Another week, another head cold...

Saturday I awoke to a stuffed up head and no energy. Another damn head cold. I'm averaging about one a month these days. Not sure what's going on. Anyway I decided to head out for my 4 hr ride anyway. The first hour was ok, cold but not raining. After that though the rain came, and it was heavy. I ended up making it 3 hours. This was followed by absolutely nothing for the remainder of the day. Sunday I woke up and was completely stuffed up. Fortunately I still have prescription Sudafed from a previous cold so I popped a couple of those. Met up with some of the group at Portland Running Company to see how long I could make it. To my surprise I was able to run the full 2 hrs. (16 miles). I was a little slow (7:47 pace) but happy I got it in. This too was followed by more napping and football watching. I did manage to do an easy hour on the trainer in the evening though to make up for the shortened ride on Saturday.
What now? Scott just posted my January calendar and wow... I'm going to be in good shape for AZ. I have a 23 hr week this week (which includes a 6 hr ride on Saturday) and another in two weeks. I think it's doable though. It is going to require some major time management and maybe a vacation day or two from work, but it can be done. The one thing I think I need to re-evaluate is my bike to work frequency. I am wondering if it is contributing to my constant head cold battle? I do have to get up about an hour earlier and it seems to always be raining. Not sure. I think during these bigger weeks I may need to cut back to once or twice a week. It's still good on the days when I have EZ recovery rides. It's a good way to get them done. I just feel bad because I don't want to be responsible for killing anymore Polar bears by driving my car. This is the picture I try to visualize when I drive now. It makes me not feel so bad. I'm actually saving a seal or two!!

I love the Internet...

Above is a test I found from a link in Sarah McMillan's blog http://roadcycling.loopd.com/Members/Sierrra/Home.aspx. It is a website with a bunch of random quizzes and calculators. The link she had was used to calculate the value of your body once you die. That is funny. I also liked this one, how many 5 year olds could I fight at once. Not bad, 24. Makes me feel tuff! Bring 'em on!

One Down, One to go

Not that I'm happy x-mas has passed, it just serves as one of the major milestones on the road to AZ Ironman and summer (a.k.a Sabbatical). New years is the last major holiday before the 3 month stretch of big volume training weeks with only President's day to break it up a little. Of course there is the 9 day training camp in Palm Springs in March that Santa left in my stocking...
Last week went well from a training perspective. It was relatively light, 12 hours. Key workouts where a 12.5 mile TT on the bike and a 5k run TT. The point of both was to see how recovered I am from last season and to get a baseline for my fitness level going into 2008. It went pretty well I think. The bike TT was done on a mostly flat course, no wind, and no rain. Avg MPH was 24.2. HR was low zone 5 and my legs never felt tired. I was very happy with the out come. The run also went well. I was able to avg a 5:57 pace per mile on the Leif Erickson trail between mile's 2 and 3.5 (out and back). This is the flattest section of the trail. I was able to get my HR up into upper zone 5 (max 188). Again, legs never felt fatigued. Last year about this time Scott had me do a 5k tt and my avg pace was 7:15 with my HR about the same. This gives me hope going into 2008.
This week is a 17.5 hour week with a good mix of low intensity long runs and rides with a few mid level intensity workouts thrown in. The big emphases this week is swimming. Scott has about 15k yards planned. I've got 7700 done already, so I should be able to get them all in before the weekend.
One more weekend of questionable eating and drinking before the switch gets flipped! Then it's all business...

Blah... Here it comes again...

Every year I get to a point when winter starts beating me down. It's like the cold damp moister finally seeps through my skin and moss starts growing on my soul. Wow, that was dramatic! OK, so it's not that bad. This year that depression has come early. I think it is due to multiple things. I am training more right now then I ever have in December. Commuting to work has put me out in the elements more then usual, and it seems like it's been extra cold and rainy this year. Yesterday was the toughest yet. It hit me after I got to work and took my musty damp cloths off and headed up to my desk. All I could think about was how am I going to make it to April? It seems like forever from now, especially with a couple hundred hours of training ahead. Rather then working I found myself on the weather channel looking at the forecast in AZ and trying to figure how I could spend a month or two down there.

But as I sit here and type this entry there is sun streaming through the window and into my gray little cube. It's SO amazing how much difference a little sun light makes. After growing up here I've come to learn that days like yesterday come and go. I know I just need to keep my head up and not let the weather defeat me. Most days when I am riding to work and it's cold, raining, and windy I feel like I am winning the battle. I'm not giving in and letting the dark dampness beat me! Besides, time goes by so fast these days, it's going to be July before I know it. That is when I start looking at the AZ forecast and think "I am so glad I live in Oregon". Someday we will hopefully have condos in both OR and AZ. Migrating would be ideal! Until then, Head up, rain gear on, and plenty of long weekends in AZ staying with family!

Weekend Wrap up

Dyno-mite! As JJ from good times used to say. That's how my weekend went. Saturday kicked off with a long ride from Athlete's Lounge. We had really good turn out, 13 people showed up. Four of us split off about 2 hrs in and headed up to Skyline via Logie Trail. We dropped down to hwy 30 and headed back up Newberry. That's a steep little climb. By the time I got back home I had ridden 3hrs 45 min w/ 3300ft of climbing. Once home I persuaded Murph to get out of bed and go for a short 20 min transition run with me. It was definitely an EZ pace as he was dragging behind for most of it. It was good though, nice to have the company. Saturday night was low key with a movie, spaghetti and some prep work on the new bike. Sunday was a 4 hr. Mt. Bike ride at Forest Park. What a mess! I don't think I have ever been so dirty, but it was a great change of pace. Nothing like bombing down a muddy trail with dirt flying up your nose and Bob Marley playing on the iPod.

I stayed on the major trails for the most part since it was so muddy. I ended up with 3hrs and 45 min on the trails and 15 mins from Saltzman/Skyline to home. Worked out to be almost exactly 4 hrs. Wow what a workout! I was beat when I got home. Took a little nap then hit the gym for a 40 min treadmill run and some weights/core work. The evening was topped off with an hour of bike maintenance and some stretching. I think we ate dinner somewhere in there too. It's hard to recall as I haven't been that tired in a while. Total for the week ended up @ 21 hrs.

The new bike worked out perfect! The only adjustment needed was the seat height. A 4 hr ride isn't bad for it's first time out.

I think it looks best dirty:

Here's the "clean" shot:

A good year, and I'm not talk'in tires...

Working in a corporate environment I am inherently indicator driven. I'm comfortable with spreadsheets, and like to see my data graphed. So after listing some highlights of 2007 in an earlier post I started trying to think of what tangible data I had to show that 2007 was a success. I thought maybe it's a financial indicator? That's too predictable, and something I would not typically share with everyone who stumbles upon this blog. Then I started thinking about my race times. They did improve significantly this year, but I still have a long way to go. Truthfully, they'll never be good enough, I'll always want to go faster. Then it hit me!! The "success" indicator for 2007 is.... drum roll.... How many new bikes did I purchase. That's it! As I've mentioned before, I LUV bikes. So what better way to sum of the year. Besides, the numbers have meaning. If you think about it, each new bike represents a different type of racing, or training. Each bike presents new opportunities and increased fitness which in turn should improve my overall fitness and allow for faster race times. So here's the breakdown corporate style:
2007 -
As a family: 5 New bikes
Personally: 4 New bikes
Bikes:
Guru - I won't go into that whole story again. Update though, I got it inspected and it's good to go. Bought some fancy black finger nail polish and you can hardly tell there was a scratch. I can, but most cannot. And my toes look pretty.
Jose - Bianchi single speed - This may be the best overall purchase I have ever made in my life. And it was by far the cheapest bike this year. I love this bike. It is the most fun to ride and it is the perfect commuter.
Scott Road bike - Finally a road bike that fits me. Unfortunately it's identical to Jen's. Oh well, nothing wrong with being a "cute couple" I guess.
Scott Mt. Bike - This one will be ready Saturday. When it arrived, the shop opened the box to find that the fork had been damaged in shipping. The good part is Rock Shock sent an upgrade as the replacement. Over a pound lighter then the one that was damaged. So it all worked out.
In the end 2007 was a major success. I'm hoping to get some pic's of my rides soon. Now I just need to find room for the them all. The old Mt. bike will be going to the CCC (http://www.communitycyclingcenter.org/) and hopefully be joined up with someone that can put it to good use.
Other updates:
My personal commuter challenge is in it's 2nd week and going well. So far I have only driven to work 1 day since I started. I picked up a bacterial sinus infection over the weekend. Fortunately I got on it quickly and hit Urgent Care Saturday morning for antibiotics. By Monday I was feeling better, but decided to give myself one more day of recovery before braving the cold temps. Other then that just training away this week. on my way to a 22 hr week and feeling pretty good. This weekend will be a challenge though with 4 hrs of riding on both Saturday and Sunday. Both days are supposed to be in the hills. I decided to mix it up a little and do Saturday on the road and Sunday on the new bike, up on the trails in Forest park. It's nice to have options. I should have close to 200 miles of riding, 30 miles of running, and 11k in the pool. Oh, and the other thing... After lying around all weekend sick, I had a lot of time to think about IMAZ November 2008. I (with Scott's help) decided not to do it. 3 races in 8 months is too many if I want to do well at any of them. I need to be able to focus on Canada and not have to worry about another race 8 weeks later. I need to let it all hang out on race day. Basically I would rather go for quality over quantity. My fortune cookie that came with my teriyaki chicken today sums it up best "Enough is as good as a feast".

