Sunday 01/17/10

I woke up late from the party last night. I guess I won't be making up the workout from yesterday. I will go to the gym tomorrow to get the swim in. I think I will watch football today.
That's a good way to spend a day.....

Saturday 01/16/10

Today is Lohri, the bonfire festival, a traditional Indian holiday. Wikipedia defines it as:
Lohri (Punjabi: ਲੋਹੜੀ (Gurmukhi), लोहड़ी (Devanagari), لوہڑی (Shahmukhi)) (sometimes spelled Lodi) is an extremely popular winter festival in India, especially North India. Lohri is usually celebrated in the outdoors by friends and family who get together and have a bonfire in the evening. Lohri signifies onset of intense winter in Punjab and surrounding areas. Cold weather is good for wheat hence farmers celebrate Lohri so that their crops lead to a good harvest.

During the day, children go from door to door singing folk songs in praise of Dulha Bhatti, a thief in folklore who helps the poor and fights for their rights. These children are given sweets and savories, and occasionally, money. These collections are known as Lohri, and they are distributed at night during the festival. Some may be offered to the sacred fire. Peanuts, popcorn and other food items are also thrown into the fire as an offering to the God of Fire, Agni.

We had a Lohri celebration at the house so I blew off workout (bike) today. Got to get ready for the party!!

I can make it up on Sunday and Monday.....

Friday 01/15/10

Friday AM brings what is supposed to be just a core workout. I need to get the bike workout from yesterday in, so I get to the gym before 5:00 to take the early spin class. The teacher's microphone doesn't work but she says she can work it without the help. She has a booming voice, it will not be a problem hearing her.
Spin goes off with out an issue. The guy next to me is training for the Vineman Half Ironman which happens a few weeks before my event. I still don't care for the teachers at the San Ramon gym, but maybe I just need to get used to them.
I finish up with 40 minutes of core which I complete in 20 minutes this time. I do a little bit more of the workout then I did earlier in the week.
Overall, this week has been good. I have felt stronger in both my swimming and my running. We are still building base and I feel that I have a good base to build on.
More to follow....

Thursday 01/14/10

Thursday AM brings forth a swim and bike workout. The swim was the longest of the season so far. We started with the usual 300 yds of warmup and 450 yds of drills. The main set is 12 x 100 yds timed swims. The objective is to be consistent throughout. I end up with 12 numbers between 1:45 and 1:55. I am pretty happy with that for consistency. I will email those numbers to Sedonia to see if she agrees.
I see Coach Simon at the start and ask him about the Achilles pain I have. I tell him it feels like a bruise. He refers me to Coach Dave. I go about my swim. As I am finishing up, I notice that my legs are crossing over and I am kicking my own achilles with my shin. No SH!T, no wonder my achilles is hurting!! Light dawns on marbled head.....
I work with Coach Mike on how to not kick myself. It seems simple enough, STOP KICKING!!!!
I finish up my workout and this is by far the best I have felt in the water.
So exciting.....
I move the bike workout to Friday AM. More on that tomorrow....

Wednesday 01/13/10

Today will be a double workout of Spin/Core in the AM and Run in the evening. Ooops, make that a triple workout. I wake at 4:35 to get to the gym for the 5:00 spin class. I miss my spin teachers from Oakland 24 HR, I liked the way they taught. Maybe I will switch to doing the class over there. Something to think about.
Anyways, the class goes well and I move to a spin cycle outside of the class to spin for an additional half hour. I got my 90 minutes of spin in and moved to the 40 minutes of core which I finished in 10 minutes(OK so I blew the core workout off)
The run part was a 6 mile tempo run. Slow and steady. I feel a dull pain in the back of my heel where my achilles is(I guess everyone's achilles is there). Either way, the run goes well and I feel pretty good. Actually, the run felt as good as any run has ever felt.
Note to self about the heel. Need to keep an eye on that....

