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.