a good start to 2010

so the first month of 2010 is in the books.  it's been a great start to the year.  just being married, new years in mexico, a killer party for our birthday's/wedding with all of our friends at wine steals, and a lot of good training both solo and with good friends.

this week has flown by which is always a good thing... at least work wise. everything seems like it's clicking.

i am definitely starting to feel the affects from my base and strength training. thanks to the strength classes at Rehab United I feel like my overall body and core strength is improving... rapidly. As a group we have been working really hard and as much as I get beatdown during the workouts i really look forward to them.

Next week they are offering free classes.  I high recommend anybody in the area that has ever had any inclination to try one of these classes to show up.  These workouts WILL make a difference when it comes to your racing and training.

I am also seeing gains on the bike which is what it's all about. the big gear work is getting a bit easier and i am getting up the climbs faster. I have two more weeks of base phase training after this week and they will be BIGGEST (in terms of volume) weeks i have ever put in on the bike back to back. if i can make it through and recover the benefits will be huge!

here's a screenshot of a "big gear" climb i did this week.  tough one!

Thursday afternoon i headed to Rehab United for a tough work out and then hung around afterwards with Trevor and the Skinfit crew to help promote Skinfit at the Triathlon Club of San Diego monthly meeting.  It was fun catching up with people I haven't seen in a while and talking with people about Skinfit.  Skinfit is hands down the the best gear I have worn in training and racing.  there is no way i could ridden in the conditions i have this year with out the baselayers and outerwear.

Friday was a mellow recovery day and I hit Encinitas Alehouse for happy hour with friends.  i was stoked when we got there that they had Green Flash Le Freak on draft... a great belgian IPA.

saturday was beth's b-day and she headed out to east county to ride with her friends and i got in a solid ride too.  i met up with trevor, eric, brandon, and phil and knocked the longest ride i have done this year.  great ride and a lot of fun.

i hit it again on sunday with Trevor, Jim, Phil, and Brandon.  I got in 80 more miles.  Great ending to a solid week of training.  I think it's the most miles I have put in a week.  The only bummer is that it was all the miles were on the road.  with the rain we've had the trails are still pretty torn up and I don't want tear them up any more.  I can't wait to get back on the dirt. 

I am really absorbing all the training i am doing right now and it feels good.

some random photos from the week.

BBQ Cobb chicken salad with grilled veggies.  one of my favorite meals.

Recovery week... kind of...

the weather this past was as gnarly i have seen since moving back to socal in 2003. it rained monday-friday with gnarly wind, thunderstorms, and even some hail. I just saw on the news that encinitas got 5.51 inches of rain. people were acting like it was the end of the world. i actually like the rain and while it's not a good thing when it comes to riding/training you just gotta deal with it and do what you can... and not stress.

so when i saw the forecast last weekend i talked with cody and we decided to make this week a recovery and not try to force anything.... just get on the bike as much as i could when the weather permitted... and maybe get on the trainer (hopefully not!).

I am very stoked to say that I was able to get on the bike everyday last week... and all outside. I heard everybody talking about trainer sessions or bagging workouts but I rode my cross bike in the rain, wind, and mud and had a blast. getting the cross bike was the best purchase i have ever made cycling wise. if i didn't have that bike i of have had to resort to the trainer (nightmare!). I also got on the mountain on tuesday before the gnarlier storms came our way.

some rainy day photos


then the weekend came and the rain tapered off. beth parent's, my in-laws (stoked just typing that) came into town for a quick visit. on friday and the wife and I threw a little post-wedding, pre-birthday party at Wine Steals in Cardiff. we wanted to party with all of our local friends who we have loved to have come to our wedding but the travel and holidays made it pretty tough. the party was mega fun. friends, family, good wine and food... perfect.

the ladies


the family


on saturday the weather finally cleared and i was ready to leave the cross bike in the garage and get on the road and pretty excited to ride with Dr. G... father-in-law. i spent the week putting my Orbea back together and getting it dialed in for him. so me and beth took him on a tour of north county and it was a good day on the bike. after 2+ hours they headed home and i hit the hills for a bit before heading home.

