tuesday post #2 (this is deserving of its own post)

every tuesday at work i have 3 hour meeting with about 30 other people to discuss current projects and their status. they bring in lunch so it's not too bad. sometimes it's good, and then there's day like today. crappy chinese food. i always have protein bar in my bag for days like these, but i did grab forune cookie. here was my fortune:

"all your hard work will soon pay off"

sounds good to me.

so now for my afternoon workout. I took off from work about 3:30 and there was no traffic. i was supposed to have a track work out at 6pm, but all the rain made the track a mud pit. so i did the work out on my own. the work out was 4 x 1 mile with 2:30 rest. I did this work on street right around the corner from my apartment. it's a perfect mile. it's straight but there are too good rolling hills. here's my numbers, as you can tell the hills are steeper and longer in one direction (intervals 2 & 4)

1.5 mile warm-up(slow) - 15:23
mile repeats
1 - 4:54 (2:30 rest)
2 - 5:07 (2:30 rest)
3 - 5:01 (2:30 rest)
4 - 5:12 (2:30 rest)

1.2 mile cool down(slow) - 12:00

i felt like crap from the begining, but i was able to pull of my first sub 5 minute mile. i was pretty stoked about that but i defintely went to hard on the first one trying break the 5 minute mark. on the last one i was spent. i was sure i was going to slow down to 5:30+, but i pulled it out. i came home and stretched... another day down.

warm and rainy tuesday...

it would have been really easy to hit snooze this morning considering it was absolutely pouring at 5am. i got up anyway or i probably wouldn't be writing this. i had already decided to swap my tuesday (normally ride) and thursday (swim) workouts on account of the weather. so i reluctantly headed off to the pool, in the rain. as i got closer it began to rain harder. when i got to the pool it was really warm for 6am, but it was still raining. long story short, i had a great swim and i am glad that i got out of bed and into the pool. this is going to sound kind of ridiculous but it reminded me of a gatorade or nike commercial. here i was all by myself swimming laps in the pouring rain, it was just getting light, and the wind was blowing the palm trees that line the pool all over the place. i dont know it just struck me as kind of funny.

AM: swim (workout from Carlsbad Masters team/provided by coach)
3100M
200 pull
8 x 100 @ 2:00
200 pull
6 x 100 @ 1:55
200 pull
4 x 100 @ 1:50
200 pull
2 x 100 @ 1:45
200 pull
1 x 100 FAST

I was averaging 1:28-9 on my most of my intervals. a couple slipped to 1:31 and my fastest was 1:27. it's crazy to think just a month or two ago i was only able to average 1:45 (at best) on 100 repeats. seeing the improvement definitely keeps me getting up 5am and anxious to get in the pool.

the rest of my day is going to depend on the rain. it's supposed to stop around 3pm. if it does i am gonig to do my track workout. 4 x 1 mile with 2:30 rest. if the rain keeps up i going to head to a spin class tonight. i wanna run.

Monday - it's going to rain

i am already done with workouts for today and it's only 1pm. Today is my lightest day and pretty much feels like a rest day. I swan 1950 yards this morning and just got done with a core/stretching workout. I feel really good. Legs are feeling good after that 12 mile run yesterday.


it's supposed to start raining anytime and not stop until tomorrow night. i have already rearranged my training schedule accordingly. I was going to do a 10k trail race on sunday, but i am thinking i am going to pass on it in order to do the ocean swim with the club sunday morning. At this point i am very confident in my running ability, but am really starting to build on my swim confidence. I feel a lot more comfortable with every swim that i can get in. so yeah... i am skipping the race.


other than that as far as training goes i have track workout that is supposed to be tomorrow night that will be rained so i am moving that to wednesday evening. it is 4 x 1 mile with 2:30 reovery between. time to see how fast i really am. I am also hoping to ride the Californina Ford 70.3 bike course this weekend with GuernseyMan , that should be a good time. My new mountain bike is finally supposed to be here this week. i hope so, it's almost been 3 weeks and my first offroad race in about a month.

Jim Vance is talking about the upcoming Ford Ironman 70.3 tonight at B&L. It should be a good time.

sunday - run/swim - steak/beer

another good day. i really can't believe how good i am feeling on this weekends workouts considering the intensity and volume i put in during the week. my fitness level is defintely increasing rapidly.