Saving the planet 30 minutes at a time

I am at 2 days in a row now of ridding to work! Huge milestone I know. I decided to ride yesterday as a way to get in a workout. I forgot how much I enjoy it. It's only about 30 minutes each way on a mix of bike lane & neighborhood streets, so it's a nice ride. Unfortunately the weather people in PDX suck at their jobs and it was raining on the ride home, it was supposed to be dry until next week. I don't mind riding in the rain when I'm prepared for it, but yesterday I was not. I was on the single speed with no fenders, no foot covers, nothing but a wet ass and cold feet when I got home. I did stop on my way home though and picked up some full length fenders. What a difference! I was toasty and dry this morning on the way in. My new goal... See how long I can go without driving by myself. I've decided using the car to run errands on the weekends with Jen or at night is ok. But if I need to go anywhere on my own, I am going to try to ether run or ride. We'll see how long I can go. I figure by just riding to work I'll save about $60 to $70 a month in gas alone. I am also so much more relaxed when I get to work in the morning. I forget how much stress driving can cause. It's also nice to come up with a new routine. Packing my bag the night before, getting up a little earlier. Being strategic and leaving certain items at work so I don't have to haul them around on my back. We'll see how long I can make it.
Other updates... Not much going on. My new Mt. Bike is in and is being assembled. Should be ready in the next couple of days. Starting to crank up the training a bit. on track for 16+ hours this week. I am fired up too! After watching the IM world champs in HD this past weekend I am ready to hit it. Also, fellow Ironheads Dave and Ann Ciaverella ROCKED IM Western Australia on Saturday. Check out Dave's race report: http://try3sports.blogspot.com/. They are amazing, and I am so fortunate to get to train and learn from them. I had a crazy idea this morning... IM AZ in November!?! This year they are holding the race in April and in November as it makes the transition to a fall race only next year. I was looking at the calendar and wondering if 8 weeks is enough time to recover from Canada and be ready for AZ. The jury is still out on this one. Need to talk to the two bosses (Jen and Coach Scott). It's up to them at this point, If they say go for it then I'm in. Why am I such an idiot?!?

Year in review...

Last night I had a really hard time falling asleep. As I laid there I started thinking about the past year and ALL of the things that made it such a great year. Everything from fun road trips to experiences that I'll never forget. Here is a list of 10 things that came to mind in no particular order (except #1 is #1):
1. Jen finishing IMCDA - I have never felt so much pride and relief as I did when she emerged from the darkness that night with a smile on her face. In Feb this year the farthest she had ever ridden on her bike was 25 miles, 4 months later she's an Ironman...

2. Winning my first race - Scoggins Valley sprint tri: Had a good ride and came into T2 first. Took a second to look around and see what an empty T2 looked like. I hope to have that experience again some day.

3.My second group ride with the Ironheads- Garren got 45 flats that day, ok maybe not that many, but it felt like it. I ended up riding home with the Ironhead ladies. This was a little shocking. I remember being out on some road, not sure where. I was 2nd in the line behind Kaytee struggling to stay on her wheel at 24 mph. I was SO relieved when someone in the back yelled up to slow down. This was when I realized how strong the folks on this team really are. Since then I have learned so much from so many people. I have also made some amazing friends in the process. I always look forward to the group workouts now on the weekends. I'm not sure that I would keep doing tri's if I had to do all of training alone.

4. My Mom's new ride - I arrived at my Mom's house this past Monday after Vegas to pick up Murphy. When we pulled into the drive I was floored! A brand new Lexus SUV. If anyone deserves a new luxury car it's my Mom. Her first real new car ever I think. I credit my love for cars to her, she's just conceals her affection for them much better then I do.

5. Niece and Nephews - I talked to my 2 year old niece on the phone recently. This was the first time we exchanged words back on forth. It's amazing how she has gone from a baby to a little kid in a few months. My nephews experienced their first triathlon this year when they came to the Soma Half. It was very cool to see them on the course during the race cheering for me and ringing their cow bells.

6. Ride up Mt. Lemon with GW: Talk about an Epic ride. Mt Lemon in Tucson. 26 miles of climbing from desert to ski slopes with snow. Garren and I stopped for the best and biggest cookies I have ever had at the Cookie Cabin. This was an awesome day.

7.Trip to Victoria: A great trip! Even though I felt like crap Chris V. managed to make the half marathon fun. Stood in the rain and watched Rob & Erin finish the marathon strong.

8. Road trip to Canada Ironman w/ Garren: 3 bikes, 3 people, and a whole lot of crap. Who would have thought living out of Jetta for 4 days could be so fun. Same time next year, except I'll have a hotel room and a race number.

9. Mt. Biking @ Brown's Camp - Sure I sucked and I fell a lot. But it reminded me how much I love it! My new bike should arrive next week. Xterra next year?

10. Sleeping on the couch last week next to Murphy after he had tooth surgery - This was a long and stressful night. He had an infected tooth pulled last Monday and was still out of it from being under. Since he couldn't make it upstairs to sleep on his pillow in our room I decided to sleep on the couch next to him. He was so out of it, I couldn't help but think that this is what it could be like when he gets old someday. It really scared me, but also made me realize that I need to appreciate my time with him more. He is such an amazing dog, it's crazy how attached I am to him.

So that's the list. That's what kept me up late last night. Not bad, I'd rather be sleepless thinking of all the good things then stressing about the bad. Looking forward 2008!

What the hell was I thinking?

This was the thought that kept going through my head yesterday as I rode along Skyline in the snow/rain mix for 2 hrs. The harsh reality of IM AZ training hit me hard and all of a sudden I remembered why I swore to never do this race again as long as we lived in the NW. Oh well, I'm registered, not much I can do about it now. Expect more complaining in the months to come about the weather. With that being said, I'm anxious to get back to a heavier training load. We are back from Vegas, well rested and well fed. For every pound I gained around the waist I lost from my wallet! The black jack gods were not kind on this trip. The only time I was ever really ahead was when I won on the slot machine at the airport on the way home... Other then that the trip was perfect! We ate at a number of new places and watched a lot of football and basketball at some really cool bars. For workouts we did a swim in the Bellagio pool where we stayed. I used the http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/ website to zoom in on the pool and figure out the length. It is 55 meters long. What a great workout. I need to get in more workouts in a 50 meter pool, it makes a big difference. Here's a pic of the pool.

On Sunday we hit the gym at the hotel and did a treadmill run. 12 miles - 1.5 hrs, painful! I hate treadmills! This was by far the longest I've ever run on one, it went by pretty fast though.

Now the base training begins. Scott posted my schedule for December, he isn't messing around. It starts with 16hrs next week then up to 20 hrs the week after that. Not much intensity, just volume. I'm looking forward to it though. I'm anxious to see how next year pans out. Fitness wise I am so much farther along right now then I was a year ago. AZ IM will be here in no time!

Knee Update

My 40 min run the other night turned into a 20 min walk. Murphy was a little disappointed. I went to the doctor today just make sure there wasn't anything going on that I could potentially make worse by "testing" it every couple days. After an exam and x-rays he confirmed that it is a severe contusion and that I need to hold off on biking/running until next week. I don't think I can wait that long. I'm going crazy!! Sure I can swim and do core work, but it's not the same. I really don't like swimming and my core is weak enough that I can only do it a couple times a week. I've been hitting the ice and Ibu's pretty hard and hope to see some improvement by Saturday. I really want to make the group ride Saturday morning from Athlete's Lounge if I can. I only plan to ride ~ 30 miles, so hopefully my knee cooperates. I was planning to do the Hillsboro cross race on Sunday, but I guess that's out. Hopefully I'll be able to at least run a little by Sunday, we'll see. I'm just relieved it isn't something more serious!!

