Bever Fever Duathlon

It almost didn't happen. Sunday morning at 5am when the alarm sounded I was so close to turning it off and rolling back over. But I laid there for a second and thought about it. I knew if I skipped the race I'd check the results next week and regret not doing it. So I threw my feet on the floor and staggered to the bathroom. We arrived in Philomath just before 8am. I had just over an hour until race start. So I had plenty of time to set up my gear get registered and freeze my ass off. It was a chilly 38 degrees but sunny and clear. So the race started pretty close to on time. The first 5k was a loop around town with a couple rolling hills and one short steep climb. I came into transition in 6th with a new 5k PR(18:19). Once I got my helmet on I was off. Within the first 3 miles I had climbed up to 2nd and begin the hunt for first. The 18m course was nice country back roads with rolling hills and 2 pretty good climbs. I was able to get within sight of the first place guy but wasn't able to close the gap he had on me. My legs were not happy today after doing a tough ride the Friday night before with Grant. Typically in a race of this distance I should be avg'ing ~310 watts. Instead I was struggling to hold 290. Into T2 I was about 50 seconds back from the leader. But based on his run split on the first leg I knew my chances of catching him were slim. The last 5k was on the Philomath high school's XC course. It was 2 laps and had a lot of sharp turns and varying terrain. It was painful but fun and it went by fast. I finished about a minute and a half back from the leader but managed to hold on to 2nd. I was happy that even with tired legs I was able still able to crank out the fastest bike split. The downside was that I have beaten the guy that won in 2 other Tri's this year. Oh well, you can't win 'em all.

Run

Over the last few weeks I have started to appreciate running again. It's been a while since I have had the opportunity to really focus on it and make it my priority over the bike and the swim. The only downside is the loss in fitness in the other areas. I am having a bit of a hard time letting the bike fitness go. I am still riding, but not nearly as much as I was. Since the bike has become my strength in Tri's I am very hesitant to neglect it too much. With the base I've built over the last year though I should be able to bounce back pretty quickly after RnR marathon. It's good to be a runner again though!
This coming weekend I am planning to get a race in and us some of this fitness I have been trying to build and maintain. The issue I am having is trying to decide which race to do. There is a half marathon downtown on Sunday, but I don't feel like I am ready for that yet. It would be fun though since so many Ironheads will be doing it. Or there is a the OSU tri club's Beaver Fever Duathlon (run/bike/run) in Corvallis. This sounds the most tempting since I could break up the run with a little 18 mile ride. This may be better then an actual Triathlon for me since I wouldn't have a swim to slow me down. Who knows, good thing for day of race registration I guess.
Earlier this week we were in Disneyland with our twin nephews for their 8th birthday. Good times... I love Space Mountain! It's always nice to get home though, the crowds get a little old after while. Disneyland would be so much more fun if there wasn't so many kids there :) Fortunately while we were there I did manage to run everyday. On Tuesday we drove down to Huntington beach and I ran from there to Newport beach and back (about 10 miles). Flat, but great scenery. It was nice to get away from D-land for a few hours. The other two days were running around Anaheim. Not the ideal place to run. Both times I got a little lost and found my self a little concerned for my safety. But when your lost and a little scared the time flies by! Like I said, it's nice to be home...

Hunnington Beach

Flakey

So yes, I am feeling a little like a flake lately. A couple of posts ago I was all fired up about doing the SOMA Half. Shortly after I decided, Scott posted my training plan. I don't know why but I just wasn't feeling it in the workouts. I was getting them in but was dreading the actual race. I'm not sure if I was just getting burned out a bit or what. Anyway, I've changed my mind again and I will not be racing. I decided I didn't want to waste the time, energy, or money for something I was excited about. Since I made that decision the workouts have been feeling outstanding again. Today will be my 6th day in a row of running, and I should get close to 50 miles this week. I've backed off of the riding a bit, but am still getting 3 rides and 3 swims in per week. It feels good to be getting the running endurance back though. Right now I am getting over the hump of sore and tired. It's the point in which you think "how am I going to run today with these tired legs" but when you start running they feel great. The last 3 days have felt like that and each day the runs get faster and feel better. RnR Marathon is still a long way off so I really need to stay focused on not over doing it like I have in the past. Nightly stretching and recovery drinks after each run have been key.
Speaking of marathons, last Sunday we went down and watched the Portland Marathon. It was a harsh reminder of how hard marathons are. Trying to run that hard for that long hurts. Especially with the goals I have in my head for January, it's really going to hurt! But it was great to see so many friends coming in looking strong. There were, of course, the train wrecks that pushed beyond their limits and paid for it. Like the guy who was projectile vomiting as he ran up the street to finish. He was under 3 hrs, but it was not pretty. Then there was the lady with what looked like mud running down her legs. Needless to say it wasn't mud... I'll admit I gagged a little as she passed. Why do we do these things to ourselves... Oh ya, cause it's fun!

