Sabbatical: So close I can smell it...

And it smells gooood! Less then 4 days to go. I realized today that this will be the first summer I've had completely off (no school, no work) since 9th grade. My sophomore year of high school I started my first job and have been working ever since. This weekend will be a good kickoff too. We head to Seattle Saturday morning and I am racing the Lake Stevens Half Ironman on Sunday. I am really looking forward to this race! My workouts have been feeling great over the last two weeks so I'm thinking a PR is possible (So yes, I believe :)). The conditions are looking favorable so we'll see what happens.
The build to Canada is coming along. This last week was the biggest since March I think. It was capped off by a great long ride on Saturday with Kaytee and Jennifer W. We rode from Troutdale up into the Mt. Hood area. We climbed most of the way up to Lolo pass. Total climbing for the ride was ~6k feet in 83 miles. Here is a picture from where we turned around:

















Sunday was an 18 mile run broken up between the waterfront and Forest Park. Totals for the week looked like this:
Swim: 12900 yrds - 4 workouts
Bike: 143 miles - 2 workouts
Run - 55 miles - 6 workouts
Total - 18hrs 20 mins

Hot off the press

Here is the article I mentioned in my last post:
http://www.forestgrovenewstimes.com/sports/story.php?story_id=121435270709437100. Most o the facts are accurate. Only a couple little things are off. Now that I'm famous maybe I should start looking for an agent?!?

Too many factors!

So last week was another solid week of training. On Saturday I had another big brick workout. My last one was two weeks ago and I had crapped out on the run. After chatting with Scott about it we narrowed it down to not enough calories on the bike and probably not enough water. So I upped my malto intake on the bike and added in some gu on the run to see if that helped. So Saturday started with a ~1800 yrd swim in Hagg Lake. Then I rode 60 miles in 3 hrs followed by a 2 hr run. The run was supposed to be 2hrs 15 min but I had to cut it short. Once again I felt like crap. It was different this time though. I started out the run feeling good, but within 3 miles my HR was through the roof. It was about 85 degrees and felt very humid. Last time I did this it was only 70. So that was probably a big factor. As I continued on my run I started wheezing and was struggling to breath. Fortunately for me Jen offered to meet me half way through the run with more water since it was so warm. At this point I was out in rural Hillsboro in the middle of the big grass fields. I turned around and started to head for home and continued to feel worse. Jen had stopped a couple times on my route home to make sure I was feeling ok. At about 10 miles I was ready to quit when I met her near Athlete's Lounge. I had a mini meltdown and acted like a big baby for a second then sucked it up and continued on. I made it 14 miles total before calling it a day. I was disappointed in how the run went, but I didn't feel like I was buying myself anything by pushing those last two miles. Once home I noticed I was broken out in hives. So I am blaming this week's defeat on the heat and allergies. I think the nutrition was much better since I never really felt sick or hungry. It was just the breathing and the super high heart rate that kicked my ass. Yesterday was some Mt. biking up at Brown's Camp with some very strong Mt. Bikers. Normally I like to be pushed, but my legs wouldn't have it yesterday. I cut it short and headed home to rest up for this week.

Totals for the week:
15hrs 21 mins
swim - 10600 yrds - 4 workouts
Bike - 150 miles - 4 workouts
Run - 27.6 miles - 3 workouts


In other news... I have an interview with a journalist from the Forest Grove News-Times paper about triathlons today. Apparently there are plans in the works for Ironman Oregon and the paper is doing an article about it. They also want to do a campanion article about someone that participates in Ironman events. So my name was offered up. Should be interesting, I've never been interviewed before... I hope I don't say something stupid!! I think the article is coming out on Wednesday or Thursday of this week? Not sure about that but will keep you posted. Other then that nothing much new to report on. Sabbatical is just a week and a half away. Only one more Monday to go after today!!

Things that bug me...

There's really no point to this post. Just one of many things that I think about when I'm on a long ride or a run. This is what happens when you have way too much time by yourself to think. It's just a list of things in no particular order that get under my skin a little. It's not meant to insult anyone or call anyone out. So if you do things that are on this list don't be mad at me or offended, just write it off as me being a freak:

1. Morman kids riding bikes in suits. Why do they make these kids wear suits? It's bad enough they have to knock on people's doors and get yelled at and insulted. At least let them do it in some thing that wicks moisture.

2. Car culture/decorations: These include "baby on board" signs, those family stickers with each member represented by a stick figure, stuffed animals are Kleenex boxes in the rear window, and CD's or Dream Catchers hanging from the rearview mirror. I don't get it.