Old and Fragile

After a rad Mt. Bike ride on Saturday I am still recovering. Rode at Brown's camp with some really talented riders. It was wet and a little muddy, but not too bad. The trails have a lot of roots though. With little practice and too much air in my tires I literally fell victim to the roots. One fall in particular resulted in a pretty good bruised knee. It hurt, but was manageable. I really felt it the next day on my long run. I was supposed to go an hour and a half but cut it about 15 min short because it was so sore. Tried to spin on the trainer last night and no go, still very sore. My swim today went well. I'm hoping for a 40 min jog tonight, we'll see how that goes. No regrets though, the ride was outstanding. I can't wait to do more!! I just need to not try to ride over everything. I learned that toward the end of the ride. Apparently I'm not as agile as I used to be... Which brings me to my birthday...
On my way to work this morning I heard a song I really liked on the radio. I knew the voice sounded familiar, but I couldn't place it. After it ended the DJ came on and said it was Bruce Springsteen. I really like a song from the Boss. No offense to any Bruce fans, but his music is not something I usually associate with. Don't get me wrong, I love music from almost every genre. But there are a few bands that I have always associated with an older audience, and he is one of them. Other bands that fall into that are The Rolling Stones, Billy Joel, Paul McCartney, ect.. All legends, I just never got into them. Anyway, my point is I found myself really enjoying something I have always thought of as something an adult would listen too, not me. I still do not consider myself an adult. I was almost mad that I liked the song. Kind of felt like someone tricked me! I know it's not that big of a deal, just one of those days. On the bright side though, I decided I want a skate board! I used to skate when I was in Jr. High. I was never very good, but I liked it. They make long boards now for cruising on. I don't see myself riding at the local skate park or anything (especially after my Mt. biking experience), but I think it would be cool to cruise up to Starbucks or the store on it. Or use it to get the dog some exercise. Maybe Santa will bring me one...
Other updates:
- I was supposed to provide updates on my weight, but I decided I was spending way to much energy on stressing about that right now. For the most I eat pretty healthy, so I shouldn't do too much damage between now and January. That's when I think I will really focus on it. Seems easier to flip that switch after the new year.
- Guru - Thanks to those who answered the survey. 100% for a new frame... I love it, just can't afford it. So, for now I am going to have it inspected and probably do some touch up on my own. It probably won't look great, but it should get me through a couple more seasons. Besides, I kinda want a new Mt. Bike now, and some body armor!!

Inspired by Murphy

Now that I'm in the dreaded off season I'm finding that I am starting to gain a little weight. It's scary how fast it starts to come back when the workouts lighten up. So I need to take action now before I gain much more. This morning I weighed in at 178. When I race CDA in June I was at 173. Prior to that, during my peak weeks of training in Late March I was at my all time lightest of 168. I'd like to get back down to the 160's if possible prior to starting IM AZ training. Not sure how I am going to do that yet, but there are a few areas of my diet I can improve. Murphy, our yellow lab, inspired me yesterday. We took him to the vet for his yearly vaccines yesterday and he had lost 8 pounds since our last visit back in mid July. This is largely attributed to his new diet and more exercise. Although his new diet is much more time consuming and expensive, it is so rewarding to not only see the long term benefits, but he goes crazy with excitement before every meal. It makes his day. So my goal over the next few weeks is more lean protein, veggies, and fruit. This also means much less sugar, fat, and processed foods in general. Since I am in recovery mode right now I want to try to avoid increasing my workouts. Scott has November laid out for me, so I want to stick to his schedule as much as possible. Right now it's about 8 hrs. of week of low intensity. I guess that means some major calorie counting. As much of a pain in the ass as it is, in the past it has worked the best. My thinking right now is to post updates here every few days. I think this may hold me accountable. Nothing like public humiliation. My goal is 170 by the end of November. This should be challenging with my birthday and 5 days in Las Vegas mixed in. We'll see how it goes.

Also, Here are some race pictures from the Soma Half IM.

The Curse Of The Guru

I'm sure most of you have heard of my trials and tribulations with my TT bike that I bought earlier this year. My struggle to get the fit right, how Gateway Bikes screwed me over on the front fork, yadda, yadda, yadda. Well... the troubles continue. Upon returning home on Monday night from AZ I opened my bike case to find some pretty serious damage to the top tube. I inspected the case and found some deep gauges in the outside of it. I pulled the bike out of the case yesterday and put it back together. I can't find any structural damage to the frame, but the top tube has a very large nick in it that goes into the carbon fiber. I did some research on line and found the process to repair something like this requires many complicated steps and materials that I have no idea how to work with. I called Guru today and they have requested I send the frame back for a thorough inspection just to make sure there is no unseen damage that could cause the frame to fail. I think this is wise since the impact required to create this level of damage had to have been severe. The dilemma I am facing is if it's only cosmetic do I pay the money to have Guru fix it or do I do some half ass repair job myself? To have Guru fix it will cost me at least $1k since the entire frame would need to be repainted based on were the damage is and how deep it is. If the top tube needs to be replaced it would likely be an additional $500. Or do I buy some paint from a hobby shop and doctor it up myself? The other option is I find someone local that can paint it a basic flat black. Something durable and plain so I don't have to worry about it looking like crap. Not sure what to do at this point. I guess I'll wait to hear back from Guru on what they find. One things for sure, I'm getting tired of buying nice things only to have them get damaged because of someone else's carelessness. Whether it's the bike getting damaged, or the door dings and scratches on my car. Makes me want to ride/drive an old piece of crap just so I don't have to stress about this kind of thing happening anymore!