AM:
1.2 mile ocean swim - del mar. - :35 min
I love open water swimming and am starting to get really confident. After last weekend and then today i am really convinced i can do an ironman. I did the swim with the club and there were about 15+ people. it was a really good time eventhough there were about 30 sea lions swimming all around us.

12 mile trail run - 1:30
Right after the swim i drove straight to san elijo lagoon and did a 12 mile run. i ran through the lagoon to san dieguito park and then up rancho santa fe. this was an awesome run, and my new favorite.


to reward my self from all the hard work i have put in this week tonight i grilled up some steak and shrimp and enjoyed a very cold fat tire 22oz.



this week should be another solid one. my laptop battery is about to die...

friday and saturday (tired and fast)

let's start with yesterday:
AM:
Swim - 1550
My swims have been really good since the race last weekend.
Right after the swim i did a 30 min core workout.

Pm/Lunch: 5 mile easy trail run.

After my workouts yesterday i was feeling it. i was tired and beat down. this has been the highest volume week i have had so far and it was defnintely showing. i took it easy last night, ignoring my friends calls to try to get me to hit the bars. so i sat around and watched "Prefontaine". i really thought my workouts today were going to suffer due to the fatigue i was feeling.

today's (saturday) workouts:
AM:
Brick - 27 mile bike/4 mile run
I felt really good on the ride. I rode from my apartment to el camino, north to o'side and then back down the coast. this is a very hilly ride. i really pushed on the short hills coming out of carlsbad, out of the saddle. i thought the run would be tough. i was wrong. i ran the 4 miles in exactly 26 minutes, 6:30 mile pace, and i had to force myself to hold back. i felt great, i want ed to take off!

PM:
2hr mountain bike in PQ canyon. i did a lot of climbing. good ride.

tomorrow i will be doing an ocean swim with the club and then a 12 mile trail run in San Elijo lagoon. it's really sandy back there which will get me ready for temecula.

I am just taking it easy again tonight. i am tired. i just got done ice massaging my legs, this helps my recovery a lot. i highyly recomend it.

Actual Race results and Thursday workout...

let me start off with today's workouts:
AM:
6.4 mile tempo run

-2.2 mile warmup: 17:18
3 mile tempo - splits:
1 - 5:54
2 - 5:40
3 - 5:41
-1.2 mile cooldown: 10:25

Lunch:
10min spin on bike then 15min of stretching

PM:
60 min spin class followed by mile run on treadmill(5:50 pace)

Overall I felt good today...

ok... the actual race results:
course - 750 meter swim/15 mile bike/3 mile run
Swim: 11:28 - pace: 1:32 - rank: 26
Bike: somehow they didnt get my split
Run: 16:26 - pace: 5:29 - rank: 1
overall: 1:09:59 - rank: 5th pre 2min speedo bonus/6th after

there were 60 men and 15 women in the race an i finished in 5th (based on actual time), but if could have taken 1 minute of my swim i could have come in second. I was only 21 seconds behind Marc and he finished second with Jim Vance blowing everybody away and coming in first. I am really happy with my run, especially becuase i know that is by far not the best i can do. Considering i came out of the swim at 26th and passed 21 people on the bike and run to come in 5th i am happy with my ride. i am pretty sure if they would have got my splits right i would have one of the top 5 rides.

so now the swim. i am going work harder and do whatever it takes. i didnt really push myself so at the next race on march 11th i am going for it. I am just going to do my best to draft off the lead pack and see how long i can hang. i am confident if i can come out of the water with in a minute of the lead pack that i can finish in the top 5 (i think). my running is by far my greatest strength and i feel like i am just getting started. i have only been doing speed work for a month and it's already starting to show signs of making me faster.

my new swim schedule: mon/wed/thu - the 3 weekly workouts provided by my coach. Fri/Sun - ocean swim with club. I will get faster!