The Great Tuna Adventure

This last Saturday Rob P and I set out to the coast. That afternoon we fished the Neacanicum River just off hwy 26. This is where I caught my biggest fish up to that point. It was a 10 inch trout. I was very excited. After few hours we continued on to the booming town of Hammond just outside of Astoria. We met up with our guide Jad, Capt Chuck, and the other two guys that were fishing with us the next morning. The goal was to head out before dawn, stop for some bait and out into the ocean in pursuit of Tuna. The unique thing about this trip was the fact that we would be using fly rods rather then normal rods. The main difference is the length. A normal rode is much shorter and stiffer which gives you more leverage once you hook into the fish. With a fly rod the pole bends almost completely in half and makes if difficult to get the fish up to the boat. Especially when it's a Tuna fish.
So we were up at 4:45, mostly because we couldn't sleep. We loaded up the 36ft boat and headed out. A quick stop in Ilwaco for live sardines (bait) and we were off. The Columbia river bar is one of the roughest bars in the world and this was my first time crossing it. I was excited to experience it, but a little nervous about getting sea sick. I have never had the issue before, but my actual time out in the ocean is very limited. As we progressed towards the mouth of the river the swells grew and it became a noticeably rougher ride. It was amazing, the sun was just coming up, it was clear and relatively calm. It was a perfect morning.
We arrived at the fishing grounds at about 9:30 in the morning, about 30 miles out at sea. On the way out we saw a whale and some sea lions. We dropped the lines and started fishing. Within 20 mins we started catching fish. It was crazy at first. One person would get a fish on and yell "fish on" and everyone else would start reeling in their lines as quickly as possible to prevent getting tangled. Through out the day we had a fish on every 20 to 40 mins. Typically the goal is to find a large school of fish and throw out the live bait to attract them and bring to the surface. Then you cast your line into them and hope they take your fly. In this scenario it is normal to have multiple fish on at once around the boat. Unfortunately the wind had picked up so much that it was impossible to see the schools or really use the bait. But total we still ended up with 10 fish caught and 3 others that got away before we could get them to the boat. Not a bad day at all.
Overall it was an awesome trip. It is unbelievable how strong and fast a Tuna fish is. I had no idea. Also, just being out on the water that far off shore is very cool. You see so much more wildlife. I can't wait to do it again next year. Unfortunately the season is pretty short since the Tuna travel with the warm currents. So they really only show up from mid to late July through early October. But, I think that makes it that much better, makes you appreciate it more when it's so limited. In the meantime it will be back to the river in search of those little guys. Everything is going to seem little after this...

Here's a video that Rob put together:

http://perkwire.com/tunafishing

And some photos:

But wait, there's more!!

Just when I thought my Tri season was over I decided to do one last race. I tried to get into IMAZ, but no luck. So I am going to do the Soma Half IM in Tempe on 10/26. Jen and I did this race last year and it was REALLY hot. I remember finishing that race thinking "well, at least the full Ironman won't be this hot" and it was... So when I tell myself that there's no way it could be 97 degrees 2 years in a row I catch myself knocking on the nearest piece of wood. It's kind of nice to have the fitness to decide to jump into a half IM 4 weeks prior. I think it will work well. Scott has me running a lot right now as I build a base for Marathon training leading up to Rock N Roll marathon in January. My bike fitness seems to be hanging in there and the swim is feeling pretty good right now. So why not race?


On the job front, still not very busy. Should start to pick up again next week. I've been continuing my search outside Intel and have stumbled upon some interesting leads. I'll update ya'll on those later if they workout. Keep your fingers crossed!