3. People that throw their cigarette butts on the ground. The fact that your smoking in the first place is bad enough, then you just throw your crap on the ground. This is one of things that usually results in me yelling at the person and or honking my horn like a crazy person.

4. People that are not courteous. This encompasses a lot of areas, from driving manners to holding the door for the person behind you. I think this is my biggest beef in life. I tend to form my opinions of people pretty quickly based on their manners.

5. Advertising your religious beliefs on the back of your car. Why?

6. People who leave there shopping carts in the middle of the parking lot. Walk your lazy ass over to the cart coral. There are exceptions to this of course, mom's with multiple kids and no coral close. But most of time it is laziness I think. This really gets me when the cart is actually touching my car. I'm afraid of what I might do if I actually caught someone putting that cart against my car.

7. Strangers who want to chat in the locker room or the bathroom. there is an etiquette here that needs to be followed. If I am naked or pee'ing and you don't know me please do not strike up a conversation with me. Along with that, guys in the locker room at the gym with only a shirt on, it's cool to wear pants.

8. Bees, I hate bees!

9. Cyclists with rearview mirrors. I'm sure there is a safety side to this, but I haven't figured it out yet. If a car is about to hit me I would rather not know. At least I won't tense up as much. I tried the mirror thing once and I spent more time trying to adjust it so I could see. I think that was more dangerous then actually turning my head when I need to make a left hand turn.

10. People who don't pick up their dog's poop. Again there are exceptions, like way off in thick bushes or weeds were no one will ever see it or step in it. This would not include my front yard! Or the park by my house where I step in your dog's poop all of the time because it's dark when I take my dog to play there.

11. Chap stick that has SPF 15. Why only 15? Why not 50? I don't really want a tan on lips. (This one came to me during IMAZ while on the bike. Obviously I lost focus for a little bit...)


Again, no real point, and just my opinion. Now that I've got that out of my system I'll start thinking up a list of things that are more positive. Now that's a challenge, it's so much easier to complain about stuff!

Hilly Swim Course?

Sooo... this past weekend was the Blue Lake Olympic race here in PDX. It is probably one of the most competitive races in the Portland Metro area. There is typically a strong showing from places as far away as eastern Washington and Idaho. Although not as competitive as last year there were still 3 guys under 2 hrs. I went into this race with one goal, that was to break the Ironheads Olympic distance bike record (58:06). The only reason I really focused on this was because I know my swim fitness isn't great right now and my running is still coming back. The bike has been feeling really good though. So I figured I would push the bike as hard as I could and see what happens. I really didn't feel like I had anything to loose since I could count at least 10 names I new in the pre-registered list that were faster then me. So I thought it would be a fun and potentially painful experiment. The race overall went pretty good. My swim felt faster then it was (I think the swim was a false flat). I thought for sure I was going to be under 24 mins, but I ended up at 25 and change. On to the bike, it took me a good 6 miles to get my HR under control. I started out pushing as hard as I could. Towards the middle I started to chicken out a bit. I realized how painful the run might actually be if I don't back off a little. So after the last turn around I eased up a little and cruised for couple miles. With about 5 miles to go I started to get a second wind so I took some nutrition and decided to push it again. I managed to keep my mph over 26 for the last 4 miles until I reached the park and prepared to dismount. The run started out rough as it usually does in these early season races. My feet get so numb on the bike they feel like bricks for the first mile of the run. Once the blood started to flow again I was able to settle in and keep a pretty consistent pace. Mile 4 to 5 I started to get tired, but I was able to keep the wheels from falling off. Had it not been for the pack of IH team mates running me down I would have likely let up those last couple of miles. But I knew that Jason K, Ryan J, and Trevor were all right behind me and running faster then me. So running scared is a good thing I guess. Fortunately for me the run was only 6 miles otherwise I would have gotten run down. So compared to last year I didn't PR as much as I had hoped. I think I was less then 2 minutes faster this year. Since my swim and run were slower this year only the bike was faster. There may be a balance somewhere in there. If I backed off on the bike a little maybe I'd more for the run? Or do I play to my strengths and try to push the bike as hard as I can and hold on for the run? Who knows...

So... As I've been driving around in the Jeep over the last week I keep asking myself "how the hell could I have gone this long without owning a Jeep". I LOVE everything about this vehicle. Even the things that most people would consider reasons not to buy it in the first place. It's funny because there are not very many people that would find the joy in such a basic (by today's standards) mode of transportation based on how much you have to spend. There is some satisfaction in knowing that at anytime I could swerve off the road and explore any trail I wanted too. Have I ever done that? Not since High school, and I got stuck in the mud. But the idea of it is cool. I think what it comes down to is DNA. I think the Jeep thing is ingrained in me. My sister has the same condition. Over the years we have gone to dealerships together and test driven Jeeps on many occasions just because. Here are some photos of the Jeeps that have influenced me the most:

Here are a couple of my baby pictures. I don't remember this Jeep, but apparently we spent a lot of weekends in it with the local Jeep club.