A Look back at Soma & Look Ahead to November

Soma Half IM 10/28 - Temp AZ
I wanted to right up this summary ASAP while the day and my feelings about it where fresh in my head. This turned into my key race for the year after IM CDA didn't go as I had hoped. The last 3 1/2 months of training have been focused on this race. Like I've said, I had big hopes going into it, but I think I was also realistic. Having done more races this year then in any other year I have a pretty good idea of what I can do on a good day. So... I guess what I was really hoping for was a "good day".
We arrived in AZ on Thursday evening. We wrestled our two bike cases, wheel case and luggage to the rental car. The mini van was the only option since we had so much crap. Friday I did an hour ride on some long straight sections of road out in rural Chandler east of Phx. It still amazes me how flat it is there. In the afternoon I did a 20 min run. That was when I started realizing that the heat may be a factor on Sunday. My HR on this run was high. It was about 92 degrees. Earlier in the week the weather channel had been predicting ~89 as the high on race day. Friday the prediction was up to 97. This would tie the record for that date.
Saturday we did one last run, only 15 mins. Then we went to watch my twin nephews' soccer game. It was a great way to take my mind off the race. After the game one last ride to make sure the bikes were dialed in. We then loaded the van and headed to the race site. We checked in the bikes tested the water and grabbed some lunch. We decided not to do the pre-race swim in the lake. It is more of a big ditch then a lake and it is as clear as mud. Unfortunately none of the local pool's schedules worked out for us ether.
Sunday morning came quick. Up at 3:30 for breakfast. We loaded up the van and got to the race by 4:40. We setup out transition stuff, loaded up on sun block, and chatted with some folks around us. The time went by fast, all of sudden it was time to wetsuit up! There was a "Quarter Man" Going off before the half, so we headed to the swim to watch the start. I was in the first wave of the half, so I jumped in the water to warm up at about 7. With only 30-34 men and pro's in my wave it made for a mellow start. Most of the swim I felt like I was alone. The water temp was a perfect 70 degrees. The water was so murky though I couldn't see my watch to check my HR. To exit the swim there were volunteers grabbing you by the arms and lifting you up onto a platform. They had to have been tired after that... On to the bike, the course was 3 loops around Tempe. It was a really fun course since you went through the downtown area so much. There were a lot of tight turns and turn arounds though that did hurt the avg pace a bit. But the long straight aways that we did have were north to south. This provided a direct head wind one way and a good tail wind coming back. Going out I was slowed to ~22 mph. Coming back though I was using less effort to go ~28 mph. My HR and avg for each lap was very consistent. The last 10 miles I could start to feel the heat. Once into T2 running with my bike I realized how hot it really was.
Out of T2 into the run My heart and lungs thought I was running a 6:30 pace. But my legs were only moving at maybe an 8 min pace? Hard to say since they had NO mile markers on the run. This is my biggest beef about the race. Right away I was passed by 3 people. My legs wanted to go with them but my HR was mid zone 5. So I forced myself to back off to the point I felt like I was barely running. This was my lowest point in the race, miles 0 to ~ 4 as a number of others passed me. I went through everything from disappointment, anger, and at one point almost dropping out. About mile 4.5 I saw someone ahead walking as I approached I realized it was someone that had passed me at the run start. This picked me up. I started to tell myself that it's not me, it's really F'ing hot out here. Maybe I'm not doing so bad. Soon after that I passed another person that went out too fast. Now I had hope. This continued for the rest of the run. I focused on hydration and nutrition through each aid station and continually increased my effort. As I started the second lap there were tons of folks just starting the run. This really helped me. I couldn't believe how many people were walking. By the last 2 miles my HR was in zone 6 (~185) and I was going for it. The last half mile was the toughest physically. I started to feel like I was hyperventilating. I crossed the finish line and had to immediately site down to catch my breath. I have never pushed myself like that before. The volunteers were awesome, some lady was scooping ice water out of the large bucket that they had coke in and she was pouring it over my head as I sat there. Once I caught my breath I was good. I ate a PB&J and went to watch for Jen. She kicked ass! She started in the last wave, so by the time she was running it was ~96 and getting hotter. She toughed it out and finished strong. I am SOOO proud of her and how strong she has become.
On Monday morning I was up early even after 2 18 oz margaritas. I sat in Jen's sister's back yard with my legs in their pool watching the sun rise and drinking my coffee. Up to this point I had been disappointed with my race. But reflecting on the experience the next day I realized the positives. My bike split was right were I had hoped. The swim was what I expected based on current training. On the run I think I found a new level of self awareness which is big for me. This is probably the one thing I've noticed most in the really strong athlete's that I've met in the last year. The ability to really understand what you're feeling and why. Once you have this awareness I think you are able to know when you can push and when you need to hold back or drop out completely. Being able to separate the mental limiters from the physical one's maybe one of the biggest barriers in long distance racing for me. This weekend I feel like I made a small step toward lowering this barrier. I'm even more hungry now for next season. With two Ironmans and a bunch of other events I hope to make more strides in not only my physical development, but mental as well.
November:
This will be my first attempt at an "Off Season" since I started doing Triathlon in 2004. I am really looking forward to it. I hope to get in some fun local running events, some mountain biking, and maybe a cross race or two. I also owe Murphy (our yellow lab) some serious attention. Thanksgiving will be in Vegas this year. My other favorite endurance sport - Blackjack! Also mixed in the month is another step toward middle age (my b-day). Every year I look forward to it a little less. I don't mind getting older, I just don't want to get "old".

Out of Hidding

Well I've been refraining from posting anything this past week because I knew it would be whinny and bitchy. One week ago today after a wet & windy run I started to feel like I was getting sick. The next day it was a full blown head cold. I was a little dissapointed but figured it would pass quickly as they usually do. No luck. After taking a lot of time off I wasn't feeling any better yesterday. So I decided to go to the doctor (first time in many years) and see if it was a sinus infection. Turns out it is not, just a very aggressive head cold that needs to run it's course. I went for a run last night and felt ok. My HR is still a little higher then it should be, but it was ok.

Soma: We fly on Thursday to AZ and the race is Sunday. During the last week I missed most of my workouts, however I did manage a 1.5 hr ride on the trainer Saturday morning followed by a 20 min t-run on the treadmill at the gym. It wiped me out for the rest of the weekend, but I am happy I did something. Not sure how much missing the last week will impact me on race day. I'm sure I've lost some fitness though. My bigger concern at this point is getting back to 100% before the race so I my HR returns to normal and I can race as well as my current fitness will allow. Forecast right now is for sunny and a high of 89. That should put it at ~80 degrees during the run.

Two weeks ago I had hopes of breaking 4.5 hrs and maybe even placing in my age group. Now I just want to feel good and race the best I can. So I guess the cold has taken some self induced pressure off, but I am really fighting back the frustration. I know it could be a lot worse. Hopefully I wasn't too whinny in this update. Just a couple days ago I was moping around the house driving Jennifer crazy. Last night I officially declared that "I'm no longer sick". We'll see if a positive attitude speeds up recovery.

Back on track

Not sure what was up last week with my training. I have to assume I was on the verge of catching the sinus infection Jen had. That's the only explanation I can really come up with for why I felt crummy all week and felt so bad in the half marathon. As a comparison I ran 17 miles yesterday and the last 13 miles of it I was only 1 min slower then I was in the race. The big difference was heart rate. In the race my avg was 171, yesterday it was 154. That's a big difference for only 1 minute. Oh well, I would much rather have that issue on a training run then in Soma next week. Hopefully I got it out of my system. My swims were down this week. I had a tough workout on Thursday with 1800 yrds of paddles out of 3700 yrds. Afterward I had some shoulder pain that was a little concerning. I decided to skip my Friday workout to let it heal. I swam today and it's good to go now. This week's summary:

Total time: 16:39
Bike: 139 miles
Run: 46.5 miles
Swim: 7100 yrds

As I drove to work this morning in the rain I was bummed that the nice weather is over. At least until we get to AZ next week (forecast is Sunny and 90). This weekend was perfect. 70 mile ride Saturday near Estacada and Boring with some good climbs and great company! Immediately following was the 5+ mile run with 600 ft of climbing (including 300+ stairs). Needless to say I was down for the count when I got home. Nothing better then laying on the floor in the sun half asleep listening to football on a Saturday afternoon. Sunday after the run and breakfast we watched Garren race his first Cat A cross race. This was also a scouting mission for me to observe the proper method to mount and dismount. The only issue is the cat A guys make it look way too easy. They are good to watch for the technique, but I think I need to watch the Cat C guys too so I can see that not everyone is so smooth. I don't want to be the only bumbling fool out there who can't get his foot out of his cleat fast enough and bails into a barrier. Or worse yet, times the mount wrong racks is doo-dads on the back of the seat. As you can probably tell, I am a little stressed about this whole cross thing. But I'm going to try it!! I just hate trying new sports when there are spectators around, because I know when I see someone fall down I laugh.

Victoria Half Marathon Summary

I love Canada! Both trips up there this year have been really fun. This adventure started Friday after work. We drove to Seattle leaving much later then planned. I stated to Jen as we started the trip that I was going to speed until we ether got a ticket or reached the hotel. Fortunately we made it to the hotel with no ticket, but made it there in 2 hrs and 45 mins with a gas stop. I love the GTI!! We stayed in a cool hotel on the water front called the Edgewater. We had a good meal with Rob & Erin then headed to bed. We had to get up bright and early to catch the Clipper to Victoria. The boat ride was fun and went by quick. We got to Victoria in the late morning and checked into another kick ass hotel called the Oswego. This place was a small boutique hotel 1 block from the start line. It was brand new and was the size of a 1 bedroom apartment. We bummed around Victoria and hit packet pickup. Finished with lunch at the Old Spaghetti Factory. Always a safe pre-race meal. It is sure nice to only do the half marathon, and to only do it as a training run. Makes for a stress free trip.
The race started at 7:30 so we didn't have to get up too early. Especially with it only being a block away. We met up with Rob & Erin at the start. They were doing the full which didn't start until 8:30. Also met up with Chris V who was also using this as a training run for a Half Marathon in CA the following weekend. There were just over 4k people at the start, not too big. Weather was perfect. I felt crappy, not sure why. HR was high, stomach ache, side cramps, ect. Never really felt good. I thought I was going to honk (throw up) multiple times. Got through it though. I was happy to be done. It helped to run with Chris. Went back to the room, took a shower, ate breakfast and watched football. Jen finished a short time later. We headed back to the finish line about the time we expected the Perkins to finish. The rain was pouring down now. Tough finish to the marathon. They both came in just over 3 hours looking strong. After the race we went to the awards ceremony to see Erin get her 3rd place AG award then grabbed some beers and lunch. We headed back to Seattle on the evening Clipper and stayed in one more hotel. Another cool one. This was called "W". Very hip and dark. The lobby was like a night club. The room was cool though. Slept in Monday and drove home. A very good trip all the way around!

