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!