a quick plug for jim...

Jim, my coach, is in Panama right now getting ready to race in the Portobelo International Triathlon.

I had the chance to go with him but time and money-wise it didn't make much sense for me, but after reading his blogs and entries at Inside Triathlon I will defintely try to plan getting down there next year.

The reason for this post is just to plug his blog and Racer Diary at Inside Triathlon. Follow the links before for some killer stories.

Jim's blog.

Inside Triathlon Racer Diaries:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

That's it. Training is kicking my ass but I'll get to that tomorrow.

eating good and staying flexible... more photos.

First things first. I am so happy that the Baseball season is underway. I know it's only spring training, but I am stoked for the 2007 Padres season. They made a lot of moves which I think has made the team better. I watched the first televised game of the year Tuesday night and it was great. During the season 150 of the 162 games are televised. No more crappy TV!

I am having more fun posting on my blog now that I started adding photos. It defintely makes it more interesting to go back and read older posts. So I have some more photos in this one.

This week has been busy so far and I think it's going to stay that way. I am in my second to last build week and from a training perspective things are great. I had a ride on Tuesday afternoon and felt incredible. It was 80 degress and sunny. No arm warmers, no knee warmers, and coming of the a recovery week I felt really strong and just wanted to hammer.

I had to go into work Tuesday night and didn't end getting home until just after midnight. Needless to say I decided it was probably a bad idea to get up at 4:45am for a Masters swim. I decied to sleep in a bit and then head out on my MTB for 1:15 spin on the trails. It felt good but my rear derailler started giving me some problems. I need to work on that tonight. After the ride I worked from home for a bit before heading into the office. It's awesome to have that flexibility.

working from home is killer.


Ok. Now for some more photos of food. A lot of people ask me questions about my diet, especially all the guys at work. They see me eating breakfast and lunch at my desk and always denying their invitations to go grab some lunch at various fast food places around work. Even with my busy schedule I cook myself dinner everynight. I am not really a fan of eating out. It's just too dificult to get what I want and eat healthy, and I like cooking. So here's my dinner from Tuesday night after my ride.

I always start with a huge salad. I go through two of these containers a week.


The finished product: Mixed greens, red onion, mushrooms, red/yellow peppers, sundried tomatoes, raw almonds & sunflower seeds, multi-grain croutons, brocoli, carrots, and light mozarella cheese.

A lot of the time I make my own dressing. It's simple. Honey Dijon mustard, basalmic vinegar, salt & pepper. Super simple and healthy.

The main course: Mahi Mahi burgers!

They only take about 6 minutes to cook. cooked up some onions too.

Done. Whole wheat toast, swiss cheese, mahi mahi burger, tomato, onions, mayo, mustard, greens.

That's it. It's a pretty typical dinner for me. It only takes about 10 minutes to make and it's healthy. Good fats, proteins, and carbs. This just made me hungry.

some stuff to look at... bored.

It's a pretty slow day at work for me right now, but it's going to be a long day. I have been up since 4:45am so I could head to Masters early and get in a 1000 yards before the workout started. When all was said and done I got in 5000 yards. I have to come back to work tonight at 10pm for some work that can only take place "after hours." It's pretty typical for me, but it's going to make it tough to get up at 4:45am tomorrow morning for another 5000 yard swim.

I had a good talk with Jim yesterday before he started getting his gear ready for his trip to Panama. We talked a good amount about how we are going to approach my Xterra training. To summarize, it's going to be tough and I am really looking forward to it. Back to the intensity.

I also talked to him about my current weight situation. I am currently weighing between 132-135lbs daily. Last year I trained and raced between 142-145lbs. I have lost about 10lbs since the first of the year. Personally I am not worried about it but everybody I see says something about how skinny I look. I feel great though. I feel fast and light on the bike and run. As long as I keep recovering as well as I am (better than I ever have) and continue to get stronger I am not going to worry about it. I am just going to keep eating they way I am and training hard.

The weather here has been killer. I hope it stays this way unitl 3/31. I would be so stoked to have a nice sunny, 70* day for the race. The weather for the rest of the week is looking awesome! The bottom temps are right along the coast and bottom are inland. My condo and where I train is somewhere in between.


I have been messing around with training peaks and pulled together some graphs of my training so far this year. It's kind of interesting (at least to me).

Training distance per week 1.1.2007 - 3.4.2007

Training time per week 1.1.2007 - 3.4.2007

Swim yards per week 1.1.2007 - 3.4.2007

Bike miles per week 1.1.2007 - 3.4.2007

run miles per week 1.1.2007 - 3.4.2007

Weekly Recap (Recover- 2.26.2007 - 3.4.2007)

For a recovery week things were pretty typical last week. I have found that just getting on the trainer and spinning is great for my legs. I did this on Monday, the day after the race, and felt great. I followed that up with a massage and adjustment. By Tuesday I felt great and didn't feel like I had just hammered on Sunday.