Wednesday - Long swim/weights/easy run

AM: Swim - 3600 yards - 1:20:00
various sets of drills
main sets - 10 x 100 and 3 x 400

Lunch: weight room - upperbody and core

PM: 4 mile - really easy - 00:31:01


i started this morning with my longest swim of the week (and ever). i am glad my workout schedule has these long swims in the middle of the week. i used to swim at night after work and my motivation sucked. i would try to talk myself out of the pool the whole time and i dont really know why. a couple of weeks ago i decided to start swimming first thing in the morning. now i am at pool m/w/f before 6am and it has made all the difference. i am way more focused and actually look forward to the swims.

I am also very stoked about my progress. i didnt start swimming until october 2005, the week before the TCSD beginners race. eventhough i had been surfing tons i wanted to make sure i could swim 500yards... and i barely could. now i can blast through a 3000+ yard workout and feel great. when i started my average time on my "hard" 100's was 1:48 and in the 3 months i have been swimming consistently i have brought my average pace to 1:29. i know it's not fast, but i am improving and that's all that i can ask for. i would really like to get down to sub 1:20... hopefully in time. time to stretch and watch american idol... hahahha...

Tuesday - Easy ride/Track work out

i took it easy on the bike this morning and opted not to do the TCSD group ride. this was supposed to be and easy recovery ride and i always seem to ride at somebody else's pace on the ride.

AM
20 mile ride - easy
my avg heartrate for the ride was 129

PM
Track workout
1 mile warm-up

intervals:
12 x 400
all under 1:10
fastest 1:06
avg 1:09

.5 mile cooldown + stretching

there were about 12 people at tonights workout, but i was quite a bit faster so i was running solo. this workout is run by my coach so there is no slacking. it's good to have a coach at the track. although i am highly motivated he keeps my rest interval nice and short and right on time. when you are by yourself it's easy to give yourself and extra 10-15 seconds rest between work intervals. i feel i am getting a lot out of these workouts... they are teaching me to suffer again. i just started doing speed work for the first time in years at the end of January and i can already see the difference.

i have been starving lately eventhough i have been cramming down a lot of food. i think i need to re-evaluate my diet. i dont want to get too skinny. this morning i was 146lbs.

that's all... tomorrow i have an AM swim, easy 4mile run, and will hitting the weight room at lunch for some upperbody and core.

Monday... a long training day!

i looked at the surf forecast on saturday night and saw that waves were supposed to be crap today. so i sent my coach and email telling him i would like to take advantage of having a whole sunny monday off. so he punished me! i had a long day.

before my morning ride i had my favorite pre-workout snack:
a whole wheat tortilla, natural peanut butter, honey, and a banana. my version of a breakfast burritto.

AM:
40 mile ride, pushed myself on a lot of hills. felt really good.

noon:
tried to meet up with fellow club members in carlsbad for an ocean swim, but they cancelled it because of bacteria in the water. so i headed to the pool and did a 1950 yard work out. i felt really good and conifdent after the race on saturday.

right after the swim i did a 4 mile trail run in penasquitos canyon. i felt great on the run and actually had to force myself to slow down. this may sound lame but when i am running the trails i always picture 2 people ahead of me. Conrad Stoltz and Jim Vance, and me tracking them down. i know they are elite but it's good for my motivation.

PM:
tonight i went to B&L to listen to Jim Vance speak. he had a lot of good info and talked a lot about setting goals, which is something i have been thingking about. i am going to be working on setting weekly, monthly, and yearly goals...

Race Report - TCSD February Club Race

so it's over and done. i successfully completed the club race and here's how my day went:

I got to the park at Glorietta Bay around 7:15am and the race was supposed to start at 8. it had rained the night before, but now the sun was coming up and there was practically no wind. perfect. since i was kind intimidated by the swim the first thing i looked for when i was walking my bike up the transition area was the buoys in the water. holy crap!! there was no way the swim was only 500m it was more like 700-750, which really isn't too much further, but considering the fact that i was freaking out about 500m it was. i heard quite a few people talking about how long the swim was when i walked around (good thing it wasn't just me).

i finished setting up my transition area and then ran into Marc (GuernseyMan) and talking to him about the swim calmed me down. he did it wearing only a speedo. the water was on 58 degress. he's nuts, but extremely fast. he finished 3rd overall.

as i was putting on my wetsuit i was looking around checking out all the other competitors (i think there was about 60???) and their bikes. i saw some super fit people with tree trunks for legs and a lot of them had their bikes outfitted with the best carbon race wheels around. i thought "great, not only is everybody going to ditch me in the swim, but they are also going to punish me on the bike."