Last week Summary

Last week was the biggest week I've had since CDA Ironman. Here's the stats:
Swim - 12900 yds
Bike - 151 miles
Run - 48 miles
Time: 19hrs 45min

Many of the workouts this week had some sort of interval/speed work. So all things considered I feel pretty good today. The other highlight of last week was how my workout schedule lined up with some of the other Ironheads. I was able to do 5 of my workouts with others. This really helps to mix it up a little and running/riding with so many fast people I find I push myself more then I probably would if I was alone. But, I never feel the pressure to push beyond my limits. It's a great environment to train in and I'm very lucky to be a part of it.

Follow on to the Peach Of Century Ride on the single speed:
I was doing some math in my head the other day when thinking back on the Century ride. There is a guy the works at Intel named John that did RAAM (http://www.sabertoothsalmon.com/adventures/2007/RAAM.html) on a single speed. Some of you know the story and may know him. What he did is incredible. After riding only 100 miles I am even more blown away at what he did. He rode over 3000 miles on his single speed, so that would be similar to doing the Century ride that I did 30 times non-stop. Not to mention he did a lot more total average climbing on his route. I can't imagine the mental toughness and strong will to finish he must have in addition to his physical strength. I hope I can do something in my lifetime that few have done or even want to do just to do it. Not sure what that is yet, but I'll hopefully come up with something :)

Going waaaaaay back

Another funny picture that I thought I'd share. This was x-mas 1987. This my first road bike. It was a Centurion Accordo RS. This was a great bike until I ran it into the back end of, ironically enough, a parked Honda Accord on the way home from the local ice cream shop one warm, and very dark summer night. Fortunately it was a hatch back, so the angle I face planted at only resulted in a fat lip. The frame of the bike bent just behind the head tube. It never handled quite right after that.

This Picture is good because it answers a couple potential questions:

1. Yes, I have always had a bike fetish (probably the beginning of the car "issues" that still haunt me today).

2. No, I was not an athletically gifted child.

Should I Stay or Should I Go...

About a year ago I made the decision that I was going to leave Intel and go back to school. At the time I was hating my job because it was not challenging or rewarding in anyway. Jen supported my quarter life crisis 100%. But she also helped me realize that this process needed to be done in steps. We've completed many of these steps over the last year (down sized our expensive SUV, downsized to a condo, ect...). Doing all of these things has freed up a lot of money. Now that we are in the position financially for me to quit I am starting to notice something. Suddenly my job isn't terrible. It's still not very challenging or rewarding, but I am able to get 20 plus hours a week of training in with no issue. Also, there isn't that financial monkey on our backs that is beating on my head everyday as I drive to work reminding me that I have to go sit in my gray cube for 8 hrs so we can pay the bills. The pay is great, especially with no degree, and the benefits are very good too. The other big thing I struggle with is I am eligible for retirement in 14 years. Intel has the rule of 75 (age + years of service). Since I started here at age 18 I am eligible at 48. After talking to a lot of people about my situation I am starting to realize how good I have it. There is something to be said for taking a chance though and going for your dream. But I am finding that I don't know exactly what that "dream" is yet (well, besides being a race car driver). There are things that I think sound interesting, but nothing that I absolutely, without a doubt, want to do with my life. I think that's what concerns me the most. I want to be able to retire young, or do something I LOVE for a living. I don't want to wind up working somewhere I don't like, that doesn't pay well, and not be able to retire until I'm old. I think I am going to wait and see. Maybe someday that dream job will become odvious. Until then I will definitely stay with Intel until my sabbatical next July (8 weeks off paid, another perk) and see what happens. Worst case if my job changes and I can't deal with it we are in the position now that I can tell them to shove it! Ok, I might not do that, but it feels very good to know that I could if I really wanted too.

Peach of a Century

Sunday 9/23 Jen and I rode the Peach Of Century. This is a 100 mile ride starting in Salem and looping south (http://www.salembicycleclub.org/majrides.html). Great course, about 3000ft of climbing mixed with some long, flat, straight sections. This would be a great course for IM AZ training (weather pending). The weather yesterday couldn't have been better. A little cool at the start, but no wind and partly cloudy all day. It was fun to ride it at a relatively relaxed pace. I ate my share of cookies at each aid station. I rode Jose (http://www.bianchiusa.com/07_san_jose.html), so I got a good workout too. It was fun passing the older fat guys in their Primal Wear jerseys on there expensive carbon bikes going up the hills with only one gear. Most people where cool about it, but there were a few that wouldn't even look at me when I said "good morning". Jen kicked ass! Only the 2nd time she's ridden over 100 miles, the first being Ironman CDA. She is getting so much stronger on the bike!

What's up?

Not much... Jen and I are in the meat of training for the Soma half Ironman on 10/28. I am currently averaging about 17 hours a week training. I am finding now though that it's not really the number of hours per week that matter. During the spring when all of my training was at aerobic pace (slow enough I could have a conversation), and I was building a good base level, hours were key. But now many of my key workouts are high intensity and relatively short in duration. The base training allows the higher intensity training to take place with less chance of injuries (as long as it's done in moderation). I think this was my issue in the past when I was getting hurt all the time. I didn't have the base fitness or strength to be able to recover from the high intensity stuff. Also I didn't know how much or for how long to do the harder workouts. Once again, having a coach is well worth it!! Now I find I am able to do the workouts even when I am tired and I seem to recover from them pretty quickly. There are some exceptions though...
9/9/07 - Pints To Pasta 10k. My second favorite local running race. This is the third time I have done this race in the 5 years it has been going on. My 10k personal best was set on this course (38min 40 sec). This year a few of the Iron Heads ran it as well, so there was a lot of friendly trash talking going on. Race day was perfect, mid 60's, partly cloudy and a tail wind. This course is pretty fast, no real hills to run up, only down. And the best part is the beer at the finish. Even at 10 am it goes down real nice. Anyway, the race went well. I ran 36 min and 41 sec. Almost 2 mins faster then last year. But, as in most running races, I was no where near placing. I ended up 6th in my age group and 30 something over all. One big reason I like Tri's :). Also, this was my 2nd race I've ever run averaging a sub 6min pace. The first being the 5k we ran last month. Oddly enough my pace was also 5:54 there... Harder course or am I in better shape? Not sure, little of both maybe. Recovery from this race was not quick though. Towards the end of the race I pushed pretty hard because I knew Garren was on my heels. Turns out he was only 5 seconds back. I think it was that push in the last mile that fried my legs. It was 4 days later before I even started feeling any sort of recovery. I think it was good though, it gave me a good idea of where I am with my upper heart rate zones. Should give some confidence going into Soma.




What's up next... Going to Victoria BC in 3 weeks to do the Half marathon there as a training run. I had to promise I wouldn't race it. Taking the Clipper from Seattle with nothing but back packs. Should be fun. We found a pool near our hotel, so we can get our swims in. Depending on weather we may bring bikes too. Should be fun! After that it's the AZ race, then off to Vegas to do some cross training (Black Jack) over Thanksgiving.

Funny Picture

I found this picture of Jen and I from about 10 years ago maybe... The not so good old days.

We've come a long way...

Scoggins Valley Sprint... Finally!

Last Saturday was the Scoggins Valley Sprint Triathlon at Hagg Lake. I didn't start the day out the on the right foot. Usually I like to get to the races very early. I hate being rushed when setting my stuff in transition and when putting on my wetsuit. For some reason I didn't allow much time to drive out there when making a plan for when to leave. We ended up getting there with only about 40 mins to spare. I was out of it for some reason. I tried to rack my bike in the wrong row. I tried to put on my wetsuit over my cargo shorts. I was a little worried about how scatter brained I was. I got in the water to warm up after the Olympic distance racers started and swam around. I felt good, but wasn't my normal nervous self. I was just kind of there. The race started and I went out hard to the first buoy about 250 meters out. There were 77 guys in the men's race and we all started together. It also felt like we all reached the first buoy at the same time. I got a little beat up try to go around it. Major traffic jam. After making the turn I was still stuck between some folks. I started having a hard time getting a good breath of air and felt like I was hyperventilating. I slowed my stroke and calmed myself down. Within a few strokes I was in a rhythm again and started to pick up the pace. I rounded the last buoy and picked it up again to the swim the finish. Out of the water my heart rate spiked. We had to run up hill to the transition. I quickly changed and jumped on my bike. While in transition I saw Trevor. We are usually pretty evenly matched at this distance and have done several races this year. I knew he would give me a run for my money. I passed right away on the bike as he was adjusting his shoe. Within in a mile he passed me back but slowed a bit right after. I picked it up to see if he could hang with me and passed him again. That was the last I saw of him on the bike. I felt great, I hammered the hills, both up and down and tried to keep my HR at about 175. Since the Olympic distance race was already in progress I couldn't tell if the people I was passing were in my race or not. With about a mile to go a motorcycle passed me and slowed. At first I thought he was watching to make sure I wasn't drafting, but there was no one around. He just hung in front of me. Then I realized I must be leading. I came into transition and there were no other bikes there. What a weird thing to see. I had a quick transition and took off on the run. As I ran out of the parking lot onto the road I saw Trevor coming in on his bike. I had about 2 mins on him. After about a mile my legs loosened up and I was able to pick up the pace. The run course is an out and back so once I turned to come back I would be able to see how far ahead I was. After turning I didn't see Trevor until almost 3 mins. At this point I figured I had it. But I didn't want to back off just in case. I made sure to keep my HR at 180 knowing this was about as fast as I could go. I ended up finishing the race in 1 hr. 7 min and 20 sec. My goal was 1:08. It felt really good to finish so strong. Next Triathlon is Soma in AZ o 10/28.