Speaking of the trainer. I used to hate it and would avoid it at all costs. That's not really the case anymore. I am now looking forward to sessions on the trainer and living in Southern California you could probably get away with never having to use one. Jim has always preached a lot about pedal stroke, and the fact that I should be constantly working on it. Well I have been, especially on the trainer. Last weekend in the race when I hit some of the tougher climbs I just blocked everything out and thought solely about my pedal stroke and it worked. I was able to keep my gap on the bike. I also like the specific intervals I can get in on the trainer without having to worry about stoplights and traffic.

Here's the stats from the week:

Total Training Time: 15:30
swim: 16,300 yards (2 Masters, 2 Work pool, 1 Open Water)
Bike: 100.5 Miles (2 trainer, 2 road)
Run: 24 Miles (3 runs)
Strength: 1 Sessions (1 upperbody)
Core: 4 sessions (w/ strength session)

I felt really good on the bigger weekend workouts. Just putting in the time. The specific intstructions were "do not dig deep." So I didn't. Yesterday I met Jim and a handful of other athletes he coaches for a an openwater swim workout. It was killer out. Sunny and 70 degrees and it kind made the 58 degree water tolerable. We worked on starts, turning, and drafting.

Now it's time to get serious. I have two more hard weeks and then it's taper time. I have never put so much time or specific training for a single race. I am going to be really focuesd over these next two weeks and make sure I get the most out of everywork out and then it will be time to taper.

Yesterday after the swim I stopped by B&L and put in an order for a Powertap SL. I want to become a strong cyclist but I know it's going to take time and patience. I have wanted a power meter for a while now and after talking with Jim about it I deciede to go for it. I think having a PowerTap will give me the data I need to see if I am really improving on the bike or just wasting my time. We'll see. I should have the wheel all built up and ready to do in a couple of weeks.

For some reason I really like taking pictures of my food. Here's some more of my healthy food to look at:

Ok, so it's just a huge bowl of mixed nuts, but I make this up myself. I don't like all the pre-packaged mixed nuts that you buy in the store and are roasted in oil. I go to Henry's and by raw nuts and dried organic fruit and mix it all together with some sea salt. It's good. I could eat the whole thing.

In this mix (all nuts are raw, all fruit is dried): Almonds, cashews, pistachios, walnuts, peanuts, soy nuts, macadamian nuts, raisins, cranberries, pineapple, apricot, banana, and some organic yogurt chips.

a hard 2 months...

The first two months of 2007 are in the bag. January 1st started my specific training for the California Ironman 70.3 on 3.31.2007. There has been a lot of volume, at least more than I have ever done and my body has responded positively. I already feel much stronger than I did all of last season. I attribute that to my training hard, good coaching, super healthy diet, and just taking care of my body. Last year I remember feeling worn down from big weeks and they were no where near the hours I am putting in now.

At the beginning of the year I made the commitment to cut back on drinking alcohol, caffeine, and soda. In the first 2 months of the year I defintely have. I have still been enjoying a couple of beers on Sunday afternoons after big training weeks but that's pretty much it. Cutting back the caffeine has been huge for me. I am down to about 2 cups a day have only had caffeinated coffee a handful of times after 2pm, and those were on days when I was up at 4:45am to swim and need a boost to get through some afternoon meetings. I have also only had 2 diet cokes in the past two months and one of those was on my way back from Arizona last Sunday. I am pretty stoked about sticking to these things.

It's now March 1st, 30 days until race day, and I am taking the commitment a step further. I am not going to have a single drop of alcohol in the next month leading up the race. I want to see if it makes any difference and it will make the post race beer that much better.

So with all that being said... Last night was my last night for a drink. My sister was down from LA and My brother and I grilled up some steaks and knocked back a couple jack and cokes. It was a good time and now I am ready to really focus on the next couple of weeks and then it's time to taper and race.


might as well go for the best

view from my office on Tuesday... more rain.

view from my office on Today... more sun.

No this is not from McDonalds. It's on my favorite healthy breakfasts made at home.

1 egg

1 egg white

toasted whole grain enlish muffin

fat free cheddar slice

slice of ham

slice of tomato

mustard

relish

Weekly Recap (Build - 2.19.2007 - 2.25.2007) & Desert Classic Du RR

Another solid week in the books that was capped off with a duathlon in Arizona. My volume was down a little bit from my previous build weeks because I didn't have a big bike due to the race, but I was able to get out on my mountain for a fun ride. I also hit 20,000 yards in the pool which has been a goal of mine. Here's how the week shaped up:

Total Training Time: 15:15
swim: 20,000 yards (4 Masters, 1 Work pool)
Bike: 90 Miles (1 MTB, 1 road, 2 TT race and cool down)
Run: 32.2 Miles (6 runs, 2 off the bike, race)
Strength: 1 Sessions (1 upperbody)
Core: 1 sessions (w/ strength session)



Desert Classic Duathlon Race Report


Thursday morning I woke and felt a little off and was kind of congested. I didn't think anything of and just attributed to the fluctuating weather we have had lately. I felt better on Friday and then headed out for Phoenix on Saturday morning.



