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.