of the deal than we gave. In exchange for housing Renata and her boyfriend Jim, we got to see how a pro trains, pick up some great tips and bask in the reflective glory so to speak as Renata won two races while she was staying with us. The first was an xterra in panama and the second was the Super Frog here in San Diego. The amazing thing about the Super Frog was the fact that she signed up for the 70.3 distance on a whim and rode on a borrowed bike. And she won the elite division! We'll be sad to see her go but will enjoy following her as she races around the world.

As for my training, I'm fairly pleased. We've got Oceanside next weekend and I feel I'm reasonable prepared for that distance. After that, I need to dial up the swim distance big time though!

A little more like it

I feel pretty good about this week's training. Managed to hit all of my short workouts during the week except one and got in a respectable weekend to boot. Did a 50 miler (ok...49.3) through Romona with Kebby, Brit and Steph yesterday and followed it up with a 12 mile run and an open water swim today. Oh...almost forgot, I also did a "stretch to win" session with John on Friday evening.

While it was a solid couple of days (at least for me), I am reminded once again how long a full IM is. After the ride, all I wanted to do was eat and nap. Wasn't really up for another 60 plus miles followed by a marathon. At least not yet!

solid but not stellar

I have to admit that I'm somewhat hooked on reading other people's blogs as they do their Ironman training. Prior to getting into this somewhat voyeuristic activity, I might have thought that I put together an A+ week. Now thanks to the ability to peruse the net and see every entry that contains the letters IMCDA, I have to classify the week as...well.."ok".

I managed to get all the workouts in except one and even popped out a 50 mile ride yesterday with Kebby and Steph. Both of whom were riding strong, oh by the way! Followed that up with a one hour run and an open water swim today. Still, compared to the centuries on the bike and leagues (that's a nautical term for lots o distance..right?) that my friends in the blogosphere are hammering through, my "solid" week feels solidly weak. Still, I'm generally pleased with where I am at this point in the year. Oh...and about that open water swim. Wow... talk about cold! I've got to do more of them to get used to the shock of putting my face in an ice bucket.

On a really positive note, Kebby and Brit both competed in the Fiesta Island time trial today. And they both ROCKED! Kebby took first overall woman at 25mph and Brit got second in his age group at 24 mph. That kind of speed makes me glad I've moved up to the "Long Course" where I can claim that I'm riding slow because I'm still in "Base Building" mode!

Reality Check

We're almost through our first week with Renata (our home stay Xterra athlete) and I have to say, it's been great and also very humbling. While Kebby can hang with her on the swim and on the bike, I'm pretty much tail end charlie on everything.   Renata really loves to train, so most mornings, she has been getting up to join us for our workouts then heading off with her coach - Jim Vance.

Our neighbor Stephanie joined us yesterday for a brick session and having four people made for a great environment!  The coolest part was probably when Renata did her session on the treadmill. The first indicator that she is cut from different cloth was the fact that she couldn't turn it up as much as she wanted (it only goes to 10 mph).  The second (and more significant indicator) was her form.  It was absolutely perfect! She did everything you ever read about related to good running form.  Controlled strides. Mid-foot strike, foot under center of mass and heels almost hitting her butt.  Words really don't do it justice but it was clear after about five seconds that I'm an age grouper and she's a very talented professional.  

Still, so far having her around has been everything we hoped.  Motivating and an educational look into how a pro trains.

     

Solid

Well..the Tucson momentum has continued, so I'm even more hooked on the training camp concept. Did the Great Western Loop last weekend and got in an 11 mile run the next day. Made through the week without missing too many workouts but I'm still light on the swim yardage. I've got a long swim planned tomorrow but it comes on the tail of a long bike, so I hope I can get them both done.

On a cool note, we're providing a home stay to a professional Xterra Athlete starting tonight. Her name is Renata Bucher and it sounds like she's winning almost every race she starts. I'm hoping it will be motivational to see how a pro trains day in and day out.

All that is good

Just came back from Tucson where a small group of us experienced what can only be described as "all that is good about the sport".

We spent four days running, biking and swimming. And of course, we were also eating, drinking and talking. Not surprisingly, after doing number two (drinking...not pooping), we mainly talked about triathlon.