Pre-race:


I woke up at 5am on Sunday and was really congested. The thought even crossed my mind to bag the race, but I couldn't after having driven all the way out there to race. I had a couple of cups of coffee, my pre race meal and then headed out for the race. It was cold when I got to the race site:



Thermometer in my truck.

Luckily Trisports had a booth there and I was able to buy some arm warmers before the race. I wasn't thinking and didn't bring any cold weather gear. Once I got the arm warmers I set up my transition and warmed up with a couple of miles of running with some surges to race pace. I knew it was going to be tough day with how congested I was. I really couldn't breathe through my nose and was just blowing snot everywhere.

Run #1 - 3.5 miles (.5 miles road/3 miles trail): 18:55

My wave (men 34 and under) went off 4 minutes after the pro men and 2 minutes after the pro women. It was a big group and a pretty small starting area so I got right in the front. 3 guys went out really fast and I was in fourth and just wanted to see what they were going to do. About a mile in the thrid place guy started to fade and I moved up. I was right behind 1 & 2 who were both in the AG above me. So I knew I was in 1st in my AG early on. They started to pick it up and I went with them. We pretty much gapped everybody else and started passing some of the pro women. I was holding back a bit because I wasn't sure of how I felt and was having a hard time breathing, but was still going pretty fast. I finished the first run in 3rd (1st in my AG) and only about 10 seconds back of 1 & 2.


Bike 21.5 miles: 57:55

Once I got on the bike I knew I had a couple minutes on everybody in my AG and wanted to keep the gap. I was pretty sure that if I got to the second run in the lead I could hold it. The course was tough. The roads were pretty rough and it was never flat. I was always climbing or descending. This was the first time I have ever used a disc and it was sick. I just put my head down and hammered on the downhills and tried to keep up my cadence and focus on my pedal stroke on the climbs. Around mile 9 I was caught by a guy, but he was not in my AG. It was an out and back course so after the turn around I could see how much of a gap I still had. I was stoked to see that I still over a minute with less than 10 miles to go, but my lungs were burning from the dry desert air. I finally got off the bike and was still in the lead.

Run #2 - 2.7 miles (.2 miles road/2.5 miles trail): 15:55

T2 was quick and I was out on the run with a comfortable lead. I knew I didn't have to go all out and I just held a steady comfortable pace. Both runs were offroad but the second one was considerably harder terrain with a couple good climbs. It reminded my alot of Xterra. I finished the run still in first place.

Overall: 1:34:21 - 1st in AG (2nd was 1:36:24)

Considering I still don't really feel "fast" right now and that I felt like shit I am happy with the race. I was stoked to lead from the gun to the finish. I am usually the one trying to chase people down on the run and this time I was being chased. It was a good change.

Here's some photos from the road trip:

Breakfast on the road: Venti Americano


Cruise control

Lunch on the road: turkey pita (made at home)

I saw plenty of these.

My bike looking faster than it ever has thanks to Elliot and B&L.

On the podium.

Race Ready - 2.23.2007

This week is finally coming to end. I am in the middle of a really busy cycle at work right now which will hopefully back off a little after next week. Training this week is going well and I have felt really strong on the bike.

Yesterday I got out on my mountain bike for the first time in a couple of weeks. I got in 90 minutes on my local trails which I am going to name Water Tower. These trails are going to be incredible training for the upcoming Xterra season. The climbs are long, rocky and grinding and there are some fun technical descents. I plan on putting a lot to time in over there as soon as the the 70.3 passes. It's nice to have the trail head only 1.5 miles from my front door. Last year I had to either get up early or head out after work to black mountain to get in the climbing that I needed. Now I have a better, harder, and longer climb practically in my backyard. I am stoked. Here are some photos from the ride:

view from the top of the first major climb


about half way up the 20 min climb back to the top.

I am ready to throw down this weekend. This race is coming at the end of 2 big weeks so it's safe to say I will not be super fresh but my plan is just to go for it, especially on the bike. My race plan is simple: go as fast as I can on the first run, go as hard as I can on the bike with no regard for the second run, then just see what I have left in the tank for 2.7 mile second run. I really just want to hammer on the bike. I am going to try approach it like I don't have to run again.

It's my official Duathlon aside from some club races and I always figured Du's would fit my strenght, running. There should be some pretty good pros out there too. I just read that Simon Whitfield (olympic gold medalist) will be out there racing. I am really curious to see how fast he goes. Jim won this race last year against some really good competition.