When I turned 15 my first car was a 1976 CJ7. It was a great car, but always had "issues":


In my mid twenties I bought this one from my sister, who had originally bought it from my aunt. It was a great Jeep and I have always regretting selling it:

So that's the story. My issues run deep, but at least there's a cure!!

Ramp up to IM Canada

With 11 weeks until IM Canada it is time to start the build. Last week was my biggest week since IM AZ with a total of 17 hrs of training. Up until this week my running and swimming had not been going very well. Then, all of a sudden early last week my legs came back. Not sure why, but all week they felt great. Yesterday was the biggest day of the week. I started the day with a 3600 yrd swim then did a 3 hr zone1/2 ride immediately followed by a 2 hr run. The swim and the bike felt great. I focused on getting in my nutrition on the bike to see how the run would feel based on my current plan. Something didn't go right. I felt good on the first half of the run, but on the way back started to bonk. I was out of nutrition by mile 11 and suffered the last 3 miles. Based on how I felt once I finished I think I got dehydrated. It was much warmer then I anticipated and it seemed humid. Calorie wise though I was able to take in 840 cals on the bike in 3 hrs and 323 on the run. I felt like I could have probably taken more especially with more water. So it's all about learning from those experiences and applying your findings. In the past I would have viewed yesterday as a set back and gotten discouraged. But now with what I have learned from Scott and those that I train with, I'm able to better analyze these situations and figure out how I can improve. Here's the totals for the week:
Bike - 4 rides - 180 miles
Run - 4 runs - 32 miles
Swim - 3 swims - 10200 yrds
Total - 17 hrs.


What's next... Including the Blue Lake Olympic race this coming Sunday this week is another 17 hrs. I am really looking forward to the race. After the Duck Bill race a couple weeks ago I am anxious to see if I can execute the swim and run a little better. Plus with 24 ( I think) Ironheads racing it should be a lot of fun.


Sabbatical countdown - 18 work days left. I am trying not to rub it in too much. I will really need to be conscious of this while I'm actually on sabbatical and posting updates. I know there are a lot of folks that check up on me while they are at work. I think there are even more that have jobs that don't allow them the time are means to surf the web, so they take time from their personal lives to read this. For that reason I will try not to boast too much. Based on the counter on the left side of the page I am feeling the love! I hope I can continue to keep you interested.

Opps, I did it again.

Last night I continued my life long quest for the "perfect" vehicle. I returned to my roots and bought another Jeep Wrangler. This one is a 4 door with fancy stuff like airbags, power windows and AC. Options that until last year were unheard of in a Wrangler. So far after 33 miles I couldn't be happier! Could this be the one? You never know, lucky #18 (that's how many cars I've had since I was 15 years old when I got my first Jeep). I do have to say though the GTI has been my favorite car up to this point. I think having that and the Jeep could be the perfect combination. We'll see. Fortunately Jennifer is a VERY patient and supportive spouse. Most would have left me by now! She's a keeper :) .


Just back from Boise on Monday morning. Went to be support crew and spectator of the new Boise 70.3 half Ironman. It was a great race and a fun weekend. I think I could get used to this spectating thing! Jen kicked ass as usual. The swim was REALLY cold and choppy. She made it through that and threw down a solid bike and run. It was fun to watch her over come things that used to be big obstacles. She's getting stronger every race.


The rest of the Ironheads had a strong showing as well. A couple age group placings and some Clearwater championship spots. Like I said, it was a lot of fun to watch!


After spectating all weekend I am ready to get out there and race some more! Blue Lake Olympic and Lake Steven's half IM are just around the corner. Fortunately I am starting to feel "normal" again. My legs are starting to get a little life back in them. I finally have a little bounce in my step again. The swimming is coming back as well. Once I take more then a few days off from swimming I tend to lose my feel for the water. Finally today I could actually grab on to it again and pull it through. I was starting to get a little worried if it was ever going to come back. This is great timing, hopefully I can keep it going through Blue Lake next weekend. Based on last year this is a very competitive race. Even with a significant PR it is likely I won't make top 10. Depending on who shows up top 20 may even be tough. But with 20 plus Ironheads racing it should be a lot of fun. I think that's it for now.