One of the many highlights of the trip came on the first day when the entire crew went to the track to meet with Triathlon Coach Extraordinaire - Cliff English. For those of you who don't know, Cliff is one of the best triathlon coaches on the planet. He gratiously agreed to work with us for two days and was absolutely great! We started out with some dynamic stretching and much to our pleasure, his wife (Sam McGlone) joined us. She was incredibly down to earth and chatted about her rehab and her upcoming race plans. After that, we completed an easy three mile run and then moved to a grassy field. Cliff watched us all run and provided technique tips. We then went through a series of drills and finished up with a short Q and A session.

After a quick change, we headed for the pool. After an 600 yard warm up, Cliff watched us all swim and again provided some great technique tips. We finished up with some really cool drafting drills where we would hang on the toes or hip of the person in front of us.

In the afternoon, we got in a short one hour ride around Oro Valley.

On day, two we met up with Cliff again at Buzz Cafe. After a brief talk, he then led us on a ride up the legendary Mount Lemmon. Apparently, the Cafe Parking lot is the unofficial start for the ride because we saw at least 60 to 70 riders coming and going. There's a four to five mile ride in to the mountain, then you start climbing. The cool thing is that while the grade isn't too hard (5% to 6%), it never ends. Or at least it seems to never end. In reality, it does end after 25 miles at 9,000 feet. Due to time constraints (and snow), we had to turn at mile 12. On the way up, Cliff spent time riding next to all of us. Perhaps the most humbling part of the ride was when he was ahead of me with my neighbor Stephanie and he demonstrated one-legged cycling drills for about five minutes. What's humbling about that you ask? Well...that was exactly when I decided to pick up the pace and "close the gap". Only problem was that the gap stayed as wide open as the back door of the barn! I couldn't even catch him when he was peddling with one f'ing leg!!! Did I mention that Cliff (or Cliff Bar as we privately called him) used to ride professionally???

Anyway, despite the ego ding, the ride was just fantastic.

Cliff had to fly out that afternoon, so the rest of the camp was spent without our "big toe" (extra points if you get that movie reference). We got in a short run with hill repeats that evening. The next two days were pretty much a blur of run, bike, swim and core workouts.

So, just like with our Kona camp, I'm hoping that we can build on this momentum and have a couple of great weeks of training.

Rainy day but the sun will shine

Double whammy this week. Caught a bit of a cold on Wednesday and now it's raining. I've missed the last three days of workouts but plan on getting in a short run and a weight session today. Will try to hit the tide pool hill a couple of times on Sunday too.

We've got a trip to Tucson coming up next week, so I'm going to do everything I can to make sure I'm ready to train. Also, on Feb. 20th, we're going to provide a home stay to a professional xterra athlete for six weeks. Her name is Ranata Bucher and she's been winning almost every race she's entered over the last year. While it will be a change to have someone else in the house for a while, we're hoping that having a pro close by and seeing how hard she trains will provide a big boost to our motivation.

It is all that

We did the much discussed and celebrated "Great Western Ride" today. And even with all of the hype, it delivered. We did the "clockwise" version which has long continuous climbs. Nothing too brutal but very solid and pretty darn long.

We got lost after the country store and added some time and miles to the ride but made it back to the car in one piece and in good spirits. This is now my new favorite ride!

The only downer was my stupid garmin. For $700 I expected a bit more navigational help. Just a few miles before we got lost it completely locked up. It wasn't until after Kebby pulled out her i-phone and pulled up the map function that it started working again. Suspicious. Very suspicious! Then as if to make up for its mistake it started giving way to much information on the way home. Instead of beeping and telling me to turn just a street intersections, it started beeping and telling me when turns in the road were coming up. Great! Thanks for that useless information you incompetent paperweight! Never mind that I had no choice but to turn since it was just a bend in the freakin road with no side road, intersection or even driveway to choose from!

Ahh but I digress. Couldn't be happier with the weather, the ride and the day. Run tomorrow. I'll be interested in seeing how I feel.

Friday or is it Fry Day???

Not a stellar day with respect to training. Got up at 5:00 and slogged through an abbreviated swim. Busy at work and went through lunch with just an energy bar. Got home starving and ate a bag of some kind of Chinese or oriental fried things. I remember picking up the bag at Trader Joe's but I can't really tell you why I bought it or with certainty what it contained. It had crunchy little stick things, peas covered with wasabi paste and some kind of edible star.

Oh well, I'm hoping to do the Great Western ride tomorrow so maybe I'll stop the skid before it gets out of control.

Happy Training Everyone!

