Do or Do Not, There Is No TRI

Something to Blog about

2012-01-15T22:29:00.000-08:00

You know what they say. If you dont have anything nice to blog about you shouldn't blog at all. So this week my calf turned a corner. I am cautiously optimistic about how my surf city race should be. Had to bag the full but happy to run the half.

Tuesday-Goal was to move forward for 30 min. I ran/walked it and was able to go about 4 min before it tightened up or got super tight. I ran about 20/30 min and felt OK about it.

Thursday-30 min where I only walked about 2-3 min. Those 2-3 min though I thought it was going to strain again. I felt good every where else. FINALLY a run.

Saturday-While I had to turndown 400 m repeats with the "bog boys" as he said, I was happy to go for a while. I thought if I get to 30 and I can go to 45 I will go. If I get to 45 and I feel good I will go to 60 min. Well I went 70 min. I didn't have any pain, just slight tightness and I felt ready to go. Even felt ok as far as pace/fitness goes. Today, no soreness. Cautiously optimistic about my chances of getting off the ground before surf city.

The other days were res/rehab and getting this calf ready to run.

I would like to send a big shout out to a stud of a runner who ran the Arizona Rock n Roll half marathon. She was told she would never run more than 5 miles after her gnarly back injury. She ran the half with no signs or symptoms and not just that ran a 1:46. Atta girl Michelle, YOU ROCK.

Recovering

2012-01-09T08:35:00.000-08:00

well now that this is going on the 3rd week of no real running and rehab only, I do not know what I am going to do with this season. I think with schedule about to heat up at track and my recent troubles I am going to dial down the training the next few months. I am going to get this tendon issue resolved and get the effects of the injury fixed and then plug away. I am going insane for sure not able to run. I did get a 1/2 mile before I had to turn around this week. Better than 0.1. Keep plugging away. The good news is I have not gained one pound through the month of december or now. I feel like my fitness is far away though. It is an awful feeling. Thanks for the words of encouragement. I will get this fixed here soon.

Happy new year( kinda)

2012-01-02T19:08:00.001-08:00

I'm such a bad patient. I hate being hurt. I am so bored and I just want to run. The end to 2011 was so abrupt. I am starting off 2012 with no real plans. The full at surf city is at serious risk. I'm not sure. December was definitely a down month. No good runs during the whole month. I have to figure things out here soon.

Not a great end to 2011

2011-12-26T22:01:00.001-08:00

There is always an up and down nature to endurance and running but gees. This isn't a post for sympathy or anything but this is a diary for me. I use this blog to remember what works and doesn't work. I look back and learn. I am wondering what I am feeling. Truth is, I don't know. The problems I am having are both mental and physical. Mental trouble surrounds my thoughts of doubt. Am I choosing goals that out of my ability? Am I training appropriately if these goals are doable? I thought that I recovered ok but my body feels worse now then a week after the marathon. I didn't even go fast or long. A few footwear mistakes and I am on the mend. I cannot pinpoint the trouble though. Is it calf? Is posterior tib? Plantar fascia? I don't know may be all of them. I didn't run more or less than usual, I didn't have anything out of the norm. Except may be running full time with sully. He has been awfully impatient with me. I don't know. May be I need a break? Back off running and focus on strengthening. Change gears but keep running to stay cardio fit. I don't feel fit or strong. I am wondering if I should back off to the half at surf city. Should I start triathlon training? I don't know, I am just in a rut. I need to get my nutrition discipline back. I need to balance out the force moving through my body and I need to get my ass in gear.

ReCharging the Batteries

2011-12-18T16:16:00.000-08:00

The focus of the last few weeks has been forgetting the race and moving by concentrating on recovery. If this post was yesterday I would have said I was back to 100%. Todays run was harder effort than it has to be. There has been no pain, no musculoskeletal stuff but overall just feel lethargic. Overall, just more tired than anything. I am focused on Surf City and happy that I have a long break with coaching to just concentrate on what I need to do. On another note, I put both of my bikes up on craigslist. I am giving myself until after Surf City to sell my bikes and to get a new one. I will race at RAGE for the 4th time and see what happens. I will dedicate a whole post to that race because it is going to be special. Also, Sully had is 1st birthday and is now not limited with how much running he can do. Here is how my week went:

Monday-Rest
Tuesday-Easy 45 min that turned into a bit more. This is my 4th or 5th run since the marathon and I feel pretty good. Sully was happy to be out this morning. The plan was 22.5 min out and back. I couldnt keep my pace to slow just I just rode it. The last 2 miles at 8:51 and 8:49. It felt good just be unconsciously running and faster than just getting some miles in. I think tomorrow will be good to open it up and see how I feel.
Wednesday-6 mile progression run. I wanted to go fast but not too long. Here are the splits: 9:06, 8:54, 8:47, 8:43, 8:38, and 8:11. I felt strong but still a bit more tired then I am used to during this workout. Not fully recovered yet.
Thursday-Easy 40. 20 out and back with sully mostly off leash. He is so fun to watch. Running fast so he can check things out, then stopping and letting me run by just to take off again. I felt no ill effects from day before and looking forward to getting back to full speed.
Friday- off
Saturday-Hill Repeats. With a small group already excited about running Exploration peak I couldnt say no. 20 min easy, climb X 3, and then easy cool down. About 5 miles total. I could have done more but I figured I am still recovering and I have tomorrow to go long. The weather was perfect. Sully must have went bottom to top 6 times. He is a stud. Overall, a great effort and quite the the lung/leg burn.
Sunday-Long run. My first long run and I didnt anticipate such effort. I ran an old course that I havent run in years and I ran so much stronger on it. It has part of the silverman course on there too. I went 10 miles in 1:34 and 9:27 pace. I just locked into rhythm and took what my body gave me and went with it. Pretty scenery, Sully out in force, and just a little harder then Id like it to be. The build has already started and this body better get going. Quote:

Don’t be afraid to give your best to what seemingly are small jobs. Every time you conquer one it makes you that much stronger. If you do the little jobs well, the big ones will tend to take care of themselves. -Dale Carnegie

Just taking care of little job after little job.
Wed

Top 10 Reasons I Will Not Run the Las Vegas Marathon Again

2011-12-11T21:03:00.000-08:00

As the information has trickled down this week and I put the pieces together, I dont know what exactly happened. Remember, I LIVE HERE. This is my home race. I know that I will not be back to run this marathon for sure: here is the list.

10: The entry fee. I am a sucker for paying that much to run a marathon. I get that the permits to shut the strip down at night must be outrageous but I dont have to contribute to it. $150 bucks to run a marathon is a lot.

9: The Expo. If you pay that much to race, it better be a first class event. It most certainly was not. They gave me the wrong size shirt and would not exchange it until after the race. There were thousands of people jammed into a very small space and no walk ways to move around. There were no race posters. I collect them and now I dont have one for this race. They needed twice the space.

8. The shirts were ugly too. Wouldnt you think a race ran at night would have something fun about night time gear. NOPE. Black shirts with a little glow in the dark writing. Black shirts for a night race? Bogus.

7. Number of entries. The official numbers are 44,000 people signed up. Let me tell you that the number of people walking with bibs, yardy margaritas, and beers seemed like way more than that. It was New Years and a race. Except the control the cops have at new years was missing. It was an absolute circus. They are trying to get to 100,000 entries for the future and next year the goal is 60, 000. I will not contribute to that. There was so many people walking they covered the marathon lane. I zig-zagged the last 13 miles of this race. More on that later.

6. Timing of the half and the full meeting back up on the strip. The shear number of people, the number of bandits, It was bedlam. Perhaps I am too slow to experience good separation but gees, It was miserable weaving around the 3 hours plus of walkers.

5. Aid stations. The aid stations were horrible. Not only were they not enough of them but they were bare when I go there. I received no cytomax for the last half of the race. That means I was stuck with water only for the second half of the race. Some aid stations you had to pour your own water. Not to mention the number of people who were sick from the water. I had most of the symptoms other had. I dry heaved A LOT but did not vomit. I was so sick. Did I make a nutrition error? Yes, but I have never felt that way before and it lasted all night. They tapped a fire hydrant for water. Used a hose to pour water into cups then they couldnt fill them fast enough. So they filled a trash can with water using a liner. They scooped water out and served it to runners. My symptoms were severe to me but way less severe compared to others, so I am not sure. For that entry fee I better have the resources I need.

4. Medals/Swag. There are literally hundreds of people who did not get a medal. People who finished got offered multiple medals and they took more. Some bandits got through and took medals. The finishers for the half were so backed up at the medals that they had stand on the magnetic strip. Literally on the finish line. There was nothing to eat but green green bananas and stale bagels. Really? For 150 bucks I cannot recover?

3. Running at night. Now should I have trained this more? YES. I am responsible for that aspect of it but it made running more of a challenge. I didnt think I would have had that problem. It is nice to start out cold and get warm as you run. At night its warm to cold. Bring extra clothes to run the second half but you have to carry it through the first have. Not to mention the people who are in las vegas and have a vacation to enjoy. Walking through the race or using LV Blvd to walk to dinner or to a cab with your luggage. Runners smashing into civilians with their luggage during the race? Really? Why do we have to weave around those folks too? It was cold, and even rained too. Parts of the full were very well lit and other parts was almost totally dark. Weird.

2. Competitor group. I am starting to see a trend here. The competitor group is getting awfully greedy. Last year was borderline and I was a sucker for coming back. I am even considering canceling my traithlete magazine subscription so those guys dont get anymore money from me. The tri rock series is not even close. Same baloney with water and bikes? NO CHANCE. I will not be back to vegas for sure and If the competitor group is behind a race I will be very reluctant to sign up. I am thinking the local race thing is what is important. Big, gaudy, manufactured experience is not desirable. Not me, No thanks.

1. The survey we got from the healthy district. When the health district is trying to investigate what the runners drank at a race you know its bad. I wish I can remember when i took water to help this out. I wish I knew when which aid station it was. I know that my insides were twisted and all of my muscles cramped. My middle back and shoulders? Lower back and legs? I have never felt like that before. Thank god it wasnt enough to make me seriously ill but gees it still was bad.

The good news:
-It was been really smooth recovery. Since I didnt have a strong second half, I wasnt torn down. I was sore but not horrible. I have been able to run 30-60 min easy and I really, really want to go faster.
-I know I can push through anything. If I can push on through what I felt then, what can stop me?
-It is still a marathon PR. just not that impressively.
-I know that if the race was in the morning and I had healthy water to drink I had a great plan. I am in good shape.
-This puts me in good position for Surf City. I am going to have one more week of easy recovery then get back to it next week. I am ready for the new schedule!

2011 Las Vegas Marathon: Crash and Burn

2011-12-05T12:08:00.000-08:00

I know better. I am upset with myself. I should have trained for an afternoon long run. I gave others that advice and I did not follow it myself. I should have trained an afternoon long so I could see what the nutrition should be. I found out the hard way what it should not. I am embarrassed and I am upset. I have a new marathon PR but its no where near what it should be. NO WHERE NEAR. I began trouble at 4 miles, heart burn and curling stomach. By mile 10 my knee was hurting but I was able to use mechanics to get through that and it wasnt a factor. At mile 14 I was only 5 min slower than expected. Then the bottom fell out. My stomach turned into knotts, my abs, my back, my quads, my hip flexors, my calves, and my toes cramped. My race came tumbling down. I have had long run after long run with absolutely no cramping or digestive issues. I think it was the smoothie I had for lunch. TOO MUCH SUGAR. I ran walked the second half. 2:10 for the first half and 3:05 for the second half. 5:14. A 9 min PR but a horrible result after the training would support much faster. The cold didnt help. The cold rain didnt help. The walkers I had to weave through didnt help. This was just not my day. I had great training, I had a great plan, I just had a bad night. Thanks to my wife for supporting me through thick and thin. Thanks to Karl for putting me in the right position, thanks to people like chuck and the other commenters for your continued support.

1 Week to the Marathon, 3 Awesome Runs, and 3:20 of PR's

2011-11-27T19:28:00.000-08:00

There has been a lot spoken on here about the lack of racing for me lately. So this weekend I decided to get some racing in since I am off from cross country. With a trip down to Murrieta, California for Thanksgiving, we found a few races. I wanted to take advantage of my fitness and time off to race. Here is my week by breakdown and pictures.

Monday-Rest...
Tuesday-45 min easy. some before practice and some with the girls.
Wednesday-Rest/travel day
Thursday-Oceanside Turkey Trot 5K. Thats right, Oceanside, California. It was a gorgeous day at the beach in November. A few months ago i put out a "feeler" facebook message to the people in the family to see if anyone else wanted to run. Surprisingly enough there was a large group who decided to run. There was a bunch of first time 5K ers. I wrote them a plan and everybody was ready to race. I ran 15 min easy plus drills and strides. A total of 2 miles of warm-up. There was 10 min of wait time with the crowd and all. The gun goes off and I am pumped. My race plan was to progressively get faster and with a flat course it should be possible. With the goal still the marathon I didnt want to kill it but still have a good effort. I held back and still had a good race. The plan was for 7:50, 7:30, and under 7:30. What I actually got was 7:42, 7:28, 7:17, and 42 sec 0.1 mile. For a total of 23:13 and a pace of 7:28. I am pumped that I have a new 5K PR with me holding back, a PR by 1:57. Almost 2 min. What can I do if I was all out? My VDOT shifted after this too. (take it easy Karl, I know) IF I was training this whole time at this fitness it said I can run a 3:41 Marathon and 1:46 half. WOW. What a huge change in my fitness in this last 6 months. Everyone else finished happy and ready to do another one. It was an awesome experience and the newbies really enjoyed themselves. Here are some pictures:

this last picture is my wifes cousin tina. She ran cross country and is excited about her new found fitness. She was so pumped to be running today, I was pumped to see such an excited young runner. She has some potential so I hope she continues to run. The other pictures are the group that ran the turkey trot.
Friday-5 miles easy. I wanted to find a trail to run. This last 6 months I have really embraced trail running and its a really fun alternative. Today I fell even more in love with it. I found the Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve and off I went. I get there and discover there is a huge network of awesome trails. None of the trails stick out to me so I just decided to see what was what. Here is the brochure:

I cant get it to rotate. If I lived there I would run this place ALL THE TIME. You can run there a 100 times and not run the same route twice. Here are some of the pics I took during the run:

Monument hill led to the view you see on the last picture. It was breathtaking. I didnt want to leave. I ran a total of 5 miles and on the way I saw birds, squirrels, flowers, and a mountain lion. Yes a mountain lion. It ran across the path and continued down a ravine. Then it stopped to watch me. I have video but the mountain lion is not visible. It was an awesome run and I am so proud to be able to experience such an awesome place.
Saturday-Since the wife and I had a 6 mile run scheduled anyway, why not a 10K? Besides I could use a 10K PR anyway. The Temecula Turkey trot was ran on saturday not thursday so I thought why not? There were no takers except for Tina. She really wanted to run and had never ran a 10K. It was so cool to have her with us. The course was not clear to me until I drove there. There were gorgeous wineries and the start was no different. What became very clear was the terrain. Dirt roads and hills. Sweet! But will a PR be possible if I dont want to go too hard and these obstacles were in front of me. My race strategy changed. The race was 3 miles out and back and then WAY up for the last 0.2 miles. SO progression run was going to be difficult. Can I keep it steady then? I wanted to finish at about 50 min or so. That meant 8 min miles. I ran a one mile warm up and I didnt feel like drills or strides. While in mile 2 I knew that was going to be difficult so I thought just work on staying tucked onto people, do not get sucked up into what the course is doing and just run, and then do not walk no matter how hilly or steep. Work on rhythm. I felt so strong. I held this back too and took the hill on the end of the run really well. I am so happy about this aspect of my running coming together. Here are my splits: 8:07, 8:05, 8:02, 8:29, 8:25, 8:23, and 1:50 for the 0.2. For a total of 51:19. A PR by 2:23. A flatter, easier terrain would yield a much faster time but with were I am at, there was no purpose for that. It was a strong effort on a terrain that was tough. The dirt roads were very bumpy, in the motorcross world they call them whoops. Julie also PR'd and Christina went ahead and won her age group! Here is a pic of her:

Pardon my thumb. She rocked it though. She ran the whole thing minus really training for this distance and didnt walk despite the nature of the course. WAY TO GO GIRL!
Sunday-Off to rest and travel home.
Stats: Total of 18 miles and 2 PR's totalling 3 min and 20 sec. 3 memorable runs. Now an easy week of running and hammer this marathon next sunday.

Cringing as I think of Goals for the Las Vegas Marathon

2011-11-20T22:03:00.000-08:00

As today has unfolded I have been thinking about whether or not to post about goals. I have been known to set the bar too high for myself. At times a good thing, at others setting myself up for disappointment. I have set goals that were unfair to myself. This concept is a healthy thing. I think of this problem as a root of failed health all around the country. People who forget that striving for better pertains to them. I am constantly reminded at how awesome it is that people with lives and families and things still do speed work, they still repeat hills, and other training that the average person just doesnt get. I love it. I love that only a few select people really know what work I am doing. I love that people out there are busting their butts just to get better and they do not have a "real" competition. Got off topic. The goals.

A Goal: 4:15. That is a 9:43 pace. My Vdot said 4:15 so that has been my goal. "A pie in the sky day" is what Karl said. This goal is gonna take some guts. Not only will it be at that pace but it means that I cannot walk. I have yet to prove that to myself. My training has not really supported this goal but it is close. I am going to give it my all to keep this.

B goal: 4:23. That is 10:00 pace. This would be an hour PR at this distance. I really, really want that. It will be tough and again will come down to guts in that last 10K. We always talk about the 1st race as the race just put in there to get you tired and then the real race begins. The only "concern" that I have is what I am feeling like when this time comes. I am practicing mental imagery on keeping my mind clear, and my body calm and rely on the hurt and pain I have endured/overcame to act like I have been there before. Because I have.

C goal: No walking/4:30 and beat the time cut off. I dont think I will get picked up because the times dont add up for the race people. I know that I can get through the first half in the allotted time no problem...but will they shut it down when they say they will? Does not make sense. The amount of turns and the afternoon/evening start time may make for lost time. I feel like I can run anywhere, anytime, in any conditions, and at any time of day. Bring it on. Here is how my week went:

Monday-Rest. I met all mileage goals and got all my specialty/long runs in so I rested. It was a hard week anyway.
Tuesday-Rest. With the start of track season and taper and all I decided not to fight to find time to run. There is no running with the girls now. The first 2 day stretch off I have had in a long time. Kinda nice.
Wednesday-5 mile easy. Just got a easy run in while the girls went easy. Sully and i enjoyed sunset park.
Thursday-Rest, I am going to have find a way to get a run in with practice/work in there.
Friday-10 mile under 9. I thought it would be a fun thing to see what I can do. While I ran the first mile I thought what if I can do both? Progression and under 9, keep that real tight. Here are my splits: 8:59 (under 9 right? lol), 8:54, 8:52, 8:48, 8:45, 8:44, 8:42 (this is where the hill was and the terrain stays slightly more uphill then Las Vegas Blvd), 8:48 ( I was trying to keep this pace up hill, lol), and 8:53. I was battling and went to the place I know I will be in a few weeks. I am proud of that but I wonder how long I could have kept that pace. This is the kind of workout that I need to make more common. This is a character builder.
Saturday- Hill repeats. I have been curious. I have run this hill on High Mesa in the past and I wanted to see what I got. I ran it twice. It is a 600 ft gain in 1/2 mile. I had mixed success. Although I ran it twice, which, I couldnt do before, I had to walk some. Quads and lungs on fire. I also had some shoes on that were of no help. My feet were sore. I got a good rhythm and I am loving that strategy for tackling hills. A total of 6 miles.
Sunday-Long Run. A 14 miler was cut short. I wasnt into it. I just didnt feel like it. I got up to run with the girls for practice and didnt feel like it. My feet were sore and I had other things going on and I just didnt want to put it out there today. I am on taper and I just cut it short. It was 8 miles at 9:21 pace. I was with the girls and with sully and I just didnt have the "thing" to stay with the plan.
Total: Weekly mileage 29 miles, supposed to be 37. I had a good specialty run, I cut my long run short and the weekly mileage was down. Just a weird week. Only 1 day of practice next week, off to california for the holiday where I will run a 5K and a 10K. No worries Karl I will behave. Quote:

“Endurance is one of the most difficult disciplines, but it is to the one who endures that the final victory comes.”
Buddha

When the first race is over, what do you have left?

So Much For the Taper....

2011-11-13T22:00:00.000-08:00

Coach Krazy Legs emailed and said, "how about another 18 miler." I said lets do it. I had a good week. I thought it was going to be a little boring and all. A lot of things have been running thought my head lately about what to expect with this marathon. Here is how my week went:

Monday (last weeks mileage)-Easy 4. Groggy, sore, and tired. Get the weekly mileage in.
Tuesday-Easy run. 3 miles with the girls. Nothing to report.
Wednesday-Training 6. I found a new road to run with easy gravel. May be a spot for mile repeats.
Thursday-Off
Friday-Progression 10 miler. The weather around stanford was gloomy and moist. Not rainy, just wet. It was perfect. Not too cold. I had a few hours to kill so I slipped on the kicks and off I go. I ran past the football stadium, through campus, right by the Game Day stage where ESPN was. Here are my splits: 9:21, 9:13, 9:10, 9:02, 8:58, 8:43, 8:33, 8:28, 8:34, and 8:31. The worst part is that the last 2 were way faster. The road I ran on had a lot of lights. I must have been stopped by 5 lights. I think they were 8:15 and 8:10 effort/pace. I felt awesome. That is an average of 8:52 pace. Total time 1:28:38.
Saturday-4 mile recovery. To Stanford stadium and back. Sore and tired but got it in.
Sunday-Long Run, 18 miles. I wondered how much nutrition played a part in the other long runs collapsing. Today we went for another long run and used some nutrition. It went much better. 18 miles, 2:56:51. That is a 9:49 pace. The hills are bigger than the race. I started the day sore and tired. I wanted to run that way. I even had a 2 min negative split. Tapered and flatter...what am I capable of come race day? No issues muscluskeletal. I used some shot blocks and some Gu's. The first 9 I carried Sully and water. The second accelerade. I felt strong. A good confidence booster going into the taper.
Stats-45 miles total. More than the plan but then again we didnt plan the 18 miler. Got a strong progression run in. A solid long run. A great week. Quote:

“If my mind can conceive it, and my heart can believe it, I know I can achieve it.”
Jesse Jackson

What am I capable of come race day?

This body is starting to OBEY...

2011-11-06T21:11:00.000-08:00

I am lucky enough to be a guy that helps people connect with their body. When we lose what our body means to us, it rebels. I believe it can be the difference between a happy life and a stressed out aimless existence. Well that is how it was for me anyway. Just when I think I have it, I reach another level of awareness of what my body is capable. I remember the last time I ran 20 miles before the LA Marathon I thought to myself, I hate this. What am I doing? Today I felt like a real training run. I just kept thinking yeah, I do 20 mile training runs now. I felt great, until it wound down. The toughness, the willingness to be uncomfortable will no doubt continue to improve but today I started to believe even more. Running is a metaphor for life and life is funny. I love running and not always during the run. I run because of the lessons I learn about myself. I cannot think of something that is so healthy and so educational at the same time. There are literally no cons, only pros. Here is how my week went:

Monday-8 Mile progressive run. Here are my splits: 9:19, 9:15, 9:04, 9:00, 8:45, 8:46, 8:13, and 7:50. 8:46 Average over 1:10. I started the day dreading the cold and getting out of bed. When I began to run under 9 I remember why I do that. I love the feeling of running fast. I felt like I was efficient and in control of my body. Awesome. I would rather go fast. Today was last weeks miles.
Tuesday-Easy 4. The girls had practice, I ran.
Wednesday-Easy 7 miles at 9:19 pace. i felt good, for the most part.
Thursday-Only managed 2 miles with the girls during warmup then had to coach. Couldnt get anymore in the rest of the day.
Friday-Off. I fudged it. I wanted to get a sold 8 or so in and I traded it in for a morning off. Hang with the dogs and stay off my feet. Felt funny to not be out there.
Saturday-6 miles with hill repeats. We met at 6 tunnels. The hill was on the River Mountain Loop Trail. It also happened to be at the turnaround of the ITU world championships. Those folks were flying! Got me juiced about getting on my bike. Boy do I miss the bike. If I wasnt making such huge dents in my fitness I would get on it. The running work I am putting in is absolutely priceless.
Sunday-20 mile long run. After running some hills yesterday I wondered how the rhythm would affect the long run. 9:45 felt way. too. slow. I physically could not run that slow for the first 14 or so miles. I saw my half marathon time at 2:05. 9:40 pace. Trying to go so slow. Fighting myself to go that slow. Then the wind, rain, fatigue, and grade got to me. Oh there is that lack of nutrition thing too. I started to bonk. The first 10 mile loop is hilly and the second was flatter. It does have the slow up grade as does the race course on Las Vegas blvd. I was 10 min/ mile through 16 and even as low as 9:38 through 14. I started to get hungry. No cramping, no trouble though. Overall, a confidence booster. I felt very strong and I battled better than I have before. I have to work on the end mental toughness. Nourishment will definitely help though.
Stats: 39 miles without tomorrows easy 4 shakeout. 20 mile long run in, 8 miles under 9 not in. Overall a good week but could have been managed better. I ran a total of 150 miles in the month of October. I suppose the taper is in effect. Quote:

Nobody can make you feel inferior without your consent.

Eleanor Roosevelt

Mental Break

2011-10-30T20:25:00.000-07:00

This week is a down mileage week and I needed a bit of a mental break. With a huge meet and traveling, it was a good time to be a little less obsessed with running. I am going in a good direction and I just need to relax a bit. For the first time in months and months I had 2 days in a row that I slept till 7:30 or later. Wow, that was huge. This running only thing is weird. A long bike or an open swim breaks up the week so nice. I miss triathlon. I do HAVE to race at RAGE. I have a story to tell about that and it will happen soon. My friends are talking about surf city. If I sign up for the full I can avenge last years did not start. I want that. Now I was approached about Eugene by my dad. Always a bucket list kind of race. With Running Medicine who knows how my time is going to be. Here is how my week has gone:

Monday- (miles from last week.) 18 mile long run. 2-9 mile loops. I didnt have the juice to keep my pace. I was hurting and tired. My feet, my knee, and my back. My feet seem to be more related to my dead footwear and left over from Mt Charleston rocks. 3:03. I battled stomach, leg pain, and fatigue and I still had that kind of run. I was happy with that. Cannot run perfect every time.
Tuesday-Off
Wednesday- Easy 5. Nothing special. I was sore but not horrible.
Thursday- Easy 4. Just trying to shake out. I felt pretty good. Started out junky and ended up happy with the effort.
Friday-Training Run. 8 miles-ish. Watch malfunctioned. Ft. Collins felt cold and brsck. But no effects from the altitude. Found some gorgeous ponds to run around. Snow, mud, water, and ducks. So awesome. My favorite thing about running is go somewhere and explore. No data.
Saturday-Race, travel, and off from training. Slept in.
Sunday-Long Run. 10 miles at 9:26 pace So easy. 1:36. I wanted to go and Sully wanted to go but I stayed back. I want to have a great next week. It will be the big week and I want that to go well.
Tomorrow-Should be 8 mile progression run.
Stats-27 plus 8 will be 35. Good long run, weekly goal will be met, and specialty run will be met as well. Overall, good week. Quote:

Exercise to stimulate, not to annihilate. The world wasn't formed in a day, and neither were we. Set small goals and build upon them.
Lee Haney

The Balance required to run...