Canada IM

It's been over 2 weeks now since our trip to Penticton Canada. We went up to watch some friends compete in the Ironman and to sign up for next year. It had been a while since we had done a road trip. It's about a 9 hour drive. We loaded up the Jetta with 3 bikes, camp stuff and running/swimming/biking gear and headed up with Garren as our co-pilot. We got up there Friday afternoon and setup camp at the Lost Moose resort http://www.lostmooseresort.com/ and headed into town to grab some dinner.
Saturday morning we went for a swim on in the lake. It was awesome! There were dozens of others out doing their pre-race swim. The water was calm, very clear, and only about 6 feet deep even about 200 meters out. We swam for an hour then went for a ride on the course. It was nice to see the course and ride the climbs. It was very windy on the second half of the course. Major head wind!! Rode about 90 miles total. I was cooked when we got back to the car. I don't think I ate enough for as hard as I was working against the wind.
Sunday we got up early to come down and watch the race. We saw Scott take off on the bike then we headed out for our run. We ran out and back on the run course, about 14 miles. It is a very scenic course along the lake. Of course we had more head wind, but it's not so bad when you are running vs riding. After our run we headed over to see where registration was for next year. Usually you have line up the night before to ensure you are in. I was shocked to see about 20 people all ready in line 24 hrs ahead of time. I jogged to the car and got a picnic blanket we had thrown in and put that down to save my spot in line. We then drove back the Lost Moose and torn down our camp site. We brought it all back to the line and set up the tents. It worked out great! Once set up we were able to come and go. We watched the end of the race then came back and crashed. It was hard to sleep with all of the other people around and the work crews breaking down the finish line. I was up about 6 am along with most others in line. by about 7 everyone started forming the actual line in front of the registration tent. At about 8:30 they started registration, it was perfect! I was in and out by 9:00 am and we were on the road. A quick stop by Scott and Sarah's then back to PDX. A long crappy drive because we were all tired. The highlight of the drive back was stop at Rusty's world famous hamburgers for a hot fudge sundae.

Hulaman Half Iron Man

This was the inaugural race for the Hulaman half IM. It was a strange course, a point to point bike ride and a two lap run. The swim was at Hagg lake. Once out of the water you rode to the Hillsboro stadium. Then you ran two loops around Shute road and Ronler Acres.
I was up early, about 4:30. Had to stop at the stadium to set up my run gear. Then off to Hagg Lake to set up my bike and get in the water. It was raining pretty hard all morning. It started to let up just as we got to the lake. Jen was dropping me and she was headed back to run the half marathon. After getting everything setup I headed to the water to start warming up. The trek from the water to the transition area was long and steep. You had to run up the boat ramp and across a asphalt parking lot with lots of little rocks.
Once everyone was in the water I realized how small this race was. Only 59 men total. That was ok, less congestion on the course I guess. The air horn went off and away we went. The swim was 1.2 miles and went by pretty fast. There was no wind, so the water was smooth, and pretty warm. Got in a groove about 300 meters in and cruised. Found some feet in front of me to draft on for a while, but the guy was all over the place. I found I was using more energy to keep track of him then it was worth, so I broke off and paced myself. I was out of the water in about 32 mins. then it took me another 3 mins to get to my bike and out on the road.
Once on the bike the rain started up again. I had flash backs to my wreck at Beaver Freezer, so every corner was taken with care. I quickly started catching the "swimmers" of the race, and by the end of the first lap around the lake I had passed 4 of them. After the first lap you start a 2nd lap, but then exit the lake and head toward Hillsboro. On the second lap this guy on a road bike passed me. He would stand and crank up the hills every time we would hit one. Scott and recommended that I sit and pace myself up these hills early and focus on keeping my HR in zone 3 (150 - 160) otherwise I would crap out by the end of the ride. I did this and on every flat and down hill I would catch the guy, but then on every hill he would pass me back. This went on until about mile 26 when we hit some long flat sections. This is when having a TT bike and a disk wheel pays off. I was able to put my head down and crank away. Avg speed on the flats was ~ 23 -24 mph with my HR in check. It felt great. Being such a small point to point race though I had no idea how many people were in front of me. At mile 33 just before the big climb I passed another guy. He must have been a fast swimmer to get this far in front. Once up over the Clapshaw hill road I couldn't see anyone in front of me so I figured I was leading. At about mile 45 I passed a guy on the side of the road fixing a flat. He also had a disk and one of those long pointy TT helmets. He looked fast. I was very lucky he had a flat as I probably wouldn't have caught him. Mile 50 came and I passed a volunteer who yelled to me that I was in the lead by about 2 mins. I had a feeling since I hadn't seen anyone in so long, but I wasn't sure until now. This was great, I had never lead anything. How cool would that be to hold on and actually win a half IM!! I came into T2 feeling great. As I racked my bike I heard the announcer say "Our 2nd place male has just come in. He's about 5 min back from first place". First I pissed that I wasn't leading! Then I was pissed that I was 5 mins back!! I quickly put on m shoes and got out of there to see if I could catch him. As I was leaving T2 I looked back and saw the road bike guy just coming into transition. I was a little worried because he looked like a little runner guy.

Mile 1 of the run came quickly, too quickly. I was trying to pace myself to stay over 7:10 per mile for the first 3 miles. I didn't want to go out too fast. Time check at mile 1 and I was 7:06. Not bad, HR was right at 160, so I was ok. Just then my worries were confirmed. Here comes road bike guy. I may as well have been standing there spectating. He flew by me. I was mad at first, but quickly realized that this guy was much faster then me, not much I can do about that right now. Mile 2 time check, 6:56. HR still about 160, but running harder because I had just gotten passed. I slowed a bit to try to stay in control for one more mile before picking it up. The course was good, long flat straight sections really allowed for getting into a groove. Took a shot of GU every mile at the aid station with some water. First time doing this, worked great. After mile 5 I picked it up to Zone 4 HR (160-165). Pace stayed about the same, 7:12. Stayed here until mile 8. At this point Scott said to picked it up as much as I can. I let my HR rise to 170 and held on. Miles 9 to 13 were all under 7:00 min pace. I was able to hold off the guy behind me (he ended up 4 mins back) and I put about a 1 min 20 sec into the guy that beat me off the bike. So I ended up 3rd over all and first in the 30-34 age group. I felt better once I found out that the road bike guy caught the leader and ended up winning by 2 mins. He ran a 1hr 28min half marathon, pretty darn fast compared to my 1:33. Overall it was a great race though. My nutrition was spot on. My pacing on the bike and the run was very good as well. This has me excited about IM AZ. I think I may be making progress on the nutrition front. This is the biggest thing holding me back at this point. Next big race is the Soma Half IM in AZ on Oct 28th...

3rd week of August re-cap

Busy week this last week, but "fun" busy. It all started with last Saturday. A 5k running race in Tualatin with Rob & Erin followed by a 2 hour ride out to Canby and back. The race was fun, but really hard. Who would have thought 3.1 miles could seem so long. Set a new personal best of 18:25, 30 seconds faster then my fastest race at this distance. Also the first race I've ever averaged a sub 6 min pace (5:54). The ride was good, I rode the single speed. It was fun trying to keep up with everyone else, especially on the hills! After the ride we headed south to Anna's (my niece) 2nd b-day party!She had a piñata, which I ended up breaking open all over the front yard. I kick ass at piñata breaking! After too many cup cakes and some root beer we headed home.