How much is enough

Just finished my morning "skill" workout on the treadmill.  Sergio claims that these are the most important of all the workouts.   On the run, he has me doing a 20 minute easy warm-up followed by 10 x 30 second all out sprints where I'm supposed to hold a high cadence and perfect form.

In theory I'm training my muscles to "fire" at a faster rate.

That all makes sense but I'm concerned about not getting enough volume.  I don't know about you but I think an Ironman is a reeaally long event, so maybe to train properly, one should do some reeaally long workouts.  On the other hand, he's done about a zillion half and full IM's so I have to give him the benefit of the doubt.  I'd still feel better with a couple of centuries under my belt.

On a somewhat unrelated note, I've found a new food and drink that seems to be doing some great things.  The ingredient is called Quinoa but it's pronounced "Keen Whaw".  I've been eating some for lunch lately and have noticed a marked increase in energy.  Not the energy drink kind of crackling energy, it's more of a steady glow.  It's out in a drink form now and you can get it at Whole Foods.  If anyone tries it and has a similar experience, please let me know.

Keep on Keepin on

Pretty good trend over the last couple of weeks. I'm hitting most of the workouts (13 per week scheduled) and doing the full workout most of the time. I'm sure there will be bumps in the road but it's like the great Crash Davis once said..."a player on a streak has to respect the streak...cause they don't happen that often".

And the beat goes on

Workout, work, eat sleep, workout. Repeat. Seems like I'm always working out, getting back from a workout or going to workout.

Good swim Monday morning with core work in the evening. Did the bike run brick with Sergio on Tuesday. Core and 2,500 yards of swimming Wednesday. And I just got back from a run on the treadmill this morning.

Off to work now and before you know it....yeah. Time to workout again.

But you know what....I kind of like it.

Sun Day

I'd guess that San Diego weather nets one a good 50 to 60 more "A" workouts compared to my old home town of Atlanta.

It's sunny, clear and almost 75 degrees today. Consequently, I had very few excuses when it was time to go do my swim. Went over to the YMCA and knocked out my 2,000 yard recovery swim without too much commentary from the "excuse monster". About a quarter of the way through, I stopped, looked at the palm trees and really took a moment to appreciate the fact that I was swimming outside in January. Crazy. Absolutely Crazy!

The swim came after a 90 minute run on the treadmill. I would have preferred to run outside but the plan from Sergio clearly stated that I needed to do this one on the the hamster wheel. Afterwards, it was clear as to why he mandated the treadmill. My muscles were worked but the knees, ankles etc. felt good.

All in all, not a bad end to the weekend.

Ups and Downs

Long hours at work this week meant mojo go bye bye. Tried to keep the momentum by getting up Wednesday morning for the swim workout. Got to the pool at 5:30 and managed to get into the water but that was about it. 500 meters later and it was back to the cocoon. Thursday and Friday were complete losses.

Fortunately, I had a ride Saturday with Brit and Steph and may have gotten back on the horse so to speak. We rode for 2 hours and 40 minutes in the hills around Romona. Good effort and I'm pleased. Legs are worked but not sore or injured. I guess it's inevitable that I'll have peaks and valleys during the training. The key is to not let a losing streak continue on too long.

Having friends to train with certainly helps on that front. I also think that training camps and weekends away for training will help too.

Not to get to philosophical but I'm of the opinion that the Ironman isn't one event. In reality, it's thousands of little events (and decisions) strung together over the course of six or eight months followed by one long day culminating (hopefully) with a finisher's medal.

Plan calls for 90 minutes on the treadmill tomorrow. Let's see if I can keep the new streak alive.

Driver's Ed.

Couldn't sleep last night. Lot of stuff on my mind. Nothing major but among other things, I had to get my CA driver's liscense. I passed but the test was harder than my GMAT.

For instance, As a non-smoker, I'm not too up to speed on the in-car smoking laws. And I didn't see a single question about smoking on the practice test. So one of my missed questions was about smoking with children in the car. Can't do it. Good! But how was I supposed to know? Also didn't know the DUI blood alcohol content level. Turns out it is .08. I guessed .05. Oh...and did you know that a DUI will net you six months in the pokey? Anyway, three hours, one eye test, one written test and $28 later, I'm legal. Yeah! Let's go get a drink!!!

As for workouts, I got a small brick in on Tuesday. 30 minute bike with a 20 minute run. Also got a very sad short swim in this morning.

What is epic anyway?