2011-10-25T10:22:00.001-07:00

For my other blog entry check here: Balance of Running

Enjoy!

Plugged IN

2011-10-23T20:01:00.000-07:00

Thats right, plugged in. I feel very strong about my running, my nutrition, and my rest. I feel very good. I had to shift my running week to allow for traveling with the cross country team and our short trips over the weekend. So my long runs was on monday last week and tomorrow will be another long one. I have been sore all week but nothing too serious. I am starting to have concrete goals set for the race. Tomorrow I will see what I can do for 18 miles. Should be fun. Here is how my week went:

Monday-(still considered last week mileage wise) Long run of 12 miles at 9:32 pace. 1:54:25. WOW. I am pumped about that. I felt more tired than the 16, so could the extra 10 sec a mile account for that? Sully was right there with me and he loves that long run.
Tuesday-Off
Wednesday-7 miles easy. Easy pace, easy route, just get the legs going while the girls did a workout.
Thursday-6 miles easy. Sore, tired, and just getting it in.
Friday-8 mile progression run. I felt very controlled. Here are my splits: 9:12, 9:12, 9:02, 9:04, 8:45, 8:45, 8:57 (this was supposed to be under 8:20 but sully got harmfully attacked and had a little ordeal with a crazy lady and her huge Chow, but we are good), and 8:20. I have to hold back sooo much on the first part and then I am pooped by the end of the fast miles. Not too sore, not too tired after, and I like going faster more.
Saturday-Easy-Medium run. Mt Charleston. Girls had a workout I ran around and enjoyed the cold weather and the beautiful views. 7 miles total. The rocks out there kill my feet.
Sunday-Short shake out. Since I have 18 tomorrow, the rocks kill my feet, and I am going to way over on my weekly mileage I thought I would do the minimum. I ran 2. The last 3/4 mile I ran hard on the highway to get my legs moving but not too long. Bring on 18.
Stats-30 miles pre-long run. When that work gets done tomorrow I will have 48 miles. 42 was the goal, 8 mil progression run the specialty, and the long run of 18 will be tomorrow. Id grade it a A-. Quote:

"Surely joy is the condition of life." —Henry David Thoreau, philosopher

I having so much Joy all around me.

Running is a funny thing...

2011-10-16T21:13:00.000-07:00

The quest for success is also a funny thing. What you perceive as success one minute, would be old news the next, and then whats next. I think about this concept all the time. I love the journey. Mostly when I talk to other runners who are successful they also enjoy the journey. Coaches are bathed in the journey. Putting one foot in front of the other, asking yourself what can I do today to be better for tomorrow and then next day you do the same thing. It is the 4th straight year of developing this mindset with regard to running. I cruised this week because it was a recovery week and I felt outstanding. The pace was "easy" all week and I was faster then I have ever been. Funny. Here is how my week went:

Monday-Off
Tuesday-Hill repeats. I ran the same course as last week but added 2 more repeats. They are 1/2 mile on and 1/2 mile off. I did 4. My goal was to have an easy 1.5 to the hill, hill X 4, 1 mile cool down. Each hill I wanted under 8:00. I was fired up for this run and I could not hold myself back on the warm up. That was 8:45 pace. Then I hit the hill at 7:45, 7:50, 8:20 (brain fart), and 8:02. Then 9:15 as a cool down. 6 miles total. At lunch so it was still hot. I was happy about this. The 3rd repeat I just thought I was going the right speed and I wasnt. I mentally checked out. I got it back on the 3rd one.
Wednesday-Easy progression run. It was supposed to easy. I couldnt hold myself back. It was not what I wanted but I was out there and feeling awesome. It was supposed to be an hour and I wanted to progress each 20 min chunk. I ran with the faster group and I wanted to see if I could hang with them. Here are the splits: 9:52, 9:32, 8:19, 8:20, 8:24, 8:48. I decided not to push it since I was supposed to be recovering. I felt awesome.
Thursday-Rest
Friday-Shakeout, easy run. KD and I decided to turn a shakeout run we do when the girls do their pregame run into a scambling event. Then we finished up 3 more miles. My watch says I went 4 miles but I must have went a 1/2 mile up. It was a blast. Easy 4.
Saturday-Race and travel day, no running.
Sunday-I wanted 7 easy miles. The route was the 6 tunnels route. I went "easy" and was able to run it without walking and even close to walking. Even in the end of July I could not do that. Today was 6 minutes faster than the last time I ran this and I wasnt even pushing at all. I ran the hills, I felt amazing. I was thinking about whether or not the difference is physical, emotional or what. Its both. I was just cruising today and it was 9:15 average. Awesome weather, great run, and so happy about it.
Tomorrow-12 miles. Long run. Looking forward to it.
Stats: If all miles are complete tomorrow it will be 37 miles. Weekly mileage goal was 35. Specialty run was not accomplished but the overall week went well. approximately 180 miles in the last 30 days. By far and away my biggest month of running. Quote:

"You must give up the person you used to be, to become the person you want to be"
Les Brown (something close to that)

Seeing things through new eyes....

2011-10-09T21:31:00.000-07:00

Since last weeks post was about my lack of racing and yet I continue to be surrounded by racers, I could not wait to watch the Ironman world championship online. Ya see this is my dream race. The start of my triathlon career was to just to see if I could. One step in front of the other and here I am. Where is that? No mans land but progressing at an alarming rate. I spend A LOT of time talking about developing runners. Developing fitness, developing running programs. One thing I never saw before was the patience the racers at Kona have experienced. I am nearly 5 years into my endurance life, these guys are 3-4 times that. karl and I have talked about this but it is glaring at me now. Karl is 3 times that and of course he is much faster, recovers easier, and can do any race any day. Bg shout out to Karl for his second place finish this weekend. Way to go dude.

I watched this race from different eyes. I can see a whole bunch more things that I didnt see before. These coaching eyes saw these athletes from a different perspective. The racing tactics, fitness, and performance they demonstrated was now not so foreign to me. I watched this race and got so fired up. I know that if I keep my head on straight, I keep training right and healthy I will be there. I have in the past thought that since I was starting so far back that I just dont have it in my to do that. Thats not fair. I have to be patient. I have to develop into this caliber of athlete. Boston? That is doable too. I thought after my first marathon that it would never happen. That is part of my old life. My new life says, if the fitness I have right now is possible for a 1:15 min PR in one training cycle, why not over time shave the rest? I have a long way to go but now I understand better what I am doing. This has only doubled a hundred times, so will it continue to double? Im sure. I dont have all the answers but I can see how this progression goes. It would be easy to say with no biking or swimming, how can my triathlon skills be developing? Well my fitness is so fluid right now. It is moving the right direction. I feel like I get better every week. Here is how I got better this week:

Monday-Off
Tuesday-Hill repeats. I ran 1.5 miles to a hill, I did 0.5 up/0.5 down X 2 with a 1.5 mile cool down. 5 mile total. The up was an average of 7:52 and the second was 7:45. The hill gains 100 ft in that 0.5 miles. I felt very strong. The weather was perfect, my rhythm was strong. I definitely need to do more reps of these.
Wednesday-Easy 4.
Thursday-8 mile progression run. I was pumped for this workout. I wanted to see what I could put on the last part of the run. I was wondering how fast that last mile could be if I was able to keep myself even. Here are my splits: 9:59, 9:13, 9:03, 9:15, 8:50, 8:52, 8:34, and 8:18. With hills and keeping myself back i feel very strong about this result. I stayed back, I went fast when I wanted to, and I felt totally in control. When I do this again I think the plateaus can be faster.
Friday-Long Run. I was disappointed in last weeks long run. I wanted to redeem that. I also want to know what this marathon pace should be. The goal today was simple. Keep it as even as possible around 9:45. I averaged 9:46 through all 16 miles, 2:38. This is by far my best long run. I was in control, I did not have any issues. I started to get a little tired at the end and the effort to run close to 9:45 was much harder but I got through it. Karl will want splits so here they are: 9:40, 9:51, 9:45. 9:49, 9:30, 9:41, 9:38, 9:24, 9:59, 9:55, 10:38, 9:57, 9:56, 10:18, 10:25, and 9:52. The hills are hard to avoid around the house. I wasnt even that tired or sore. I felt very good about this workout. No pain, no musculoskeletal issues. I had a little water but nothing else. No nutrition issues. Sully ran 10 his longest run.
Saturday-I had to run with the cross country team. I just wanted to go easy. There isnt anything easy about Mt. Charleston. I forgot my watch but I figure I went 8. It was snowy, cold, and awesome. It was a great workout for the team and I enjoyed the surroundings. 8 miles total.
Sunday-Again, I had to run. I ran 4 miles easy. Out and back 4 miles.
Stats: 45 miles total. I got my 8 mile progression, my long 16 miler in, and my weekly mileage goal. Overall, a great week. If every week went like this everyone would run. I know that the good weeks make the bad weeks tolerable so I am in check. I am happy but not satisfied. Quote:

“Success means having the courage, the determination, and the will to become the person you believe you were meant to be”
George Sheehan quotes

In my case, athlete. become the athlete I was meant to be

No Racing is Killing Me....

2011-10-02T22:52:00.000-07:00

As a coach I prepare my athletes to run. As a PT I help my patients to run/perform. Usually I have a steady dose of one race after the next, one stepping stone to the next. I do not have that right now. Although I am on the clock with the Las Vegas Marathon. It is months away. While I prepare for this race I am running very well. I am dying to see where I am. I am dying to see what my goal for Las Vegas should be. When I started all this I read that 4:30 was the cut off. That would be a 50 min PR. Can I go faster than that? What does my fitness say right now? Here is how my week went.

Monday-Rest
Tuesday-Preview the race course. I ended up with 5 miles. 3 miles under 8:20. The details have been fuzzy.
Wednesday-Race course again easy. 5.5 Miles easy at 9:15 pace.
Thursday-6 miles under 9. 10 min easy, drills and strides. Then 2 laps on the 5K course. It didnt actually occur to me that it would be near 10K. And if I run it under 6 that my 10K PR would be in play, IN TRAINING. My official 10K PR is 53:42. I ran 53:45. I also clocked the 10K at 6.26 miles. Hmmm. It was a 8 miles effort. I felt strong and holding back. It was 2 X the 5K course. The first 5K was 25ish and the second was 28ish. The avg was 8:35. I wasnt too tired. In race conditions I can go harder, the cross country world calls this course a slow course.
Friday-Long run. Since the meet is on saturday, I had to get my long run on friday. 14 miles. I wanted sully to reach his max so he ran 8. Then a 6 mile add on. The first 8 I felt like I could run forever at 9:30-40 pace. Then I dropped sully off, headed back out. I thought I would run my 6 mile loop. The big hill zapped me. Then the mental games started. The last 6 were a grind. Too slow, too much mental. I think it was a culmination of the week. I was pooped. I got it in. No injuries just tired and sore.
Saturday-Meet. I didnt have training clothes on or my watch but I walked and ran a ton. Nothing official as mileage goes but I was very tired.
Sunday-Training run at elevation. I forgot my watch but did 20 min easy, drills/strides, and then hill repeats, 10 in cool down. I think about 6 total. Felt OK. Looking forward to a new week.
Stats: 38 miles total. All goals met. I can get my nutrition better and I can rest more. I may need to add some strength/core work. I can feel the adaptation. Quote:

"the ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.
- Martin Luther King, Jr.

I am definitely in a new stage of challenge

Starting to wear me down...

2011-09-25T17:48:00.000-07:00

Running only now for the last month. First time in my life I have committed so whole heartedly to the run. I want to race though. Everyone around me is racing. I will be traveling to coach races and missing my wife and friends race and I miss racing. I know my fitness is progressing and my run fitness will no doubt make me a far better triathlete. Who knows may be I am kidding myself, may be I am a runner only. (eh Karl?) I just know that day in and day out I am doing the work and striving to move the blocks that I have put in front of myself. I though of this yesterday while on my long run/workout. KD said something about feeling sorry for yourself. I was thinking "me compared to me, sometimes I do that." I will think, no one else is even out here and you are at least running. But then If I look at how I perform compared to myself, can i work harder? I have had some fatigue and soreness this week. I took 2 days off and still feel very tired. My hips are sore, My feet were killing me yesterday. I got some new trail shoes since the rocks were killing my feet. I met my week mileage goal, my long run now that I look at it should have been 14 and not 12, and I did not get my specialty work in. I did not plan the week better. Here is how my week went:

Monday-Off....finally get some sleep and rest.
Tuesday-I dont know how to interpret my watch data but looks like a bunch of fun. 20 min warm up/drills and strides. Then 4000 m at 7:48 pace and then another rep of something but it includes a cool down. I had some time so I went home and ran with Sully some too. For a total of 7 miles.
Wednesday-Easy run. Lately I feel like I have been neglecting Sully. So we ran 4 miles on the jeep trails out by my house. I felt very tired and sore. Now that I think about it, the shoes I was wearing were not working for me. I thought it was longer but I ran out of time.
Thursday-Supposed to be a progression run. Easy warm-up ended up about a mile or so then drills and strides. This was supposed to be 12 min at 8:30-8:45, 12 min at 7:55-8:05, and then I was going to go at 7:30 the last 12 min. Here is how it actually went: 8:42, 8:03, and 9:25, lol. Sully actually got lost. He disobeyed me and went with the much faster runners then didnt stay with them. I was very scared and ended up running another mile to locate him. Then the cool down was further than I thought. Ended up with 7 miles total. I got some good time at race pace but I was not able to keep it. Tired, sore, scared, and not into it. I am looking for a day off at this point.
Friday-Day off
Saturday-Long run. With the girls previewing the race course I thought I would get up early so I can get a total of 12 in. Today I looked and it should have been 14 and not 12. It would have been no big deal but I woke up late. Ran 10 with the girls, including 3 times around the 5K course and then 2 in a while after. All averaged 9:32. With rest in between and some faster then I should go. SUrprised to look at the data. I know I can go faster over the same period. I am looking forward to running regular. This cross-country is keeping me from good quality workouts, lol. Or may be this is just what I need. I feel tired and sore but nothing that makes me want to stop. Today was the last draw on my feet. New shoes are in order. The rocks are killing me.
Sunday-Easy run-Kinda. We are going to try to run every weekend at mt. Charleston. We had a 15 min warm-up, ran 2 hill repeats, then I ran 40 min easy with the lower group. A total of 6 miles. New shoes treated me just right. Lungs felt TONS better but my legs were trashed. The hills were brutal but got them done. Deer Creek and Bristlecone are the best.
Stats-36 miles total. Had some good points and some low lights. The XC team prolly will taper some this week to get ready for our home race but I will be better at getting my stuff done. My long run wasnt long enough and it was an oversight on my part. I am looking forward to some longer faster stuff to see where I am at. Quote:

“Desire is the key to motivation, but it's determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal - a commitment to excellence - that will enable you to attain the success you seek.”
Mario Andretti

My goal seems so far away. Las Vegas marathon cannot get here soon enough.

Putting in the work

2011-09-18T21:40:00.000-07:00

Seems to be the mantra. Talent, no talent, attitude or not. Put the work in. I am really enjoying the cross country lifestyle and starting to pick up on some track. Here is how my week went.

Monday-4K repeats. I have never done repeats this long and I was not sure what to do as far as pace goes. I decided to go out and see what I felt like. Before that 20 min easy and drills strides. 2 X 4K with about 5 min in between. 8:01 and 7:52 pace for nearly 2 miles. I felt strong. I know I can do these faster. after cool down, 7.11 miles total.
Tuesday-30 min easy. Red Rock trail run. Unfortunately I get to run with the lower group. WE only did 30 min. I would have loved to go longer. The cooler weather, no wind, and rain in the air makes for super enjoyable running. 3 miles total.
Wednesday-Training Run. I am looking at my workout and I cannot remember what we did. I know I went nearly a 5K in 8:25 min pace. I was poooped this day. It ended up a 7.69 miles in total.
Thursday-Progression run. 30 min total. He wanted the last 10 min to be intense but overall less volume and low intensity. I had to stop with an athlete. ended up 3.5 miles. I went 9:35, 9:06, and 8:55. My legs were dead.
Friday-40 min shake out at the race. I ran about 20 or so around Balboa Park with KD. Chatting about running/training/or team. What a gorgeous day. I would say 4 miles.
Saturday-Long Run. The schedule did not go my way. I made the most of it. I was up very early to get these 8 in. I as very tired but got my long run in. I would have liked to go longer but the schedule did not jive. I ran from my hotel to QualCom stadium and back with some wiggles to round up 8. I averaged 9:48. I just felt very fatigued.
Sunday(today)-Easy run. 30 min. Again running with the lower group we only got 30 min. Mt Charleston for some elevation change. Bristlecone trail. So amazing. 3 miles.
Stats: 36.3 miles total. I exceeded my goals for the week and I know I cannot keep that up. I think volume wise it was good, pace wise it was good, but overall I am tired. I am happy that I am not sick, hurt, or limited by anything. Overall, very happy. My Las Vegas Marathon goal is sub 4:30 seems like that is totally doable. All I have to do is keep 10:18? I think I can keep faster than that. We will see how the longer runs go.

Stole this from another blog:

"dont try to outshine anyone, BE THE RAY'
This is my new theme. just be me and do the best I can.

already starting to pay off...

2011-09-11T20:06:00.001-07:00

While I knew that If I committed to running full time I would make some strides, I didnt know they would start so soon. I am running very well right now. I have been very conscious of my rhythm. My hill climbing was suffering from too slow of a rhythm, it felt so hard to get up hill. The drills and strides that I have been doing are helping me feel my way to what I am supposed to be doing. I feel fresher, I feel more in control, and I am looking forward to what the short term and long term goals are. Here is how my week went:

Monday-Hill Repeats. Unfortunately or fortunately I had my run cut short. I was tired and hills, especially this hill, are tough. 4 miles total. Only got 2 trips up but I got some work in.
Tuesday-Water polo and laps.
Wednesday-Mile repeats. 1 mile warmup, 4 mile repeats with 2 min rest all under 8:20, and a mile cool down. 6 total.
Thursday-Easy 4 miles. With tired legs and mind easy 4. I also twisted my ankle kinda gnarly but was able to treat it.
Friday-Training Run of 6. I was running low on mileage and had to do 6 in order to get my 30 in this week. With this super stiff and sore ankle can I go? YES! I got 6 in on a course I normally struggle on the last 2 miles home. A 5 min PR on this course. It ended up under 9 for the whole course. I felt strong and got it done.
Saturday-Long run. Since today was travel day and I didnt know what the weekend would be for me and my training I knew I needed to run 10. I woke up early and was at it. Sully cannot go over 8, so I went 8 plus 2. Karl here are the splits my goal was to keep it 9:15 to 9:30 the whole time: 9:24, 9:01, 9:20, 9:38, 8:52, 9:16, 9:27, 9:58 (gave sully a break), 9:33, and 9:37. Ave 9:18. This is better than my 10-miler PR at Charlottesville. I was going easy, I could have gone longer, and I could have gone faster. My schedule said 10 easy. This route included the 3 miles home that are always tough for me since they are slow up. I kept my rhythm strong and stayed present with that. It makes all the difference. No muscluoskeletal issues. I feel sore and tired but nothing in particular and I am looking forward to another week.
Stats- 30 miles....No miles above 10 min per mile and a week with no walking. Quote:

“Life’s battles don't always go to the strongest or fastest man,
But sooner or later the man who wins is the fellow who thinks he can.”

I can feel the confidence growing

No Choice but to Step Up

2011-09-04T20:39:00.000-07:00

I am running more, I am running faster, and I feel great. I was laughing to myself today as I desperately try to hang on to the group. When an ultra-intense, world class runner is the coach, you step up. I was laughing because I have been forced to run faster. Do not embarrass myself, lol, do not complain, lol, and be responsible for the latter part of the group. What have I got myself into? Truth is I am loving it. Karl has been harping on me to run more, well Karl I am definitely running more. I am happy to report the soreness is going away, the groove is nice, Easily the best I have run in my whole life.

Monday-Rest
Tuesday-Easy 4 miles. 9:27 pace.
Wednesday-20 min Tempo run. 1 mile warm-up. 20 min at 8:25 pace, 2.38 miles, then 1 mile cool down.
Thursday-First formal practice with KD. I only ran during the warmup. Yeah it was 10 min warmup at 7:25 pace, lol....JUST HOLD ON! lol...1.33 miles.
Friday-Training Run. 45 min easy turned into finish off 5 miles. 46:42, 9:19 pace.
Saturday-Progression Run. 1 mile warm-up, drills, strides, and hills. Then supposed to be 20 min out and 15 min back. I ended up tending to a runner who crashed. The terrain was rocky and unsure. I ended up running 7 miles total. The time and tempo were off because of the walking I did during triage. Hard effort. I was on my way to an awesome run.
Sunday(today)-Training Run. Just hold on. HOOOLD ON! Then I ended up leading the trailing group. It ended up 49:55, splits were 8:18, 8:35, 8:14, 9:30, 10:00, and 5:15. 5.5 miles. Then on the track for strides and core. ROUGH.
Stats-27.21 total miles. Garmin reports that I have run 159.8 miles in the last 30 days. There are miles not logged on the watch too. So 170 miles may be?

I am sore for about the first 10 min every morning then I feel great the rest of the time of the day. I have some back soreness, some quad/abd soreness, and feet are tired. I feel really good about the volume/pace I am able to sustain. There has been no walking. Overall, I am stoked. Quote:

"You win 80% of the time by not quitting."
KD

Putting one foot in front of the other...

2011-08-28T16:02:00.000-07:00

I am pooped but at the same time I feel pretty good. I have never committed this much time to running only and I feel like it is coming along. This week I got 2 specialty workouts in I do not normally spend time doing. I still need work but it is coming along. I would like to send a shout out to my man KD. He represented well at the World Championships, just a tough break. Here is how my week went:

Monday-3 miles at 8:49 pace.
Tuesday-Easy 3 miles at 9:45 pace. Did it at night and it was super hot....Sully had to run.
Wednesday-Hill repeats at Exploration peak. 1 mile warm up. 1/4 mile up/down X 3, with 500 foot gain per repeat. My legs were absolutely gassed at the end of the 3rd. Excellent workout.
Thursday-Easy 40 min. Wetlands park. Flat, fun, humid, sully loved it. Ave 9:08 pace. Helps running with these girls.
Friday-Easy 30 min run to scope out where to do the mile repeats for saturday.
Saturday-Mile Repeats. 2 mile out and back nice and easy. 1 mile X 4. I was looking for all to be under 8:20 and above 8:00. I ended up with 8:18, 8:23, 8:05, and 8:28. Easy 10 min cool down. I felt very strong. I could have done one more going the down direction, lol, but coming back I would have been pooped. I just did what I was told. My legs feel so much better moving faster.
Sunday(today)-Long Run. The girls had 70 min and I had 90. We ran 6 tunnels. 8.07 miles in 1:25 for a 10:06 ave. I felt spent. It was very very hot and the air quality was poor. I had a big week and today if felt hard to get out there. I did it and banged it out.
Stats: 28.51 ish miles. Big for me...Quote:

"Ask yourself: 'Can I give more?'. The answer is usually: 'Yes'."
-Paul Tergat, Kenyan professional marathoner

I am finding what I can give.

running in a different place...

2011-08-21T21:42:00.000-07:00

Not physically but mentally. Running 6 days a week is a change for me. Not bad though. I am really looking forward to it. Getting more experience. I am having trouble with where my head is at. I have decided to incorporate my own coach. Karl from cuttingedgerunning.com is a very good friend of mine and one hell ova coach. I am going to start running with the UNLV runnin rebel cross country team and I am not sure how that is going to go while training for the Las Vegas Marathon. He is going to modify my running with the girls to match my getting ready for Las Vegas. All I have to do is put one foot in front of the other. Usually I am my own coach so now I must trust someone else to get through and I have full trust in Karl. Here is how my week went:

Monday-Training Run. 4 miles.
Tuesday-Medium long run. 6 miles.
Wednesday-Rest
Thursday-Easy run. 3 miles
Friday-Training Run. 4 miles
Saturday-Change in the schedule. TT bike course for the Amica race next sunday. My sprint next week that I may or may not be racing. Then we ran the sprint course too. Unexpected 3 mile run.
Sunday-Wanted another medium long run but decided to sleep in. We went to the lake and given how busy I am going to be I jumped on a chance to hang out.

That is 20 miles in a week. I ran 11 days in June, in August I have run 14 days and we are not close to the end of the month. 20 miles is not a lot for me, I usually do it in fewer days and bigger chunks.

Getting Ready for the season....

2011-08-14T19:16:00.000-07:00

I have spent the last few weeks getting work straightened out to change my schedule. I have had a few meetings and introductions and I am ready to coach my first practice. It is not getting here fast enough. I have been getting my body ready to run that many days a week. The most I have ever ran in one week is 4. This will be a step up when I go to 6 days a week. Since this is a training blog I will stick to this topic. Here is how my week went:

Monday-Rest
Tuesday-Run 4 miles.
Wednesday-Rest
Thursday-Run 5 miles
Friday-Run 4 miles
Saturday-Honoring my commitment to shannon. 45 mile bike ride and 4 mile run. The bike was out to Jean, NV and back. The run began with a summer rain shower that was so awesome. Then a 4 mile run. Made me real bummed this kind of effort is going to a race but it is what it is. I felt awesome today.
Sunday-Long run scratched. Sully has been sick and we took him to the vet. Just a bowel irritation at this point. I was going to go 8-10.

This week I hope to run monday-saturday. We will see how things go. Quote:

"A win on the track is not easy to easy to achieve, but a win in cross country is a rare treat."
Jack Daniels, PHD

Our first meet is at Reno our rivals to the North. Bring em on! I started reading Daniels' Running formula. I heard it is a running coaching must.