That's it. I will report back from the race on Sunday night or some time Monday.

Weekly Recap (Build 2.12.2007 - 2.18.2007)

I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little bit shelled after the half marathon last Sunday. My first run of the week on Wednesday was pretty brutal, but as the week passed things got better. I had another solid week with a lot of swimming, a huge ride/run on Saturday and big run on Sunday.

Total Training Time: 18:35

swim: 18,000 yards (3 Masters, 1 Work pool)

Bike: 132 Miles (1 trainer/TT, 1 road, 1 TT)

Run: 36 Miles (4 runs, 1 off the bike)

Strength: 2 Sessions (1 upperbody/1 lowerbody)

Core: 3 sessions (2 w/ strength session, 1 solo after trainer ride)

I made a point to up my swim volume. I went to Masters early each day so I could get in 1000 yards prior to the workout. This requires me getting up at 4:45 am! I am going to keep this up in build weeks and hopefully will hit 20,000 yards this week. Since I don't have a big bike day this week due to the race on Sunday I am just going to put in some major time in the pool.

Strong Brew. Necessity for 4:45am wake-up.

My 5 hour ride on Saturday was solid and I nailed my nutrtion. I covered 87 miles and put together a very hilly route. It was nice and hot. I felt strong all the way to the end and also felt good running off the bike, especially the second half of the 50 min run. Sunday was a big run of 18 miles with the group in Cardiff and again I felt really good. The plan was to get in an open water swim after the run but the wind was coming up and I really didn't feel like swimming in chop. I was spent from the run. So I hit the work pool for 2,250 yards and then the gym for a lowerbody/core session.

Another solid week in the books. I'll be heading to Phoenix this weekend for the Desert Classic Duathlon. It should be a good time and really fit my strengths. It's a 3.5 mile trail run, 21 mile road bike, and then another trail run of 2.7 miles. I plan on just laying down on the first run and trying to hold on. We'll see how it goes.

It's Monday, it's a recovery day and it's pouring rain. I just got back from the gym. I hit the stationary, recumbent bike for 30 minutes and then stretched for 15. I do this every Monday after my big weekends. I usally wake-up with some pretty sore, stiff legs on Monday morning and getting on the stationary bike and just spinning really loosens them up and doesn't take anything out of me. I am thinking about heading over to YMCA for the 11:45 masters session and just getting in a couple thousand yards of easy swimming. It' the only way I will be able to hit 20,000 yards this week.

a couple of things... 2.15.2007

Back to going big. My legs are just starting to come around from the half marathon last Sunday. On Monday I got an hour massage, which was torture on my sore legs, and an adjustment. I have already gotten in a couple of good swims this week of 5,000+ yards. Yesterday I got in my first run since the race and the last half was kind of uncomfortable but I am feeling a lot better after my ride this morning. It was killer out, sunny and relatively warm.



view of Pipes in Cardiff. The waves looked kind of fun but the tide was really high. Hopefully I can get on it this afternoon.

The whip... resting.


One last thing. I found this video on youtube. It's and interview with Conrad Stoltz, one of the big dogs on the Xterra circuit. His season was riddled with injuries last year, but I am anxious to see him lay it down this year. This video pretty much sums up Xterra racing and why I will continue to make it my focus.

San Dieguito Half Marathon RR/Weekly Recap (Recover 2.5.2007 - 2.11.2007)

Damn my legs are sore. The first race of 2007 in the books and it went pretty well.

I am going recap my training for last week and then get to the race report. I have some photos too, so this will be a long one.

Last week was a recovery week and after putting a 2 big, solid weeks it was needed. Here's the stats:

Total Training Time: 11:29

Swim: 11,600 yards (2 Masters, 1 work pool)

Bike: 70 miles (2 rides)

Run: 27.1 miles (3 runs including half marathon)

Strength: 1 Session (upperbody)

Core: 2 sessions

I felt really good all week and was really looking forward to the weekend and the half marathon. I am feeling really good in the pool and will be upping the volume over the next couple of weeks. I was supposed to get in an open water swim yesterday after the race but it rained all morning which elevates the bacteria level in the water and I am not trying to get sick. I was thinking about just getting in a couple thousand yards in the pool and also doing a lower body strength session but I was pretty shelled from the race and bagged those ideas.

Saturday I put in 3 hours on the bike and rode up to Lake Wholford. This was the first time I have ridden out there and it was a really good ride. I did quite a bit of climbing, which was probably not the best thing the day before a hilly half marathon, but I had fun. Below are some pictures from the ride.


almost at the top.


fun descent.


the way up and down.


Soaking in the 58 degree pool in my complex. I do this after all my big weekend workouts. Torture.

while in the pool: protein shake and magazine to take my mind off of how cold it is.

