saturday morning

beep beep. The faint sound of the alarm on my watch pierces my consciousness. 5:30 am. It is Saturday. I click the button to turn it off and cherish for a moment how warm and comfortable the bed is. Most nights, one, if not both, of our kids has climbed in the bed at some point and last night was no different. The soft sound of their breathing slowly lulls me back to sleep. As I struggle to keep my eyes open for a moment, I consider the day in front of me. Saturdays are a big family day. After a full week of work and school, this is our chance to do something as a family. Maybe the playground for a couple hours. A birthday party in the afternoon. Some errands and maybe dinner out.

But, besides being a husband and dad, I'm also a triathlete. So that means I need to ride today. So, while most sane people sleep in on the weekends, I am lying awake at 5:50 (shoot, I dozed off) and considering the fact that if I want to get a ride in, I need to go now. And I'll be back before the girls are finished watching cartoons. But, if I go back to sleep, the opportunity will be lost. So I roll out of bed. Quietly.

The dog stirs, looks up at me with a confused look...then lays his head back down. The girls and my wife continue to sleep peacefully while I grab my gear that I laid out last night, and step into the bathroom to pull it on. I wouldn't want a light to wake them. Once dressed, I head into the kitchen and brew a cup of coffee while I mix up my bottles. The first sip of caffeine tastes like heaven. A quick bathroom stop and a few minutes later, I walk into the garage, put my helmet and shoes on, check the tires and roll out the door.

6:18 am. I can see my breath in the brisk morning air, but the sun is rising and the sky is turning blue. The legs feel good as I turn the pedals. It's going to be a beautiful day.

Focus on the Positive

Lately I've been reading a lot of harping and whining about our sport. Entry fees are too high!! Events sell out too quickly! Drafting sucks! Move the 70.3 World Champs!! Spandex is too tight! Ok, I made the last one up. Anyway, maybe I've been spending too much time on a certain internet forum.

Screw all that negativity. The bottom line is that the sport of triathlon continues to grow. That is a good thing. With that growth comes with a certain amount of pain. And with a bunch of Type-A triathlete types, growth comes with a lot of noise as well. But, the signs that our sport is strong are pretty hard to ignore. Entry fees are high and events are selling out because people are willing to spend money on health, fitness and the opportunity to compete. In a society currently fighting an obesity epidemic (40% of the adult population in some states), frankly we need a lot more races.

And the even better thing is that the financial success of corporations like WTC, NA Sports, IMG and the other large event management companies encourage more to enter the market. Just look at the relatively new Rev3 series to look at a prime example of this. The Lifetime Fitness Series of races is another great example. Each of these provides athletes more opportunities to race.

As in any market, choice is ultimately a good thing for the consumer.

heading into 2010

I've spent the last couple of weeks trying NOT to think too much about next season, but to say I am excited is a massive understatement. But when you have to sign up for races 6 months to a year in advance (and pay for them, which is the worst part), it's hard not to obsess about it, right?

Speaking of, I was depressed to find out yesterday that the Carlsbad Half Marathon is sold out. They do allow transfers, so maybe I will get lucky and pick up a spot that way. If not, I'll be looking for another race to crack my half mary PR. The Carlsbad course is fast though, so it will be tough. Especially since this is my first 100 mile month since March.

Anyway, those first races of 2010 are a looong way away. As much as I want to go run 15 miles and ride 100 on the weekend, I'm trying to be smart. Not an easy feat for me. So, I've solicited outside assistance. And I have no doubt that if I step out of line, a can of whoop ass will be delivered from Tuscon straightaway.

So the story for October has been a slooooow ramp up of volume and frequency and will probably end up with around 45-47 hrs of total training volume, nothing crazy. Crazy will come later... Running is coming along nicely and progress in the pool is solid as well. The new Masters group at Ecke rocks...I'm seeing improvement just off 8-9K per week. Then again, that's about triple my previous volume! With some consistent work this winter, no question I will be swimming at the front of the age group in March.

That's it for now...

Inspired

Like most of the triathlon universe, I spent a good part of this past Saturday glued to my computer screen...watching the world's best long-distance triathletes race in Kona at the Ironman World Championships.

This race inspires me every year. Over the years, there are more memorable moments than I can list - Julie Moss's crawl across the line, Chris Legh's stumble and collapse 50 meters from the line, the Welch/Ingraham double crawl, Dick and Ricky Hoyt, the famous Jon Blais roll, ....I could go on and on.

This year was full of drama once again, but this time I didn't have to wait for the edited NBC coverage to take it all in. Thanks to Universal Sports great online coverage, I was able to watch the drama of the race unfold in real-time.

Let's just say, I was hugely inspired by some of the performances this year. Chris Leito in particular put in a hugely courageous effort...riding off the front and hanging on his lead all the way until Mile 21 of the run. Let's just say I was yelling, "Come on, man, you can do it!!" at my computer screen, much to the amusement of my kids. Of course, many kudos to the winners, Craig Alexander and Chrissie Wellington. Alexander showed a champion's poise and ran a brilliant marathon to overtake Lieto and repeat as champ. And Wellington...well, she is simply on another level right now. Wow.

Also, some big-time props to Ian Mikelson, a fellow age-grouper that I had the pleasure of meeting at Wildflower this year. He uncorked a 9:09, 4th American overall. Sick. And I'd be remiss if I didn't mention my other Kona peeps...Mr. Fix and Darcy G who both rocked the course with some fantastic performances.