Tuesday 01/12/10

Tuesday AM swim time. Today is supposed to be a double workout. Swim and Spin. We shall see.
I am at the gym to swim by 5:00 AM. The workout is shorter than normal, only 1900 yds for group 2, but I woke up last night and didn't sleep well because I was worried about this swim.

I started with a 300 yd warmup and another 450 yds of drills, than it was off to the main set. I was supposed to do 50 yds, breathing every 9 strokes, (Yikes)100 yds breathing every 7 (I ), 150 yds breathing every 5(am), 200 yds breathing every 3(starting), 250 yds breathing 3, 5, 7, 9(to ), 300yds normal breathing(panic!!!). I am a mess just thinking about it. I talk to Coach Mike and he gets me on another path. I will do the distances but not the breathing exercise. I will just switch breathing left for one lap and right for the other.
The rest of the workout goes well after I got over the silly breathing exercises. But, as I said before, this was a shorter workout.
Wednesday will be a different story.....
I forego the Spin workout and will do a double workout tomorrow.....

Monday 01/11/10

Its another Monday....another day off....
Screw the Boomtown Rats....
I like Mondays....

Sunday 01/10/10

Sunday morning, cold and foggy, another day in paradise. What is up with this CA weather?
I leave the house around 8:00 for a short run. Today was to be 6 miles of trail running. I am not traveling anywhere to run, so my run will be hills but no trails. I plan an out and back from the house. I take off and quickly realize that I hate to run with a water bottle in my hand. I need to work that out for the future.
The run goes OK and I realize I need to increase the amount of running that I am doing. Have I really missed that many training runs? I don't think so, but maybe I have. Something for me to keep an eye on.
Anyway, the run goes well and I am at home, showered and ready to watch football in plenty of time. Meenu makes me a great omelet for breakfast and football is on. I am excited about the playoffs and eager to watch the Patriots.
The Patriots all had beans for breakfast, because they stunk up the joint. Awful.....

Saturday 01/09/10

Another cool and foggy morning greeted me this am. I was out of the house at 7:15 am to go to Pleasant Hill. I notice as I am in the car that I need to get gas. No problem, I will stop at the Shell Station on the way there. I am pumping the gas and I realize, I do not have my sunglasses. Crap!!! I know it is foggy now, but an hour from now the sun will be out and I will be blinded by the light.
Not a good feeling. Back to the house to grab my glasses.
I am leaving the house again at 7:30 and I am still OK. It will take about 25 minutes to get there and I already have my swim suit on, so I'll have plenty of time.
I pull into the parking lot at 7:55 and all I see is my fellow teammates getting on their bikes.
SH!T!!!
In a hurry, I get my bike ready to roll. I already had the tires pumped, my water bottles filled, but I had to get my nutrition on to the bike and my clothes changed.
I was ready in an instant and we were rolling. We were doing an out and back on Pig Farm Hill. It is not a lot of climbing (compared to the DeathRide) but it is some. The first ascent of Pig Farm Hill is longer and steady. I struggled a bit on the first climb but managed my way up without incident. I enjoyed the descent as I always do.
Phil, Rocky, and I made it out to the turn around together and started our way back. We were working against the wind on the return trip and tried our best to paceline. After a few hiccups, we got it together and moved along. The back side of Pig Farm is a much shorter, but substantially steeper ascent. We plugged away and got to the top and got to enjoy a very long gradual descent. I love this type of descent. The legs keep moving but you never have to pedal hard and you get to go really fast.
Part two of the day is a swim. We are in the water warming up our swim muscles by 10:30. I don't feel great at the start, but I know it will come. We do our warmup and then some drills and on to the main part of our swim. I finish up the first set and we have a choice of doing another set or going to learn flip turns. Do I want to swim hard or go goof off learning flip turns...
After a couple of internal debates about what I needed most, I stuck with the swimming and did the second set. By the end of the second set, I felt good. I am more confident in the pool than I ever have been. I still don't feel great, but I am no longer hating the pool.
I actual finished the set fast enough that I slid over to the flip turn lanes and received a quick lesson on a proper turn. I certainly didn't master it, but I know how it is supposed to work. This could come in handy in two weeks when I do my first practice triathlon.
The last part of the day was core training. I know this area needs work for me. I need to not blow off these workouts any more. It was so bad, that I asked if I can go back to the pool to swim.....