Barefoot running

2011-08-10T09:00:00.000-07:00

here is a new post on barefoot running!

I forgot to post?

2011-08-08T20:33:00.000-07:00

First and foremost thanks for the comments and emails for congrats. That means a lot to me. Life is funny these days. Not having a training plan is weird. It has been more than 3 years of continuous training. I have practice starting in a few weeks and I trying to get myself acclimated to running 6 days a week. Who knows what the next few weeks will bring but I am hopeful it will be a huge learning experience. This week has been interesting. I have been low level sick now for about 2 weeks. My stomach/bowels has been turning tricks in my body. Not fun at all. Here is how it went:

Monday-Strength/conditioning
Tuesday-4 miles. Sully is a good running buddy.
Wednesday-4 miles that turned into 2 miles. Had a bowel episode at the lake when Sully and I were at the lake and things just didnt work out.
Thursday-5 miles. Just getting miles in.
Friday-off
Saturday-Swim/bike brick-Newbie training and not so much training for me. I love exposing people to this lifestyle. She is going to be a great addition to the group.
Sunday-8 to 10 mile run turned into 2 miles. I almost had the worst run ever. Thank god I got home in time. one mile out and one mile back. ROUGH.

Don't say you don't have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michelangelo,
Mother Teresa, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein.

KD via someone else, lol

I have some BIG news and some not so good news...

2011-07-31T18:56:00.000-07:00

The good news? I have agreed to become an assistant coach at UNLV. I am the assistant cross country and distance coach. I am absolutely fired up to join my alma mater as a coach. I have not signed paperwork yet so it is not 100% but pretty close. I will be assisting Khadevis Robinson. He is a Four-time USA Outdoor Champion ('99, '05, '06, '07); Four-time USA Indoor champion ('99, '06, '08, 09); 1998 NCAA Outdoor champion; Four-time USA Outdoor runner-up ('02, '03, '04, 09), so he can run. Not to mention he is also a motivational speaker. He is representing the USA in the 800M at worlds. I am so excited to be a part of the coaching staff that will turn around Rebel track and field. My role will be to take care of practice, assist with traveling, and insert my experience as an expert in efficient running when needed. I will get to run with ladies and, hopefully, that will transform my running. I will learn a lot from KD. Here is his website here.

The Not so good news? I most likely am out for pumpkinman and possibly put my Ironman dreams on hold. We (UNLV) have a race the same day. I am not the "hey thanks for the job but I cannot do it that day" kind of guy. I am committed to UNLV. It also puts me on the clock for Las Vegas Marathon. Running 5-6 days a week will no doubt help my running. Running fitness will no doubt help my triathlon. I am putting my work above my training. I believe that I am awesome at working with runners and I feel like big things are coming. Who knows what doors will open for me. Here is how my week went:

Monday-Passed on workout to hang out with old buddy from college.
Tuesday-Training run 4 miles
Wednesday-strength/core
Thursday-Training run 5.5 miles.
Friday-off
Saturday-Long bike. Started out as a bike/run brick but everyone in the group nearly bonked on the bike. 40 miles including the gnarliest of hills. The bike gained 3,000 feet. It was all on the pumkinman course. I committed to training with my partner and I will keep my word. I just wont race. My legs were done. Crampy, tired, and wobbly. It was overcast but still 100 degrees by 7:30. It was rough. I spilled my water bottle so I only had 1 bottle of water. It was a character building training session.
Sunday-I flat out didnt feel like it today. Long run scratched to sleep. Quote:

"I felt pretty good to be quite honest. But again, That race was stacked. I'm in the race with the current world champion, the previous world champion, the Olympic champion, all of that. You don't know what these guys are going to do. I thought, 'I might have this, but I know someone is going to be coming' ... I was trying to maintain my speed. That is what I need ..."

KD
I cannot wait to pick this guys brain.

defying the recovery block?

2011-07-24T16:43:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking about this block and wondering if I needed to recover. The grand scheme of the training plan for this 1/2 iron calls for a recovery block. Life, the schedule, and the elements had resulted in in me not so tired. Life interfered again. There isnt much going on right now but here is how my week went.

Monday-pool was full....strength and core only
Tuesday-Run 4. Felt strong. Got through it...
Wednesday-pushed an easy bike for some time with the wife. Got food poisoning. Horrible night, horrible next day. Even called into work. I never do that.
Thursday-REST...in bed. Should have ran but no way.
Friday-Rest
Saturday-Bike/Run brick-I wondered what I would have in the tank. I still felt somewhat dehydrated and I decided that I would put my best foot forward and see what I got. If I get into trouble I stop. I made it through the bike a whole 5 min faster then last week. I used tri bike this week and road bike last week. I climbed so much easier this week. It just does so much better on the hills. I wanted to feel good but I didnt. I started to get really hungry. I have not felt hungry on a workout in a long time. Even when the workout is 4 hours long. After a hour and a half? Hmmm...whats happening. I got back to the car and began T2 and I started to get dizzy. Hmmm....may be this is it. It is now 7 at the lake with NO COVER......I have water. The dizziness settles and i think I can go then about 0.7 miles in I get light headed and start to swerve....OK! DONE! I walked back and waited for the the rest of the group to finish.
Sunday-Open Swim. Sully was CRAZZZY with his day off on thursday and he NEEDED to run. I decided on a easy run of 3 miles then we swam 1300 meters. It was very windy and I went all out. Good swim. Quote:

Jogging is very beneficial. It's good for your legs and your feet. It's also very good for the ground. It makes it feel needed. ~Charles Schulz, Peanuts

A mixed bag...

2011-07-17T19:47:00.000-07:00

There really isnt a whole lot to report. There are a lot of things brewing but they will have their time. Right now it is about doing the best I can with what I got. This week was different since I had some entertaining to do. What I have is heat, which requires early morning workouts and early bed times. With a lot going on at work and home, I have struggled with those time frames. Here is how the week went:

Monday-Strength and core.
Tuesday-Easy run. 4 miles slow and easy. Sore and tired....
Wednesday-Bike hills. Pushed for sleep.
Thursday-Training run. 5 miles. Tried to pick it up on the way home and had a 8:45 mile 5 up a hill. Felt pretty good.
Friday-Scheduled day off.
Saturday-Swim/Bike Brick. Swam 1800-2000 meters. Hard to tell with the water WAY up at lake mead. I felt very strong on the swim. I did some pic ups and was able to go longer than I thought with a higher paced swim. I think I am due to have a better swim at pumkinman. The transition was slow. Bike was boulder beach to the tower where t2 will be at pumkinman. The last 9.5 miles will be a 1500 foot gain. I am happy with that bike. 1:27:20. Had a bbq at the house and had a late night.
Sunday-Long bike. scratched for "hangover" type symptoms. lol. Slept in. Quote:

Running is a lot like life. Only 10 percent of it is exciting. 90 percent of it is slog and drudge. David Bedford

Las Vegas in the Summer

2011-07-10T21:38:00.000-07:00

This time of year something happens like clockwork. I struggle. LOL. IF your not out the door by 5-5:15 your in trouble. I always have harder times keeping pace and going the distance. This year is no different. No excuses just saying. 100+ temperatures and this week super muggy. It is hard during but the fall I benefit. So I am going to keep busting ass and getting work done. Here is this weeks work:

-Tuesday-Training run. 5 miles. Nothing to report. Moderate pace, nothing to brag about. Super muggy and the gnats are out, WIERD.
-Wednesday-Hills. The tribike and I are getting along quite well. I am climbing way better on it. I am feeling very strong on the bike. I just need to be able to have a good training ride.
-Thursday-Long run, since this is the end of a block and with other training scheduling issues I had to do a long run on thurs. Woke up early out the door for 8. Sully ran 5.5 and then I went the rest on my own. I am really liking the new shoes and I am happy to be able to run in neutral shoes.
-Friday-Off
-Saturday- With the buildup happening slow today was kind of a wildcard workout. My training partner was freaking out with the pumkinman ride into boulder city so we had to get it out of the way. The reason its anxiety provoking is its a climb. From boulder beach to what will be T2 is a 2,011 ft gain. That does not include the north route on lake/north shore roads. Its going to be fun. This was the sprint course. Since I would have about 10-20 min of down time waiting for the group to get there, I decided to improvise. Hill repeats. I did the big BC hill 3 times. I climbed strong. I loved it. The first one was 12 mph, the second 10.5 mph, and the third was 9.0 mph. I was definitely tired. But got some good work in for sure.
-Sunday (today)-Long run. This blocks long run was 10 miles. So this was a 23 mile calender week. Today was a pretty morning. Breezy, sprinkly, and muggy. I stopped a few times with sully. He needed a water break a few times. He also wanted to lay in some wet grass. Quality time. He only went 7 which matches his longest run. He pulled me the whole time. He didnt want to go home. He is an awesome running partner. I thought I might need some stability so I wore my old shoes. MISTAKE. heals hurt, toes hurt, and my blisters starting coming back. When I dropped Sully off, I changed shoes and it saved my run. Overall a good run. I was tired, hot, and muggy but I got it in. QUOTE:

“I believe in getting into hot water - it helps keep you clean.”
G. K. Chesterton

This heat training will pay off

The Summer is in Full Swing

2011-07-04T22:31:00.000-07:00

The morning time is requiring an earlier and earlier start. I do love the run then go back to bed move. The Las Vegas heat is upon us. Some 112 or so during the day. The bike situation is taking care of itself. I am starting to enjoy it. I am getting more comfortable with aero and I am in much more control. Here is how the week went:

Monday-Swim speed work. 20 laps or 1000m. 4 off/4 on. Here are splits: 4:31, 4:07, 5:20, 4:11, and 5:31. Long pull, big reach, alternate breaths, I can feel the swim finally coming along.
Tuesday-Training Run. 5 miles. There is missing data. Filled in for softball.
Wednesday-Hills on the sisters. With sore legs from softball, I still climbed with the tri bike. I let it go on the downhills and it felt ok. The way home had a headwind, and it was 2 mph faster. WOW. big difference.
Thursday-Training run. 5 miles. Tired, slow, and sore. Had intervals planned but was happy to get some miles in.
Friday-Rest
Saturday-Brick Bike/Run. 13 mile bike ended up short, 4 mile run. 18 mph average on bike, coast on the run.
Sunday-Long Bike. 30 miles. Shannons longest ride, congrats to her. Top 3 most windiest days I have been out there. Miserable. I stayed with her a lot but attacked some key spots. I felt awesome. I cannot wait to let this bike just go.
Monday (today)- Long swim. 1200 or so m. Very windy, rainy, and a lot of waves. I got some good work in. Practiced all my new cues and it went well. Quote:

“Most people give off as much heat as a 100 watt bulb, but not as much light.”

Beginning the build up

2011-06-26T16:30:00.000-07:00

I looked forward to this weeks workouts. I was excited to get started for pumkinman. I have noticed a few things while resting/recovering. I am starting to feel the lack of strength workouts in the last 3 weeks. I wanted to get the strength workouts back in. I spent the beginning of the week with a slight to moderate sore throat. I made a decision to scale back the plans and be smart. I was able to get the triathlon training in, including a swimming time trial, I just didnt load it up. I also, wanted to move closer to a decision on what I should be doing with my bike situation. Here is the situation: ok road bike, decent tri bike. I am comfortable on the road bike but seems like I am missing some speed if I dont use the tri bike. I wasnt sure what to make of the tri bike. It is wobbly, there may be a brake issue, and occasionally has a misfire on the gearing. I wanted to have a bad ride with it to make the decision easy. That did not happen. Here is how the week went.

Monday-Originally scheduled to have a TT swim workout scratched for sore throat.

Tuesday-Originally scheduled to have a 5 mile easy run, changed it to 3 miles on wed.

Wednesday-I had to get sully out anyway....rough day with snot but got some work in.

Thursday-I felt very good today. I actually wanted to get to the pool. I did a 1000 m time trial in 11:36:52. Then a few easy laps and then 100 m TT in 1:53:98. These figures will be used to help with workouts and future fitness tests. Speed cues: quality strokes on each side with fluid reach and pull through, facedown, and high elbows.

Friday-By this time I feel great. I decided to run some intervals. 1 mile warm up in 9:33, 3 min on/3 min off X 4 then 1 mile cool down. Goal was to be under 7:20 for the on and around 9:30 for the off. Here are splits: 7:17/8:44, 7:31/9:30, 7:55/9:54, 8:29/12:04, and cool down in 9:24. I felt strong except for the last interval. Ran out of gas. I think that is the idea. Next week I will repeat this. I am learning the fight at the end of the workout. That is definitely an issue for me. My legs felt strong but cardio isnt there yet. I feel it getting stronger and stronger. I feel like my miss on the end of the workout is an aerobic strength issue.

Saturday-Long bike. This was going to be a test. We picked a route with some climbing. I wanted to descend and climb with this bike and see what I think. 20 miles total, 10 miles out and back. 1,500 foot climb. Looking at the numbers and comparing those number to what I felt I definitely need to spend more time on this bike. I was a chicken on the very fast decent. Not pedaling, not contributing to making the bike go faster and I went 38 mph. WOW. I wasnt even aero. On the climb, I climbed easier and faster then my road bike. I actually passed 2 riders on the climb. That never happens. K2 has earned one more week. I do have a few mechanical issues that may be contributing to the lack of confidence. Learning this bikes gearing and feel wasnt so bad.

Sunday (today)-Long run. I am feeling very good and I thought a medium distance long run with some speed work would be a good idea. So lets make it a progressive run. 7 miles. Actual split (goal). 9:22 (9:30), 9:08 (9:15), 9:19 (9:00), 8:43 (8:45), 8:43 (8:30), and 10:22 (8:30). LOL...zapped again. No excuses. The aerobic/mental strength not there yet. I battled a lot more than I have in the past though. The grade did turn back to up for the last 2 miles but I have ran faster there. I just couldnt hold it. Something to work on. Long slow grades continue to get to me. Just simply have to get stronger. I did try out some new shoes today. The assics nimbus 13. A neutral shoe. They felt amazing. I had some muscle soreness but It was good to focus on mechanics. Sore gluts, sore quads, and no foot or skin issues. I felt really good just not fast enough on the end. Quote:

Fitness - if it came in a bottle, everybody would have a great body. ~Cher

I am progressing very well. Special shout out to Khadevis Robinson who was second in the 800 m at the USA championships. Good luck at worlds my man!

Pumkinman On the Clock and 10K PR

2011-06-19T21:49:00.000-07:00

First things first. My classes are open! To check out my running classes click here!

The 1/2 Iron at pumkinman will be a different animal. The swim is the same swim I swim all the time, the bike will be a different set of hills at the lake ending in a good climb to Boulder City. The run will be through the streets of BC and will be a collection of long slow climb type hills. It will be mid October so the weather should be awesome. I will have some buddies to train with so the company will be welcomed. This weekend marked the first training weekend leading up to this race. This 1/2 will be a different focus. I want to do a few things different: swim faster, ride faster, and run faster. LOL. I am going to tweak the swim training. If the bike split was the same but on the tri bike, and the run was competitive with what I am capable of, I would be ecstatic. Thats the goal. More on that as time goes by. Speaking of tri bike I had 2 rides this week. One horrible, the other not so good. Its wobbly and hard. I dont know if I want to continue the bike on this bike but we will see.

The Ambulance Chaser 10K/5K/1 mile walk was a race at the Las Vegas Motor Speed way. Pretty cool. The 5K 2 laps around the track and the 10K 1 lap speedway and up and down the drag strip. Here are some pics:

Here is how the week went:

Monday-Core
Tuesday-Easy run 4 miles with sully
Wednesday-Strength training
Thursday-Training run 5 miles with sully
Friday-off
Saturday-Ambulance Chaser 10K. My previous 10 PR was 55:16 or so. I thought I had the juice for a sub 52 min race since Karl predicted 52 I wanted to be faster than that. My Vdot says 48 min is possible. I have had some good training runs so I thought it was going to be in play. Here are my splits: 8:17, 8:17, 8:40, 10:05, 8:54, 7:35, and 1:59 for the 0.2. The super slow mile came on the steep drag strip when the heat was pounding from the sun, the asphalt was radiating heat, the grade went up, and the rubber from the race car tires was making the ground sticky. I got zapped there. I think 3 min should have been shaved off. My official time was 53:42. My new 10K PR by 1:24. Overall, a good race. Minor soreness and fatique.
Sunday-Bike/run brick. 16 mile bike and 3 mile run. My longest ride with the tri bike. I am not sure what the think of that thing. Aero is uncomfortable and unsteady. It was hard and not as much fun. The big gear isnt as fast and the little gears are easier to climb with. Hmmmm.....just so different. I dont know if I like it. Too early to tell. The run was ordinary. Just getting some reps in. 1 hour ride and 30 min run. QUOTE:

Learn to run when feeling the pain: then push harder. William Sigei

I am learning how do this, I need to that better.

2011 Ironman 70.3 Honu: One week later...

2011-06-12T22:49:00.000-07:00

I started this blog a few years ago to document this journey. Every once in a while I go back and read old posts and think about the highs and lows presented in race reports. But my most favorite posts are the one week laters. Once the hoopla and emotion of race day wears off what does it all mean. I am so proud of what this body can do. I am most important proud of what this mind/brain is capable of. Sure 169/226 in my age group isnt a great ranking. So I am not going to wow anyone with the time. I am not close to a Kona slot, some 3 hours slower than those guys. Can I shave 3 hours off this time? Lets be real, not in the next foreseeable future. I am sure going to bust my ass to get there. What I did do show up to a 70.3 with a rented bike and put up a 53 min PR in this distance. What is funny is the only thing that was faster was my bike. The swim and run splits were nearly identical to silverman. Undertrained on the swim and swimming off course didn't help. Very hot and burning feet was the only limiting factor on the run. Fitter, faster, and still only one discipline was faster. The bike course at Honu is not considered easy, the World Championship is on that highway for petes sake. Just goes to show what the Silverman bike is like, ridiculous. I will keep training the course at the lake and see what my bike fitness will be like. It is a gift to be able to train these hills. Some of my questions are becoming clear. I realize this is process and a long one at that. I am amazed at how I recovered. The recovery gets easier each race this distance. I had about a 2/10 soreness. My skin was the only thing that was significant.

For the first time, in my heart I know this journey is progressing. The way I wanted it to go and the way it has gone has been different. Initially its confusing but eventually it works out. My goals are working themselves out. IRONMAN is beginning to look like a doable challenge. My body is responding. Leaner, fitter, stronger, more efficient, and the nutrition piece is coming into focus. The half at PUMKINMAN is now the goal. Secondary to that is Las Vegas Marathon. Use the running program for Vegas to dovetail train for pumkinman. For pumkinman I want to do some specific things. For the swim I want to get into the low 40 min. I realized that when I open water swim, I havent done any speed work. DUH, no speed work out there =no better time. I also hate the pool. So I need to find a way to get faster in the water. I think the TRIATHLETE magazine swim program for a 70.3 looks good. I am going to try that. For the bike I realized several things while at Honu. Number one, I was one of a very low percentage of road bikes. Tri bikes abound. I am guessing 5,000 ave per bike. That means 90 million dollars in transition. I passed a bunch of them too. How much faster will I be in aero position? The tri bike is now in effect. My back has been a lot better and I feel better physically making that change. For the run, keep running. My run is coming up. I want to do a new VDOT. I want to run a few 5/10Ks and I want to keep progressing that way. Also, I want to do a few sprints for some speed work. Funny how my run is the best its ever been but did not show up at the race. I am not happy about that. I want the Pumkinman run to be competitive with my other 1/2 marathon racing times. If I can do those things another PR is on the way.

I had 3 runs this week. 3-5 miles per. My legs are not back to form yet but they are close. Quote:

“Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.”
George Bernard Shaw

Ironman 70.3 Honu the Race Report

2011-06-06T22:03:00.000-07:00

I showed up to Hawaii with some questions. Is this something that I can do? Does training on my home course make it easier for me despite one of the most grueling courses in the world? Am I trying to do something that isnt for me? Can I compare the 2 Silverman events to anything else? Is this goal of Ironman doable? I have experienced many changes as a person and the evolving me is trying to let myself be less conscious. I used to analyze and over think. I am able to avoid that problem. This trip has helped teach me that. I was able to train daily and still hike, swim, walk, drive, and not have any consequences. I believe in me. That is something I have never admitted to. This time around this race was not about a Kona slot. Who knows were I will be in the future. This race was go somewhere not silverman and see if I can do. I cannot say that I put up some amazing times or that the big triathlon companies want to put their clothes on my back or anything. What I can say is that I got ready for a 1/2 Iron triathlon in 9 weeks and I put up a 53 min PR at the 1/2 Iron distance. I came in under trained on the swim and with a rented bike. How did my day go you ask? Here we go.

Swim: Goal 50:00 Actual 51:12

Hapuna Beach was incredible. This is a man made beach that was very hard to swim. The sea life was a distraction. I literally had to check myself and get it together. HEY YOU ARE RACING HERE. lol. The night before at the race meeting the staff mentioned a typhoon off the coast of the Philippines that would influence our swim. 5 foot swells they said would arrive at or around swim start. The beginning of the waves began in waves of 3. Big waves then no waves. I never noticed them. 1800 people in at the same wave. This was the thing I was most concerned about. With Kona slots on the line will these people take me down to get there before me. Answer NO. It was physical though. The course was a box that required me to keep all the buoys on my right except the last buoy, go left and get to shore. The first turn is supposed to be the most troublesome. I took it a bit wide and was out of trouble. Then I wanted to take the second turn in stride as a result of the 1st turn and took it a bit wide. So wide I went a bit off course. One thing in triathlon is for sure. Never find yourself alone, if your alone something is wrong. Yeah about 5-10 min off course, lol. It was so cool out there. I right myself and get back into the churn. I was happy for keeping my arms going the whole time, no breaks. I also was trying something new this race. One outfit the whole day. I have leaned out enough to pull off a triathlon suit so why not? Overall, happy with the swim but I know this is an area I must improve on.

T1: Goal 3 min Actual: 5:54

I thought since I wouldnt be changing that I would be out of there quicker. A long beach run and a shower didnt get accounted for. I could have spent a little more time in that shower. The timing chip rubbed me raw all day. I would have made sure that was cleaned off if I had to do it again. The organizers did a wonderful job of having turf/carpet to run on. Very feet friendly. I had no issues with gearing up, getting on the bike, and getting off.

Bike: Goal 3:30:00 Actual: 3:28:33

This what I came here for. They kept saying, dont empty the tank on the bike the run is hard. I said no way. I want to kill this bike split and put my run to the test. I needed to see what I am made of. So I attacked the little bits of this course to Hawi. Including this race I had 3 training rides on Queen K. SO AWESOME. I wanted to know if I am just slow or is it the place I ride a lot. The route was simple. Queen K make a R go 5 miles then uturn to Hawi. Uturn at Hawi and head back. If you break down the 3:30 time goal that is 16 mph. I went the first 5 in 18.5 mph, the next 24 miles in 15.75 mph, and the last 29 in 16.03. I laid awake at night for the last few months wondering what the wind was going to be like THIS day. The training ride showed my what a bad day would be like. The only windy parts were 5 miles before the turn around in Hawi. Of course there would be wind there. If thats the only wind then I am in amazing shape. The fun part was I passed a lot of riders. Fancy tri bikes in aero position and were smaller than me. BYE. I attacked and felt strong with the exception of 2 places. The 5 miles before Hawi with a 20-25 mph head wind and the "dead spot." Can I first tell you the pros were unbelievable. I had spots were I was averaging 30 mph and they went 40. Awesome. The dead spot happened when the tail wind stopped and the terrain turned back to up. If you look at the hill profile you will see it. I started breaking. I was on pace for a 3:10-15 bike split. I started to go down that negative route. Then I ate a Tri3Bar. They were outstanding. I perked up and hammered it out. I now have a bank of memories to draw from that allows me to persevere. That was very fun to live. Get it done, get off this bike with some gusto, dont coast in there, finish like you belong here. Mauna Lani Drive was a welcome site and cruised into T2.

T2: Goal 3:00 Actual: 4:54

I wanted to get some shade. The changing tent was empty so I sat down and took a minute to cool off. I got some petro jelly for some chaffing, got ice water, and boy did it feel good to get off my shoulders and get on my feet. My arms and shoulders were blasted. In fact my hands were totally useless by the time I got off the bike.

Run: Goal: 2:20 Actual: 2:43:47

As I began the run I noticed the lack of shade. The run course was not observable prior to the race. It was a golf course/housing development. We ran right down the middle of grass, onto the cart path, out and back, out and back, up hill down hill, concrete, asphalt, and NO SHADE WHATSOEVER. Easily the hottest I have ever been. For the Vegas people this run is equivalent to running down the middle of the river mountain loop trail in the middle of the day. Yeah, I am not doing that so I wasn't THIS heat trained. In the 3rd mile I felt the blisters start. I think they are more like burns. Each foot with 2 blisters. I did the best I could with the circumstances. I tried to take one mile at a time and battle each mile for under 10:40. Didnt happen. A small victory for me is no cramping. I think I figured my needs. NOT SUGAR. I had an all fruit smoothie and a muscle milk 3 hours before start. I alternated between water and Ironman Perform (which was outstanding) and I had 2 bars on the bike and one on the bike. In and out of grass, concrete, asphalt, and then there was HELL. Miles 8-12 were brutal. 2 miles down and 2 miles up in the desolate lava field and no redeeming qualities. I suppose thats what I signed up for but dang, it was brutal. I know that I can persevere through anything now. I can feel it coming together. The heat and the blisters drained my run but, all in all, it is what it is.

Overall: Goal 6:47 Actual: 7:14:20

Lofty goal again but I have training to back it up. I missed it by 1 min on swim, 3 min on T1, made up 2 min on bike, 1 min on T2, and then missed the run by 24 min. Not that far off each and the heat got me. Ok so the heat got me on the big island of Hawaii on a half iron distance triathlon, I can live with that. I had a blast. 70.3's not silverman are WAY more fun. Dont get me wrong the silverman is a great event but the bike is brutal. The run course is brutal. I think if I ran the Kona course in the early morning I can do it A LOT easier. Just the way it was. I am ecstatic with a 53 min PR and I am ready for the next adventure. The next 1/2 iron will be in my back yard. No silverman this year, it will be pumkinman. The bike is brutal. I must get my climbing on point. I think I may get my tri bike going. We will see. My back never gave me trouble. I was muscle sore there but no bid deal. In the aftermath my blisters are trouble, minor muscle soreness, and ready to rock. I would like to send a big shout out to my wife. She is most amazing, supportive woman I know. Thanks honey for encouraging me to do that.