39th San Dieguito Half Marathon:

This was my first race of the Season and first repeat race I have ever done. Last year I ran it in 1:21:47. I had been feeling strong leading up the race so the plan was just to go for it.

For the past month I have been having Sushi on saturday nights during my big weeks of training and have always felt great the next day. So I did the same thing this Saturday night. 1 Spicy Tuna Avoacado roll and 4 chicken & rice potstickers. After that I just relaxed and got to bed around 1030pm.

I got up at 530am for the 8am and downed two cups of coffee and this (samething I have been eating before all my long sunday runs):


toasted Mini cinnamon raison bagel with 1 tbsp of Power Butter, honey, and covered with a little bit of Bear Naked Peak Protein Granola. So Good.

I got to the race, found parking, and picked up my number. It was drizzling but it was in the 50's. I warmed up for about 20 minutes with some easy running and some accelerations to race pace. After my warm-up I threw back a couple of Motivators and a couple swigs of Esspresso hammer gel. I found a group of guys at the start line that I have raced against in XC races and decided to try and stay with them. At 8am we toed the line and it go time.

We went out and were immediately in a pack of about 8-10 guys with a couple of guys leading us out. Nobody really pushed it at all. I think we came through the first mile in about 5:30. The pace was really conservative for the first 4 miles and I was running with the lead pack of now about 8 guys. I felt really comfortable. Between miles 4 and 6 the pack started to separate. 3 guys started to pull away and I was in the second pack of 3 guys. We hit mile 6 at about 34 minutes and one guy started to pull away and I kind of let him, but not too far. By mile 8 I was in 5th all alone with the lead pack (1st-3rd) about 45seconds ahead, 4th 10 seconds ahead, and 6th 20 seconds behind me. I went through the 10 mile mark at 58 minutes and the hills were starting to take their toll. At this point I surged and around mile 11 I caught the 4th place guy and we ran together for a mile and then he pulled away from me and I could catch him on the last up hill mile. I was spent. I crossed the line at 1:15:48, 5th overall, 6 minutes faster than last year.

I am very happy with the race. This is a hard course and we went out very conservatively. I am pretty sure with a faster start and a flat course I could get down to about 1:12-1:14 for 13.1 miles. I did not take in anything during the race. No water, no calories. I don't know if this was the right approach or not, but I haven't been taking any calories in on my long runs up to 2 hours. I felt pretty good but maybe a gel with some caffeine would have given me a late boost. I need to experiment more.

Now let's just see how fast I can go after swimming 1.2 miles and riding 56.

heading into the finish. spent.

Photos, recovery, and waves - 2.8.2007

The waves were fun this morning, but it was kind of cold. It took a couple hours, a large java special, and bowl of oatmeal to thaw me out.

I read a lot of blogs... I mean a lot. Most of them are those of endurance athletes (triathletes, moutain bikers, cyclists). Some are from the pro/elite perspective and others are from people who fit their training in around daily like (work, family, etc.). The ones I like the most are the ones with a lot of photos. So I have made the decision to start adding a lot of photos to my blog. Right before I went to Maui I bought a brand digital camera. I made sure to get one small enough that I could slip into my pocket or the back of a jersey. I have been lagging in using it as much I would like, but from here on out I am going to fill this blog with photos. I go back an look read my old entries from last year to see what I was doing at this time a year ago and would be a lot more fun if I had photos.

My recovery week is going by pretty fast. I am still really liking the 3 week blocks (2 weeks build, 1 week recover). Physically my body is responding very well and I am getting to a level I have never been before. Last year I was a little over zealous when I signed up for races early in the year. I raced a lot, probably too much. It made it hard to put in solid training blocks and also to allow for proper recovery. This year I will be racing less and making sure I can train hard and recover in hopes that I can finish the season strong. The 3 week blocks are also easier to tackle mentally. Knowing that after 2 weeks of crushing myself I will have a mellow week makes it easier to push it to the max in the build weeks.

Ever since my brother moved back out here in the begining of January I have been surfing more than I had been and that's a good thing. For one, I love surfing and another good thing is getting used to the cold water in preparation for the cold swim at the 70.3. If my schedule stay relatively the same throughout the summer I should be able to get in the water a lot.

Training so far this week:

2 swims, 1 run, 1 bike, 1 core session, 2 surf sessions

more later...

Weekly Recap (Build 1.29.2007 - 2.4.2007)

"All smiles and sunshine, a perfect world on a perfect day
Everything always works out, I have never felt so great" - Rise Against

Things are continuing to progress. Last week, just like the week before, set a new record for volume for me. When everything was said and done I was just over 18 hours. Even with all this work my body is recovering incredibly well.

