a big week in the books...

I just got through a pretty gnarly week of training and am feeling better than I think I should be. I pushed myself pretty hard in my workouts this week and my legs are still feeling fresh and snappy. With this last mini block of training (after temecula - before next two races) I am kind of doing some experimenting with volume, intensity, and timing. So far so good... if it works and I am able to put together back to back solid races over the next two weeks maybe I will go into detail of exactly what I did and what I was thinking... or maybe I will just keep it to myself!

Last week ended with a Friday evening swim at the cove and then a killer Tri club potluck/bbq. There were a ton of people out there and the weather was good. Beth and I just cruised a solid mile swim and the got down on the grub!

Saturday was my second to last peak workout before Sunday's race in Alabama. I originally planned on riding solo in PQ canyon, but then my homie Luke asked me if I would be down for joining him out in Temecula for some riding. He's training for the up coming 12-hour race out a Vail Lake (he's going solo) and it's always a good time riding with him.

I met him at 8am and he already had an hour of riding in legs. We got rolling and headed out for the "Dam Climb". I ended up doing 2.5 laps of a loop that was a mix of the Xterra west course and the upcoming 12 hour race. I rode the Dam Climb three times at threshold and nailed my goal of getting faster each time.

At the top of each climb I would wait for Luke as he was just working on pacing and then he would absolutely own me on the descents and single track. He lives really close to the course and I don't there is anybody who rides more out there then he does. I can't wait to see how he does in the 12-hour race in his own backyard. I have a feeling he's going to kill it!

This workout would not be complete with a run off the bike. Again, I kept with the theme of really challenging myself running off the bike. I ran the first half of the bike course including the Dam climb. It was hot out there and the climb was gnarly... but I felt great.


Sunday morning was all about watching the Rock and Roll Marathon. Beth lives right on the course downtown so it's pretty convenient. We woke up, got some coffee, and cruised out on the street just in time to see the leaders blow through the 5.5 mile mark. Soon enough there we thousands of people running down the street. It was nuts... I have never seen anything like that, but it no way made me even consider doing a marathon. Seriously... 26.2 miles of running on the road... no thanks!

Marathon Cheerleaders = Awesome! I need a crew of these.


After I got my fill of watching people run I went to pick-up bandit Beth after her 2 hour run! We headed to my work pool for a swim... well I swam. Beth laid out enjoying the sun and then got in the pool for a bit and knocked out some recovery yards. Later in the after I headed out again on the road bike to spin out the legs. I rode a new route and it's pretty killer. It will be a good one when I want to head out and smack myself.

That's it. One big workout on Wednesday and then I will be shutting it down. I leave Thursday morning for Alabama and I can't wait.