swim:
I made sure to start wide and deep as to make sure not to getting in the way of too many people. and we're off. i started swimming right behind a wave of 30 people. the water was really chopped up but i just started cruising trying to stay on peoples feet. i got kicked, hit, elbowed, but i wanted that. i really wanted that to happen so i could start learning to deal with it. i would just swim 5 or 6 strokes and then come up and sight the buoy. as i got to the first bouy (also the furthest) i noticed i was starting to pass a lot people and i wasnt pushing myself at all. i was in perfect position for the firt buoy cut it tigt and picked it up a little. i found more feet, passed them, then another, more feet, then another pass. i kept this up all the way in. as i was getting close to the end of the swim i thought i was in the middle of the pack, but as soon i stood up i could the leaders just getting on their bikes. i was in the top 15. no way! i was blown away, stoked, and then the andrenaline hit.

T1:
it was flawless. just like i went over it my head a million times. i can get out my wetsuit as fast as anybody, which i attribute to growing up surfing the east coast. i surfed all winter long in water as cold as 39 degress with air temp below freezing. if it took you to long to get out of your suit after a session you would be risking hypothermia. back to the race. i got out of my suit no problem, put on my helmet, grabbed my bike, and started running. i had my shoes already clipped to the pedal and secured with rubberbands. i have had many mounting/dismouting practice sessions in the YMCA parking lot near my apartment, and it paid off. i hopped on my bike started pedaling and got into my shoes with no problems.

bike:
i started hammering from begining. i could see people ahead of me and i wanted to track them down, and i did. i started passing people and i was shocked. these guys had way more experience riding than me, i have only been on a road/tri bike since the end of November, this can't be happening. i was averaging 22-24mph and 95rpms. i had no idea if i could keep this up, but i did. so i hammerd then entire bike course and still felt great. with about a 100 meters to go i slipped out my shoes and then dismounted, flawlessly.

T2:
this was easy. set my bike down, took off my helmet and slipped on my running shoes.

the run:
wow i pushed myself on the bike! my legs felt like jello. i hadnt done any brick workouts since the begining of January before the Carlsbad half marathon. i passed someone right out of transition and set my sights on the next person. i started feeling better and passed a couple more people. i kept thinking "is this really happening, i can't be doing this good". as i neared the turn around i saw Jim Vance in the lead. as we passed each other he said, "good running". that got me stoked and there was no catching him. he was flying. then i saw another guy, then Marc in 3rd. i think at the turn around i was in 9th and ended up passing 4 more people in the last 1.5 miles to finish 5th.

the aftermath:
i was in shock. how the hell did i do this good first time out. i learned a lot, and now i KNOW i can compete. i also know i can push harder in the swim than i did. the swim was unexpectedly easy. I was stoked to meet Marc and his wife, they are good people.

weekend workouts:
saturday afternoon after the race i did an easy 6 mile run.

sunday:
i was supposed to have a mountain bike/trail brick but because all the rain it was a no go.

instead i did the 25 mile road ride followed by a 3 mile run. i felt good on both the ride and run.

this was really, really long.

I can't wait to race again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

it's on...

ok.. so i am over my little swimming freak out. i had a really good swim this morning. i felt faster than normal and really comfortable.

todays workouts:

AM - swim 2500 yards followed by a good core workout
PM - 4 mile easy run

i was stoked about the easy run too. i easily ran 7.5 minute miles while keeping my heartrate well be low 150. Crazy to think that 7.5 minute mile runs are my recovery runs.

tomorrow is the TCSD club race. i am ready. my gear is ready to go. and it's going to rain and be cold... and probably windy. no worries. i can't wait.

thinking too much...

i have a lot on my mind but first let me get to my training from today. i started out the morning with a 6.4 mile tempo run with 3 miles at around 10k pace. i did this run in my new race flats with no sox. results:

-2.2 mile warmup: 16:30
3 mile tempo - splits:
1 - 5:57
2 - 5:42
3 - 5:29
-1.2 mile cooldown: 9:38

i felt pretty good but i am not sure about the new shoes. i have couple minor blisters but i havent run without socks in a while, we'll see.