Total Training Time: 18:10

swim: 13,500 yards (2 Masters, 1 Work pool, 1 open water)

Bike: 134.5 Miles (1 trainer, 1 road, 1 TT)

Run: 43 Miles (5 runs, 2 off the bike)

Strength: 2 Sessions (1 upperbody/1 lowerbody)

Core: 3 sessions (2 w/ strength session, 1 solo after swim)

As usual the weekend had the biggest workouts. I rode for 77 miles/4:10 on Saturday and followed it up with a 6 mile/40 min run off the bike. The bike was very tough. I rode Camp Pendleton again. I now officially hate this ride. It's so boring but I can get in long intervals without having to worry about stop lights and too much traffic. While on Pendleton I rode 4 x 20min at race pace and felt solid. On the way out of C.P. I had a tail wind which was nice but then I headed up the coast to Del Mar. I turned around at the 3:30 mark and was now riding home in 20mph headwind. It was crushing me, mentally and physically. I finally made it home and headed out for the run. The run was solid.

On Sunday I ran longer and further than I ever have, 18miles/2 hours. I ran with the group that leaves out of Cardiff and we headed out pretty quick and ran to the top of Torrey Pines, a loop around the trails and then back to Cardiff. I felt great and even led the run up TP. The run was defintely a confidence builder.

This week is a recovery week. I got a nice hour massage last night that I thought was going to kill me. My legs, especially my IT bands, were super tight.

I will be running the San Dieguito half marathon on Sunday. I really don't know what to expect. I haven't really been doing any kind of speed work so I am not sure of how fast I will be able to go. I know the endurance is there but we'll see. I am looking at it just like a training run. If at any time I feel too uncomfortable I will back it off. There's no reason to bury myself into the ground right now.

Weekly Recap (Build 1.22.2007 - 1.28.2007)

Last week was probably the best week of training I have ever had. It was definitely biggest week from a volume standpoint but I had some real breakthroughs. For one I am starting to get my nutrition dialed, both on the bike and pre-workout. My body is also responding and recovering like never before. I know it's partly due to the fact that I have pretty much eliminated alcohol from my diet, cut WAY back on the caffeine, and continue to eat healthy. I have dropped 5 pounds in the last month without even trying. I am not worried about my weight at all as long as I keep getting faster and stronger.

Total Training Time: 17:05

swim: 13,850 yards (2 Masters, 1 Work pool, 1 open water)

Bike: 128 Miles (1 ss mtb/trainer, 1 road, 1 TT)

Run: 38.2 Miles (5 runs, 2 off the bike)

Strength: 2 Sessions (1 upperbody/1 lowerbody)

Core: 3 sessions (2 w/ strength session, 1 solo after swim)

I really feel like everything is starting to come together and it has me really motivated to get out and keep doing what I am doing. The weekend was huge. I had a 4 hour ride followed up by a 40 min run. The ride consisted of a 1 hour warm-up, 2 hours @ tempo/race pace (continuous effort), and then an hour of cool down. I felt really strong over the tempo portion. I rode an out an back course on Camp Pendleton which is the first half of the 70.3 course. Over the 2 hours I was able to avg just under 23 mph which was unexpected. I didn't know if I could hold that pace. I was definitely faster going out due to the fact I had solid head wind coming back. The run off the bike was solid as well.

I was kind of nervous to wake up Sunday morning because of how hard I worked on Saturday. Surprisingly my legs felt great. I ran with a group of really fast guys and will continue to run with them on Sundays. I ran 15 miles in 1:45 with some fartleks at the end. I followed that up with an open water swim in La Jolla and it was COLD! The first 5 minutes were horrible but I definitely felt better as I warmed. My open water swims have nothing to do with fitness. I have Masters for that. It's about being acclimated to the cold.

I am going to post again in a couple days about my nutrition because it's something I want to document. I know it was the key to my solid weekend of training.

Time is flying...

I have a little countdown timer on my desktop (on both home and work computers) that is counting down the days unitl Ironman California 70.3. Right now it's reading 63 days, 22 hours, and 45 minutes. It's seems like just yesterday it was at 90 days. Needless to say all this hard training and being busy at work is really making time fly. I have a couple more blocks (2 weeks build, 1 week recover) and then it will time to taper.

I am really looking forward to the 70.3, but I am also pretty amped about my the two races I will be doing leading up to the race. The San Dieguito half marathon on 2/11 will be a good gauge of where my running is at. I am not sure what I will be doing the day before so who knows how fresh I will be but I defintely want to run sub 1:20.

The Desert Classic Duathlon will be two weeks later in Phoenix and will be the first "real" Duathlon that I have ever entered. I have done a couple with the Triathlon club of San Diego but have never paid to do one. Again, I don't know how rested I will be but it should be a good time. Both of the runs are trail runs and the ride is on the road. I really don't know how fast I am right now. I don't feel like I have the turnover that I did towards the end of last season, but I feel much stronger. I think there would be a problem if I was feeling "fast" right now. I don't really want to hit my first peak unitl the Xterra West Championships and then hopefully carry it into the race in Richmond.