Ironman 70.3 Honu: leading up

2011-06-02T20:09:00.000-07:00

I am officially registered and ready to go already. I am bib number 1188. Follow me on ironmanlive.com. I did have to sign 3 waivers. ENTER AT MY OWN RISK. I get it. I have noticed a culture change here with these athletes. They mean business, hardly any friendly exchanges mostly stuck up people who happen to be fast. Ok big deal. The locals dont like the athletes because of that attitude. I understand being fast comes a fair amount of swagger but honestly, the local people know how to live life. We are on THIER island. We should respect that. Took these 2 this morning.

The weather for saturday in Hawi looks like this:

Sunny

High
82°F

Precip
20%

Wind:	From SW at 9 mph
Humidity:	64%
UV Index:	10+ Extreme


Sunrise:	5:43 AM HT
Avg. High:	80°F
Record High:	88°F (1967)

What is funny about that is that where the wind is. I will climb to Hawi. In Waikaloa or at the finish line it looks like this:

Sunny

High
82°F

Precip
20%

Wind:	From SW at 9 mph
Humidity:	64%
UV Index:	10+ Extreme


Sunrise:	5:43 AM HT
Avg. High:	83°F
Record High:	90°F (1977)

This is interesting because they are never the same. I am not taking any of that to heart. It will change and it will be interesting. Saturday has a few goals. One I know I have the fitness for this distance and course. What is unknown is how I will handle to conditions. The wind will pick up. The humidity will be a factor. My brain will be affected by these and how will I respond? I am going to take it one stroke, one mash, and one step at a time. Believe in myself and just get it done as fast as I can. Karl and Dr. Daniels says it will be over sooner if you go faster. (Now I know where you get that from Karl.) I am the fittest I have ever been, I am more mentally aware now more than ever, I have the fitness for this, I have good equipment (more on that in a minute), and my nutrition plan is in place. I am pumped. I rented a bike. Scott CR1. Fast. Carbon. I had to have a tweak today and I am more excited to ride it. What are my legs going to do with all carbon? They better be ready. Here is one last pic.

Quote:

In life, you reap what you sow - if you work hard, you believe in yourself, you do the right thing, good things usually happen."
Khadevis Robinson

Operation Acclimation is in Effect, Ironman 70.3 Hawaii style

2011-05-30T00:09:00.000-07:00

Just a little taste of what I went through today. There will be more to come. Since I am off this week and I have a little time on my hands, this may be a good week to put together more posts this week. Here is last week:
Monday-Core/foundation
Tuesday-4 mile easy run. Super sore from the weekend.
Wednesday-Foundation. Did I mention my back feels the best it has in YEARS.
Thursday-4 mile trail run. I took sully's babysitter on the route so she can run him while I am gone. I miss him big time.
Friday-Rest
Saturday-Travel. here I am on the big island of Hawaii.
Sunday (today)-6 mile run. I wanted to feel the humidity and heat. They are both going to be contenders. They were rough today. Went for a small hike a few times today. Feels good to travel and be fit.

I pick up my bike tomorrow. So swim and bike tomorrow. I think I may go 20-30 or so on the new bike and see what I got. Then I do not know what as far as training goes. Quote:

"The sun at its rising is referred to Ku, The Ancient Tiki God of War & Strength
In ancient mythic Hawaii, He is the god of war and conflict, but also of resolution and healing."

Ku will give you strength, courage, and wisdom during competition. It seems someone may be looking over me. I had a few run-ins with him today, hmmmmm. lol

2011 Ironman 70.3 Hanu Dress Rehearsal

2011-05-22T22:48:00.000-07:00

My biggest weekend is under my belt. I dont think I have had a bigger challenge in front of me that was not a race called silverman. It was in solitude too. I had plenty of time to think while out on a very long bike course. The usual questions present themselves. Have I done enough? What will this one wave start going to be like? What will the water be like? How hot will it be? Will the humidity play a role? I am leaner, fitter, stronger, more focused, better nutrition, and fired up. I am ready to go. Here is how the week went:

Monday-I had some unforeseen things happen at the clinic and I was tired from last weekend so I pushed a swim. However, I did do some new exercises presented to me by my friend Michelle. It is some back exercises by the guys who got Lance Armstrong back on the bike. (Minus some injections.) They are amazing more on that later.
Tuesday-Run/Strength. 4 mile progressive run. 9:47, 9:18, 8:44, 7:59. I used the HR monitor but it is not set correctly. I reached a 124% of my max HR. hmmm not working correctly. I pushed the strength for fatigue.
Wednesday-Core/Strength. Foundation Ab work. Again held the strength for fatigue and how close I getting to the race.
Thursday-Run. 5 mile run. 45:24. 8:32 ave. All the miles under 9. I am happy about it. Again the HR monitor is not working right. I got up to 230 bpm. I have to reset that.
Friday-REST
Saturday-Tri-Brick. Plan was for 500 meter swim, 60 mile bike, and 5 mile run. What I actually got was a 600 meter swim, 50 mile bike, and 3 mile run. Lets explain. I have never had a workout planned this long or hard. Thats an understatement. The plan was 7 min out and 7 min back on the swim and I thought 500 meters was what I would get and I got 600 meters, cool. Due to logistics I planned to end the swim at the house when I started at the lake. I ended up riding to Calville bay and back plus the 15 home from boulder beach. As it went longer and as it heated up, I realized the amount of climbing is getting more and more. When I look at the numbers I am astonished. I had a 4,100 elevation gain. Hanu is no where near that amount of climbing. The heat, wind, and climbing got the best of me. I started to wonder why it was important to keep going. When I looked at checkpoints on timing I was fast at all of them. I burned 4,000 calories on the bike alone. Despite the climbing I still averaged more than I have before. I am so much faster and easier then ever before. The run was cut short simply for time and energy. My nutrition plan was spot on. I have never had a workout this long AND a workout this long without any cramping. Not during not after. The TRI3 bar was outstanding. 1 at the beginning and one at 2:30 into the bike. Gluten free pretzels, gu, water, and I tried the Ironman drink since that will be on the race. I was reluctant to drink it, seems a bit ho key. But is was very good. It seemed to be salty and I need that. I look forward to more of that. I took something in every 15-30 min. My back did not hurt for the first time in over a year on a long ride. Could that be why I was faster? These hills out here are RELENTLESS.
Sunday (today)- Double brick. 12 mile bike/2 mile run X 2. I woke up today happy about yesterdays effort but not looking forward to this. My legs were wiped out. No back soreness and I stoked on that. I have always wanted to do this workout but never did. The bike route I chose had ups AND downs. Thank God. I wanted to have a workout that made my body adapt. Triathlon is about adaptation. The first bike was 45:01. My goals was to set the bar high and see if I can "do it when you are tired" as Karl says. So I had to get more tired. The second bike was 47:16. Slower. T1 in 3:16. It was live. The second one was marred by cleaning Sullys vomit. He didnt run the second run. The first run was 20:48 in 2.3 miles. The second run was 24:29. I was spent. Happy to report no cramping. Not during not after. I feel ready

All in all big weekend. Intense. Long. Hard. Hot. Im ready. Taper is on. Quote.

“A day without Aloha is just another mainland day.”
Buck Buchanan

I cannot wait for some real life big island style ALOHA. Its gonna be a great day.

One Word: G R I N D

2011-05-15T19:45:00.001-07:00

This week it seemed to be a grind. A grind to get to the training and while training, a grind. Funny since this time of year is the first time I am biking and swimming as much since I usually am only running right now. Work, family, and training were a grind this week. Since this is a training blog, you get to hear about wind and heat. Good since thats what I am going to experience on the big island. 2 years ago when I rode from Hapuna beach to Hawi I had no idea that I would race there. I thought I was going for a ride to remember. Here I am referencing that ride for a race. In my dreams I wanted it to be Kona. I also felt great on that climb. I am 4 times the cyclist now. I decided that it was too expensive to take my bike and I have been considering stepping up bikes so I am going to rent a bike. They had a carbon fiber Scott. The reviews are impeccable. I am excited to ride this bike.

The grind. Temperatures in the upper 90's already and about 90 at 8 am. The wind is kicked up too at that time. Sully does not appreciate it either. If I wasnt going to race in these conditions I might be making other decisions. I am fired up for this challenge. Here is a hill profile of Honu and Silverman.

Which one would you like to ride? I think it is going to be a fun ride. This hill profile is even of the previous bike course that is now harder. These are the same hills I have been training on. I think 45ish miles out here is pretty damn hard. I even have been pounding the damn wind too. I even have been tweaking my nutrition. The tri3 bar has been an awesome addition. It is a gluten free/lactose free bar that is very tasty and goes down easy on the bike. There are 3 flavors and all taste very good. I have been trying new things lately. Trying to find out what foods are safe for me. If I wasnt training as I am I might not be having this problem. Why do I have sessions with absolutely no digestive issues and why do I feel like a machine other days? Here is how my week went:

Monday-Strength/core. I am feeling a new body emerge. The core exercises I have learned are very good. I had a friend bring me a book called "Foundation." Lance Armstrong's guy. I have not got to the meat yet but it seems promising. I am able to do a lot more with better form but I have got a lot to get better for. I am surprised to learn how different the soreness from strength is compared to biking compared to running. I used to think of them as the same. May be I am finally feeling real sensations.

Tuesday-Run/strength. I removed the easy run from my training. Sully was happy about that. 5 mile run in 46:10 or 8:38 pace. I had one mile at 9:30 too. I stopped to think about this funny chest pain I got. Freaked me out but it was short lived. I think it was a muscle issue on my ribcage. No biggy.

Wednesday-Hill repeats scratched for sore only. I was sore and tired. Long hours at work and muscle fatigue. Core only.

Thursday-Run/Core. I thought it might be good to wait as long as possible for a hotter run. Looking for the heat is a funny thought. Sully doesnt like it and I wont put him through it again. He was fine but hot. 6 miles in 57:36. 9:30 pace. That costal issue again slowed me down. I only felt it when I was 3-4 miles in going a 8:15 pace. Weird. I had the first 4 at 8:15ish. No issues after.

Friday-Rest.

Saturday-Long run. 15 miles. 3 5-mile loops. 1 with sully, 1 with my wife, and 1 for me to be by myself. Running by 5 am. I wondered if I would be about to keep 15 9:00 min miles. Lets just say I wasnt able to do that this day. Unfortunately, it was not running related. Digestive issues. I am in denial about my body. I am sometimes embarrassed about the hoopla associated with eating gluten free. Everyone asks questions. I dont want this problem. The good news is that I do not have an anaphylactic reaction to gluten, It just makes me feel really bad. Before I just thought it was how fat people feel. I just accepted it. That is frustrating too. I went 6 or 7 feeling very good. The rest just gut out. Literally. Gut it out. I wanted to go more than the race distance before the race. I got them in but slowed way down. I was under 9's through 6 or 7. I am sore today but there were no musculoskeletal issues. I am proud of that. Karl is most likely shaking his head that my long run was too long compared to my weekly mileage but Karl I thought is was a manageable distance and I wanted to have a long weekend.

Sunday-(today) Swim/Bike Brick. Originally slotted for long swim, long bike. Modified for safety and sanity. The wind was way up again. Since I have an ocean swim I thought turbulent water was important. SWIM ON. I swam 1700 or so m. Has anyone seen water move AWAY from the shore? Thats how hard the wind was blowing. I was slow and I thought about the start of the race. 1,600 athletes in 1 wave. Will they be more physical because they are "Ironmen?" What will the water be like? What will the swim be like with THAT many athletes. I am fired up to see. Long transition. Then on the bike. I wanted another long bike but the elements were not in my favor. How about a shorter more challenging ride. I rode the pumkinman sprint course. All up hill. 13 miles up in 55 min or so and down the same 13 miles in 20 min. Windy enough to move the bike a few feet at a time a few times. Trashed legs, tired. Happy and ready to race. The rest of training despite another big workout will be straight forward. Quote:

“The daily grind of hard work gets a person polished.”

I hope to be polished in the land of aloha big island style.

Running Drill

2011-05-13T11:46:00.000-07:00

I have had some requests for a drill or two. I am dabbling in the you tube world so here is a shot. Check this out!!

Running drills

Hanu is coming down the pipe...

2011-05-08T20:43:00.000-07:00

I am getting psyched about this race coming up. Its funny how it is shaping up. I have raced 2 70.3's and this one is totally different. The other athletes I have talked to about the 2 silverman halfs I have done say that this one will be a "walk in the park." First of all a half iron is not a walk in the park. Second of all, its a big qualifier for Kona the real race on the big island SO ITS FAST. Thirdly, Its gonna be hot and humid. Fourth of all, what am I going to do the week of? Have fun? Train? What to eat? BRING IT! Its gonna be a fun challenge. This weekend actually is why I am totally infatuated with multisport. Here is how we week went:

Monday-Strength and core.

Tuesday-Training run and strength. 4 mile run easy run at a little of 9 min pace. I am really comfortable running right now. Active toes, use the forefoot as a dampener, put the pressure on my cardiovascular system. Its a welcome change.

Wednesday-Hill repeats. pushed it secondary to fatigue and soreness. Forced a day off.

Thursday-Training run. 5 mile run at 8:47 pace. Poor sully was pooped. I am loving running right now.

Friday-Scheduled day off

Saturday-Bike/Run brick. The plan called for a 10 mile/12 mile run. The 10 mile bike is a sprint on the sisters and then a 12 mile long run. But then the plan changed. My wife and friends decided that a 5K or 10K was a better idea. I jumped on the chance to PR in the 10K. In all the running I have done, the 10K seems to be elusive. This would be my second 10K. Then what about the long run? So I made it a 10 mile bike which turned into a 12 mile bike since I couldnt find the start line. I would try to add a warmup run and then a cool down run with the 10K sandwiched in. Here is the actual: 11.68 miles at 19 mph in 37:02, T2A (since bike to run is T2 there will be several transitions) live, 1 mile run had to turn around secondary to "nature" calling, T2B spent in line for the bathroom lol, 10K in 55:06. My new 10K PR. By about 2 min and I had a bike before. Then a 1 mile post race run that I cut short because everyone was waiting for me and my legs were pooped. I would like to send a shout out to michelle who raced the 5K and was the first female overall and set a new 5K PR. She came back to run the last 2.5 or so with me and helped my push through the hill. THANKS MICHELLE!!

Sunday(today)-Had a long open water swim planned. Then the wind came. There were 50 mile winds at the lake. Not my idea of a good time. Pushed it. I actually slept till 11. I havent done that since college. It was glorious. Happy mothers day. Quote:

“It is not by muscle, speed, or physical dexterity that great things are achieved, but by reflection, force of character, and judgment”

Marcus Tullius Cicero

Funny how an injury and work continuation education course provide reflection and in turn speed is coming.

Honu here I come...

2011-05-01T21:03:00.000-07:00

I know that I am capable of more. Something is changing. I have made some changes with my diet and I am wondering how these changes have affected me. I have been mostly lactose and gluten free for nearly 2 weeks now. I am not cramping. I do not have any digestive issues throughout the day. My legs feel fresh longer. I feel awesome. I have ordered some bars to check it out. Tri3 bars as soon as I get them I am going to give them a go.

One thing that rings through my head is Karl saying that I dont do enough. Ok so the rest of this year I am going to more. I finally feel like I have the tools necessary to do more. Here is how my first big block has begun.

Monday-Core and Strength training. I came up with 3 different circuit type training routines on all the different body parts I think I need to work on and I will strength train 3 times a week. I have a core program that I have been trying to get to more often. I have written all this into my 10 day block plan.

Tuesday-Easy run 4. Sully and I ran 4 miles. I decided that I would turn off my brain and run comfortable. I have been wondering if my brain is too active. Here are my splits. 8:14, 8:26, 9:53, and 9:36. Total: 36:11 at 9:03 pace. With ease. The hills continue to get to me. But these hills are done faster and with no trouble. I wasnt sore or tired. Easy run at 9 pace?

Wednesday- Hill repeats. A year ago I was pumped that I could climb the sisters. This day I did them twice in the same session. Not just that I was able to keep my speed over 1 mph on each one except the last one of the last climb. It is the biggest. Total time 1:14:32 and total distance of 18.42 miles. I wasnt tired until that last one. I felt strong and in control. Funny when that happens and it surprises you. Interestingly also I burned 1500 calories in a little over an hour.

Thursday-I read my schedule wrong. I was supposed to run 10 miles and swim on saturday. A short session on saturday because of the IronGirl my wife was racing in. (SHE KILLED IT). So I ran a training run. Truth is I was pumped for trail run thursdays. Ran 4 miles at my trails. Went very well. I am feeling very strong.

Friday-Rest

Saturday-Long run. 10 miles. 10:17 pace. Very hilly run and was pumped that I can bust out a 10 miler in an afternoon. It was hot and windy but Honu will be the same way. Might as well get used to it. Way to go girls who races IronGirl today. Miserable racing conditions.

Sunday (today)-Bike/Run Brick. Planned for a 50 mile bike and 5 mile run. Extra wind and cold day made that miserable. What I got was a 45.3 mile bike and a 4 mile run. Good effort. The wind will be a factor on the Big Island so I might as well embrace it. No cramping at all today. I used another gluten free brand bar and it agreed with me. I had awesome training partners. Jen and her friend were awesome. Thank you ladies for grinding with me today.

You know you have arrived when you can just bust out a full marathon with really no real training and run 3:45 or so. Karl Stutelberg you are a machine. All 9 of his marathons under 4. Quote:

“Tell me what you feel in your room when the full moon is shining in upon you and your lamp is dying out, and I will tell you how old you are, and I shall know if you are happy”

Henri Frederic Amiel

I am completely surprised by the process my body is taking. I am feeling layers of things I didnt know was supposed to happen. I feel better now than I ever did in my 20's.

You mean I cannot wear the cute ones?

2011-04-25T10:17:00.001-07:00

Want some running shoe tips?

Check it out!

And if you enjoy it will you "like" it? I need some likes!!

On the Clock: Hawaii 70.3 Honu

2011-04-24T20:34:00.000-07:00

My on again off again Ironman goal is taking shape. This year I am up for 2 more half irons, a marathon, and anything else that looks fun will be stepping stones to IM. This particular half is going to be special. My good friend and his son moved back home. He really wanted us to go out and visit. He and his family really wanted me to race there. This race will be a fun visit/vacation with my wife. I hope to find some fun adventures and get a little training in. It is also special because this race uses some of the bike course of the Ironman world championship.

I signed up for this race kind of in a split second. I did not look deep into the details. When I finally did, I was surprised. I was surprised by the swim difficulty, the temperature on the run, the beauty of the run, the expense of getting my bike there, surprised by the age group finishing times (I basically signed up for last place in my age group-more on that in a minute), and surprised that I made a quick decision on signing up for an Ironman event. 1500 athletes out on the swim at the same time with a challenging ocean swim. I am very excited and yet kinda scared.

Scared because I will be quite slow compared to my age group. I am not beating myself or anything. I am gonna have an awesome race. Here is the issue: I have raced 2 half iron distance, both over 8 hours. Yes it is a very difficult course and much harder then this race BUT last year no one at Honu finished over 7 hours. That means a PR of OVER an hour is in order. That means OVER 1 hour and 8 plus minutes. There is no clydesdale division only fast dudes. It will be an amazing experience. I am looking forward to it. Here is my week:

Monday-Rest

Tuesday-Easy run. 3 miles. Started out going to be 4 miles. The old calf came back. It was bad. I did some rehab the rest of the day.

Wednesday-Swim. 750 m. Just get in, do some work.

Thursday-Pushed a run to sleep and then nothing in the afternoon because sully got fixed.

Friday-Training run. I feel like these runs I should be doing some speed work. However, I still and trying not to piss off this calf. So I ran 5 miles. No pain for 2-3 miles but only "tight" or "crampy" feeling. Not bad enough to warrant making a phone call to come get me but enough that made me not want to push it. I got my 5 in and I got some treatment right away. No lasting symptoms so hopefully I am ok.

Saturday-Long bike. 40 miles. Well 40 miles turned into 44. Arithmetic error. It was an awesome ride. My house out to Calleville bay and then to Lake Las Vegas. 44 miles in 2:47:53, avg 17 mph. I did 44 miles 13 min faster then I did 40 miles this time last year. I felt good.

Sunday (today)-Long run. 8 miles. I ran the old Rage course. 4 miles up and 4 miles down. I ran a 4 miles up in 44:04 and down 37:38. I felt very strong. and 2 out of the 4 miles down were under 9 min. I haven't gone that fast in a while. Best part: No calf pain. I felt very strong. Quote:

"Don't bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself."

-William Faulkner

I am just trying to be better today than I was yesterday.

RAGE OFFICIAL RESULTS

2011-04-19T09:01:00.000-07:00

Swim: 37:13
T1: 5:06
Bike: 1:37:30
T2: 3:48
Run: 1:05:20
Total: 3:28:53

Overall place: 150/173, which does not include the DNF group
Division place: 8/12 Clydesdales. The overall winner was a clydesdale.

Does RAGE fuel you?

2011-04-17T15:58:00.000-07:00

It does not for me but RAGE in the sage triathlon was yesterday. The last few races have been interesting. They have not been bad in any way but just not up to my standards. Finally, this race was different. Here is the race report Rage in the Sage Olympic Triathlon 2011:

Pre-Race: Recovering from the calf injury and building up to this race I wasnt sure what to expect. In the past I have set goals on time and did not reach them. This race I kept my goals close to me. The reason is this years course was different. The bike and the run had, in my opinion, harder courses. That with the weird buildup made for unexpected outcome. I trained with a big group and we raced together. We all experienced success and I am very proud of what has happened. My wife won her division. So proud of her. The times are unofficial. No results available at this time.

Swim: 1500m Last year: 35:24 Goal: 40:00 Actual: 37:50

All the time trials I have done this year have not been as good as before. I didnt think that I could go as fast as last year but I had a tremendous swim. I swam the whole time. I controlled my HR in the water, which in turn kept my breathing rate intact. I felt strong. I came out of the water fresh, ready to get on the bike. I feel like this swim is something to build on. I felt confident during the swim.

T1: Last year 4:45 Goal: 4:00 Actual: ??

I accidentally deleted it from my computer. I will get back on this time.

Bike: 25 miles Last year 1:38:26 Goal: 1:35 Actual 1:35:59

With the change to the new course it makes it hard to compare the last two races to this race. The consensus was that the bike course would be 5-8 min longer than last year. So I thought 1:35 would be tough. I am pleased that a harder bike course was even faster than last year. I was on point with all my time checks and I didnt trail off. My back was only tired. There wasnt pain. I think this bike course is very difficult and I cannot wait to see how training here will translate to the hawaiian highway. I was in control of my speed. I felt strong. This was a few minutes faster than any of my training rides. Perfect weather, no wind not too hot. No until the run.

T2: Last year: 4:02 Goal: under 4 Actual: ??

Run: 10K Last year: 1:08:12 Goal: 1:05 Actual: 1:05:12

The new run course is 3 miles up and 3 miles down. The heat began to be a factor. About 88 degrees. I was please to be able to use nutrition to stave off cramps. They wanted to come out but I didnt let them. I was able to run right through it. Usually I back off when they start. I wanted to turn around at less than 35 min. I turned around at 34. 4 min negative split. Improved run time on a harder course. I am pleased with that. No issues, totally healthy. I was even able to pick it up the last quarter mile. Good run.

Overall: Last year: 3:30:49 Goal: 3:29 Actual: 3:27, I think

The rest of the week:

Tuesday-Easy run in the am, swim fitness test in the pm. I read about this test. 1000 m time trial and count strokes at 500 and 100. 500 stroke rate 32, 1000 34 in a time of 25:21. 1:09 per 50m. Incidentally, the same rate per m as the race. So I maxed out my swim fitness at the race. That is cool.

Thursday-4 mile trail run. Easy run, me and sully enjoying the cool morning. Hes the best. Quote:

Your goals, minus your doubts, equal your reality.

Ralph Marston

Racing Paradise

2011-04-10T15:13:00.001-07:00

Well I returned this picture back as my header for a reason. I rode the famed Queen K highway while on vacation a few years ago and my wife snapped this lovely picture. While my Ironman World Championship dreams are a ways away, the Kona 70.3 is just a click away. After RAGE this weekend I will be on the clock with IRONMAN 70.3 Hawaii. I have a good buddy and his son who moved back and I will be mostly visiting him. My wife and I get away, we get to hang with good friends, and I get to race "in paradise (as the website says)." I am pumped.

The direction of this blog is working its way out. My side job as a faculty member and teaching a class on running is getting some publicity. People are interested. I was not sure what to make of it. There are definitely some big things coming out of that. If you do not know what I am talking about here is my profile. Here is the link for class personal development. Stay tuned for my next post on that blog. It should be up sometime soon.

My week:

Monday-pushed my swim to watch national championship game. Darn Butler.

Tuesday-4 Miles easy run and long swim. Sully and I just hanging out and getting some miles in. Then in the pm long swim. 1500m time trial. Here are 250 m splits: 5:53, 6:44, 6:29, 6:41, 6:41, 6:45, ave 6:32, and total 39:15. Not really happy about it since it is not any better than last year. Hmm...may be its because I dont want to swim? lol.

Wednesday-Strength training. I have put together some functional body weight strengthening and combined a few programs to make up my own super program. I am shooting for 2 X week.

Thursday-4 miles with the dog.

Friday-Rest

Saturday-Bike/Run brick. Since the routes for RAGE this year are going to be very different mostly harder. I wanted to feel them. So 25 mile bike on a new course with more hills. 6.2 mile run on a new course with more up but it is out and back. Up 3, down 3. The cold, wind, and increased hills led to a slow bike. Cold, wind, and sore/tired calf had a slow run. I sure hope this is not what is in-store for me on saturday.

Sunday-Volunteer and long open water swim. Today the Western US Xterra championships. Fun to watch great athletes fly right by me while I kayak. I wish I could have stuck around or messed around on the courses. Seems like a "fun" bike ride and a "fun" bike. I heard they are ridiculous. I met a small group of friends for a long swim. 1500m open. Seemed like it was longer than 1500 m. My pool is much faster. That usually isn't the case. I just couldn't get into it. It was cold. Weather was gorgeous. I had fun and stuff but swimming wise is was ok. Quote:

“Hawaii has always been a very pivotal role in the Pacific. It is in the Pacific. It is a part of the United States that is an island that is right here.”

Dan Quayle

Thanks Dan.