Friday 01/08/10

Took the day off to celebrate Elvis' birthday....

Thursday 01/07/10

Another foggy day this am. It has been a bit eerie lately in San Ramon at the butt crack of dawn.
I got to the gym at 5:00 to prepare for another 2350 yd swim. The warm-up (300 yds) and drills (450 yds) again were on the sluggish side.
The meat of the workout was a selection of 300 yds drills. 5 sets of different strokes.
The first set was DPS (distance per stroke). The goal is to take as few strokes as possible for a lap. It is relaxing in that you are not moving alot because you are trying to coast.
The second set was breathing every 3 strokes. NOT my comfort zone. The drill is done to improve breathing on both sides, just in case you have to. My issue is that I can't relax if I breath every 3 strokes, I tense up. So I spoke with Coach Mike and he said work on breathing on your left on the way down and on your right on the way back. Problem solved!!!!!
The third set was increasing speed every 100 yds from level 3 to level 5. Level 5 is race day speed (a speed I can maintain over 2.4 miles).
The fourth set was breathing every 3 again and I changed that up like I did before.
The fifth set was increasing speed every 100 yds from level 4 to level 6. This part was comical as I tried to swim at level 6 after swimming 2000+ yds. That did NOT happen!!I was back to being a tugboat.
I finished the 100 yd cool down and felt pretty good about the workout.
The distances are steadily increasing, but I am feeling OK with them so far....

Wednesday 01/06/10

Today was a spin workout. I didn't get to the gym in time for the 5:00 AM class so I spun on my own. Doesn't seem to have the same intensity. I spun for an hour and then did some core workout. Overall, it was not an exceptional workout. Just kind of blase(spelling?).

Still not sleeping well, worried about my.....

Tuesday 01/05/10

It is a swim morning. What does that mean? I am off to the gym at 4:50 AM to get my swim in. It is another foggy day in San Ramon. There is an eerie fog settled on the town. I cannot hit the snooze button anymore or else I will not be able to complete the workout as they are getting longer. Today's plan is for 2350 yds.

The pool is cool(unlike the sauna we swam in on Sunday). I didn't sleep well last night and I feel it as I am getting into the swim. The warm up does not go well. I feel sluggish. I plug away and get through it and then on to the meat of the workout. The rest of it goes well. I complete it with time to spare. Coach Mike has been a huge help in my swimming.

Remind me to buy that man a beer......

Monday 01/04/10

A much deserved day off......

Sunday 01/03/10

Today was a three sport challenge. I was up at just after 7:00 am, thankful that I could sleep in a bit since I didn't have to travel far for the training. The training was 5 minutes away at the Dougherty Valley High School. I like that kind of commute.

As I am getting ready and pulling my stuff together, I am thinking to myself about the progression I have made as an endurance athlete(I use the term loosely). Not about the progress I have made, but the amount of crap that I now must carry. When I started running 6 years ago, it was grab your running shoes and go. Then 2 years ago, I decided to try biking. I dropped my running shoes but added bike, bike shoes, helmet, and a variety of clothes all depending on the weather. Now I am still holding all my bike supplies, picked up my running shoes and lets throw in the swimming cap, googles, and soon enough, a wet suit. Triathletes have to be in great shape, just to carry all their crap.

I get to the pool by 7:45 am and we are swimming by 8:00. I feel pretty good today. Working out with the group 2s. We start with drills which go fine. We do a ladder progressing in length and increasing in speed. All goes well. We then do 2 100s working on something specific the coaches give each of us. My focus is breathing every 3 strokes. CRAP!!!! This is what was giving me the drowning sensation before, I couldn't relax. Double CRAP!!!! I make it through it, but I felt exhausted after 200 yds. I felt better after doing the 1050 yds ladder. Overall the swim goes well and I am excited by the improvement that has occurred here.