The 70.3 is just going to be a learning experience. I only have two goals for the race. Swim sub 30min, run sub 1:25. The bike, as always, is the wildcard for me. Hopefully with all the miles I have been putting in, time spent in the weight room, and just having a full year of cycling under my belt will make a difference this year and I won't always be playing catch up on the run.

Big Weekend ahead!

Weekly Recap (Recover - 1.15.2007 - 1.21.2007)

Last week was a recovery week and I defintely took advantage of it. In past I would have tried to tack on some extra mileage and add a swim, but not this time. I have some BIG workouts coming up in the coming weeks so I definitely need to pace myself and make sure I recover so I can absorb the training. I also got a 90 min massage on Friday. It was torture on the legs(i'm a wimp), but it defintely helps. I can feel myself getting stronger, and that is giving me a lot of confidence. The numbers:



Total Training Time: 13:05


Swim: 12,100 yards - 3 swims(3 Masters)

Bike: 77 miles - 2 rides(1 road/SS MTB, 1 road bike)

Run: 22.5 miles - 3 runs

Strength: 2 Session (1 upperbody/1 lowerbody)

Core: 2 sesssion (2 w/ strength workout)


I hit masters 3 times this week and felt good in all the sessions. My pace is improving on the longer interval sets. I am not as fast as some of the people I swim with, but I can usually out last them. When we do 300+ yard intervals I can usually keep up with them and then drop them as the swims get longer. My favorite workout of the week had a main set of 4 x 800.


I defintely cut back on the riding this week. Just two rides. My long ride on Saturday was a mellow 3 hours/52 miles. It felt good to just have a 3 hour ride on Saturday. I slept in and didn't get out on the roads until 10am and then came home and took a solid nap.


Nothing hard running this past week either. I got in a solid 1:28/12 mile run yesterday and the pace was very easy.


That's it. I have big week this week. It should be a good one.


Oh yead and I am buying this. I am going to start doing some crazy core work.
http://www.fitnessanywhere.com/index.php

a new weapon...

I have added weapon to my arsenal. i scored an incredible deal on this off of craigslist.

It's a 2005 Aluminum Redline Monocog in immaculate condition. I have been looking for one of these over the past couple of months, but didn't want to spend a lot of dough. This one popped up on craigslist and I was able to deal with the guy and got for half off the original price and $100 less than he had it listed for.

I took it out for 30 minute spin on my neighborhood trails Wednesday after my scheduled 60 min road ride. It was a blast and climbing was tough but I am sure it will help my strength. My legs were defintely feeling it the next day and I was only on it for 30 minutes and didn't do too much climbing.

I am gonig to upgrade a couple of things but it doesn't need much. I am going to get a Thomson seatpost and stem and also put on the Easton Carbon Monkey lite riser bars that I already have. Once I upgrade the cranks on my Stumpjumper I will also put the Truvativ from it on the SS.

As far as training goes, it's a recovery week... and I needed it. I still have got in some solid efforts but the volume is down. I have another ride and run to get in over the weekend. I will be running with new group on Sunday. There will be some solid guys out there. Hopefully I won't get dropped!

Recap on Sunday or Monday.

another photo.

Weekly Recap (Build - 1.8.2007 - 1.14.2007)

It's a dark day in San Diego. The Chargers blew it yesterday in the playoffs. Everybody is bummed.

There's no way to say it other than "training kicked my ass this week." This was the biggest week I have ever put in and I was feeling it. Saturday after my big brick I was in bed by 930pm and last night I passed out on the couch at 6pm (partially aided by the beers I threw back during the game), slept til midnight, and went up to my room for another 6 hours. 12 hours of sleep. It's been years since I have slept that long in one stretch.

Total Training Time: 16:20
Swim: 13,800 yards - 4 swims(2 Masters, 2 work pool)
Bike: 114 miles - 3 rides(1 trainer, 1 MTB, 1 TT bike)
Run: 34 miles - 5 runs (2 off the bike)
Strength: 1 Session (1 upperbody)
Core: 2 sesssion (1 solo, 1 w/ strength workout)

The biggest sessions of the week were a 4.5 hour/78 mile, 30 min/4 mile brick on Saturday and then a 1:45/14.5 mile run on Sunday. These workouts were tough both mentally and physically. The ride on Saturday was cold and windy, but I felt good running off the bike. The long run on Sunday started out rough. I negative split it (55 min out,50 min back) and felt way better the second half. It really took a lot to get me going. I think I was still down from a calorie/hydration standpoint from the day before.


The length of the these workouts are new to me and I am not used to actually struggling a bit. Last season my long rides typically topped out at 3 hours and long runs at 90 min. So training for a longer race is defintely taking it's toll. I usually can just grit my teeth and get through a hard running interval or tough climb on the bike, but staying in the saddle for 4.5 hours and running for 1:45 is quite a bit different.