Business As Usual

2011-04-04T21:17:00.000-07:00

I have been applying some new principles to my injured walking/running population with very exciting results. In particular, the stride rate component to running. Not only have I experienced a huge change with my running but my patients are thrilled with pain-free runs immediately post metronome. I must admit that running the metronome app about 5-10 times a day is quite taxing on the rest of the room, lol. The employers are tired of it and the other patients hear the rhythm and are effected by it. Very big, measurable changes that result in significantly less symptoms. Everybody winning, awesome. My week.

Thursday-New wrinkle in my schedule. Trail run Thursdays. My first trail run from the house is a 3 mile loop with a challenging terrain. It is rocky, sandy, and undulating. Did I mention fun? Sully ran off leash for the first time and performed amazing. Exploring yet following rules and running like the great runner he is. We had a blast. 3 miles.

Friday-Off

Saturday-Swim/Bike Brick. Our first open water swim this season and it went well. Not too cold. Very windy but doable. The water level is WAY up at lake mead and it made for a great swim. About 600 meters just to get used to swimming with a wet suit and the cold water. Slow transition and off on the bike. The wind made for a long day. Even though I had a gnarly head wind I still had good numbers. I actually didnt know that until just now. I hope for good weather come race day. The bike course is different that last year so I hope to go fast. 22 miles.

Sunday-Long run. 6 tunnels route. Most likely my favorite route around. So pretty, challenging, and lots of people so it makes for a fun morning. Sully loved it too. Off leash for most of it. He made a ton of friends but listened all the same. Great times. 6 miles 4 of the miles under 9 for the fist time in a long time. Getting better. Sully had his longest run ever. We needed water as it was very hot. That will not happen again.

Big brick and long swim on tap for next week. Not to mention, I will be Kayaking the Xterra western championship off-road triathlon. I am excited to volunteer. I love to be in the water with them. Quote:

“Time has been transformed, and we have changed; it has advanced and set us in motion; it has unveiled its face, inspiring us with bewilderment and exhilaration.”

Kahlil Gibran

If you read any of my posts, read this one: Part 2

2011-03-29T21:12:00.000-07:00

Well I didn't want to wait a week for my new post which has been the recent past. When I started this blog the focus was different than what it is now. Right now I am a bit confused about what I want out of this blog. I feel like the information about running I have for people is very valuable. I dont feel like I am getting the information across the way it is intended. I never wanted to rustle feathers or make anyone angry but I think it is important to think about things critically. The difference is when runners hear about me and meet me then make an appointment its because they are seeking information. I cannot force someone to want this information. I hoped for people to read, comment, discuss, think, disagree?, anything. Some discussion happened and I am grateful for that. Whew off my chest....anyone with some thoughts?

Perhaps my last post wasn't complete. Lets think about the topics I discussed. As a physical therapist who is really excited to treat hundreds of runners in the last few years I am always challenged by new and interesting people. Different runners with different bodies and different goals. Never the same day twice. Here is a real world break down of the topics from last post:

-Hamstrings are a funny muscle. They tend to be tricky to train. Why do they give people such grief? Why do they get a reputation for being permanent? It is because they function in an unorthodox way compared to our other muscles. They slow down the knee. If you "work" then in the gym traditionally it is concentric. Pushing not slowing down. So they can be strong concentric but very weak eccentrically and function poorly. Very common problem, with a very specific strategy to aid the situation. They require help from the hips and core to work appropriately. If those muscles are not educated as well the hamstring continues to strain. If they keep getting the same force without help, they keep straining.

-Stretching remains the most asked question in the clinic. The answer does not satisfy people. People who stretch want people to say to keep stretching. People genuinely like to stretch. Study after study continues to demonstrate NO EFFECT, may be worse. That translates to not beneficial. It can hurt if done at the wrong time (pre-competition), but ultimately it does not do any good. What does work? Tendon priming. The nervous system needs to have a wake-up call. Controlled, ramped up speed type activities like butt-kickers "prime" quadriceps to let them know they are going to get some work. They move in full motion, so a stretch occurs but not holding. The holding turns the nervous system off. If the nervous system is off it does not respond fast enough causing injury that otherwise could have been prevented. Stability is much more functional than stretching.

-Gait modification. (heidersheit et al) This in 2 days has been a unbelievable tool. Makes complete sense. Afterall, if you are running and trying to heal strike, or midfoot strike, or forefoot strike, you are missing it. We cannot measure any changes with those particular strategies. What we can say is if your foot strike is way out in front of your center of gravity you will "claw." That is reach and grab the ground, stall, then pull your body over the ground. Extremely energy consuming. By increasing stride rate (the number of strides in a minute) you decrease the energy cost of running. You move that foot strike closer to under your base of support and closer to your center of gravity. This is why people enjoy barefoot/5 finger running. The lack of shoes isnt where the gravy is, the biomechanical change that occurs with no shoes is what helps. This is also why the shape-up concept is not going to fix it. 40% less ground reaction force is huge.

-These guys who run this course are pioneers in medicine. This is truly cutting edge stuff. UVA and University of Wisconsin-Madison are neck and neck for best running brains in the country may be even the world. Asking and answering questions that are shaping clinicians decision making. In 2 days using this stuff it is already changing peoples lives. One woman 8/10 heal pain with walking to 2/10 pain IN 5 MIN. Simply amazing. Here is another article about these guys. Now about me.

First, I am excited to announce I signed up for Ironman 70.3 Kona. Definitely not the Ironman world championship but uses some the same bike course. I love the big island and a good buddy with his son moved back home. We are going to make it a vacation and race a new course. Second, The Charlottesville 10 miler. When I arrived in cville I went for 4 mile run. Immediately I missed by buddy sully. Then I remembered the hills around there. I thought I am running hills by the house so I can handle it. Then the calf pain started. It was short lasting and not intense so it wasnt a big deal. Just made me worried. Enter friday gait modification lecture. Then I developed a new race strategy. Its hilly lets see what I do with my stride rate on the hills and see if that is related to my calf pain. Sure enough. Downhill hurts my calf big time. long strides on the downhill is the thing that hurts. Roadrunner like foot action does not hurt. I realized that in the first mile. New goal on the fly during the race. Run the rest of the race with this light feeling and see how long I can last this way. 6 miles. Then my quads, glutes, and deep rotators were shot. Praying for downhills when only uphills came was funny. The muscles I teach exercises to get people to use and I havent felt them on a run either. Here I am laughing at myself because my legs are trashed. Hmmm is this important? I think so. So I did not PR. But I learned something very valuable, what it feels like to run and feel effortless. I NEVER felt that before. Here is my week so far.

Monday-Work late, dinner with family pushed swim

Tuesday-Easy 4 mile run and 30 min swim. Didnt realized until I looked at my watch at the second mile that I was under 17:30 with no effort. Wow. Sully was loving it. Then the uphill came and I slowed down but still felt very good. My swim was also very good. I did not have a plan in place. I wanted something longish and something fastish. So I went 30 min and tossed in some speed play, fartlek style. Went awesome. Long strides face down. Quote:

“Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.”

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

If you read any of my posts, read this one: Part 1

2011-03-27T14:21:00.000-07:00

My yearly pilgrimage to Charlottesville, VA has concluded with another professional growth spurt waiting in the wings. The university of Virginia seems to be building a reputation as one of, if not the, leader in running research. There is not a more evidence based group of professionals and boy let me tell you they are impressive. You may have heard of the speed clinic. Here is a link to the running times article. This is the tip of the iceberg. I am so proud to be engulfed in the things they are studying. I benefit, YOU benefit, (I would like to take the time to say thank you to my loyal readers) and most importantly, my patients benefit.

They invite researchers from around the country who are studying running and as groups try to help each other gain more knowledge and experience trying to make this world a more healthy place. A really special network of learning. We are identifying problems and testing possible solutions to be accurate in what we prescribe to our patients. There was a lot jammed into 2 days of learning but here is the real world applicable stuff:

-one of the 3 hamstring muscles (biceps femoris) is injured 80% of the time. It is injured in runners right before the foot is about to contact the ground (terminal swing). With the hip in the position it is and the knee at it's respective place the biceps femurs is asked to work really hard and fast at the same time. Once injured you are more likely to have more strains. A scar forms around the injury and without appropriate strengthening the hamstring will learn to fire poorly. It stops firing the way it's designed to fire. The treatment is interesting. Stretching does not help or hurt. Strengthening the hamstring only is not beneficial but strengthening

the gluteals and core will prove beneficial. The way these muscles work together require a running expert physical therapist to provide a skilled progression of activities to remedy the situation.

-stretching remains a problem child. It sure feels good but there are no measurable benefits. The literature does state that stretching takes away from running. Stiff muscles perform better. Even in studies where researchers went to the stretchers house 2 times a week, called the stretcher 2 times a week to make sure they were stretching and there was no change in running injuries, pain, or performance. There was only a slight change in range of motion.

-gait modification. Once we identify a flaw or injury should we change the gait? What's the best way to do that? Well one way of modifying gate that has been shown to be very very effective is stopping the " vertical displacement" of running. That is how much up and down motion you make while running. This brings a ton of extra force that can injure any joint or muscle from the foot up. Here is how we test it: run on a treadmill for about 5 min or so. You want what you would consider your comfortable pace. Then count your left foot hitting the ground for 30 sec. Multiply that times 4. That is your stride rate. If you increase stride rate by 5% you can reduce the amount of force by 20%. That means you can produce and tolerate less force. If you increase it by 10% you can reduce force by 38%. You can go from pain to no pain with a faster stride rate. The change you make is you move your feet under your body and prevent over- striding. Work this up slow, you can get trouble if you don't. Example: 30 eft foot strikes in 30 sec X 4=120 strides per minute. 120 X 0.05=6, so try a new stride rate of 126. How? Try a metronome. How about music at that rate? Step to the beat! For 10%, 132 strides per minute. How does this translate to performance? Healthy running= harder, healthier training=PRs

-most likely the best thing is how these clinicians think. When athletes are hurt they are afraid of what the docs or the pts are going to say. They might make me stop! Well that is not beneficial. Why can't we as health professionals make running an activity that we can work on. When you go to pt, you better be running. Go ready to run. If they do not have a real good reason to keep you from running (

something big), you should run.

The course is always around the charlottesville 10 miler. I ran and will describe that in part 2.

Discipline is a nice change

2011-03-20T19:50:00.000-07:00

Funny how this see saw battle goes. I have made incredible changes to my life and I have been pleased with the results. Sometimes we sit back and look at the changes and get complacent. I think I was stuck there again. I say again because I have been down this road before. It is definitely a challenge when it seems I am the only one in close proximity who is striving for these goals. I had another week completely dairy free and complex carbohydrate free. I feel absolutely amazing. I am getting leaner and leaner and my training feels so much more real. Real? Well I am feeling different things now. My muscle burn if very different. My taste buds are so different. IS what I am tasting and feeling the "right" way? If my whole life has been a smoke screen am I feeling my body for the first time? It is crazy. Here is how my week went:

Monday-Interval swim. 5 Laps easy warm-up pace in 6:03, 3 laps fast (about 80% of all out) in 3:18, recovery 3 laps in 4:01, 3 on 3:19, 3 off 4:14, 3 on 3:16, and 5 laps recovery in 6:54. 25 laps or 1,250 m. I felt strong. It was nice to speed up a bit. The last interval I had trouble keeping my form but went well.

Tuesday-Easy run and strength training. 3 mile remedy loop. KDs core, general strength. Sully is enjoying this running thing.

Wednesday-Off

Thursday-Training run. 5 miles. Sully's longest run to date. The more we change routes the better he gets at staying right next to me. He once in a while gets bored or curious but gets back on track.

Friday-Off

Saturday-Long Run. 8 miles. The longest run since the calf. It was a very windy day, we chose a very hilly course (AGAIN, lol) and it was a hard run. Felt the fatigue and twinge in the calf that recovered very quickly. 4 miles up and 4 miles down. I even had a 8:30 mile in there. Hmm...wondering how my 10 miler will go. Can I keep that pace that long? Will the calf hold up? My legs were very fatigued and sore.

Sunday (today)-Training run. Since the wind and rain was kicked up and my bike had a series of unfortunate mechanical errors, I did not ride. I was really looking forward to a long ride. Given how sore I am may be it was a good thing. Then I decided to swim. POOL CLOSED. Hmm nothing long in my cards today. The plan was to have a long ride or swim and short run. Sully needed to run. I ran the 3 mile rmlt loop and for the first time did it with no walking or stopping. Sully cooperated. It is hilly. The strength is coming. Absolutely no sign of the calf today. Miserable weather on this first day of spring.

Sully-He was pooped after the 5 miler. He hasnt reacted like that in a while. He is building up slow and seems to really enjoy himself out there. He was heart broken on saturday when he realized we werent running. He seems to be taking notes on days we run. Each run he gets more and more well-behaved. Sometimes he seems like he wants me to go faster. He is an excellent partner. Quote:

"Your heart is free, have the courage to follow it."

Braveheart movie line

A Dairy Allergy?

2011-03-13T16:43:00.000-07:00

Over the past few years, I have been back and forth on how I feel when I have dairy. I will keep my symptoms to myself but never in my reading/research did I come across low level dairy allergy suggestions. Fast forward to conversation with a "very accomplished runner and coach." He has employed his runners to use a basic meal/nutrition plan. No rice, pasta, or bread. Lots of vegetables and NO DAIRY. By dairy he means no milk, cheese, or yogurt. In the last few years the complex carb thing has been a life changer for me so I get that, but the DAIRY? I didnt understand that. He explained that low level amounts of allergy produce extra mucous. The lack of mucous will obviously help breathing and the lungs but he feels the lack of mucous also helps with lean muscle mass. He feels that "ripped" or "hard" look comes from this style of eating. I definitely need to research it. Nonetheless, I decided to give it a whirl.

Today marks 7 days dairy free and I feel amazing. Is it lactose? What is it in the milk that reacts with my body? It was not that drastic of a change so I thought it would be an interesting experiment. Since tuesday (3 days in) I have not had the previously mentioned symptoms. Usually for every 2-3 mile of running I am good for a snot rocket or two, cycling every 5-10 miles. NO MORE. Usually I have to constantly monitor my "boogers." NONE. I feel great. A very clean week of nutrition (totally metabolicly efficient) and a solid effort in training. I felt awesome during training, slept better, and generally not so stuffy in the sinuses. It feels like I have taken off right where silverman left off. I would prefer not to have a months like December or January again. Here is how my week went:

Monday-Training swim, 1000 meters. Not too fast, not too slow. Long strokes, no rest, get a good feel of the water.

Tuesday-Easy run. 3 miles easy. Sully is becoming such a good partner. He is getting his loose leash position when we run and he is getting less interested in distractions. More on him later.

Wednesday-REST

Thursday-Training Run. 4 miles. Sully and my wife ran with me and it was awesome. We went out a little fast but it was really good. Sully is ready to go longer. Next week I think I am going to add a day or start to add some speed. I feel no (knock on wood) musculoskeletal issues besides DOMS.

Friday-REST

Saturday-BRICK. Bike/Run. My first brick since October. I picked a flat-ish bike course. The ish refers to the sisters. Now that they are in my back yard I am going to sprinkle them in until I can repeat them. That is when I know I have arrived, lol. 18 miles, 16 mph with 12-16 on the silverman/sister portion of the river mountain loop trail. With out that section I would have been over 20 mph. T1 was spend wrangling Sully and chit chat with the group. Run was the "sully" loop. 3 miles with the first mile up. My goal was to maintain 9:30 up the big hill then hang on the rest. actual: 9:38. Legs were thrashed. Have to get them giraffe legs out. More Bricks to come. I would grade this one a B-. It took me a long time to recover off the sisters. Once I reached the RMLT on the run my legs were gone. I am faster but not in shape. It is coming though.

Sunday-Long run. The 6 tunnels route by the lake to Hoover dam. It was awesome. Gorgeous morning, incredible scenery. Definitely, a run I will do again. 7.16 miles, 9:33 pace. It is an out and back route. The first quarter of the back is a challenge. I can feel my hill work around here getting better. This run makes me remember why I run.

Sully-Graduated from puppy class. He is ready to go longer and more often. I am happy with his training too. Quote:

The Dalai Lama, when asked what surprised him most about humanity, answered "Man, he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived."

I love that.

picking up steam....

2011-03-06T20:00:00.000-08:00

The offseason didnt go my way. So what. In this phase of my year I want to build some endurance and strength. I want to make this year the fastest one yet. I have the Charlottesville 10 miler and Olympic distance RAGE. PR's are on the way. I felt very strong this week. The best week I can recall in a long time. What is nice, is I am not concentrating on speed and I have not done any time trialing and I am faster. I dont know what is different but I feel different. Here is how the week went:

Monday-Training ride. High cadence, short duration. I stayed a gear or two down and just tried to get my legs going faster. I got a hot spot on the lateral aspect of the Right foot, and my feet were very uncomfortable. I need new shoes. I ran out of light too. I am ready for the time to change. Cardio was very good legs were pooped. 17 miles in 1:04. 15.4 mph average.

Tuesday-3 mile run. Finally training run. Not worried about calf, just running. Me and sully out and about. His loose leash running is getting to be pretty good. He is not as well behaved on different routes but he gets it together. He has a tendency to drag ass when he is curious. Sometimes he pushes me, sometimes I pull him. He is a good partner.

Wednesday-Core. I have incorporated the UNLV track team core program by Khadevis Robinson. He is a big proponent of training fast to run fast and believes that you must have the strength to do so. It is challenging.

Thursday-Training Run. 4 miles. Sully's longest run to date. He was pooped the last 1/2 mile. I felt awesome. I ran my regular 4 mile loop prior to the marathon and I couldnt keep the pace I kept today. I am able to get to the top of these hills, recover, and then pick it up down. After looking at the splits it turned out to me a progression run. With the last mile in 8:50. That even includes the 1/4 mile up to my house that is quite a finish. A kick builder of a hill on the way home.

Friday-Rest

Saturday-Long Run. 6 miles. 3.5 with sully and 2.5 without him. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I havent had that good of a run in a long time. Sully wasnt feeling it and he kept me slow. Once I dropped him off I was able to take off. I felt strong. Not terribly faster although that might not be fair. The courses are very different out here so I cannot compare times. I did find a rather flat road. I did have a second of calf fatigue that was eery familiar but recovered very quickly. I had slight leg soreness and It was amazing to have some quad soreness. Seems like a long time since I ran hard enough to get some muscle work.

Sunday-Long ride. The entire olympic bike course. My goal was to attack the downs and pace the ups. Not too fast, not too slow on the ups. I put my new shoes to work. Last years race time was 1:38:26. Today I did the same course in 1:38:52. I wasnt even pushing it. I am amazed by that. My legs are tired and sore but I didnt even mash. I am happy with that. 26 miles at 15.6 mph. Quote:

“A cookbook must have recipes, but it shouldn't be a blueprint. It should be more inspirational; it should be a guide.”

Thomas Keller

No schedule, no plan just get out there and go. Feels good.

Feeling good to be back on the wagon

2011-02-27T16:24:00.000-08:00

The longest break I have had in nearly 4 years because of injury and illness has finally come to an end. This last week has been solid. The strength training I have done has also helped. Feels good to have it coming together. Core strength has been helping my back. I have adopted the core program the distance coach at UNLV has given his athletes, with whom I have been working with. Leg strength has made the running around here happen. It is very hilly and I have been good on the hills. My only complaint is my lungs. Still kinda crappy but today I hardly had a cough. When the cough comes though it is productive. Here is how the week went:

Monday-750 m swim. My stroke is coming nice. I am not going fast but trying to keep a very high elbow, plenty of rotation, and make each stroke meaningful. It is translating to swimming fitness and interestingly enough speed too.

Tuesday-Ran 3 miles with sully/julie. He got a little pooped in the last quarter to half miles. I think 3 miles will be his max for a while.

Wednesday-30 min bike trainer steady state bike. Followed by core work. High cadence, light to moderate resistance work for the entire 30 min. Boy the trainer is boring. I also have significantly weak core. I can feel my back work the same it hurt last season when I was on long bike or long run. I feel like I addressing last season hole in training.

Thursday-3 mile run. Hardly any limits for me or sully. We are going to be good training buddies. He would like me to go faster though. Neither of us stopped and I did not get any fatigue.

Friday-rest

Saturday-Since the rain and wind were going to prevent any outside activity I took to the pool. 1500 meter long swim, in 36:--. Last March I did a time trial and went 38 min. I was not time trial-ing and I went faster. The pool has come around quick. I would like to see that trend continue. High elbows, face in the water, and steady/controlled turnover.

Sunday (today)-4.5 mile run. my longest run since my 22 miler pre calf blowup. It felt strong. I climbed the biggest hill today without fatigue and no walking at all. The weather was gorgeous. Had I known that was going to happen I would have biked out at the lake. Overally, very happy were my run is going and looking forward to getting into the thick of things and get ready for RAGE.

I am signed up for RAGE. I will be doing the olympic. I will try and break last years goals. I am going to also sign up for the Charlottesville 10 miler and try to beat last years time. I will be in VA for the Running Medicine series again. It is a phenomenal course every year. I will get my schedule together and start planning out my next few months. Quote:

“I pray to be like the ocean, with soft currents, maybe waves at times. More and more, I want the consistency rather than the highs and the lows.”

Drew Barrymore

After a relative low in the last few months I feel this ship turning right around.

Our first Run together....

2011-02-22T20:12:00.000-08:00

First and foremost here is my blog post from my other blog....check it out.

Isnt it funny when his ears pull his eyes to look crazy? We went our first run today. He got cleared by the Vet and off we go. Since I am on the mend, I got my first run in almost a month. No calf pain during and no soreness after. This week I am ready to get back to business.

Monday-Swim 750 meters. Pool is going much better. Building endurance. I am starting to get the love back for swimming. Short swim today because I am coughing my lungs out, lol.

Tuesday-Run 2 miles. WOW....lol. Im coming back....

Long over due post...

2011-02-15T21:39:00.000-08:00

What do ya say if this is a training blog and I keep it like a diary and I am not running? I am frustrated but optimistic. The calf is progressing well. It came at a time I could cross train without any consequences. Back in the pool and back on the bike. I cannot relate the temperature but it could not be any nicer weather. Blue skies, no wind, sunny but not hot. Perfect. Perfect time to be out by the lake on a bike. I missed it so much. The pool on the other hand was slow. I did a 1000 m meter time trial in 28:__. REALLY? Wow so slow even for me. I have no excuses. I have been totally stressed out this last few months and my training has suffered then resulted in an injury. I am happily working through it. I am make the march to RAGE as an olympic. It has started slow.

On the running note I ran 2 miles on sunday with only fatigue. I had to walk some because it was so tired. Push tired and you get more strain. I took it easy. Nothing else stopped me. Cardiovascularly I felt awesome. My brain wanted to go. Funny how 2 months ago I didnt want to run and today I am dying for it. DYING for it. I feel like a bad dog. Rehab is going well.

Over the last week plus 2 days. 3 swims, 1000, 750, and 750. 2 mountain bikes, including my first crash. I am ok, just scrapped up. 2 road bikes. I plan on a bike time trial at the lake on the bike course. 1 run of 2 miles.

Sully: I am researching the proper way to bring up a puppy and eventually allow them to run with you. Musculoskeletally he must be mature. It seems there are conflicting time lines on when he is able to run. It is also funny how the define running. He is so active right now. He is running his butt off. He is a blessing. I am so happy to have him and I cannot wait until he is able to get out there with me. Quote:

“Absence is to love what wind is to fire; it extinguishes the small, it enkindles the great.”

Comte DeBussy-Rabutin

Surf City Marathon: A humbling experience

2011-02-06T13:58:00.001-08:00

I lay here completely rested and not sore at all. Its because I only cheered today and did not run. It is very strange to feel cardiovasularly ready to race and musculoskeletally not even close. I walked the expo yesterday knowing that my calf will not tolerate running. I didnt even survive the expo. The calf blew up again on tuesday and I could not complete the 4 miler I set out to run, I limped 2 miles home. I have fast tracked a lot of athletes. Lately I have fast tracked a lot of runners. Fast tracking is the ability to get someone patched up and race and help with a strategy to do the best the athlete can. Then after the race we slow down, plug in the holes and get them back to assymtomatic running. In this case, I could not fast track myself. I did go from 0.4 miles one tuesday to 2 miles the next tuesday but that does not warrant a marathon. I was happy to support the runners I came down here with. PR's for 2 runners and the first for another runner who have rehabbed and helped train. That was gratifying. She has pictures of her first 1/2 because I did not race. The good news is the bike does not hurt. I have not got in the water yet but I dont think that will hurt either. I may not do 3 half irons this year after all. I dont know. I will most likely move down to the olympic at RAGE.

With another week to think about why this happened to me, I think I know what is going on. This issue began a month or two ago with inconsistent training. You cross that with not enough strength training, changing my prerun routine, and running considerably more hills while trying to conquer them. The right combination of mishaps led my demise. I did get to experience a race from another perspective. I got to see who was running particular times. Wanna know how many "clydesdales" were sub 1:45? Not many, less than 5. I think I still require more work on the leaner side of things. I am happy to say that is going in the right direction already. I have not figured out my 2011 yet but I sure hope it gets going better then it started. I think my PR streak is over and I intend on starting a new streak.

Sun-sun 2 miles. Mountain bike and tons of rehab.

Sully update: I am happy to say he is awesome. He is going to be a wonderful partner. He is learning loose leash walking and is developing his cardio to begin to run. I am going to rehab while he gets his fitness to run with me. Coincidence? hmmmmm. I saw some dogs racing today and I cannot wait until he does that with me. QUOTE:

“Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy.”

Norman Vincent Peale

Reasonable confidence is ringing in my head. I need to watch that. I consider myself in check.

My watch might be thinking I am mad at him...

2011-01-30T23:12:00.000-08:00

Because he has stayed in the drawer. NO RUNNING. Thats right no running for a week before my marathon. My calf has been a challenge. Rehab every day. I ran a broken up 1/2 mile this morning messing around with sully and it was tired. How am I going to run a marathon in a week? May be I shouldnt? May be I can just suck it up? I dont know. Seems like my race is in big trouble. I realized that the footwear I used last run when I pulled it was the oldest beat up shoes still in my closet (they are not anymore). The old Kayano 16's that look like the new 16's. I was thinking the new 16's were about dead and yet I ran the very very dead 16's. I dont know if that is it or what. In the new house I dont have a place to prime my calves I realized I have not been doing that a few weeks. I also have been doing some running form drills and have been on my toes more, that would load the calf more. I have been running a lot more hill lately too. I dont know. I had been injury free a long time. This calf has been an issue in the past too. I am frustrated and worried that I will not be able to complete this marathon.