unfortunately the "in-laws" had to hit the road early sunday morning around 930 i hit the road with the wife... i actually tried to talk her out of riding to just lounge and watch football all day, but she's training for an Ironman, and eventhough it may be a longshot, i am willing to do everything i can to ensure me a Kona vacation in october. so i manned up and played sherpa for her 4 hour ride. after it was over i was glad she got me out there. it was a super nice day and good ending to the week.

as much as i like racing, riding hard, hitting the moutains and dirt with my friends on the weekends, i really enjoy the times on the road with beth. not many people get to share their passion for sports with their significant others... and i know i'm lucky. 4 hours of good times and ending with coffee is the perfect sunday to me.

beth reaching into her bag-O-snacks


so yeah... it was suppose to be a recovery week but some how i ended up with 22+ hours of training time and 277+ miles of riding... sorry cody... just doing what i can.

a good couple of weeks...

yesterday i finished up what was probably the best 2 weeks of training i have ever done on the bike. i got in a a lot of quality workouts and the balance with recovery was on the money. I got in some big days in the mountains with friends, some strength interval sessions (ILT's, big gear climbing), plenty base miles, and also 4 (2 ea week) functional strength workouts at Rehab United. I am just following the plan cody has set out for me and things are rolling... they way it should be.

the classes at Rehab United are really going to make a difference. I have never worked so hard in the gym. it's not your standard strength workouts. it's sport specific and a bunch of exercises i have never done before or even thought of doing. the class wrecks me. during last thursdays workout i really thought i wasn't going to be able to finish, but brandon and brian motivated me and we knocked it out... and i was crushed (in a good way).

the first mtb race of the season is 2/28 and if i can keep things rolling the way they are right i should be ready to go.


the highlight of the weekend (definitely not the bolts game, so disappointed) was getting up into the Santa Ana's for a lot of climbing in the dirt. Ryan and i met up early and knocked out a sick route. there is so much riding up there and route options that you never have to do that same thing twice. i felt pretty good considering the big gear work i did the day before and it was a perfect day.

ride snacks. trying to stick to "real" food on my long rides. trail mix & dried mango slices


come see me!
3:57, 35 miles, 6959 ft of UP!


on another note... beth was in AZ for the weekend and made a list minute decision to jump into the Rock N Roll half marathon in phoenix.... and she pr'd.
Result
her training is going well and i think i am getting more excited for her Ironman in may than she it!

week summary.

2010 Race Schedule (tentative)

so i think i have the race schedule figured out for the year. it's basically just a lot of MTB racing up until september and then it's on to cross. most of the races are local or at least with in driving distance. keeping it simple.

my main focus will be on the Kenda US Cup West Series and the Team Big Bear Socal State Series. Then during the summer I plan on racing the Rim Nordic series again with Celo Pacific and going after the team title. The US Cup finals are slated for September 11-12 and that will likely be one of my last MTB races of the year before I turn my focus towards cyclocross. I will be upgrading to race cross with the pro/1/2's and am hoping to get up to bend for cross nationals.

and that will be the year...

this of course is just a rough draft and i am sure some things will change.

February:

2/6 - Boulevard Road Race, San Diego, Ca

2/13- Tour de Palm Springs (century)

2/28 - US MTB Cup Sagebrush Safari - SoCal State MTB Series

March

3/14 - US MTB Cup Race #1 Bonelli & SoCal State MTB Series

3/20 - Counting Coup Endurance MTB (or VQ), Orange County, Ca

3/28 - US MTB Cup Race #2 Fontana - SoCal State MTB Series

Apri

4/11 - US MTB Cup Santa Ynez Classic - SoCal State MTB Series

4/16 - Sea Otter

4/24 - 8 Hour of Hurkey Creek, Idyllwild, Ca (solo 8)

May

5/8 - The Traverse Endurance MTB, Orange County, Ca

5/17 - US MTB Cup Race #3 Big Bear & SoCal State MTB Series

June

6/6 - US MTB Cup Santa Barbara Bike fest - SoCal State MTB Series

6/20 - Big Bear Shootout #2 - SoCal State MTB Series

July

7/10 - Rim Nordic MTB #1, Running Springs, Ca

7/25 - Rim Nordic MTB #2, Running Springs, Ca

August

8/15 - Rim Nordic MTB #3, Running Springs, Ca

9/29 - Rim Nordic MTB #4, Running Springs, Ca

September

9/4 - Park City Point to point - Not sure of this one yet... bucket list

9/11-12 US MTB Cup Championship Race

Fall/Winter

Cyclocross - SCPS series and Nationals

Team Walsh in Full Effect!