As much as I am looking forward to the 70.3 I can't stop thinking about how much stronger this training is going to make me for Xterra. I am going to be in way better shape for my early season races as compared to last year. I am really anxious to see how much I can take off my times from last year in repeat races.

Big Weekend and a couple of races...

This weekend is going to be a big one and I am not just refering to my workouts. The Chargers play the Patriots @ 130pm on Sunday and I will be glued to my couch with snacks and a beer.

Training this week has been solid. I had to work late last night and didn't get home until 11pm. I got to bed around 1130pm and still made my 6am Masters workout this morning and actually had a good swim. I feel like I am starting to get some speed back in the pool. I kind of felt a little slow last week but felt a lot better this week. I am really not focusing on speed right now. That will come as I race day approaches.

This weekend should be pretty interesting. I will be doing a huge brick on Saturday and then Sunday I am going to have to get on it early. I need to get in a 1:45 run, 30 min Swim, and a strength session(lowerbody/core) all before 1pm.

I have also decided to do a couple of races prior to the 70.3. I will be doing the San Dieguito Half Marathon (2/11) and the Desert Classic Duathlon (2/25). I ran the San Dieguito half last year and it will be my first "repeat race". Last year I ran it in 1:21:47 without even really knowing what I was doing, and I rode 35 miles the day before. I will defintely be training through this race and will probably have a big bike the day before, but I still think I am very capable of running much faster than last year.

The Desert Classic Du should be a good time. Again I will be training right through this race but I am still going to just go for it. Jim won this race last year and it usually brings out a solid pro/elite field. I will just be racing AG but it's always cool to see how my times stack up.

Off to the trails for an easy easy 30 min run... Go Chargers!

Weekly Recap (Build - 1.1.2007 - 1.7.2007)

The first week of my build up to the California Ironman 70.3 is in the books. It was a big week that included my first brick in months. I hadn't run off the bike since Xterra Worlds back on 10.30.2006. Jim has me working in 3 week blocks (2 build, 1 recover). Here's how the week brokedown:

Total Training Time: 16:17
Swim: 13k yards - 4 swims (2 Masters, 1 work pool, 1 open water)
Bike: 102.35 miles - 3 rides (1 trainer, 1 road bike, 1 TT bike)
Run: 24.5 miles - 4 runs (1 off the bike)
Strength: 2 sessions (1 upperbody, 1 lowerbody)
Core: 3 sessions (2 mixed w/ strength sessions, 1 solo)

The biggest workout of the week was my brick on Saturday. I rode for 3 hours/53 miles and then ran 20 minutes/3 miles off the bike. It was my first outdoor ride on my TT bike since early Novemver and I felt really good. I ended up riding an extremely hilly route and feeling it at the 2.5 hour mark. I was looking forward to the run off the bike and was curious as to how my body would handle it, and to my suprise I felt really good. After the first 100 meters (and when my knees stopped knocking together) and I just got into my stride. I don't feel fast right now but I am confident that will come.

First thing on Sunday morning I got in my long run of 1.5 hours covering about 12 miles (just a guess). My legs were heavy from the big workout the day before but I felt how I though I would. After that I headed down to the Cove and got in a 30 minute swim with Tom and Colin. The water felt pretty good.

For the next couple of weeks Mondays are rest days so I am taking full advantage and letting my body recover. I'll be back at it tomorrow.

It does make a difference...

Well I know it's only been a couple of days since I cut back on the caffeine but I can defintely tell the difference. I have been limiting myself to 1 cup before my morning workouts and then another around 9am at work. I have not had a single diet coke all week either. In the afternoon at work I start dragging and there is always a fresh pot but I have been able to abstain. Instead I have been drinking a 20oz bike bottle of Crystal Light lemonade and it seems to kill the coffee craving. The best part of it is the sleep I have been getting. I have been in bed no later than 930pm all week and have been just passing out and sleeping super soundly all night long. I am defintely going to keep this up.

Training has been good. I just finished up my third swim of the week and will be heading into a solid weekend of workouts. I don't want to go to much detail about my training right now because I plan on doing weekly recaps leading up to the 70.3. I will probably post these on the following Mondays(rest day).

I was looking at my training log and here's are some totals from last year. My training log only goes back to the end of May so there are 5 months missing from this. To me, considering it was my first year, these are some pretty solid numbers. I will be using the same training log for the whole season this year so I should be able to get an accurate count for 2007.

2006 Totals (end of may - dec):

total time: 417:35
swim: 309,450 yards
bike: 2,430 miles
run: 707.29 miles

The total time includes weight/core sessions as well but I don't have an exact number for that. I would like to hit 5k miles on the bike and the 600k yards in the water this year. I really don't have a goal for running, but I am sure I will probably be near or over 1000 miles.