Sunday was a long run at Forest Park with Aleck, the Perkins' and Chris. Aleck and I turned around at 7 miles to get in 14. Felt really good, avg'd a 7:40 pace. Still sore from the 5k. After the run I got home and laid down for a few minutes, that turned into an hour and a half nap. It was goood! Nothing like a Sunday afternoon nap. Then a short easy bike ride in the rain. I was heading out to Hillsboro to watch the Blue Angels, but they didn't fly because of the rain.
Tuesday night was dinner at the Lucky Lab with the Iron Heads after a 90 min ride and an hour run at lunch, and a 3200 yrd morning swim. Wednesday was a big day! I picked up my new road bike from Cyclpath. It's sweet, but not too fancy! It's a Scott Speedster: http://www.scottusa.com/product.php?UID=9816. Should work well for group rides and winter training. Looking forward to riding it. Now I need to get my old road bike and my Mt. bike on Craigslist ASAP. Jen's new bike should be in next week and we are out of room. Her bike is the same as mine though, not looking forward to matching (Go Team Thompson!).
Starting to rest up now for the race on Sunday. Weather is looking questionable, but it's only rain I guess. You gotta love Oregon...

A real life lesson on nutrition

The last week has been a huge eye opener for me on how much general nutrition effects your quality of life. Sure I know the basics about a healthy diet, but to see how quickly changes can happen is amazing. A little history: A couple weeks ago I watched my Boxer cousins (Bobbie & Dylan). They are fortunate enough to get homemade meals each day. A took a couple meals for me to get it down to a routine. Once I knew how to make the meals it took no time at all. That same weekend we had to take Murph to the vet for a follow up on an ear infection he has been fighting for a long time. It comes and goes. After discussing Murph's diet and weight with the doc we decided to start making Murph's meals as well. We also did some research and ordered a couple books about animal nutrition. Interesting stuff. They go into detail about what pet food is made of. Not good, things like beaks, eyes, heads, road kill, ect... Sooo now for dinner he gets chicken, carrots and a little organic kibble for nutrients that may not be in the other items. Breakfast is also a little kibble and 1 raw egg, a handful of blueberries, and a serving of plain oatmeal. It's been a week now and the changes in his coat and skin are amazing. He has always shed A LOT year round. While he is still shedding, the amount of hair coming off is significantly less. He used to scratch all the time, rarely does anymore. His skin is not nearly as dry as it used to be. His ear infection is gone as well. It makes since that he should be eating more meats and veggies since he is a carnivore, but I've always had it in my head that dogs eat dog food. The cats are next. hopefully it solves some of their issues as well.

OBRA TT Champs & Count Down to Hula-man

Less then two weeks to go until the first annual Hula-man half IM. This should be a fun race since it basically covers all of the areas I train on year round. Swim in Hagg Lake, ride to Hillsboro, and run around Intel. Normally this might seem boring since I cover the same ground all the time. But in the race I'll be suffering most of the day so I won't really notice my surroundings. But it will be nice to know which corners I need to brake on and which I can take at full speed. My training seems to be coming along well after Coeur A'delene. I did a 40K Time Trial bike race in Corvallis this last Sunday with no taper leading up to it. It was warm and sunny, but windy. It was an out and back on a flat stretch of smooth road. Tail wind on the way out made for a fast ride (between 27 and 31 mph for most of the first 12 miles). On the way back though...ouch... major head wind. I was lucky to hold 23 to 24 mph. The last 4 miles were tough. My HR was near max and my legs were dead. I managed to take first in my category (4/5) out of 20. Barely escaping Garren who was only a few seconds behind. Average speed was just over 25.5 mph I think, total time was 58:09. This was a good confidence builder going into the half IM. After the race I came home and ran 12 miles at a steady pace (8:00 min pace) with my HR below 150. I felt much stronger Sunday then I did a week ago at Blue Lake.
This week is more tempo pace type workouts (zone 3 HR, about 150 to 155 bpm). Should be about 18 hours total for the week. Should be a good week to fit it all in, not too many commitments. Then towards the end of next week I will start to taper for the race. The bigger plan is to structure my training so that my fitness is peaking for the Soma half IM in AZ on October 28th. So there will be some more big weeks coming up. Have I mentioned how much I LOVE having a coach!!

Blue Lake Sprint - Always the Brides Maid...

Blue lake Sprint last Sunday, July 29th. Went into the race with high hopes of a top 5 finish (secretly wanted to win it). This was one of my goals for the year. The best I have ever done on this course was 17th with a time of 1:10. It was not the Tri NW qualifier this year so I figured the competition wouldn't be as tough as previous years, so I had to associate a time goal as well (sub 1:07).
Swim:
Went out hard to the first buoy. Made the turn and noticed a set of feet in front of me. I stayed as close as I could and held on. My pace felt right on and felt I was working to keep up. Worked out pretty well. PR'd the swim by almost a minute.
Bike:
Once on the bike I cranked as hard as could until I got up on to Marine drive. Once on the road I settled in put my head down. My HR seemed on the high side today. Probably still recovery from the damn hill repeats at the Perkin's! Passed 4 people before getting the 205 bridge. After passing the last person I couldn't see anyone else in front of me. For about 2 mins I though for sure I was leading the wave. Just as the turn around came into sight I noticed someone rounding it. Crap! Apparently I wasn't leading. As the guy passed heading back I started to do the calculations. I was really going to have to push to catch this guy. I rounded the cone to head back and put my head down and cranked as hard as I could. With a little tail wind pushing me I was able to keep it over 26 mph all the way back with HR over 180 all the way. As I swung my leg over to dismount I feel the wobbling. I knew it was going to be a tough run. AS I was running into T2 Aleck (the leader) was running out. T2 was pretty quick for me and out I went.
Run:
HR was really high now (and you thought 180 was high) about 183. I could see him in front of me for the entire run but he never got any closer. After mile 2 I realized I wasn't going to catch him as I was running as fast I could and not making up any ground. I finished 2nd overall by 25 seconds. Looking back there was nothing I feel I could have differently. I lost it in the swim and ran out of road to make it up. I'm happy with second but definitely not satisfied! Back to the pool! After the race I chatted with Aleck briefly, turns out he is also training with Scott McMillan. That made me feel a little better. Met my goal of top five, had the fastest bike split and went sub 1:07 (1:06:48). Not a bad day overall.

IM CDA Race Report

Swim start:
It was a very strange experience this year. Standing on the beach with Jen looking out at what could have been the ocean with 2200 other people, cold and anxious. Then Mike Reily came’s on and says that anyone not wanting to swim could just do the bike and run. This would not count as unofficial finish, but would allow those that wouldn't be able to complete the swim to participate at some level. I believe Jen's response to this was along the lines of "there's no way in hell I'm not doing this swim. I don't care if I don't make the cut off. I'm at least going to try". This kick ass attitude is what got her through a very challenging day. She kissed me and headed to the back of the crowd. It got me a little chocked up. Weird how emotional these things can make you. With so many months of prep and training coming down to the 10 sec countdown before they blow the cannon. Very intense, even after you do a few.

First ½ mile of the swim was directly into the wind which was blowing at 15 to 20 mph. The swells felt like they were 10 ft tall at times, but were probably only 2 to 3 ft. Was never able to get into a groove as my goggles kept filling with water and I had to breast stroke a lot to sight the buoys. Around the first buoy on the backside of the rectangle the sun was in our eyes and swimming became even tougher due to the waves coming in sideways. On the way back in it was like body surfing. Still wasn’t able to get in a groove though. Waves were coming in at an angle that kept pushing me towards the sea wall. The second lap felt better since I was warmed up and new what to expect on the way out. My second split ended up being a minute slower even though it felt faster. Oh well… HR average for the first lap was 151, second lap was 148. Almost 7 minutes off my PR, which was CDA 2005.

T1:
Out of the water I wasn’t too tired, just a little dizzy. I jogged through the bag area and into the tent. I swear I spent 60 seconds just trying to get my bag open. I struggled to get my arm warmers on over my wet arms. Still a little out of it, I ran out of the tent to the bike with gloves in hand. It was still a little chilly out so I wanted to make sure I wasn’t too cold on the first part of the bike.