Off to the bike for a quick 20 miler. We are doing Collier Canyon, a ride that I am very familiar with. I ride off with the lead group and away we go. I get about 5 miles in and I realize that I am breathing too hard and I need to back off a bit. I do just that and let the speed demons race onward ahead. I struggle up the first part of the canyon mostly because it is straight into a head wind. I get to the top of the first part and now I seem to get into a groove. I take an extra loop around Collier's Canyon which adds on an extra 3.5 miles. I know the extra distance won't hurt. I ride well through the second loop and back home.

Now its time to run. We don't run a long distance, but it sure seemed like it. 2.5 miles never felt so long. My feet felt like bricks. Heavy to pick up and stiff and inflexible when they came down. I made it through but it wasn't pretty.

We ended the day with a core workout. OUCH!!!!

Overall, I felt great afterward.
Tired? Yes
Sore? I am sure I will be tomorrow
Excited? Absolutely

Today was our first recommittment.
I guess I am going to do the damn thing.....

Saturday 01/02/10

A fairly(relatively) easy workout today. A 20 mile bike marker. The marker is actually 5 miles in the middle of the ride that is timed. I rode my bike to the meeting place about 5 miles away. I arrived around 8:45 am and noticed that I had forgotten my water bottles. (Nice move, mental midget). I call Meenu and she is, as usual, a trooper and brings my bottles down to me.

We get the ride started around 9:00 and off we go. There is a steady mist, but not a rain, covering my glasses. The only thing this effects is visibility. The mist is more bothersome than a problem, so we venture on.

I faded a little at the end of the marker, went out too hard again. I am kind of sick of writing the same crap. Maybe I will work on pacing myself better. Anyways, I finished the marker in 20 min 37 secs. I passed on doing the last marker, so I have nothing to compare it to. We shall see in about 3 weeks if I improve any.

The rest of the ride went without incident and I was home by 11:00 am so I could spend some quality time with a special woman....

Friday 01/01/10

Today was a 40 minute Run Marker.
To continue on my streak of not listening to coaches, I did a 9+mile hill run at Lake Chabot. This week was supposed to be a recovery week, easier mileage, slower paces. I took the start of the week off (not what I was supposed to do) and ran too far and too much hills today.
Lake Chabot is beautiful, but the trails are hilly. I was out there with a bunch of present and former TNTers. There were 7 other Ironteamers out there, so I was not the only one breaking the rules.
Coach Mama Lisa announced that she is has been diagnosed with cancer and will find out the prognosis this next week. My thoughts and prayers will be with her and Coach Al.
Both the run and the announcement kicked my ass....

Thursday 12/31/09

Wow, what a rough stretch this has been. Sunday was to be a 8 mile run, I went to the bar, drank beer and watched the Patriots( GO Pats!!!!) Monday was a day off that I gladly took. Tuesday was a bike workout but again I took the day off. Wednesday was a swim marker and I.....
took the day off.....
Note to self.. remember the words of wisdom from Coach Al "you can't fake conditioning". I need to remember those pearly words.
Thursday was a Strength/Core workout and I finally got my ass up and did the swim marker. A 1000 yds. without stopping. I got about 8 laps in and started to think I will not be able to make it. Dory(my often referenced buddy) came to mind "just keep swimming, just keep swimming.."The next thing I knew I was at the half way mark. I kept plugging away and before I knew it, I was finished.
20 minutes 40 seconds
I am pretty excited by that time. A few weeks ago I did an 800 marker in 22 minutes. Longer distance in shorter time. Nice!!!
Tonight is New Year's Eve. I know this year was difficult on a lot of people, but this was a great year for me. The most amazing woman said "Yes" to marrying me, and she went through with it.
I am so blessed.....

Saturday 12/26/09

Today was a 45 mile bike ride. We met early in the AM and it was a little chilly. The ride went well. Phil and I finished the ride in just under 3 hours which translates to 7.5 hours for the Ironman. I would like to get that down to sub 6 hours. I am not sure how realistic that goal is, but I will be keeping that number in mind.