Well done to all.

it begins now

October 1. The 2010 season begins today.

The end of what some might call 'prep' training has passed and now its time to really get to work.

The focus for the month of September was getting used to daily activity. Nothing hard or particularly long, I just tried to get back in the habit of daily workouts...I only took three days off the entire month with a few doubles here and there. I've been conservative with my running especially, now its time to slowly ramp that up.

Some stats:
swim - 11.8K meters
bike - 287 miles
run - 91 miles

Last weekend, I participated in the La Jolla 10 Mile Swim Relay with some old friends from the Mottino YMCA. We had two teams of 5, each swimmer swam two 1-mile legs. It was a great time. Our team finished middle of the pack with a combined time of 4:00:39, with an average pace of 24 min/mile. Not too bad. I swam the 3rd and 8th legs. The first leg felt good, although it seemed like forever to get to the first bouy, I exited the water in 20:53. The second leg felt even better, though there was a bit more current pushing me to the east...I ended up a bit slower with a split of 20:59. All in all, a great event and a great way to spend a Sunday morning.

Yesterday, I swam my first workout with a new Masters group, the North County Masters at the Ecke YMCA. I'd heard that it is a solid group with a lot of fast swimmers. Sure enough, a former World Champ with the initials MJ was in lane one. I timidly put myself in Lane 3, the 1:25/100 lane. This group certainly works hard. I think the longest workout I ever did at my previous goup was 3500 meters or so, yesterday's workout at Ecke was over 4500 yards. They do schedule a full 75 minutes for the workout...so it looks like my swim yardage is going to be going up. Which is a good thing...I need to get out of my comfort zone and work harder in the pool. I've tended to take swimming very easy in the past, and in order to get to the next level, I need to be a front-of-the-pack swimmer. Anyway, it was a very solid workout...I was wiped out and as a result, wanted to take a nap at my desk the remainder of the afternoon.

All for now...

hello again

It's been so long since my last post, I don't know where to start with the update.

This summer has flown by (as it does faster every year) and I can't believe it's already the middle of September. On the personal front, we've had a lot going on...we bought a new house and moved (to Encinitas...which rocks), our oldest started kindergarten (momentous) and we've generally been caught up in having a fun summer and most recently getting into the fall/school year routine.

On the triathlon front, I am finally on the other side of my injury and am slowly climbing the ladder back to fitness.

The effort to start running again has been slow and tedious, but I'm finally to the point where I'm running consistantly without pain.


Above is my weekly mileage since the beginning of July. I started with short runs on the treadmill and then moved to the roads at the beginning of August. I had one week off due to illness, but picked up where I left off. I've been running 4-5 times per week for a few weeks now and things seem to be ok. The week (the last column on the graph) I will be in the 27-29 mile range. Hopefully, I'll hold it together as I start to ramp up my training in prep for the 2010 campaign.

Speaking of twenty-ten, I've started to cobble together my schedule...its pretty aggressive, but after such a down year this year, I'm feeling the itch to get some races in.

Here's the plan

March 27 California 70.3

May 2 Wildflower Long Course

May 21 - 23 American Triple T Ohio

August - Climb Mt. Rainer

November - Ironman Arizona

Note the odd ball mid-season event. Mountaineering is something I've been curious about for a long time, and Mt. Rainier seems like a good starter peak. And after this break, I should be primed to begin a big build up for Ironman Arizona in November, my first Ironman in over 10 years. It should be an interesting year.

More to come...

end of July

The most frustrating thing about being injured is not getting to do what you love. Running on a nearly daily basis has been a part of my life for so long now that not being able to do it is screwing me up.

I'm trying to fill the gaps with hitting the weights, riding the bike and the pool as much as I can. But it is sort of like trying to fulfill a burger craving with a Big Mac. Yeah, its a burger. But it's no Double-Double.

And as much as I love getting out on the bike, which I truly do...most of the time, my schedule doesn't really allow for daily outdoor rides. So, instead of the daily run to get my head straight, I'm lifting weights or hitting the trainer or jumping in the pool....when most of the time, I'd rather be slipping on my running shoes.

But, the good news is that I'm on the mend. After a handful of short treadmill runs to gently test the Achilles, I went for my first outdoor run yesterday in nearly 2 (!) months. 30 minutes. 3.6 miles...at a glacial 8:10 pace. Well, it didn't feel glacial...actually it felt like I was running pretty hard, but I guess that's what happens when you get out of shape.

The achilles still has some twinges every now and then, but I'm cautiously optimistic that I'm out of the woods and will be back to the daily runs within a few weeks.

On the flip side of the coin, while my run fitness has fallen through the floor, my cycling is getting stronger. On Sunday, I did a ride I'm calling the Three Sisters. For those familiar with North County San Diego, the climbs are West Lilac, Old 395 to Deer Springs and Twin Valley Oaks to San Elijo. Below is a pic of the profile...the overlying graph is my HR. Twin Valley Oaks in particular is a pretty tough climb, not long..only about 2.5 miles at about 6%. But there is a section in the middle at around 11% that definitely puts the sting in the legs. Gave me a chance to work on my Contador-esque climbing style.


Next time, I'll take some pics...