At lunch i went to the gym and spun for 20 minutes and stretched for 15 minutes. tonight i took a spin class at 24 hour fitness. i did it with a couple of my mountain bike friends. they are big tough guys... i like watching them suffer!

ok... so today i started freaking out a bit, and probably for no reason. i was thiking about the upcoming weekend and TCSD club race and the swim. 500 meters in glorietta bay. i can run and ride all day, but swimming makes me nervous. not that i am a weak swimmer. i have been swimming since i was 3 and surfing for the last 15 years. i've surfed really heavy waves and been cleaned up by 15ft sets and Black's. The ocean and open water does not scare me in the least.

i really started swimming freestyle in 2002, but then moved san diego and just surfed everyday and didnt get back in the pool with any purpose until this past october. since then i have steadily increased my workouts and skill. i even took some lessons with Paton Mcclung from swim smarter and have been working on correcting the errors in my stroke. i have been progressing quickly and have been able to complete workouts (provided by my coach) up to 3000 yards without too much trouble. i have been dedicated. i am at the pool monday, wednesday, and friday by 6am. i have also done some ocean swims. a couple at del mar including one in 6ft pounding surf (it was fun) and also at the cove, and i have been comfortable and found it easy with my Xterra wetsuit.

so after saying all this i was having a little panic attack about the swim in saturdays race. the only other time i have swam in anything resembling a race was at the TCSD octobers beginners race (in a surfing wetsuit and i rode a mountain bike). i did ok... i think i was 5th out of the water, but for some reason i have anxiety about it. after thinking about it some more (and probably too much) i think it's because i know how hard and fast i can push myself on my bike and on the run, but swimming... no clue. i have a high pain tolerance on running and on the bike and i will push myself. you cant do that swimming. i have so many triathlons lined up for the spring and summer that if the swim is an issue for me it will kind of be demoralizing... well enough being negative. saturday will tell me a lot.

on anoher note. i signed up for the SOMA half ironman in October. i was told it fills up fast so i bit the bullet and registered. nothing like signing up for a half IM without ever completing a "real" race.

last thing... this is way too long... i added some links to my blog... check them out.

going crazy?

i woke up this morning itching to get in the pool. i had a 3200 yd workout on the table, my longest to date, and i was ready to tackle it. i was also feeling really good about my track work out last night. my legs were still a little spent from the san dieguito half and riding 30 miles yesterday morning, but i was still able to pull off the following:

1.5 mile warm-up

6 x 800 (2 min rest interval)
1 - 2:31
2 - 2:30
3 - 2:28
4 - 2:26
5 - 2:27
6 - 2:29

so when i sat at my computer this morning at 5am with a cup of coffee and half a power bar (Nut Naturals - these things are really good) I noticed there was a brand new podcast from Endurance Radio. this podcast featured an interview with Jim Vance talking about Xterra training. I updated my ipod, grabbed my bags, filled my travel mug, and headed out the door about 5:20am. I was just cruising south on I-5 about 5 minutes from the pool, listening the Jim Vance interview, and drinking a fantastic mug of coffee. Then it happened... it started raining. Ok, i like the rain, but not at 5:30am in the morning, when it's cold and windy, and i am about to get in the pool.

the thought of not swimming never crossed my mind, which makes me question if i have indeed lost my mind. i was kind of stoked. A lot of people (and hopefully the people i will be competing against) would have saw that it was raining and headed back to bed for couple extra minutes of sleep. I am just hoping this all pays off because i have been more dedicated to this than anything i have ever done. In another couple of months I'll know.

hopefull my new mountain bike will be here this week... see link above.

race number two - San Dieguito Half Marathon

well... i completed my second half marathon in less than a month. this was an awesome race all through rancho santa fe, passing billion dollar homes. the day started on a very bad note...