So, solid couple of days. Brit, Steph and I headed up to a ride near Ramona that Steph created. We started with a nice descent then turned for a very challenging 40 minutes of climbing. According to my garmin, some of the sections were up to 15% in grade. Fortunately, I never quite reached the "tipping (over) point" which for me is around 3 mph but there were sections that ended just in time.

After the tough climb, we had a nice descent then the ride flattened out nicely. We were able to get down in the aero bars and ride on some flats for a good while. Finished the ride in 2 1/2 hours and felt tired but not dead.

After a short rest, Kebby and I headed over to the YMCA and got in 1,600 yards of easy to moderate pace swimming.

So, while no single part of the three days (Fri, Sat & Sun) met the suffering threshold that would classify it as "Epic", I have to say that in total (3,400 meters of swimming, 10 mile run and a 35 mile bike with climbs), it came close.

And probably best of all, I'm not so destroyed that I'll have to miss my next workout. Who knows, maybe the "Method" method of training makes sense after all.

Sometimes the sun shines

Good one today. Stayed out later than usual last night at dinner and thought that I'd have a bad workout day. Fortunately, I was able to sleep in and head out for my workout after lunch. Plan called for 90 minutes easy running. I went out to Fiesta Island and started a slow trot. I was able to speed up and get into an easy rhythm of about 8:45 per mile. Felt great through mile seven then the pace started to drop and the knees got a bit sore. Nothing to bad and I ended up with a 10 mile run.

Thinking back to IMAZ, my first 10 miler came about three months prior to the race. I'm really pleased that we still have a good five months of training before Coeur d' Alene.

Just need to keep the momentum and stay injury free.

When does the fear kick in???

Amazingly I managed to get up yesterday and today at 5:20 a.m. to get in my workouts. While I'm pleased to have completed a decent week, I have no confidence that I'll be able to replicate my success.

On every occasion this week, I could have been easily persuaded to stay in bed. Raining out would have equaled "no workout". Cold morning - "negativo workouto". Having a good dream would have meant the workout is a dream. Just so happened that I was more or less awake every time the alarm went off and I couldn't really think of anything better to do.

The only light at the end of the tunnel is the knowledge that eventually fear will take over. At some point, the race will seem close enough that I'll start to panic. Then the workouts will be easy. I'm just hoping that the panic comes far enough out to get into shape.

Until then, get those sheep out of here and leave the t.v. on.

Morning Work Out

Got up this morning and did a brick. 30 minutes on computrainer followed by a 20 minute run.  Not a barn burner but hey...I got up and did something.  Check the box baby. Check the box. 

Laguna is Spanish for "F'ing Cold"

The plan for today...park in sunny pine valley (temperature 55 degrees) and climb mount laguna. Turn around...descend. Get in car. Come home.

Sounds simple. When we were leaving the car, I debated as to whether or not I should wear my wind breaker. Since I had long sleeves on, I elected not to add another layer. Besides, once you start climbing you heat up. We started the climb and after about four miles, I thought I had made a good decision on the jacket. At mile five, I started seeing the snow! At mile six, I saw the people on sleighs!!! By mile ten...a full winter wonderland. By then, it was too late. What goes up must come down.

I was riding with Brit and Steph and at the top of the mountain we all knew that the descent was going to be a big problem. We just didn't know how big of a problem. I suspect that the wind chill on the way down must have been about five degrees. Maybe zero! We started down and after about a mile, I had the full body shakes and had to pull over. The cold was terrible but the real problem was handling the bike when I was shaking so badly. We had to go a mile or two and pull over to recover all the way down. A little of half way, it started sleeting! Are you serious???

Eventually we made it to the car and called it a day. Next time let's try the desert!

Steel sharpens steel

The great thing about training in a group is the ability to build on each other's motivation. Went down to the strand which is a flat and windy stretch on Coronado with Kebby, Brit, Steph and their friend Kellan.

What could have been a very weak workout grew into a strong day. We did a couple of six mile race pace trips up and down the strand to start. After about 25 miles of riding rather than head to the taco shop, we decided to do a one mile transition run. About a quarter of the way into the run, I realized we were popping along at a good clip. We were going up hill and hit the turn around at 3:47. Since it was down hill on the way back to the car, we decided to up the pace. Finished the mile at 7:03.

When we got home, Kebby, Steph and I did a good ab session. I'm hoping I can ad abs to the end of every workout now.

Decent start to the new year!