Monday-sunday-No formal running, rehab only.

Sully update (may be a new feature on the blog?): He has started puppy school and his goal will be to be super socialized so he can be a running dog. I want to be able to run him off leash and not worry about him. He must be well exercised to be trained and if he is not he can be a hand full. Quote:

Dogs are our link to paradise. They don't know evil or jealousy or discontent. To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring -- it was peace.

--Milan Kundera

Introducing my new running partner....

2011-01-23T22:43:00.001-08:00

His name is Sully. Sully is a weimeraner. He is a very good boy. He has learned by watching the other dogs how to go the bathroom outside, use the doggie door, and not to mess inside. He is only 7 weeks at this point so he is not ready for mileage but I will bring him in slowly. He will require daily exercise so we might was well hang out. This breed is VERY smart. They can be trouble if not trained and exercised appropriately. I am pumped. I wanted a big dog my whole life and now Sully is here ready to be a part of it. Puppy 5ks here we come! here is how my week went:

Monday-Rest

Tuesday-I had a "skin" issue that was not resolved. REST.

Wednesday-Pushed a 4 miler because I gave a presentation on common running injuries and the newest trends in how we treat them. The latest buzz word in orthopedics is "Gluteal Amnesia." Anyone heard of it? If you want the handout just email me I would be happy to share.

Thursday-6 miles in. Good run. Exploring the new area and it is not flat. jus sayin.

Friday-Rest

Saturday-Long run stopped short by calf strain. It does not bother me now but I was afraid of pushing it too hard this close to the marathon. I am tapering anyway so what is a few less miles?

Sunday (today)-Rehab. Self treat this calf. Feels pretty good. I dont think it is going to be a problem.

Overall not a great week. It is funny. I am hoping that more rest/recovery is what I need. I have not met all of my "offseason" goals. I need to get back in the water. I need to hit the trainer at least. I am taking a more lax approach. Try not to get so uptight. I am wondering what this year will bring still. QUOTE:

“If it wasn't for dogs, some people would never go for a walk.”

Isnt that the truth.

Always good to have a Refresher....

2011-01-16T20:02:00.000-08:00

A refresher? I just returned from an action packed trip down to california for the USATF level 1 coaching course. I have to pass the test in order to be certified but I don't think that will be difficult. I learned a lot. I did not grow up around a track. I know a lot about running but not track. I got more in depth knowledge of managing energy systems, periodization, and form running among a lot of other things. I am a biomechanics lover and I got plenty of them too. Hurdling, jumping, throwing, and even running are more clear to me now. I also got spend a few days with my good buddy Karl. He is a gifted runner and a genuinely good person. I enjoy our time together. I love talking running with him and I cannot wait for the next running endeavor we embark on.

I realized how much my own running can be changed. I think about the different aspects of endurance training and the holes that I have discovered. I do not do enough coordination, I do not do enough form work. I could be more specific with my periodization. I am excited for some of the changes I am going to see and to see what changes I am going to make for patients.

I have been wondering what my plans for this year are going to be. I have decided to continue my progression to IM. I am going to race 3 half Irons this year. Beginning with RAGE. The first local race. The other 2 races I have not decided on. Other running races and smaller triathlons I will take as they come and use them as workouts. Right after the marathon I will start to build to RAGE. Here is how the week went.

Monday-Rest

Tuesday-Easy run

Wednesday-Pushed a run to hang out with my brother.

Thursday-Training run of 5 miles

Friday-Travel day

Saturday-Pushed a run of 6 miles or so. The class was 4-10 on friday and began at 8 am on sat. I couldnt get up. lol

Sunday(today)-long run of 8 miles. Had to cut it short. QUOTE.

"I keep my eyes fixed on the sun."

-Cage the elephant song lyric from 'Shake me Down"

Eyes fixed on the sun is going to my mindset as I get finished up on this marathon and begin the triathlon season.

Another Great Adventure

2011-01-13T17:41:00.000-08:00

I am so happy to be a part of this organization. I have been asked to be on the "faculty" of this unique endeavor. CLASS Personal Development is a company who will offer classes to facilitate the success of others. It is a very passionate and capable staff with a noble mission.

Here is the website: www.getclass.org

Here is my profile

Here is my first bog entry for the blog attached to the website.

I am planning some running/triathlon related classes. I am not sure what this will turn into. I love running, I love helping runners, I am passionate about helping people with running injuries, and I have helped so many new runners get started that I cannot help myself. Any thoughts?

A SOLID week

2011-01-09T18:04:00.000-08:00

This week was the biggest week on the marathon training schedule. I knew that this was going to be the week where I got things going in the right direction. It was a make or break week. It has been interesting how my body just wouldn't go prior to this week. I wonder if stress has something to do with that. I would tell it to go and it just wouldn't go. I felt tired and my brain just wasn't having it. The move into a new house is finished besides a few odds and ends, thank god. This week I went to bed on time, ate very well, and running was better. Hmm mm, interesting.

The question was asked what about 2010 introspection or 2011 goals. Well the last month has been so strange I couldn't get past it. I was really "sweating" my 22 miler. More on that later. I have become a bit shell shocked when it comes to my goal setting. I am stuck between what the race predictors say I should be running/performing, training to get there, and the place I ACTUALLY am. I still think and dream about IM just about everyday. My 2 half Irons have been a ridiculous course and I have wondered what other race courses would be like. I know I need a fast course to see if that distance suits me. I have to remember this endurance training is very different for my body. I have to cut myself come slack. This will be my 3rd triathlon season and everyone says this is the year that things start to speed up. I am looking forward to that. With my workout room at the house now available I will have a permanent place for my bike trainer. The old house had no convenient room. I will start hitting that up now that the marathon taper begins. I am going to use the taper to start to introduce biking and swimming. So for goals? I don't know. The big picture says that in order to step up to IM, I wanted to have at least 5 half IM under my belt. So in 2011 I am hoping for 2-3 half Irons, may be one more marathon? May be a few olympic triathlons? I don't know. Money for travel and entry fees will be harder than usual. My new location is less than 1/2 a mile from the river mountain loop trail. Basically, I live on the Silverman race course. The sisters are now only 8 miles from house. My new area is very hilly. Right now it is difficult but when I ran an old familiar race course I felt stronger.

As for 2010, I am proud of the year I had. I am proud that I went the entire year with personal records. I had running race PR's, I had triathlon PR's, I had course records, and I had distance records. I lost 30 pounds total. I quadrupled the number of runners and triathletes as patients. I have built up to about 1/4 of my patient population runners. I am proud of the example I set and yet, not satisfied. My PR's are significantly better but are not as fast as I want them to be. My goals also extend over to training. My training that is. Next week I am going to cali for the USATF level 1 certification class pending a pass on the exam. I also would like to become a CSCS. Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist. I am also kicking around USAT level 1. I may still try to go to my annual pilgrimage to Charlottesville Virginia. The course syllabus was just released and it looks quite compelling. I don't know if I can miss it. Here is how my week went:

Monday-Moving

Tuesday-Ran 4. Trying to find my new 4 mile loop. I like to have a 4 mile easy run route. This one was not it.

Wednesday-Ran 8 miles right after work. I ran a big loop from work that including my favorite run from Silverman run course. Very slow but getting better I can feel it.

Thursday-Ran 8 miles early from the house. Tried a new 4 mile loop and ran it twice. I felt better than wed but the course was significantly more hilly. I really have to get stronger. I need to run these hills without it bogging me down.

Friday-Rest

Saturday-22 mile long run. I ran the Johnson loop with some modifications twice and then to complete the 22, a 1.3 out and back. I felt much stronger. I ran the overwhelming amount of time. For the last month that is a big improvement. I finished faster running this 22 than last years 20 miler for LA. Today I feel sore at about a 2-3/10. We will see how that goes for tomorrow. The weather was cold at the beginning but not as cold as my fellow bloggers from the east. I have read some very, very cold posts in the last few weeks. I am not complaining about our weather anymore. Quote:

“To be a star, you must shine your own light, follow your own path, and don't worry about the darkness, for that is when the stars shine brightest”

no resolutions for me...

2011-01-04T22:19:00.000-08:00

I am not against them, I just cannot see my myself making huge changes. I know what works for me and I need to be consistent. Now nearly 2 weeks off the blog is not a step in the consistent direction. I have been in a running rut. Not discouraged but frustrated. I can feel it lifting though. I have had a lot of advice lately. After the year I have had I was due some down time. I am able to keep the roller coaster relatively flat. In this last 2 weeks the life stress has been high. I manage a busy physical therapy clinic and I moved my house. 4 straight days of moving from early to late. Not eating right when you are off your schedule. Some how thats what I needed. I have a big week ahead of me. Settling into the new place.

The new place offers new challenges. It is very hilly. I am ready for them. It is colder since there is no protection. I am ready for it. There are some runner/triathlete/cyclist/Xterra athletes. I hope to add some training partners.

I do have some news. I am signed up for the USATF level one coaching clinic. I am pumped. Not only will it be a fun talking/learning about running but I will get to hang with my good buddy Karl. Keeping up a budding tradition of a running course together every year. Does not seem that Virginia is in the cards for the both of us.

Last week 0 miles...

Sunday-11 miles. Awfully cold and slow but I had a great time with my wife.

Monday-House work....

Tuesday-4 miles. Felt good for the first time in weeks. No walking, powered up some hills, and braved slight under dress. So it was cold.

The rest of the week is going to be stellar as I make a big push to the Surf City Marathon. Bring it on....QUOTE:

Tough times don't last but tough people do." - A.C. Green

GRINDING

2010-12-19T22:32:00.000-08:00

I started this blog a long time ago as a way to keep a log of how I train, what I think, and as a way to observe other athletes. I am a passionate person and I wear my heart on my sleeve. I use this blog to show the good times and the bad times, to learn. In the range of time that is a year there are highs and lows. I am still confident, I am capable of doing anything I want to do but right now, I dont know what I want to do. I am in a lull because of a lack of direction. My life right now is quite stressful and training is not relieving stress. I realize that I had a very successful race season. I am proud of that. In the last few years I have rediscovered my competitive and physical life. I expect a lot out of myself. I am blessed to have the health, resources, and time to do the things I do. I could be more efficient with my time. Here is how my week went.

Monday-Rest

Tuesday-Ran 4.

Wednesday-Skipped a 7 miler to hang with my sick wife

Thursday-Ran 7 miles, finally a day without some blister pain

Friday-Rest

Saturday-Long Run of 20 miles. A rainy/windy start. Cold but not freezing. Karl was in town and really gave me a boost. He is funny because he is subtle enough to be nice and not subtle enough to get the message across. If he had the time to train that I have he would be an absolute machine. More than he is now. Thanks for the push. My race will not be this cold, hilly, or windy. A good confidence booster. I am hardly sore. My blisters are OK, not great. We ran 4 X 5 miles loops and this was a productive way to get a long run in.

Sunday (today)-Rest

I wrote an aggressive marathon schedule post silverman. I am up to date with minor glitches. I am holding onto these miles. I do need to get into the gym for strength training. I have been thinking about Crossfit. I got one of 2 20-plus mile runs in. Quote:

“No matter how far life pushes you down, no matter how much you hurt, you can always bounce back.”

Sheryl Swoopes

I wasnt that far down, I am not that hurt, and i will bounce wayyyy back.

Kinda Lost...

2010-12-12T22:38:00.000-08:00

There is something I have been struggling with. You see I seem kind of lost. In the last few years I have spent this time of year very wisely, this year not so much. Its not like I am wasting time or anything I just dont have a plan. My goals are not set so the path is not known. I am struggling with goals and an old problem of mine I have not thought about in a long time. In fact I forgot I had it. When I was a kid I was a real good baseball player. I thought my life was going in a baseball direction. I spent all of my waking hours watching videotape of me in the cage or my at-bats during the last game. I did not have the outcome I thought I was going to get. I was devastated where do I stand? What do I do? I was so jealous of the baseball players that went on to college and got drafted. I busted my ass to be less than good enough. My definition of good enough. I find myself back in this place. I am busting my ass and I am not measuring up. What should I be learning? Instead of a quote today I will place this excerpt my buddy Karl gave to me. This is kind of what I am thinking too.

"Every kid’s talent level is different. And their motivation level is a lot different. When I talk with kids, the biggest thing I stress with them is to be hungry for the sport and to enjoy the sport. That is the bottom line. And then if you are hungry to improve in the sport, you need to set a lot of short-term and long-term goals. You also have to set a lot of goals in between. Whenever I sign an autograph, I write, “Dream big,” because if you don’t set your goals to a little bit higher than you think you can accomplish, then you are never going to be reaching your full potential. Obviously, some people are going to be limited by what they can handle, but each runner needs to find that level of hard work that they can handle. It’s more than piling on a lot of miles, breaking down, and getting tired. Find that level that you can handle for a long time and consistently put in a lot of hard work. Whatever that level is, will pay off over time. You will see improvements. As you get older and stronger you will be able to increase that workload. You start to see results. You have to constantly stay motivated and constantly reach for that bigger goal that you have set for yourself."

--Chris Solinsky

I am seeing results and they are improvements. They just arent good enough. My struggle is between dreaming big, pushing myself hard, and finding my true potential. I am not in love with running right now. I am not getting the rush even though I am stronger. I ran 17 miles today and I was miserable. I was thinking too much and not running enough. My back is nearly 100%. Stretching doesnt do anything for it, but strength training does. Planks with alternating arms/legs, lower abs, figure 4 gluts, and kettle bells are bringing me back. Here is how my week went:

Monday-Rest

Tuesday-Run 4 miles. My blisters did not tolerate it but I fought through it.

Wednesday-Pushed a 5 mile run to sleep. I couldnt get out of bed.

Thursday-Ran 6 miles and fought myself the whole way. Got them in.

Friday-Rest, pushed a 5 mile run to sleep. Not very motivated.

Saturday-Ran 5 miles and basically got them in. Trend?

Sunday-Ran 17 miles for a weekend total of 22. I am glad I got them all in because I wasnt motivated but not happy about the results very slow.

I am on the clock now officially with the Surf City Marathon. Better get my stuff together before then.

Last Race of the Season-Las Vegas 1/2 Marathon

2010-12-05T22:09:00.000-08:00

100% PR's this year. 5K, 10K, 1/2 Marathon, Full Marathon, sprint triathlon, olympic triathlon, and 1/2 Iron distance triathlon. All new marks to beat next year. It is interesting that each race was a PR and I am grateful for that, I did not reach my potential. I have some work to do. I have not finalized by race plans for next year. I have some confounding circumstances that do not allow for planning. Besides what do I want to do? I am signed up for the Surf City Marathon in Feb. After that? No idea...I need a shot at a 1/2 Iron that is not Silverman but which one? I dont know.

Las Vegas Half. Ya see, when I was sitting around years ago plotting my progression (like we can do that), I had this goal that I would break 2:00 on a half before I run a marathon. I signed up for LA last year before last years Vegas and I didnt beat it. Then I had surf city half, didnt beat it. So today? My chance to do that. Here I am signed up for another marathon and I have not reached the mark I set for myself. Today it was perfect conditions. Perfect weather, No wind, cool but not hot. NICE. A relatively flat course with perfect conditions=PR but not as fast as I wanted. Heard that before? Yeah my nemesis. After reviewing my splits I was around the time I wanted but not there. I finished in 2:03:30 a PR by 4 min or so. Here are my splits: 9:14, 9:15, 9:05, 9:12, 9:00, 9:00, 9:16, 9:30, 8:59, 9:53, 9:49, and 10:15, 1:44. Miles 11, 12, and 13 I was supposed to step up and get the average down below 9. Didnt happen. I pooped out, lol. Not only that but I had some gnarly blisters on the medial aspect of the 1st ray at the MTP. My back held up well. I almost ruined with an impromptu running in the staff/faculty 1 mile run at the UNLV track meet friday. I have to get my legs stronger. I have to get my core stronger. That is my goal for the next month. Run/lift. Here is how my week went:

Monday-Back "rehab"

Tuesday-Run 3 miles, stiff and sore. Never stopped me but didnt feel good.

Wednesday-Rest, sore but better. Running helped.

Thursday-Felt great. Ran 5 miles at 9:00 on the dot. I think I can do this sub 2 thing.

Friday-Roped into 1 mile run on the track. Didnt have a watch or idea where I was at time wise. I ran 7:21. I think my VDOT is going down.

Saturday-Rest

Sunday (today)-Las Vegas 1/2 Marathon. QUOTE:

“Don't let your special character and values, the secret that you know and no one else does, the truth - don't let that get swallowed up by the great chewing complacency.”

Aesop

DO NOT GET COMPLACENT

Quick one...

2010-11-28T21:17:00.000-08:00

Overall a good week. The goal for this week was to PR at the 5K distance and get a long run in. Here is how the week went.

Monday- 4 mile easy. 36:50.

Tuesday-Fartlek style 4 miles. I wanted to know what 8 min pace felt like. I was planning my race strategy and I wasnt sure what my first mile pace should be. 35:56, with a 3rd mile of 8:12. I think I hang with that.

Wednesday-Rest

Thursday-5K. See last post for details.

Friday/Saturday-Rest

Sunday-Long run of 18 miles. I didnt even make it a mile. Lower back stiffened up. Funny, my back has been a little sore off and on but nothing too bad. This morning it didnt loosen up. Walked back. Miserable day.

PR streak continues

2010-11-25T10:18:00.000-08:00

Every race this year PR. Chase the Gobler 5K this morning. Here are splits:

8:11, 8:05, 7:59, and 0:55. PR by 42 sec and a course record by 2:41. Results were not available at the end of the race but will be posted online soon. My wife killed it too! She had 2:13 5 K PR/course record with a total time of 26:16. Now lets eat!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Silverman Pics...what next?

2010-11-21T20:54:00.000-08:00

Pic 1: Finish line w my wife

Pic 2: Finish line w "Gallagher's groupies" I love them

The rest are self explanatory

Since I am rolling over training right into marathon training, I have some time to think. Running only. What can I do to get better? What do I want to do after this? What goals should I make? What races should I do? How far should I race? What do I want out of training? I bounce around from answer to answer and I do not necessarily have any good thoughts. Despite a wandering brain, I am running the best I have ever run. Most of it is better conditioning, the rest is confidence. I feel so good running. The "base" I have under me feels very supportive. So I am torn. Here I am running 16 miles a few weeks after a 1/2 Iron and I do not feel so supercharged but I dont feel a limit either. I am running and I asking myself if I like this. It is windy, cold, long and I dont know if I like it. Weird? I dont know what to think of it. I finish and I feel pretty good. I am not so tired or sore but when I am out there sometimes I dont feel like pushing it. I am inching my way to performing and stop finishing. I think about that too. Thinking...

This year I have had good gains. Before any chickens are counted, I still have 2 more races to go. A 5k and Las Vegas as a half. I believe the reason this year was a step up from last year is because of my running last year. Last year at this time I was training for my first marathon. Longer and longer runs than the week before. This long run flew by. I dont want to listen to music. I like hearing myself. I hardly hear my feet. Its what I want from the runners that I train. Its fun to feel myself not so tired at places I used to be gassed. Then I think why am I thinking about the past? Why arent I in the moment and going faster, going harder. I am not that tired. Ok enough rambling....here is how my week went.

Monday-Rest

Tuesday-Run 4 miles. No watch not rules just out and about.

Wednesday-Pushed a 5 miler to have some fun. Karl will question this move since it brought my weekly mileage under the 1/2 my long run level. Try not to let that happen again Karl.

Thursday-6 mile run. Might be the single best run I have had. Unfortunately no watch to track it. From clock to clock it was about 56 min. I used my rates of perceived exhaustion. I must have had a 3 min or so negative split. I used a strong exhale and a little faster than I used to. I wonder what my HR was. Days like this I like running.

Friday-Rest

Saturday-Long run of 16 miles. About 6 of those miles with a gnarly head wind. Cold/windy. I felt very strong for the first 8-10 miles. Then I was pooped. The funny thing is despite the conditions it was about 8 min faster than the last time I ran 16 miles. I didnt even think about that until tonight. Funny brains of mine.

Sunday-Off. One of these weekends I am going to get a ride in. Quote:

“Take time to deliberate; but when the time for action arrives, stop thinking and go in.”

Andrew Jackson quoting Napoleon Bonaparte

More action, check

1 week Post

2010-11-14T23:00:00.000-08:00

First and foremost I must thank my fellow bloggers who commented on last weeks race report. The people who love me dont really get it. Funny how perfect strangers with an unbiased opinion go out of their way to send a kind word. Well they mean a lot. I feel a lot better about the race now. When I posted that report it was still quite raw. Now that I have a little distance I am a lot more proud of my accomplishment. I raced a harder race with more harsh conditions than last year and I was faster and more competent. I have to realize that people travel from all over the place to race this race, so how can I compare myself to them? Silverman marks the 2 year anniversary of beginning cycling. It IS a half iron distance too. Not only that, but I have recovered incredibly fast compared to last year. Here are a few notes I want to remember for next time.

One; the 3 weeks taper was perfect. I felt well rested. However, during that 3 weeks I need to watch my food intake. Cannot eat like I was training super hard. Three; perfect recovery session. 5 laps swimming in a cold pool, 5 min of jacuzzi with quad sets, glut sets, calf pumps, press-ups, rotation, and hughstons, jacuzzi, swim 5 laps, jacuzzi, and swim 5 laps. I went from a 7/10 soreness to a 2/10 by the next morning. Not sore after 2 days. Last year I ran vegas as a half (in early dec) and I was still sore. Fourth; I need to do a half iron away from silverman. Its not fair. I mean it is a ridiculous bike and run. What is another bike course like? How would I perform on another stage? My Ironman dreams are still on hold while I sort this out. Here is how the week went:

Tuesday-Contrast bath swim/jacuzzi. 750 meters total.

Wednesday-4 mile swim. Good cardio, limited push, felt great. I couldnt wait to run.

Thursday-5 mile run. In the cold head wind.

Friday-Rest

Saturday-Basketball. Felt great to do something different. Sore back though.

Sunday (today)-10 mile run. Up hill run for 6 of the 10 and was able to keep sub 9 min miles on the flat/down parts. Overall, cold/hard run. Felt decent. My back as a little sore at times. Quote:

“Follow effective action with quiet reflection. From the quiet reflection will come even more effective action.”

Peter F. Drucker

Did plenty of that and looking forward to the other thing.

Silverman 2010: Half Iron race report

2010-11-08T16:25:00.000-08:00

My streak of PR's is still alive. I am struggling to put this race into words. I use this blog as a diary and a method of connecting with other athletes. I have been putting in the time and effort to have a huge race. I didnt have a huge race. I needed the extra fitness and I am a better athlete for it but I am just not happy. The only mistake I made all day was not having my watch charged. ROOKIE mistake. All day not knowing where my heart rate was or my pace. Here is how it plays out.

The Swim: Last year 44:00, this year goal 45:00, actual 51:00

With the new swim venue I was wondering what would be different this year. The new swim venue is Lake Las Vegas which is a pretty little community of homes that are set around this man made lake. The water was very, very cold. The visibility was poor. The swimming lane was quite narrow and was the most physical swim I have been a part of. Including an elbow to the back of the head, which at the moment didnt seem like that big of a deal, but I had a small cut. No biggies. I had some stomach issues that carried over to the bike but didnt necessarily carry over to bad performance. I didnt put a whole lot of time into the swim because I thought the bike and run were just so much more important. I dont like swimming enough to get super technical with it and really work on it. I was a much more efficient swimmer than last year. Last year I went out waaaay to fast on the swim to get that 44:00. Which is so slow. The end of the swim was me getting pulled out of the water and then quickly had my wet suit ripped off. Wetsuit strippers are amazing.

T1: Last year 7:52, this years goal: 5:00, actual: 8:35.

So frustrated with this time. I was so foggy. I had a little hamstring cramp. It is a new venue and there was a lot to run. Covered 3 times the distance compared to last years t1. I dont know what to say, except it was too damn slow.

Bike: Last year 4:15:42, this years goal: 3:50, actual 4:14:46

Really? 25 min slow? I didnt take into account the difficulty of this course compared to last years. I certainly didnt expect the 25 mph or so head wind. Sure last year I couldnt climb the sisters and I did all 3 this time. But I am so disappointed with this time. I did a much harder course, with wind, and it was faster than last year but it is 2nd slowest bike split in my age group. I fought back lower back spasm and quad cramps the whole way. I ate a buch of pretzels or just licked the salt off. It really helped the cramps. I still felt like I pounded. The times away from the wind were faster or on track with training. One thing is we cannot control the elements. Moral victory here but I would like better results.

T2: Last year 8:19, this years goal: 4:00, actual: 6:29

not too bad. But sheesh what have I been doing? Why arent I faster? I was starting to get pissed. WHY AM I GOING SO SLOOOOW. It sure felt good to stand. My legs were still cramping up a bit. Am I in trouble for this run? What will I do if I am slower than last year? I am gonna have melt down if I am actually slower. Off I go.

Run: Last year 2:55:16, this years goal: 2:20, actual: 2:47

These running legs are not happening. The first 4 miles as I am trying to use my mathematical skills, am I going to be worse than last year? I dont know what I am going to do if I am worse than last year is all I kept thinking. The cramps slowly start to subside and I starting to pick it up. I can feel my running conditioning taking over. I start to think I am ok. I start to run a lot more. I wish I had my watch. I bet I had a 20 min negative split. I felt so much stronger than last year. I ran so much more and faster when I did run. I passed a lot of people that I was going back and forth with. I could have kept running if I needed to. I actually got stronger as the run went on. I took gatorade and water at every aid station. I tried chicken broth and I really liked it. From mile 4 to the finish I had no cramps just fatigue. I never had any pain per se. I just felt so much stronger.

Overall: Last year: 8:11:17, this years goal: 7:00, actual 8:08:01

WOW. Really? It is actually hard to write this all down. I am slightly ashamed. ASHAMED? about finishing a half Iron distance triathlon TOO SLOOW? Not just any triathlon either. This race course is RIDICULOUS. I need to race somewhere else. May be I am being unfair to myself. I just do not want to be a finisher. I want to be in the mix. I want to be fast. May be thats just not me? I dont know. I needed every bit of the fitness I gained this last year to be 3 min faster? I am not ok with that. It continues to be an issue for me. May be my goal setting is screwed up? May be I need a cycling coach. To the people who are not familiar with triathlon its a crazy event. Its not crazy to me. I hate being 4th to last in my division. Losing by 2 and half hours. I just need some time to goal set. I like training. I like to challenge myself.