Jeep update - I LOVE this vehicle! It has changed my life. I am a much happier person now that I own a Jeep again. I can't explain it... But there's definitely a connection there. It's strange because it is probably one of the slowest and clumsiest vehicles I've ever owned, but I always look forward to driving it! I got some new shoes for it yesterday. After taking it in the sand a couple of weeks ago I was unhappy with the lack of traction with the stock tires. So I found some mud terrain tires that are stock on the Rubicon version and swapped them out. Once I sell the stock wheels/tires on Craig's list I should just about break even. Let the wheel' in began!
My next post should include pictures of REALLY big fish! This Sunday is the big Tuna trip. Weather looks perfect...


P.S. I was just proof reading this entry before I posted it and I realized how strange I am. What a weird mix of topics. Not sure how I got this way... Wait until I post my list of top 10 favorite songs to do trainer intervals too. I'll give you a hint, it contains music from Crosby Stills & Nash, Disturbed, Lil Wayne, Johnny Cash, and the Greatful Dead.

Post Sabbatical

Two weeks back at work and it's not so bad. Work has been really slow though. It's been a busy two weeks outside of work. Last weekend we were at the beach camping, fishing, and crabbing with the Perkins'. Had a beach fire and hung out, good times. Last Sunday we jumped into the Pints to Pasta 10k at the last minute. The first 2 miles felt great, then my legs reminded me that I was only 2 weeks off of IMCA and 5:30 pace was unacceptable. So I watched Rob and Chris V quickly pull away as I suffered the last 4 miles. But this is the only time of the year that drinking beer before 10am is ok. The result is usually a nap from noon to 4, but it's worth it, the beer is free after all.

This last weekend was a tough but fun Mt. bike ride up at Browns Camp. I only had a couple notable wrecks this time, but I feel like I've been in a car accedient. I am sore in the strangest places. I'm sure part of it is getting old. Overall it was a lot of fun though. Other then that not a lot new. Starting to pick the training back up to a sustainable level. It's nice to get be back on a routine even if it is reletively light.

So what's next? Thinking about doing the Run Like Hell half marathon at the end of October. The main focus starting next month will be the Rock 'n Roll marathon in AZ on Jan. 11th. I hope to qualify for Boston and check that off the list. Right now it's looking like the next triathlon won't be until next April when we do the California Half Ironman. I am bummed that the season is over, but on the other hand I'm not craving to race one right now. The running races seem to be enough, and I hope to try my hand at Cyclo-cross soon while I still have the bike fitness.

In other news - Rob P. and I will be heading to the coast on Sept. 28th to fly fish for Tuna. It is supposed to be very intense. Check out the video on Rob's website: http://www.perkwire.com/oceanfishing.html. It should be interesting since to date the biggest fish I've caught on a fly rode is about 6 inchs long and these tuna are usually about 2-3ft long. Should be cool.

Finish Video

Here's my finish line video from IMCA....

Sabbatical Summary

So I've been trying to think of the best way to summarize my sabbatical. I've come up with a couple ways to quantify it. Pictures and numbers. The numbers are the best way to wrap up the training I was able to do. The pictures below are from my many adventures over the last 8 weeks. It sucks to come back, but at the same time it was a great opportunity that most people never get. This is what I keep telling myself today anyway. So far it's working OK...

So here's sabbatical by the numbers:

Training:

Miles Swam - 39

Mile Biked - 1057

Miles Ran - 236

Amount spent at Starbucks - $226

Miles put on the Jeep - 3014 (mostly to and from Starbucks)

Pictures:

#1 - Murphy on one of our many adventures together...

#2 - Training in Penticton the month before the race with Scott. One of the few places I could live other then Portland

#3 - Chris V in Canada the day before the race. Chris is great to have around when you need to lighten things up.

#4 - The best post race meal to date! The Rusty burger (2 patties, double cheese, double bacon).

#5 - What better way to commemorate a shitty race then by getting a tattoo of it, and no it's not on my ass (but in hind sight...)

#6 - The hardtop hoist project. Much more time consuming then first planned, but well worth it!

Searching for that Silver Linning

The thing about Ironman is sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn't. Going into yesterday I was in the best shape I've ever been in both physically and mentally. Then on top of that the weather was perfect! Unfortunetly though the week leading up to the race I wasn't feeling right. Extreme fatigue and light headedness seemed to persist daily without ever getting better or worse. It wasn't until Saturday afternoon when things went downhill. It was likely the stress of the race made things worse. By Saturday evening I had a light grade fever and major aches and pains. I thought for sure I was going to wake up with a full blown cold or flu. Instead I woke up at about 2 am after a really hard sleep and soaked in sweat. I think the slight fever I had broke and I was actually feeling better. At 4 am when the alarm went off I felt a pretty good. So off to the race we went.