we got back in town last weekend and eased back into normal life and training. then monday it was "ON" for both of us. beth's IM training is ramping up and so is my training. cody had the first specific interval workouts on my schedule since the end of the mountain bike race season last year in september. even though i was racing cross and riding a lot... that is all i was doing. just racing and riding... a lot!

i had a great, big week of training including two awesome strength sessions at Rehab United. I really want to focus on packing on some muscle and strength in the next two months before racing really gets rolling, because once it does there is going to be a lot of racing so i don't think i will have much time to work on building muscle... just trying to hang on to it is going to be hard enough.

i have also been trying some new things with my diet and nutrition, both pre and post workout and i really think i am making some progress. I have been working with the guys at Feed the Machine to really lock my pre and post workout supplementation, and also trying out some new during workout out nutrition that is working really well. i am going into workouts feeling great and recovering better than ever. if i can keep this up i think i can make some huge gains in the coming months.

the highlight of the week (training-wise) was definitely my saturday ride up in the Santa Ana's. I met up with Ryan and Luke and we got to work. we planned a killer route and the weather could not have been any better.

the ride:
4:42, 39.5 miles, 7795 ft. of climbing.


For me last week was pretty much a perfect week of training... in all aspects. If i can repeat this 2010 is going to be good one on the racing front.... i already know it's going to be rad year life-wise with my awesome wife and good friends!



mountains.

The Wedding

I don't really even know how to sum what the past week of my life. it was amazing and 12/30/2009 was the best day of my life! i married the woman of my dreams and having my family (both sides!) and friends meant everything to me. I can't thank everyone enough.




back to work...

it's been a good year...

2009 has been good... but next year will be even better. i will be marrying beth in a couple of days and can't wait for my first year, and a lifetime, as a "married" man. nothing else that has happened this past year (or the past 31 years for that matter) comes even close to comparing to what will take place on 12/30. I can't wait.

xmas was awesome. I had the week off of work to finish getting ready for our wedding and also to ride. i got in a bunch of different rides and went over the 10,000 mile mark for the year. it wasn't a goal until i looked at my log on monday night and realized that it doable. so with the help of some friends i knocked some fun rides.

sunday night i got a text from trevor and about riding on monday and even with as shelled i was from the final cross race i didn't want to pass up the oppurtunity. trevor has persevered through a year of injury and his motivation and drive is contagious. so late monday morning we hit sycamore canyon and tore up some single track. so much fun. i can't wait to get back out there and push each on some "race" laps.

i was stoked to head up to the OC on wednesday to ride with Slater. we got in 80+ miles and a lot of good chatting. he's an animal and will be charging IM St. George along with Beth and bunch of our other friends (luke, keevin, monique, mac, and more). i am really looking forward to logging more miles with slater and the crew. i have a feeling next year will be a big one for all of us!

some pre-ride fuel: breakkie sandwich. 2 gluten free waffles, Nuttzo, and a banana.


beth and i got out on xmas day for an awesome 3 hour ride. her coach (the grinch that stole my xmas!) had a big day planned for xmas day. 3 hours on the bike and 1 hour run. gnarly! but i am so proud of beth. she has been killing her training and following the plan. she's not adding anything, cutting anything short... just doing the work. i am really looking forward to her 2010 season. more so than my own.

so we lounged around xmas morning, opened some presents, prepped dinner and then around 11am headed out in perfect weather. you can't beat socal in december!

photos from the ride:
heading out on the coast

when we hit torrey pines we ran into jason

beth killing on the bike path...

we stopped for some fuel.

heading home on the coast


and if xmas day couldn't get any better... the bolts dominated the titans!

and with the end of the year i also ended my first base block of the 2010 season which was filled with a lot of mellow miles. i kept the intensity way down, no group rides, no intervals. the only intensity was the 2 cross races (both wins) in december. my body seems to respond really well to a lot of volume as longs it's mellow, endurance paced.

first base training block for the 2010 season: 11/30-12/26

* notice there is NO running in there. tuesday will mark 6 weeks of no running.

sunday I finished up the block with a solid mtb ride with ryan. 35+ miles and 5131ft of climbing. good times.


i really am fortunate to be able to train and hang out with some incredible, motivated athletes, especially my wife to be. they definitely have helped me push my limits and I am really looking forward to pushing them further in 2010.