Thanks:

I would to thank all my "groupies." I will post some pics in the next few days. Every body came out in full effect. It is was very special to me to have all of you out there. Its a long day to watch one of these events. I appreciate it. Thanks Karl for always looking out for me.

The Big T

2010-10-31T20:35:00.000-07:00

Taper. I read a lot blogs and everyone is on break. Offseason. I am having this weird battle inside my head. I read last years blog at this time and I did not comment on that. I know what is in store for me and I have met all of last years goals. All of them. I have put in more miles, a lot faster, and I am closer to the body I want. YET, I am almost freaking out. LOL. Its weird. I cannot stop thinking and evaluating. My work should account for itself but its not. I am amped up. I need to sleep and the last 2 nights I didn't. I cannot predict what is happening but I am right there going over all the details in my head. What if it doesn't turn out right? Every race I did this year was a PR. That is a huge streak and a tribute to my hard work then why am I not feeling it?

I had friday off and my wife and I decided to head out of town. We went to St. George, Utah about 2 hours east of Vegas. I rode about 20 miles or so of the IM course and I can rule that one out. The view was awesome but the ride absolutely was miserable. I cannot believe that is race course. I felt like I rode on a tuning fork for an hour and a half. I turned back sooner then I wanted to secondary to wind (a lot of it), rain, and hail. Very cold. Miserable. Here is my week by the numbers:

Monday-Easy Run 4

Tuesday-Went to Lake Las Vegas and swam the lake. About 20-30 min or so. No distance or time avail. Cold. Dirrty, lol. Not horrible though. Definitely doable.

Wednesday-Pushed a ride.

Thursday-5 mile run.

Friday-Hiked Zion.

Saturday-30 mile bike on IM St. George. My legs felt like jello. It was miserable. Shouldn't I feel good today?

Sunday-Easy semi-long run. 8 miles on the 3 rivers trail right next to the virgin river. It was nice. I would train in St. George again. I will also consider racing there too.

One week from right now I will be watching the finishers of the full drag themselves across the finish line. I will know how I went. I am fired up, I am nervous, I am excited, I am so ready for this to be here already. Quote:

“When you suffer an attack of nerves you're being attacked by the nervous system. What chance has a man got against a system?”

Russell Hoban

Saints and Sinners...

2010-10-24T20:19:00.000-07:00

This weekend I ran in the Las Vegas Ragnar Relay mostly to add this medal to the collection. The saints and sinners medal is awarded to runners who run Wasatch back in Utah (saints) and Las Vegas (sinners) in the same year. I was runner number 12 which means I am the actual finisher. The mistake I made was comparing every little thing to Wasatch Back. Wastch Back in The Ragnar "flagship" race. There is twice the runners and twice the hype for that race. Its not fair to compare that environment with Vegas. Lets just say Id run Wasatch every single year and I am happy I got this medal, but I dont need another one.

Leg 1: Began at 5:19 pm on friday night. I received the wristband on Lake Mead blvd just outside of Lake Mead national park and ran all the way to the 1st major exchange at Loews Resort and Casino at Lake Las Vegas. Funny since this is where I train quite a bit. The swim at Silverman is at the this lake and I ride these hills all the time, but hardly ever run. After this run, I realize I should. It was a steep uphill, followed by down hill, then met with a huge up hill finish. Hills. Here are my splits: 9:58, 8:45, 8:34, 10:41, 11:06, and half mile in 4:36. Total: 5.5 miles in 53:43 for an average of 9:44. I experienced some sharp knee pain on the downhill. Did not seem serious or permanent just sore after.

Leg 2: Began at 3:55 am saturday morning. I received the wristband just outside of the small town of Jean, NV. For those who arent from around here its on the I-15 on the way from CA, where the Goldstrike Casino is. So with our rain in the last week (lots for us), the trail run I was about to do was sort of a question mark. What was this trail going to be like? Ragnar labeled it as "very hard." Lets just say they got this one right. 900 feet elevation gain over 8.02 miles. Thats not what made it hard. What made it hard was the rocks. Little ones, big ones, loose ones, hard ones, sharp ones, then there was the bumps, sand, and did I mention it was dark? Yeah 4 am dark. Bloody runners showing up at this major exchange. Runners loosing their minds when met at support areas. I did the best I could. Hopping from left to right on a 4 foot wide trail at most places while my head lamp was lighting about 10 feet in front of you and with shadows what is what? This is no exaggeration, I nearly fell 100 times or more. Very frustrating. I have a lot of room to grow as a runner in order to run this run economically. My feet were thrashed. Bruised and sore with blisters. It was a god send to have my trail shoes on. I survived it and I am a better runner for it. I hope to kick this runs ass another day. Everything hurt on this run from the bouncing side-to-side and the rocks. This run challenged my ankle, knee, hip, and lumbar stability. I also got caught up in the festivities and wrapped a glow necklace around my right ankle. It was fun while it lasted but I got some achilles tendon irritation for it. Sore walking around the rest of the morning.

Leg 3: THE LAST LEG. Began at 5:23 pm on saturday night. I received the wristband at Calico Basin, in Red Rock National Park. The last leg of the race is a gift for the 12th runner after what we experienced this am. Other runner 12's were not happy about that leg. A badge of honor as far as I am concerned. All 5.5 miles down hill. With my feet sore, an achy knee, and calf soreness what would my body do? At Wasatch, my 3rd leg was much harder then it normally would be. Would this be the same? My plan was to just go. Do not give in to the soreness and see what was what. Here are my splits: 8:04, 8:59, 9:33, 9:01, 8:44, and last mile in 1/2 mile 5:02 (includes getting teammates and finish slowly as a team). 8:56 average pace for a total of 49:26. I felt great. No issues. My fitness this race was much greater. Obviously different terrain but the overall effect of this type of race was not a challenge for me. Proud of that. 20.5 miles total in 24 hours. I am sore today but nothing hurts. More sore on my R achilles and knee but not so bad. I am not so tired. I am happy with the whole experience. Here is the rest of the week:

Monday-Swim 1500 m. Amazing how miserable the pool is. I need to swim some this next few week. May be 2 open water swims.

Tuesday-Easy 4 mile run. Ruined by stopping to poo. Our bodies are funny.

Wednesday-Quality bike. Pushed on account of the torrential down pour and serious wind. I thought it might add to my small taper for Ragnar.

Thursday-Rest. Ragnar get together.

Friday/Saturday-Ragnar

Sunday (today)-Rest. Quote:

“Rest when you're weary. Refresh and renew yourself, your body, your mind, your spirit. Then get back to work.”

Ralph Marston

And by work I mean kicking Silvermans Ass.

The big miles are over...

2010-10-17T19:43:00.000-07:00

In one way I am happy. The overall volume of this years training is about twice of what last years was. Last year I didnt even do the entire bike course in one day. This year I have done it twice. Not only the full bike course but the bike course plus mileage. Longer, faster, with easier recovery. Although, in the last 2 weeks the cold and cough I have has waxed and waned. I have not felt that bad in a year or two. I am hoping in the next few weeks to kick this cough and cold while on taper. This is the last of the big blocks. I have a full taper block and prior to that a part ramp down and taper block to taper for 2-3 weeks. Here is how the week went:

Monday-Skipped swim. I have been very happy with my swim and not feeling going to the pool.

Tuesday- Easy run. Still recovering from long run/blister so easy run. Love the new shoes.

Wednesday-Bike Q. I started out wanting to do the sisters twice. Was well on my way and then BOOM. Flat. That makes 2 flat tires in 2 weeks. Took tire to shop they suggest swap out tire. Duh.

Thursday-Run hills. Wanted fast hills. Got some fast and a whole lot of coughing and wheezing. Overall good run despite trouble breathing.

Fri-Rest

Saturday-Long ride. Silverman course plus 15. 72 miles total. My longest ride to date. Saddle soreness was the limit. My butt wanted off that bike. It was 5 minutes faster than the last time in 3:55. That is 20 min faster than the race last year but when I drew up my goals its slower. I thought I could go faster. 3:50 is my new goal. I did get more nutrition this ride. I had bouts of feeling no fatigue and no soreness and cramps. Pretzels are the best. May be a salt pill will help. Ride was 3:55. I was hoping for faster.

Sunday-Rest. I am not too sore. Partial quads. R right Sartorius is the most sore. Interesting.

Funny how performance changes. I have a different body then last year and yet I am not happy. Funny how faster is never fast enough then on the next breath how far can I go? If I continue to improve at this rate it will take me 4 more years of gaining 20 min a year to reach the top of my age group. So that is improve my bike split by an hour. Thats only the bike. Can a person do that? I think the biggest gain has been less body weight on the bike. If I lose enough weight to get to 15% body fat and that translates to speed, do I have another drop in weight to get that same effect? Does my cardiovascular system have enough gains to see that kind of change? What kinds of changes does my body have to undergo get gains like that? Qualifying for Boston is the same deal. My 1st marathon would have to have a 2 hour and 15 min drop to qualify. Can a person do that? I am enamored by the this last weekends race at Kona. Ive read every blog that I can who has raced, commented, or posted a picture. The athletes who qualify hold it sacred. I get that. What phenomenal athletes and commitment to reach such a pinnacle. But what about people like me? Can we do that? Something to debate. I have my nose to grindstone and I hope that is enough to see how far I can go. Quote:

All who have accomplished great things have had a great aim, have fixed their gaze on a goal which was high, one which sometimes seemed impossible.

Orison Sweet Marden

Sometimes I wonder about aim. The day to day work is the focus and I am amazed at the things i thought was impossible and accomplished. What am I capable of?

Defending the clearwater change to vegas...

2010-10-10T21:50:00.000-07:00

I am on blogger. I am on facebook. I am trying to network. The latest news is that Ironman has changed Clearwater to Las Vegas. I have noticed a lot of unfortunate words used to describe this change. I do not know clearwater. I do know this valley. I do know these athletes. Everyone has an impression of "Vegas." The truth is this community is 2 cities in one. I have the option to go to "Vegas" any time I want. When there is a concert, nice restaurant, show, etc. The rest of the time I live in a place with tons of outdoors activities. We have lake mead. We have Mt. Charleston. We have Red Rock. We have the Colorado River. All within an hours drive. We have snow close in northern NV or California. The beach is 4-5 hours away. There are literally 1000's of cyclists and runners in this valley. If you went to Red Rock/Lake Mead on a Saturday morning you will see 100's of athletes. Fast/fit athletes to people who are learning to be athletes. So this community if VERY active. It is VERY outdoorsy. I think it was Adventure Magazine rated Las Vegas as the TOP active place to live. The course change is something they complain about too. The Silverman was rated by Triathlete Magazine as one of the top 3 HARDEST triathlons on the planet. In the Silverman promo video Macca says its the hardest course hes raced. Many experienced Ironmen have said if it was on the Ironman circuit it would be hardest. Recently the St. George folks may have something to say about that. Why do we want a super fast, flat, boring course for a World Championship? Kona isn't easy. The Xterra World Championships is ridiculous in Maui. Why not have a challenging 70.3 course?

Sorry (off soap box). Back to me. My Silverman experience is not a championship caliber endeavor. It is me against me on a very challenging course. Less than a month away. I am so pumped. I am ready and this weekends will be the last big weekend until I taper. I will run Ragnar Las Vegas as part of that taper. Here is how my week went:

Monday-Scheduled 4 mile easy. Pushed secondary to cold. Been sick. Swapped Rest day with tue.

Tuesday-Bike Quality. Tried my best to sprint the sisters again. I didnt have much energy and I moved some phlegm (lol). I actually felt better after riding.

Wednesday-Easy 4 run. Felt strong. I wasnt sure if going out instead of sleeping would help the cold but it did. Happy to do it. Strong 4.

Thursday-Rest

Friday-Rest

Saturday-Long swim. Made it open. About 1800 or so with the wetsuit. It has been a while since it was cool enough for a wetsuit. Truth be told it wasnt cool enough. It wasnt too bad though. I forgot my watch so no time data. I felt good. Fast at times and bored at times.

Sunday-Long Run. I have been managing my week to get to this day. I felt about 95% over the cold and I wanted to have a good run. For the first 8-9 I felt awesome. Then this ugly blister popped up on the arch of R foot. I made a run to the local running store for new shoes. NB 760. I figure since I lost so much weight the "old" style shoes were over posting me. Hmmm we will see. So I banged out all 15 but the last 6-7 were miserable. Especially since my cardiovascular system had no problem. Even more especially since my musculoskeletal system was ready to go as well. Stupid blister. Overall happy with it. QUOTE, actually instead of my normal inspirational quote I leave you with a link to that Adventure magazine article about Las Vegas:

LINK

Funny time in training...

2010-10-04T11:17:00.000-07:00

As I review last years posts to see if what I am feeling was new or something I expecienced last year, It appears to be a trend. Last year at this time I experienced a lull. The things that I am experiencing are fatique, soreness, slight sickness, and a general lack of motivation. Although today I am much better than I was yesterday. Today I am itching to get out there and this weekend I didnt feel like it. What is funny is last year I was so worried about whether or not I "could" do it. Last year I wondered if I was even athletic enough to be doing this. This year I know those things are doubts of the past. I belong there and I am going to race and not survive. I have put in so much more miles, faster times, and with virtually no injuries (cross finders). So what am I complaining about? I simply didnt want to grind this weekend. It was a recovery weekend anyway and with the opportunity to volunteer in my kayak for "Slam The Dam" a open water swim race I jumped on it. It was very interesting to watch these swimmers. The faster swimmers have command of the stroke. The slower swimmers are inconsistent and sloppy. The number of breaths, location of the head, location of the elbows were strikingly different. I enjoyed myself and I figured as many times as I race giving back was important. Here is how my week went.

Monday-Pushed a long swim, rest.
Tuesday-Scheduled rest,
Wednessday-Easy 5 mile run. No watch just out for a run. Generally tired and achy.
Thursday-Quality bike. I woke feeling good and ready for a bike ride. I decided that I would try to sprint the sisters. Last year I couldnt get up, this year sprinting. I actually was only able to go fast on one and a half. I felt very strong though. No fatique, no soreness. Cardiovascularly spent though. I was able to stand, mash, and hang in there on a much bigger gear and just go faster. No watch but I guess 12-15 mph climbing then the 6-8 I was doing earlier in the year. Next weekend I am going to time trial on the race course plus another 10 to 20 or so. We will see where I am at on the bike.
Friday-Rest
Saturday-Volunteer at Slam the Dam. 4-5 miles of Kayaking. No soreness no pain. Incredible to be back in the kayak. The last time I kayaked I would have been very. very sore and tired during and after. Fun to watch and learn from the swimmers.
Sunday-Pushed a small recovery swim/bike for sleep. Didnt want to get up.

With 3 more blocks until the race, I hope I am recharging for a strong push. I am looking over the schedule and will have to adjust a few things. One huge block, on big block, and then taper. I am more confident, occasionally I am afraid of over confident. I feel ready already and excited to get it done. The sacrifice with time, food, relationships takes its toll and sometimes I dont feel like sacrificing. I will get back to it and make a strong push. Quote:

"Self-sacrifice is the real miracle out of which all the reported miracles grow"

Ralph Waldo Emerson

splits

2010-09-27T08:14:00.000-07:00

My best showing in a popular race in my age group. Not super fast but fast for me!

Swim: 19:46, T1 3:05, Bike: 39:48, T2: 2:49, Run: 30:44, Total: 1:36:10, Place 16/33. Its way better than one of the last few to finish in my age group. Moving on up. The winner beat me by 26 min.

Las Vegas Triathlon 2010

2010-09-26T19:08:00.000-07:00

Funny how friends and family influenced me to race today. I decided I would do a sprint. Of the 8 triathlons I have done, my second sprint. I wanted to get some speed work in on a brick anyway so why not add another discipline? So I raced. It was a blast. I didnt know how much fun sprints are. Pound, bing, bang, boom ya go home. Fun. I dont think a true race report is necessary but a breakdown is in order. The race was on a familiar course. RAGE, last years olympic at the same race, Silverman all share these highways. Why not do some speed on them? Thankfully there were really no climbs. The whole time I had a smile on my face that said "thank god I am not doing the olympic today, lol." This is the first race I am competing in my age group as opposed to clydesdale division. I cannot wait to see how I fared. All splits are unofficial according to my watch.

Swim: Goal 18 min, actual 19:45 mostly due to LOOONG run to transition. Nothing to report. Kept to my cues, no issues.

Bike: I didnt know what to expect so no goal time. Actual: 39:17. Ave 17 mph. I passed A LOT of people. I loved it. My bike is coming along. I cannot wait to see how this ranks among my peers.

Run: I wanted to be as close as I could to 25 min. I think that would have been possible except for the first 1/2 mile out of transition is steep. Actual 30:46.

Transition: No problems. T1 3:33, T2 2:47. Happy with those.

Overall: 1:35ish. We will see what the official results have. I know the winner in my division beat me by 20 min. WOW. Overall, healthy and happy about today. The swim entry/exit is very, very rocky. My bones in my feet are sore from that.

This next block will be a recovery block and then my last 2 big blocks prior to Silverman. I am happy with everything right now. I am not content though. I will continue to strive to be faster. Quote:

“Progress is not created by contented people”

Frank Tyger

Thirteen mile thursday...

2010-09-23T19:09:00.000-07:00

I thought in light of last weeks groans that a mid week post was in order. My wife has been bitten by the tri bug and was not going to race by herself at the Las Vegas Triathlon this sunday. So I agreed to race with her. I went to my schedule and moved things around to fit in this race. I decided to make it an all out sprint. I have only done one sprint and it was in CA. This race will be an all out speed workout. Should be fun. In changing my schedule around I decided to go without my long bike this block and move my long run to thursday to try to be as fresh as can be for sunday. Really 13 miles on thursday? Never done that before. I decided to run the Silverman course. The weather was perfect. The wind was down, as was the temperature. So nice. Here is how my week has been so far.

Monday-1750 m Intervals. here is where my week turned around. I had a great swim. I am getting how I swim faster, Its been fun. A total of 35 laps, 5 off then 5 on. Here is how it went. 6:09, 5:41, 7:19, 5:43, 7:55, 5:44, and 7:18. I was so pumped about the consistency of the "on" intervals. Face down, elbows up. Those are my cues.

Tuesday-REST

Wednesday-I wanted some hills before my long run and may be have some sore legs to start. I was going to hammer this ride but 2 miles in big ugly flat. I was going to do 2 loops with the sisters in there twice. Didnt happen. I ended up with a rest night to get ready for the silverman run course.

Thursday (today)-Silverman run course. I woke up a lot during the night. I have not been sleeping that great. I have been to bed early now 5 nights in a row. I woke up ready to go. Got to the multi-generational center (where the race transitions to run) ready to go at 5:30. By the time you get to 4 miles you have climbed for about 3 of those miles. Tough to do when "you have to go." There isnt anywhere to go and I had to hold it a long time. I made my stop and out on my way. I was miserable but nothing said stop. I just tried to suck it up. Then when I got to about mile 8 my R knee started in with an irritated IT Band insertion. I was able to get all 13 in. I was hoping for a better run but ultimately, all things considered, not horrible. Got it in. A very slow 2:30. Still that was 2o min faster than the race last year but I was hoping for better.

Considering using my TT bike for the first time in a race to see what happens. I have to change that flat. Who knows. Quote:

“Consistency is the quality of a stagnant mind”

John Sloan

Well may be the roller coaster isnt so bad then.

Mental Toughness Training

2010-09-19T19:35:00.000-07:00

Not sure if I got better with my mental toughness training. I had a less-than stellar week. After last weekends big miles I was in big trouble. I got sick and I was super sore. I didnt sleep well, my nutrition wasn't what it should. I. FELT. HORRIBLE. After a month of good work for me I suppose it was due. I took my advisors advice and stopped playing softball but on tuesday I filled in. It was a stupid idea. It was late and I payed for it. Its funny how your heart and body fight on a long ride or run. They make deals with each other or they talk each other out of things. I wanted nothing more then to sleep in this weekend. I am happy to say that I didnt but I didnt get what I wanted done either. Funny I just read last year at this time and I have the same trouble. This year though it is much bigger miles and faster paces. So I am just chalking it up training toll and this 1/2 Iron distance race training. I need more sleep. I need to eat better. I need to suck it up. Here is how the week went:

Monday-Long interval swim modified to a fast finish. I was scheduled for 1750 but make 1000. It was as fast as I can swim though. Happy with intensity. here are the splits 6:08, 6:08, 5:57, and 6:03. I got pooped that last 250. I was shooting for 5:45 or so.

Tuesday-Was scheduled for rest. Actually softball and learned my lesson. Everything hurt and was sore, lol. Bad idea.

Wednesday-Bike Q. Rest actually.

Thursday-Long swim. REST.

Friday-Rest. REST.

Saturday-4 mile easy run. 4 mile easy run. I was sore and tired but had good pace for a easy run.

Sunday-40 mile bike/8 mile run brick. Exhausted, sore, and not feeling it. Actually 40 miles on the bike and 4 mile run. It was hot and I wasnt willing to push today. My HR reached 121% of max. Hmmm issue? YES. I climbed the sisters though without issue. I did the entire river mountain loop trail. My butt was sore from last week. My legs are tired. My back is sore. MISERABLE. Why do we do this to ourselves again?

Funny all that being said....the thing I think of most is IRONMAN. This feat is daunting. I think about it all the time. I dream about it. I love watching them on TV. I want this poster on my wall. I want to be called IRONMAN. I have a ton of work to do. So far this is working out but boy is it hard. I am so tired. How many years will I commit to this goal? I got talked into to doing a sprint this weekend. I am going to manage my schedule and I am going to make it a all out speed test. How fast can I go? Quote:

“Good work habits help develop an internal toughness and a self-confident attitude that will sustain you through every adversity and temporary discouragement.”

Paul J. Fleyer

I sure hope these are good habits and temporary.

So Close, Yet So Far

2010-09-12T19:21:00.000-07:00

I would have to look real close from last year to see if I had mileage weekend like I had this weekend. Thats a plus. I never did the whole bike course until race day, thats better (I did today). When I first started cycling I couldnt climb the sisters, today I was able to get 3/4 of each after 45 miles or so. Im not happy about it. I am glad my family wasnt around when I unclipped. I was pissed. The whole ride I thought I was going to be able to do it. I didnt have the strength or endurance to polish them off. Sure my legs were very sore from the day before but I wanted it badly. With the swim venue change the bike is even harder. Really? This race is challenging. Overall it was a very strong weekend but the icing on the cake would have been no walking on the stupid sisters. Here is how the week went:

Wednesday-Bike was in the shop. Bad "hanger" and got a tune-up.

Thursday-Progression run/fast finish. Funny how my watch didnt work. It was not keeping the right speed. I used rate of perceived exhaustion. I would guess, 9:15, 9:00, 8:45, and 8:30 for 4 miles. I felt good despite the wind.

Friday-rest

Saturday-11 miles. Since I had 4 friends racing in the Lake Las Vegas Triathlon I decided to get my long run it super early. Like head lamp, blinky, vest early, straight Ragnar-style. I averaged 10 min miles but that includes running on 2 of the sisters. BIG HILLS. I felt very good. I wasnt even tired until after running the hills. I was keeping 9:00 to 9:15 prior to the big hills. I was thinking the whole time I cannot wait for my next 1/2 marathon. Congrats to Susan, Becca, Shannon, and Cody. All did very well respectively.

Sunday-Long ride. Silverman course in its entirety. I was very sore from the day before. I wanted to stay in bed I was that sore. The ride was a supported group ride by Jackie Arcana, the big tri coach around here. My goal was to travel the 56 miles plus make it home. 62.25 miles total. Lots of relentless hill climbing. One after the next. I am dead right now. Nothing hurts but everything is sore. I wanted to quit about 100 times and I ground it out. I tried to gear 1 or 2 smaller than I normally do. I felt fantastic with that. I went kinda slow but a long way. 73 mile weekend. Here are some pictures of the sisters. I am not sure what you can get from them but here you do.

When I see these lines I am at the top of 3.

From the top of 3 (in front of the 3 lines) looking back at where I came from

From the top of 2 looking back at 1

From the top of 2 looking up at 3.....Quote:

“Life's real failure is when you do not realize how close you were to success when you gave up.”

I am so glad I didnt give up.

Keep on Keeping on

2010-09-07T21:42:00.000-07:00

Not a whole lot to input. I am very pleased with my ability to gain more and more "conditioning." I am going longer, I am going faster, and I am doing it with minimal complications. Aches, pains, and fatigue but that is par for an 1/2 Iron course. I am enjoying training and looking for new and challenging training sessions. I am also very happy to report that I have been able to add a bunch of new training partners. Its been fun to spread the word of triathlon and have some cycling wisdom passed to me. I have not been this lean since I graduated high school. I weighed in at 224, 17% body fat. For the record that is 85 pounds and about 10-15% less body fat overall. The more I think about it I think that shaving an hour and half off this years half iron is very doable. I need to continue along this course, have some luck with the weather, and get my nutrition strategy down. I am confident that is happening. One of my mentors in Physical Therapy is a phenomenal cyclist and I decided to see where I stand. He had some excellent feedback for me. I over-gear. I work too hard. I turn my legs over too slow. My bike chain needed to be changed, I need a tune-up. He liked my posture on the bike, he thinks my plan for continuing to get faster is spot on. Straight up strength:weight ratio. He put a bug in my ear. He thinks I should reward myself when I get down to 205 to upgrade bikes and go carbon. I think that will be my plan. Here is how my week went down.

Monday- Rest

Tuesday-Easy Run. 4 miles. Ave 9:11 pace. Its amazing what happens when your HR is controlled. I am learning to listen to that heart of mine.

Wednesday-Rest. Skipped my swim to rest. Long day at work, late night etc.

Thursday-Sisters loop. I am not afraid of them anymore. I can climb them anytime. I am going to do the whole Silverman loop this weekend and It will be interesting to see how I go with them after 40 miles. I did this loop 3 min faster than last time. 59:00. even though I had a pesky L calf cramp. It didn't affect my strength at all it was more annoying. It was sore for 2 days but didn't limit anything. I am happy with that. (does anyone read the daily breakdown? if so comment that you do =))I averaged 15 mph with those sisters in there.

Friday-Rest

Saturday-Long bike with fast cyclists. I have put this off for a long time because I didnt think I could hang. For the most part its true. But I did have my fastest ride to date. In 40 miles I only had one avg less than 10 mph. That is the result of trying not to get dropped or slow the group down and changing gear strategy. 40 miles in 2:30, 16.1 ave mph. Total elevation gain of 2200 feet on an out and back course. I made them cut it short a bit because it was so slow for them but overall I am stronger for it. I am happy about it. They tried to teach me to pace line. I have to get more stable and more confident. I didn't want to be the newbie crashing people. Good ride and I sold out to it. Made the rest of the weekend suffer but I need the bike to be my focus.