Bike:
I headed out of town up the main street. It’s a little up hill so I stayed up out of my aero bars to try to bring my HR down. Once I was on the flats I settled in and prepped myself for all of the people that would start passing me. Scott had mentioned this in some pre-race advice he had sent me. As people started going by I kept saying to myself “I’ll see you on the run”. By the end of the first lap my pacing paid off. After special needs I was feeling great and really started passing a lot of people. The only issue I was having was the constant urge to pee. I think I took in a lot of lake water in the swim and I couldn’t pee fast enough, or long enough on the bike to get it all out. After nearly filling my shoe and still directing way to much focus to how bad I had to go I finally stopped on the side of the road ~ about mile 60 and just let it out. Wow what a relief!! By mile 85 I had to stop again. Total I calculated I lost about 3 mins total to stopping and peeing. Not sure what I could have done differently there. At least I knew I was hydrated.

T2:
Coming in off the bike I was feeling great, but bummed that I was so far off what I thought I could do. I stayed within my HR ranges and effort level and felt really good, just a lot slower then expected. Jogged into transition and grabbed my bag. Into the tent where I was one of only 4 or 5 people. The volunteer was awesome. I was in and out pretty quick. Had to stop and pee again though, WTF! Took a GU and headed out on the run.

Run:
First mile of the run everything felt good, but I couldn’t get my HR down, Wanted to keep it ~145 to 150 for the first half of the run, but couldn’t get it below 158. The first mile split came in at 8:44. I slowed a bit through town and was able to bring my HR down to 150, but my pace also slowed to ~9:00. My nutrition got screwed up somewhere around mile 4. I was trying to take a gu every 30 min like I had in training, unfortunately the aid stations and my pace screwed up my timing. By mile 10 my pace had slowed to 10’s and my stomach was cramping. This was about the time Rob P. came running by and offered some words of encouragement. He looked strong. I passed Scott and he shouted out a reminder to “keep eating”. By mile 13 the cramps where so bad I couldn’t run. I was pissed because my legs felt so good! I slammed a gu and a cup of water and with a couple minutes the cramps were gone. Then the light bulb came on. I wasn’t eating enough. I started hitting the gu hard at every other aid station. In between I was taking a coke with a water chaser. After a couple miles I was back running 9:00’s. I saw Erin P. after I rounded the last out and back and she was cruising. I had 40+ mins on her off the bike and there she was. I told her as she passed going the other waythat I was going to make her work to catch me. This was more to fire myself up. I thought for sure she would get me. My last 3 miles were sub 8:30’s, I was running scared.

Overall I was disappointed with my time. I had high hopes of breaking 11 hrs. But on the bright side I did PR by 20 minutes in less then ideal conditions. I felt good for most of the day, and I had fun! This is really the first race that I can look back and say I truly enjoyed. I think it was a combo of all of the people that came to watch, knowing others racing, and being much more fit them I’ve ever been.

Key learnings this year:
- Eat more frequently on the run.
- Carry my own nutrition.
- More open water swim practice (sore shoulder)
- Peeing on the bike may not be for me.
- Need a new knot for my transition bags. The “Pad Thai” knot only works on the bag when you get take-out from the local Thai restaurant. Not so cool in T1 when you’re wet, dizzy and easily distracted.

Long Time No Post.

Sorry about that, here's a run down of the last 2 weeks:
The move is complete! Tough going from a big house to a small house. Just when you think you don't have very much crap... It's amazing how much can fit in the back of a closet. We are liking the condo though, all of our neighbors seem really nice. I think we made a good choice in location.

Ironman CDA is complete! Not the day I had hoped for, but a personal best non the less. Jen also completed the race with plenty of time to spare. She pushed through really a tough swim, a hilly bike course, and stomach issues on the run that would have made most people drop out. She's a stud! We had great support this year from friends and family. Thanks to all of those who came out and cheered us on. Also thanks to those who looked us up on line and sent us congrats! I'll post a race report soon.

We have both signed up for IM Arizona in April. There are currently 10 other Ironheads doing the race as well. We are sharing a house with two other couples that are racing. Should be a fun race.

For now the focus turns to local races, weekends doing fun stuff, and maybe a few beers.

We are officially renters, for the next 24 hrs anyway.

Today are current house transfers to the buyers officially, so we are renting for the next 2 weeks. We also sign the closing papers on the new place today, so by tomorrow it will be in our name. Not bad, only 24 hrs of not owning a home, or at least not making a mortgage payment. Now the coordination of the 3 ring circus begins! House cleaners, carpet cleaners, cable, phone, electrician, TV installer, and of course the movers. All are scheduled to not conflict with each other and to meet our deadline to be out of the old house by the 30th at 5pm. If one doesn't show up everything could be jeopardized. But fortunately Jen is the most organized person I know. We have lists, calendars and schedules that factor in packing for the race, the move and documenting everything we need to do to be ready. I always tease her about her lists, but we would be in trouble without them right now!! Oh, and I finally invested in the fancy garage floor coating that I have always planned on getting put never have. It's tricky because you have to paint it on and let it dry for 72 hours before you can put any heavy objects on it. The timing should workout with this house if I paint it on Wednesday night. No the ideal taper for the race on Sunday, but I have all the right tools to do it without putting back at risk. Let the fun begin.

An evening in the lake

Jen and I decided to head to Hagg Lake last night to get some time in our wetsuits before CDA and the swim this weekend. Headed out yesterday afternoon about 5:30, got there just after 6pm. The sun was shinning and a light breeze was blowing, it was a perfect afternoon! We crammed into our wetsuits and headed down to the water. It was nice, low 60's. As we headed out the water got a little cooler but not bad. The best part came as I stopped about midway into the swim. I treaded water for a minute and realized that I was about a 3rd of a mile from shore. It occurred to me that most people wouldn't do stuff like this. Work all day, drive 30 miles to swim out into the middle of a lake just because. What made this realization even better was when I turned around and Jennifer swam up behind me, stopped and smiled. It made me realize also how lucky I am to have someone that "gets it" too. There are not very many people out there that would bob around in a 60 degree lake with me on a Wednesday afternoon. After heading out a little farther we turned around and went back. There a couple dozen moments I've had in my life when I've stopped and taken in something that was extra-ordinary. This one was two fold as I not only appreciated the fact that I'm not normal (one of my biggest fears), but also how lucky I am to have someone else that is not normal too.

First Olympic Distance Race... Done!

Blue Lake Olympic Distance race yesterday. Wow... There are some somkin fast folks out there! Being one of the last qualifiers for the Nationals race next month, all the fast guys came out. Normally with a finish time of 2:09 I would have been in the top 15 at this event and potentially place in my age group. Yesterday I barely grabbed 28th overall (8 second lead over 29th) and 7th in 30 to 34 age group. But my race went exactly as planned. I definitely had nothing left when I crossed the line. The Ironheads team had an outstanding showing! The new Blackwell wheels were fast, and they sound really cool too!

Now the taper for CDA really starts. Pretty light week ahead as far as training goes. Two days of open water swimming (Lake O on Wednesday, Hagg Lake on Sunday) will be good. The more time in the new wetsuit the better. A few relatively light rides and runs. What are we going to do with so much free time...

Pack!! We got the official acceptance from the buyers of house yesterday for the repairs that came out of the inspection. So we are all set to close a week from today. Time to pack our crap. Should be easy as we donated a sizable amount of stuff to the Union Gospel. Pretty sweet deal. They come pick it up, old mattress and all. I am loving the minimalist way of life. Well, minimalist for us anyway :)

Well here I go...

This is my first attempt at a blog. Thought it might be nice to keep everyone up to date on what's going on since I am not always good about picking up the phone or sending email. I just thought it would be good to share what is taking up all of my time so you will now I'm not just ignoring you :) 2 weeks until CDA Ironman, man it's been a long 8 months of training! I have to say though I have never felt so prepared going into an Ironman (this is #5). Having Scott as a coach and joining the Ironheads has made this a completely different experience. Meeting all of these people that share the same enthusiasm that revolves around an active lifestyle is amazing. The wealth of knowledge that exists within this group is also mind blowing. I can learn more on a 4 hour ride with the IH group then I could from a year subscription to Triathlete magazine. Then to have Scott custom making my workout schedule, I am very lucky! The people I have met this year are examples of why this sport/lifestyle has consumed me. The support and encouragement are great. It complements the non stop support given by my family and friends. Jen and I are so very lucky, and trust me, we don't take it for granted. We realize it and are thankful for it! I will try to post updates an how our taper to IM CDA is progressing. Also keep you posted on our move (3 weeks from today) and continued down sizing. Busy, busy, busy...