Time to recover by surfing, lounging on beach, spending time with friends & family, drinking margaritas, and marrying a wonderful woman in mexico!

photo of the surf spot right in front of out hotel. can't wait!

SCPS #15 Santa Cross... Game over!

good weekend.

last week was super busy at work as i was trying to get a lot before my 2+ week vacation. in the end i got it all done and now am in full on vacation, getting married mode!

on saturday i headed up to the santa ana's for and awesome off road ride. i have been wanting to get up there for the past couple of months but we just couldn't make it come together. so on saturday ryan, luke, eric, lauren, and I got on it. very solid ride.

3:50, 35 miles, 5994 ft of of climbing.


on sunday i was up and headed to woodlands hills for Santa Cross, SCPS #15.... the final race of the series. even with the big ride the day before my legs were feeling great and was feeling anxious to race.

Awesome Race and SICK course. the best all year. i was stoked have really good legs and got a good start. sat 5th wheel for first half of lap and then took the lead of the chase pack as one guy went off the front. i reeled him in and took the lead during lap 2. at the start of lap 3 a lapped rider standing on the side of the course dropped his bike as i came by and i hit and crashed! my chain came off and one guy passed me before i could get back on.

so i turned myself inside out to get back on the leaders wheel by the end of lap 3 and then took the lead. over the next two laps i just kept throwing down on the climbs and run ups and eventually cracked him with 3 laps to go. I just kept extending the lead. i took the win and overall series. so stoked. can't wait to race with the elite's next year!

i probably rode harder in the race than any of the races so far this year. the course was HARD. felt great!

My team, Celo Pacific also took the overall team title. I am really glad I made the decision to start riding and racing with Celo. A great group of people that are in the sport for the right reason... having FUN!

This week is going to busy... last minute wedding stuff, xmas, getting ready to go to mexico... and some riding for sure.

rainy riding

killer photo taken by richard murphy at last weekend's race.


not too much going on around here last week and weekend... except getting ready for our wedding (16 days), xmas shopping (11 days to go), riding (everyday!), and xmas party hopping (4 parties in 3 days), and HUGE bolts win (8th in a row) yesterday... ok so kind of a lot going on.

by southern california standards we had a pretty rainy week and weekend. i actually like the rainy days and nights, but in the past i would have probably been pretty bummed and hit some indoor running and swim sessions. not this year. having a cross bike is making all the difference.

i still got in a lot of miles last week and all of them were outside. i heard about and saw a lot of people getting on the trainer but i didn't cave. i hit the wet roads on my cross bike and rode through some pretty crappy weather and rain.... but even with as wet as i got and how dirty my bikes ended up i still had a lot of fun and it was better than sitting on the torture rack (trainer).

a view from my saturday ride. i hit the cross country running and trails up at UCSD and had them all to myself. super fun.


beth we super excited to see the bolts dominating the cowboys yesterday.


final cross race of they year this sunday....

Skinfit USA Website Launch!

after a lot of hard work Skinfit USA's new website is online!

go to www.skinfit.eu, then click on USA.

I have been using Skinfit gear for the past couple of years and couldn't be more impressed with the quality. The baselayers (klima/klima soft) and outerwear (vento jackets/vest) are definitely one of the reasons I actually look forward to getting on the road at 545am all winter.

trevor has been a good friend for a long time now and i have watched him work his butt of building the skinfit business in the US. It's definitely been tough but things are blowing up. I couldn't be more stoked for him. His hard word IS paying off.

another rad thing about the site is that it was designed by Ryan's new wife, and my friend, Sarah. She's got skills!