i woke up at 5am grabbed a cup of coffee (the pot was waiting, i love automatic coffee makers) and sat down at my computer. this is my daily routine. then the first thing i always do out of habit is check my bank accounts. i like starting the day knowing exactly how much money i have in case of an emergency. so i logged in and then almost through up all over my keyboard. i was missing a couple thousand dollars and my checking account was actually showing negative dollars, as the over draft protection had not yet kicked in. i was dumbfounded and pissed off. i always know exactly how much money i have and how much i spend, and to be a couple G's off is impossible. so i tried to get a hold of my bank at 5:15am and obviously i could not get a hold of anyone so i called VISA. after speaking with someone who told me that there was nothing i could until monday i hung up but was still pissed. i grabbed all my gear and headed out for the race but i was going to stop by my bank's ATM to see if it showed the same balance. it did.

so now the race... it was super cold when i got to the park the thermometer in my truck was reading 42 degrees. cold for san diego. so i warmed up had a cliff shot and some water and toed the line. the course was so rad, it was a really fun run... all hills!. during one downhill around mile 5 i hear someone coming up behind me and it was none other than Michellie Jones, one of the best women triathletes in the world. i was watching her the night before at last years Ironman Champs where she got an amazing 2nd. so i kind of slowed my pace down and ran and chatted with her for a bit. she was really cool and gave me some advice for the course. after two miles of going stride for stride with her i picked my pace back up. I finished the race @ 1:21:47... i was stoked. That is only 7 seconds slower than the Carlsbad half marathon and this course was signinficantly more challenging and i rode for 3.5 hours on Saturday. My coach came up to me after the race and congratulated me. I finished 18th overall and 4th in my age group.

ok... back to the loot. I found after the race that somehow when i rented a mountain bike from B&L on saturday somehow my card got charged $2500 instead of just getting authorized. i have to head up to my bank in a bit to get this straightened out.

this coming saturday i have a TCSD club race... this will be my first triathlon since i have been training. It is just a practice race for the club but it will give me a good idea of where i am at.

time management

it occurred to me as i driving into work today after a 6 mile tempo run, that at the very least my time management skills are incredible. i listen to all the guys i work with bitch and complain about how they dont have enought to work on their projects and get their work done. i often stack myself with a lot of work because i like to be busy and i juggle 2 to 3 workouts a day. i dont really complain about anything. my day is just completely calculated. i know what i am doing every hour of every day. from the time my alarm goes off at 5am (4:45 on tuesdays for a group ride) my whole day is planned. I start the day off riding, running, or swimming. I know what time i am going to eat everyday, go to meetings, get work done, hit the gym. it has become second nature. occasionally things get mixed up and meeting runs long, there is an outage somewhere that i have to attend to, but i am able to rearrange things without ever really thinking about. there are only some many hours in a day and i have too much to do to waste them.

the only thing that has been tough to find time for is my friends. it never fails. every friday and saturday night i get summoned upon to hit the bars and have one too many drinks. not that i dont want to hang with my friends, but right now there are way more important things to me than drinking too much and staying out late. My weekend workouts right now are super important. my season starts april 2 and doesnt end until October 29th at the soma half ironman. For example this saturday i have a 30 mile ride in the morning and then a 90min - 120min mountain bike (can't wait for Xterra). Those 2 workouts in the same day will be tough, not to mention I am doing a half marathon on Sunday (more on that in a bit) and an ocean swim. so the thought of waking up with a hangover is out of the question. not to say that i wont meet them for a drink or two, but when the clock strikes 11pm i'm out.

i am going to be running another half marathon on sunday. my coach suggested it to me tuesday night at our weekly track workout. what the hell, replace my sunday long run with a race. i dont think i am going to try and run as hard as i did in the Carlsbad half marathon (1:21:40). i am looking at this just like a normal sunday long run (yeah right). we will see what happens when the gun goes off.

this always happens...

this always happens... i start this thing and then never get around to posting anything new.

Last week was epic. I was in Steamboat Springs, CO, staying at "The Lodge at Steamboat". the mountain was awesome. 20 inches of snow, three days of fresh powder in the mornings, and the best tree runs i have ever been on. It was a good break from the triathlon training.

and now back to the training. i have started working with a coach, and it's the best thing i have ever done. my workouts are more focused and what i need to do to get ready for the races i am going to do. at my track workout tonight he suggested i do the san digeito half marathon this weekend in place of my sunday long run. so i am running it. I dont think I am going to push myself as hard as I did in the Carlsbad half marathon, but we will see what happens when the gun goes off.

that's it for now. April 2nd is my first triathlon.