So fast forward to the race start... The swim was good. I found a spot towards the outside and in the very front. I normally wouldn't start in the front but no one else was stepping up. So I figured I would go for out. Right before the gun went off I turned around and there wasn't very many people behind me. The cannonn blew and I jumped in and went hard. Within seconds a wall of people washed over me. Not sure why they didn't start in front but I would rather get pushed out of the way then try to climb over people. The swim went by fast and wasn't too physical. My time was almost identical to AZ. I was very happy with that based on how Lake Stevens went.

On to the bike I was feeling pretty good. My HR was lower then usually out of T1 which has always been a big issue for me. About an hour in I started getting blurred vision just before the headache set in. It was a good one! Not sure what brought it on, but it hung around in my temples and eyes well past Richter (The first major climb). Shortly after the climb I took a little caffine gu to see if that would help and it did. The pain dulled a bit and became much more tollerable but never fully went away. Just before mile 60 I was cruising feeling good. It was looking like I was on track for about a 5:20 bike split until I heard that dreaded noise. The sound of 130 psi of air leaving your tire in less then 10 seconds. I quickly came to a stop and assesed the situation. I managed to stay pretty calm, but I knew this would have a major impact on my bike split. I quickly pulled the wheel off and went to work. One leeson learned here, make sure your valve extender on your spare is long enough for your deepest wheel. I didn't realize mine was too short until I got the tire on. So I had to pull it off and take the one off the flat tire. Unfotrunetly I had broke it when I ripped the flat tire off the wheel. With some tweaking and a little luck I was able to get it too work. So 8 minutes later I was up and rolling. Since I was on a downhill it felt like 500 people passed me while I was fixing it though. Needless to say I was a little pissed. My first instinct was "screw it, I'm going to push the rest of the bike as hard as I can". Then I did the math and realized I still had 52 miles to go. So I backed off a little but did keep a steady pace. My legs felt good, but my nutrition started to fail toward the end. I would take a drink of water or Infinite and it would come right back up.

Off the bike I actually felt pretty good. I laid off the nutrtion until mile one and things were going well. Mile 1 was a 7:45 and my HR was right on. This was the one! Things went well the first 5 miles. Then I started to slow a bit as the headwind really picked up. At times it was strong enough to almost blow my visor off. Just before the turn around the wheels came off. My stomache cramped and my jog turned into a walk, then a sloooow walk. This is when the emotions flood in. It's a mix of falling short of personal expetations, the bitter sweet of seeing all of your friends and team mates excel around you, and the months of prep that go into these races feeling wasted. Needless to say it was a long lonely 8 mile walk in the rain. But it gave me time to quit feeling sorry for myself and put things in perspective. I had thoughts of dropping out, but I'm sooo glad I didn't. It pretty much came down to finishing what I started. I thought of how Jen pushed through her race in AZ and was out there a hell of a lot longer then I was. I felt like I would be letting her down if I gave up. So I started trying to jog off and on as much as I could. As I passed the mile 25 marker I saw Jen and got a little choked up. Then there was Chris V with a A&W Chicken bucket on his head! This was exactly what I needed! He handed me the bucket and I put it on my head. The last mile is an out and back so it is packed with people. Needless to say when you have a chicken bucket on your head that says "Chubby Chicken" you get a lot of attention. These cheers pushed me to run the entire last mile.

So in the end it was a tough and somewhat dissapointing day, but it is what it is. Number 7 done!

BIG congrats to all of my Ironhead team mates that kicked ass out there!

Here's another random picture of me hanging with the locals in Levenworth on the way to Penticton:

Here we go

Lucky #7? Guess we'll find out soon enough! IMC starts in 16 hrs. Not too sure how it's going to go at this point. All week I have been feeling like a turd. Very tired, no energy. Not sure whats up. I am hoping it is just the taper, but I've never had this issue before. I figure if I was getting sick it would have hit me by now. So I am going to go out there tomorrow and give it everything I have. Hopefully I snap out of it once I jump into the water. I guess there always has to be something. After all, this is Ironman. Thanks to everyone that has wished me luck and supported me along the way! It's time to get it done.