Sunday-Bike/Run brick. I woke up thrashed. Beat down tired, sore, and wanting to go back to bed. But we were meeting people and I needed to get used to this feeling. So I sucked it up. I wanted a longer run but it was not in the cards this day. I planned for a 15 mile bike/10 mile run. Actually 13.5 mile bike and 5 mile run. I wanted the bike to be easy and the run to be the focus but my HR was way too high for all that. I was tired and it was hot. I ran the first 5 of silverman course without walking. So overall considering it was positive. I am getting stronger with each brick. My biking legs don't feel so wobbly when I run. Good times with new friends and good breakfast.

Monday-Long swim. Didnt get to it because of honey-do list. Decided to do it tuesday.

Tuesday (today)-I had a easy run planned but since i skipped yesterday I wanted to make it up. 2 mile run to the gym, 2250 meter swim, then 2 miles home. 17:56 to the gym. Transition to the pool in 6:32, lap splits are 6:04, 6:41, 6:24, 6:28, 7:15, 6:42, 6:44, 5:21, and 6:38 with a fast finish. I got pooped. Transition back to running in 6:44. Then run home the same route in 17:38. It was a hard workout but totally doable. I enjoyed myself. Funny to run after swimming. Quote:

'Those who danced were thought to be quite insane by those who could not hear the music.”

Angela Monet

What is happening in this obese, lazy society? They cannot hear the music.

Moments of "Inception"

2010-08-29T12:16:00.000-07:00

(The new header picture is a pic I took on our ride at the Red Rock loop just outside Las Vegas, NV.)

If you havent seen the movie "inception" it is a movie that takes place mostly in the mind. It is about how a team of people plant an idea or decision in a persons mind for another persons benefit. In a series of conversations with my good buddy Karl I had an experience that reminded me of that movie. It actually was just what I needed. My training so far had been moving so well I needed a check. The conversation was basically about how as a coach or athlete you are trying to walk that line of how intense is appropriate intensity. Too easy and there isnt enough training effect and too much and you run the risk of injury or bonking. Karl planted the seed and I tried to walk the fine line. I wondered at every minute if I was giving enough. As fitness changes and perception of what youare doing changes do you give enough? I have had some experience with crashing and I have had the experience that I held back too much. What would I do today? Here is my week.

Monday-Rest Extra day off during recovery block

Tuesday-Swim. I met my new Marathon Bar Buddy at dinner tonight. I swam 800 meters secondary to time.

Wednesday-Bike Quality, Hill repeats. I was able to ride longer on my repeat hill. I did 5 repeats and consistently traveled longer I just wish I had my watch charged.

Thursday-Hopefully this is NOT where my silverman build up went awry. I had a 4 mile easy run scheduled but I decided to stay in bed. Doenst sound too bad right?

Friday-Woke up to take yesterdays run. My inception moment begins. Here I am so recovered and out for an "easy" run. I think to myself I have some in the tank, lets go. I had it a tempo run. First mile 9:29, 9:15, 8:54, and 9:12. Now doesnt sound that fast but the last 2 miles were up a small to moderate hill. So I pegged it. I was sore and tired all Friday. Had a great run but quads were thrashed.

Saturday-I had a 20 mile/4 mile run planned. With a group forming of about 9 of us it turned into other things with thrashed legs. 26 miles and not just any miles. The Red Rock loop. Here is the post of the first ride at the loop. 26 miles, Ave speed 16 mph, max speed

42 mph. Reached 134% if my max HR. Hmm might have to rethink what I posted as my max HR. 2000 foot elevation gain. Not too mention there were parts with gnarly wind. It was a challenging ride. The transition was slow and we spent some talking and enjoying ourselves. Then the run. I planned for a 4 mile easy run today but turned into 5 mile super hard run. Might be the hardest run/hike I have done. I need to go back and do this run recovered and fresh. LOTS OF CLIMBING. Even though it was more hike than run and more walk than run I definitely got stronger today. Very loose footing, some rocky some sandy gravel. It was tough and frustrating. Grind it out. I had awhile of the old Ron. What am I doing out here? This is too hard for me. I am not fit enough for this. But I fought through it and I am stronger for it. I pushed it when I had nothing left. I got stronger today. I am sore today and tired.

Sunday-Long OWS. No data except 1000 meters. Super windy and hella choppy but not anything like Oxnard. Good swim though to recover from a tough workout yesterday.

I am happy to have another Marathon Bar sponsored athlete in town. She is quite the skilled cyclist and came out with us for a tough brick. Here is me and Jen at Red Rock. Hopefully she will be racing here in town soon and I am looking forward to watching her race and train with us! Welcome Jen! Quote:

We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves.

Buddha

Plugging Right Along....

2010-08-22T14:57:00.000-07:00

Have you ever had an experience out on what seemed to be an ordinary run/bike/swim that turned out to be totally different? That happened to me this morning. Out for a straight forward 6 mile run. I decided I would go for the first six of the Silverman course. It turned out to be a walk down memory lane from last year. I remembered people, sights, sounds, smells, and feelings. Today was the first time I have been on that course since last year. Has that happened to anyone? It was surreal. It seemed so fresh, so present. There was not a soul in sight yet I remember passing the amputee on the top of stephanie, I remember Jennifer passing me looking like death warmed over, I remember walking a TON, I remember looking for Judy and not seeing her, I remember where the aid stations were and what they had and how bad I wanted whatever they were selling, I remember hearing the crowd reacting to finishers, I remember telling myself it is only 1/2 mile GEEET GOOOOOIIIING, I remember overcome with emotion to see the finish and to know I was going to finish, I was able to use that as fuel today. Not for today. For this whole experience. I wasnt sure until that moment that I was going to do it. Today I ran the same course some 30-45 min faster than that day. Sure there was no bike or swim this morning but I am a totally different athlete. I am competing at a different level for me. Sure it will not blow any doors off but I dont care about that. What does shaving off an hour and a half in a half Iron distance triathlon say about a person? That seems logical to me, I can do it. I finished my second building block and began a recovery block in the last week. I would rate this block a B+. I got all my workouts in, with no issues, and I am getting stronger with each discipline. Here is how it went.

Monday-Long swim. My goal was to swim 2000 meters in 250 meter blocks in 6:30 or better. I averaged 6:23, each lap at 5:55, 6:28, 6:30, 6:25, 6:28, 6:34, 6:27, and 6:21. For a total of 51:11. I am able to go faster longer with a few details. Head deep in the water, full arm push, and high elbows. I felt very strong.

Tuesday-Short run. Watch died. 4 miles with the wife. I was back in less than 40 min with small cool down outside. Must have been 9-930 pace.

Wednesday-Weight training.

Thursday-Swapped days off with friday. REST

Friday-Running intervals. 1 mile warm up, 3 X 4 min, 1-1.5 mile cool down. Overall 4.88 miles in 49 min total. I had trouble keeping the interval pace for 4 min. After 3 min I went down hill. The on ave speeds were 8:24, 8:53, and 9:03. I also chose a hillier course. Overall I became a stronger runner. Marks end of block. Rest block to ensue.

Saturday- Recovery long ride. 30 miles towards Red Rock. Ave 16 mph, with a head wind for the first 15 miles (out and back). Art and Julie went along.

Sunday (today)-Recovery long run. The first 6 miles of the Silverman run course. This is a course that I tried to run all last year to train and I never was able to do it without walking. Did it today with a blast from the past around every corner without walking. Total 6.01 miles in 1:02. My 10K PR was just a few minutes faster. That course is no where near as hard as this one. For the race, the first half is harder than the second half and If I can hold this pace I will shave 45 min off last years run time. That would be awesome. I thought about my favorite quote of all time this whole run. I was out the door by 5:15 and running at 5:30 not another runner out there. QUOTE:

"Champions are made when no one is watching."

I think a lot about what next year will be compared to right now. What If this is my crowning achievement, what if I crush next year I am going to crush this year? JUST WHAT AM I CAPABLE OF?

Trying to remain an even keel

2010-08-15T21:29:00.000-07:00

I had some time this week to read some of last years posts. What I noticed is that this year I am more consistent. Last year I spoke a lot about a roller coaster that I was on. I dont feel that anymore. I feel my body changing. It is very fun. I feel faster, I am recovering easier. I am waiting for the scale to tip the other way. I know enough about endurance training to know that it is not all sunshine and roses all the time. Right now I feel strong. I am grinding it out better. Here is how my week went.

Tuesday-Quality run. When I say quality I am going to use those days as some specialty run. This particular run was intervals. I love them. This run was no different. However, I had some watch difficulty and didnt have data. I felt very strong though. 1 mile warm-up, 3 bout of 3 min on/off, 1/2 mile cool down. 4 Mile total. I havent ran them in a while so I thought I would introduce myself slowly. I definitely could have gone more. I ran the first mile in about 9:30, interval speed was 7:40, recover at 10 ish. I look forward to more of them and more intensity. Then softball at night.

Wednesday- Rest

Thursday-Bike quality. I rode 14.5 miles on a new loop. I did a loop very similar last year. This year 2 mph faster on the hill and I climbed them. So for 2010 lets just say sisters 0, Ron 6. I climbed them easier with less HR, less fatigue, and more speed. I love that. Another thing I was thinking is I am going to stop talking about them like I am afraid of them or automatically a challenge. I own them.

Friday-Plyos, abs. I was able to jump higher, lift more weight. I just feel stronger.

Saturday-Bike/Swim brick. Since there were some events going on at Lake Las Vegas (where I wanted to swim since that is race course) we went to boulder beach. I had planned a swim of 30 min, easy to transition, then ride between 30 and 40 miles. Actual 33 min swim about 800-1000 yards, slow did some education on OWS with a couple of newbies. T1 slow 8 min, again with some education. Bike ride 35 miles, I have set a new times for checkpoints. This one was 6 min faster then the last few times I rode this course. This was only 14 miles of Silverman course but good hills nonetheless. I encountered my RAGE climb this time some 20 miles more under me then when I ride this hill. Crushed it. I am so surprised how much better I feel. Overall it was a 3:20 min effort. I am significantly bigger than in terms of minutes, miles, and speed then I was last year.

Sunday (today)-Long run. I planned 8-10. Actual 8. I woke up late and it was hot. I probably didnt have more in me anyway. I FELT STRONG THOUGH. My watch seems to have a mind of its own. I thought I had the autopause on I didnt. So the per mile and the overall pace is off. It says that I averaged 9:46 but I think it was more like 9 because I had 3 stops at lights. I feel good out there. I am using a more forefoot strike with a non-valgus position. I think those are my keys. Quote:

“Celebrate your success and stand strong when adversity hits, for when the storm clouds come in, the eagles soar while the small birds take cover”

Loving the build up...

2010-08-09T14:55:00.000-07:00

Now that Silverman training is heating up, I am enjoying myself. I am faster, smarter, and more experienced than I was a year ago and I am enjoying that as well. My nutrition has been good and I have been recovering a lot better with more sleep. It is amazing what happens when the "other" stuff is on how good it makes training. I think I went sleep deprived (although self inflicted) for too long. I have been in constant control over my blood sugar and eating timing has been spot on and that is the key to continue my weight loss. Another 9 pounds in the last month and under 20% (18.7%) body fat since 1995 in college. Which brings the total now to 70. I am hoping to run Surf City at or around 215 or less. That would be another 10-15 pounds off. Here is how my week went last week and I am finished with my second training block. This one I grade a B. I had some quality work but I scratched a brick with a long run.

Monday-Swam 1150 intervals. 5 laps warm-up in 6:33, 3 laps "hard" 3:31, 2 laps recovery 2:59, 3 laps "hard" 3:30, recover 2 laps 3:06, 3 Laps hard3:27, 5 laps cool down 6:09, with a total of 29:19. I felt strong. Pretty even too.

Tuesday-Softball and abs/core.
Wednesday-Late with patients and I forgot my light for the bike so I went about 10 miles in 45 min or so. Made it a hard effort on some hills around the clinic that are the same hills I run for silverman.
Thursday-Plyometrics and accessory muscle strength. A moderate effort workout on things I dont normally get to. Went well.
Friday-Rest
Saturday-Softball tournament. Played 4 games and hit the ball very well. I kinda tweaked my knee in the outfield though. Nothing too bad
Sunday-Pushed the brick I had planned when I woke up with knee pain. It was gone by noon and gone this on monday am.
Tonight-Long swim of 1750 m. I would like to Ave 6:30. Lets see.

This next block will be more miles than the one before. In order to space out the recovery blocks to peak at Silverman I will have a recovery block shortly after this one. I have been looking at my running plan within this plan to see if there is potential for more as Karl has suggested we will see how I feel. P.S. Thanks Karl for the shout out on the Marathon Bars. I am glad you enjoyed them. Quote:

“All life demands struggle. Those who have everything given to them become lazy, selfish, and insensitive to the real values of life. The very striving and hard work that we so constantly try to avoid is the major building block in the person we are today.”

Ralph Ransom quotes

In case you were wondering.....

2010-08-06T07:52:00.000-07:00

Off to a good start, block 1, and anouncement

2010-08-01T14:12:00.000-07:00

So I spent last week out of town/recovering from Strawberry Fields. I scheduled the 2 days following Strawberry Fields just to be plain off. Then to officially begin the road to Silverman. I began with a recovery block. When I say block, I train 8/10 days. A 10 day work week, instead of 7. Per 10 days, I strive for 3 runs (one recovery, one long, and 1"quality"days), 2 bikes, 2 swims, 2 workouts (accessory muscle day/global muscle day, with core 3 days), and 1 brick (alternating between swim/bike and bike/run with 2 bike/runs per swim/bike). The other 2 days off. Then every 4th block will be a recovery block and prior to that a big block. Each big block progressively bigger finally culminating in a PR at Silverman.Usually I recap the weeks training on sunday and occasionally have a long post on sunday then a short one during the week. I am going to try to review the blocks instead of by week.

Block 1: Recovery/Colorado

Mon/tue-off.

Wed: Easy 1250 swim. No time just go and swim. What a crazy feeling it was to be the first swim after the ocean. Very still and predictable. Feels funny like after you get off the treadmill.

Thursday-Travel day to Breckenridge, CO.

Friday-Was supposed to run an easy 3 miles. Altitude sickness prevented that. I couldnt sleep much less run. Crazy Nausea, fatigue, headache, and inability to sleep. The lodge we stayed at was 12,600 feet. That is a 12,600 feet gain in 4 days (since I raced at the ocean). Problem? I think so.

Saturday-Ran 4 miles. Very slow, as my HR was waaaay out of control. Here are some pictures.

Sunday-Travel home and recover.

Monday-1500 m swim. 5 lap increments. 6:14, 6:43, 6:56, 6:53, 6:55, and 6:54. Avg 6:46, Total, 40:38. I wanted a slow-moderate paces long swim. Got it. Nice and somewhat even.

Tuesday-Softball and 4 mile run. A very hot and muggy night run after softball. Mistake, I need to do that in the morning. It is still over 100 degrees at 8 at night. Sweltering.

Wednesday- Meant to be a quality hill night on the bike but the bike fit took too long and I forgot my change of clothes bag at home. Good news I feel fit to my TT bike and I will sprinkle that bike in. I have not decided If I am going to use that bike for the race or not. Its shaky, I dont turn well in aero, and its very fast. Equation for lack of confidence. I need to strengthen to be able to command that bike.

Thursday-Long Run. 6 miles. 1:10 min. Super hot. It was 90 at 5:30 am. I need to get up earlier. Was about 20 min slow out the door and the heat got to me at the end.

Friday-Off

Beginning block 2 I am pumped to be starting to get bigger stuff in. My confidence is soaring at this time compared to last year. Now that I know I can go the distance and my conditioning has allowed me to do more than the race distances I am pumped to race this year. Dont hang on, RACE. I think that 1 hour PR is doable. Sub 7. Here are a few days of block 2.

Saturday-Long bike. 40-45 miles. Actually got 40 miles in just around 3 hours. Took some breaks, took some pictures with some new riding buddies. I cruised it. It is amazing my stronger I am than the last time I was out there by the lake. I did all bike course. Over half of it miles wise but did not include the sisters. I felt strong. The long climb out Lake Mead National Park wasnt even hard this time. Last year I could hardly ride it. I am looking forward to this. The header is taken on way on Sunday, sure makes it hard to ride with all that going on.

Sunday (today)-Rec run of 3-4 miles. 3 miles in 28 min. The fastest I have been able to run in weeks. It was overcast and not humid or hot per se. I mean 92 at 5:30 in the morning is still hot. Not overwhelming though. No walking. My new goal with EVERY run is going to be able answer the question: "Did I become a stronger runner today?" YES, Today I did.

Announcement:

I have struggled in the past with my performance at the LA Marathon. Its kinda hard to expect yourself to do better than I did at my first one, its just I did. I thought I would have handled it a lot better. My training runs went without issue, except now I know that the walking I do at the end of those long runs do not make you stronger. I signed up for another one. Surf City Marathon, February 6, 2011 I will run my second marathon. I have 12 weeks after Silverman to get ready. I have been recovering so much faster, I have already trained that much, it fits into the training year very nicely, and its a fabulous race. Done. I think may be I will 3 or so half Irons in 2011 and may be 2 marathons to get ready for IM SG or IM AZ. That for me is the ultimate goal. Quote:

"Confidence is not a guarantee of success, but a pattern of thinking that will improve your likelihood of success, a tenacious search for ways to make things work."

Dr. John Elliot

I can feel it growing.

Strawberry Fields: A Race Report

2010-07-19T18:33:00.000-07:00

Wow, what a day. Picture this 70 degrees sun out, not a cloud in the sky, windfloating off the ocean, and BAM! Your hit with the wonderful smell of strawberries.

Strawberry Fields triathlon in Oxnard, CA. Just south of Santa Barbara and north of Santa Monica. Gorgeous. We did the Olympic distance. 1500 m swim, 20 (ish) mile bike, and 6.2 mile run. Here is how it breaks down:

Pre-Race/expo:

Since this was my wife's and our dear friend andrea' (andi) first attempt at the olympic distance and all 3 of our first ocean swim, we though we would get there early and check out the water. So glad we did. This race is a triathletes race. No fluff, no corporate sponsor no funny business , just speed. There was a small and intimate expo with not a whole lot of stuff but nice. It was set up at Oxnard beach park and what a nice park it was. Saturday and all had tons of non-triathlete types barbecuing and jump housing. So it made it fun. Then there is the practice swim. This is where we realize what we are in for. At the time there was 6 foot swells and crashing about. Just get past the break. Easier said than done. Oh and when you are swimming to shore you still have to manage the waves, they sneak up on you. lets just say my sinuses are rinsed. After surveying the scene I decided to modify my race strategy. Get as much out of the swim as possible, kick ass on the bike as it is flat as flat can be, and hold on to the run. Since I have been trying to train that way I felt totally prepared.

SWIM: Goal: 35:00, actual 41:15 (+6:15)

The good news is the waves were smaller in the am. Bad news not that smaller. From 6 foot or so to 4 or so. TURBULENT. The swim required every bit of swimming skill and fitness I have. I am proud to say I can swim anywhere now. The only thing harder might be alcatraz or something crazy like that. Anyone? Hard swim somewhere? Anyway some strokes were completely out of the water and totally useless while I ride a wave and some sighting was absolutely nothing. Some sights had everything but what did I just see? So it was a challenge. The good news is the garmin shows slight deviations but not a zig zag pattern way off course. I did not have any trouble with other swimmers or anything. Attached to this swim was a 0.5 run/walk/stumble out of the water onto deep sand. Wobbly any one? If I swam in the ocean more often I think I can preform better but since I dont I am happy with that. I have never had shoulder soreness from swimming this distance. My shoulders are sore today for sure.

T1: Goal 4 min, actual 3:18 (+ 5:27 overall off my goal)

Experience with the same equipment is the key. I had a little trouble with my tri jersey cought on my HR monitor, lol. Overall happy. I like transition on grass.

Bike: Goal 1:30, actual 1:12:53 (-11:31 off my goal)

This bike is in the shape of a boxy letter B. One u turn, and 2 laps. Once I get on my bike I thought CRAP, there isnt supposed to wind out here. This was supposed to be flat and no wind. A cross wind for most of it. Oh well make due. I wanted to average 20 mph. I busted my ass. There was only one climb and it was only 100 feet or so and then followed by a long fun downhill to the exit or start of the 2nd lap. I actually averaged 18.4 mph. I think when I computed my goal I though it would be 25 miles it was a little more than 21 I think. Yeah 21.56. The race reports on the race site have mixed measurements. My goal was to max out the bike. I am limited by my leg strength. My HR ave zone 4.6 (86% of my max) or 159 bpm. I tried to keep 80-90 rpm on the biggest gear I could. It was a blast. There were some dudes with RIDICULOUS bikes out there. I passed a lot of people. Some with nice bikes in aero position. I was proud of that. There was a scenery or strawberry fields for probably 1/2 the bike course. It smelled so awesome. Nice ride.

T2: Goal 4 min, actual 2:43 (-15:14 overall off my goal)

Can be faster but I had to put socks on and my feet were still sandy. Should I put my socks on over sand? Baseball has prepared me for that. Go for it. hat on number on off I go.

Run: Goal 60 min, actual 1:07:06

I have reading a lot lately about "triathlon" running vs running alone.

Main difference? Running strength or economy. I though about that the whole time, why? Because I aint got none, lol. This is my biggest weakness right now. I am too easy to walk. If I am going to start to compete I HAVE to get better at this. The slowest run of my category. It was pretty though. Out and back a few times on the beach sidewalk with some beach houses thrown in. The residents out with hoses and cheers. It was nice. I did start to get some cramping in the L quad but I am able to keep it at bay now and I am able to fight trough it. I am sure that will come in handy in NOV. This run was so flat a net elevation gain of 54 feet. In las vegas you cannot go a 1/2 mile flatter than that in any direction. The only real issue was hot spot on the ball of the my left foot and later felt gritty from the sand. Funny.

Overall: A Goal was smash my actual goal and beat 3 hours. B goal was actual. 3:13 when everything gets added up. Actual was 3:07:16. Beat my actual goal by 6 min. Good enough for 3rd in the Clydesdale division. Who cares if there was only 5 competitors in my category. If I was racing with my age group I would have been 46/48. Thats not that great. Now my age group also had the 3rd overall male and he flew. Will I ever run a 38 min 10K? That is beat my current PR by 20 min? That is a lot and I hope that is the progression I am on. Sure my 5K pr is 8 min faster than when I first started running and if I double that then that would be about the change I am going to have to make. The 1st guy to have a 10K over the hour mark is 33/48, so it was a fast race. It is a new PR for me at this distance but it seems not comparable. The hills and runs that I have raced on at this distance are a completely different race. It was a PR of 23:33 at this distance. My PR streak for 2010 is still intact.

Marathon bar:

I gave out 10 boxes of bars. 5 protein and 5 energy. I met another athlete Carlos. I also saw him out on the road too. It was nice to talk to another athlete. We didnt have much time together though. I had all positive feedback. A couple of people came up to me and struck marathon

bar conversation. Everything thinks that its a fun and cool thing to spread the word of what an active lifestyle can do. Average Joe triathletes

who are above average citizens. I am comfortable with that. I would like to be faster though. Here are some pics of the weekend.

Also:

Congrats to Julie and Andi on stellar performances in their Olympic distance debuts. Julie actually had the 4th fastest swim among all women in her age group and the fastest in the athena category. Andi had the 7th fastest run among females in her age group. WE get her some bike fitness and a decent bike and she will make some noise.

I am on the clock with SILVERMAN. A few days rest, then the build to Silverman. BRING IT. Quote:

"I think they should put a warning label on strawberries: 'Caution: tastes nothing like a strawberry milkshake'." — Ryan Kaplan.

But boy they smell delicious and right of the vine....PRICELESS

Me Vs the Sisters, 2010: Ron 3-sisters 0

2010-07-11T15:43:00.000-07:00

So my A race this year is the silverman 1/2 iron again. Voted by Triathlete magazine as one of the 3 hardest races in the world. The reason is mostly the bike course. The pros have commented that if it was an IM event it would be hardest race course on the circuit. It is also the race course for the ITU 2011 World Championships. Got it? Its "challenging." One of the reasons it is challenging is around 40-45 mile mark or 100-105 mile mark for the full is a set o3 climbs called the 3 sisters. Last year I had 8 (count em) 8 training rides and the 9th was the race itself. I climbed one sisters one time. On the race I saved my energy and didnt even attempt them. I am not happy or proud about that. In fact, I remember the loads of people there who had looks on their face that was less than impressed at the race last year. I am probably projecting that onto myself but I was embarrassed. That isnt happening this year. I took one step towards that this week. Here is how my week went. This week was difficult or several reasons. No excuses just life. Heat, my wife (who is a twin) birthday WEEK started, and slight taper for Strawberry Fields next week.

Tuesday-Softball started back up.

Wednesday-Hills....climbed all 3 sisters. I even kept 9 mph or faster on them. I am pumped. 16.4 miles in 1:20 elevation gain 1064 ft. Can I do it after climbing lakeshore and northshore? Thats another question. But this small victory builds confidence. As I look back on this time last year I am going longer and faster. After Strawberry Fields I am going to start going very long out by the lake. I did have some slight cramping and fatigue. I wasnt hydrated or nourished like I should be for this ride. My first midweek big ride. It was nice and hot too.

Thursday-Pushed a swim.

Friday-Rest

Saturday-Long run of 8 miles in 1:28. I wanted long and slow. Thats what I got. It was nice and hot out with some humidity too. My mind is playing tricks on me. I have to work on my mentation. Funny how that is the hardest thing about this whole triathlon thing. I would like to mention that Julie (my wife) and Andi (best friend-in-law) are more than prepared for an olympic race on Sunday. I am pumped that it will be my first REAL Marathon bar event. I will be geared up with bars/coupons to hand out. It will be a challenging swim. My first open water OCEAN swim. What will the current be like? What will the waves be like? Salt water? I am shooting for 35ish min. The bike will be flat and fast. I am shooting for under 1:30. As close as I can to 20 mph. The run will be flat and fast too. Sub 60 min? Whole thing under 3? Should be fun. There is a possibility there will not be a medal and wife is gonna freak out. There is a compression sock giveaway going on here. I have been researching these garments and the literature is mixed. Some say they help with recovery, some say they dont, they all say they do not help with performance. I would like to review some, so I hope I win. Quote:

After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb.

Nelson Mandela

What hills have you climbed?