Now I know WHY...

Drew calls them KMA (Kick My Ass) sessions! Met up with him at his strength/endurance coach's studio. The big ball I'm holding over my head is a 20 lb medicine ball... my little buddy during a few of the exercises! Here's what we did:

• 10 min warm-up on treadmill
• We alternated between 2 exercises back and forth for 1.5 min, 1 min, and 30 sec.
• 1st set: chest presses with upper back on balance ball; hands on balance board in push-up position and with feet on balance ball.
• 2nd set: kettlebell squat hops on bosu ball; box jumps holding 20 lb medicine ball
• 3rd set: scissor hops while pressing 20 lb medicine ball overhead; backward ab roll on balance ball
• Treadmill: skipping at 9% grade for 1 min then sprinting for another min or so.
• 25 push-ups
• 2 minutes hard jumprope
• 2 minutes out of saddle on stationary bike going hard
• Abs: 50 crunches, 30 bicycle, 20 bicycle in V-up position, 20 side V-ups, 20 planks

That was it! It was a lot of fun and challenging as well! I felt pretty good... till the next day. My entire torso (I love that word... "torso" hilarious!) was tender to the touch! I haven't been very good about doing core/strength training so I am paying the price now!
After the session I went off to get some work done then we hooked back up later that evening for some sushi! YES! At left is Drew experiencing his first Flying Fish Roe with a raw Quail egg on top... yum yum YUM!

I've got some good news about coaching for me next year! I'm gonna wait until we solidify things a little more but it looks like I'll be preparing for a full Ironman distance race in early '09 with the aid of a really talented coach! More to come on that!

OK! SO... Friday morning I met Drew for a swim workout at Juniper... here's what it looked like:

• 300 yd warm-up/drills
• 10 X 100 yd tempo on 15 sec RI
• 500 yd with pull buoy
• 200 yd cool-down easy/moderate.

The water felt GREAT! My muscles were tired from the previous days KMA session... but I was really happy to get the swim in.

Today I went for a really hilly ride. My quads and hams were on FIRE pretty much the entire time... but I definitely feel like I gained some fitness over the course of the 22 mile ride. Because of the hills my avg speed was 15 mph... super slow... but grinding up the hills.... at least for me... is really tough.

This is a really weird time right now. I got done with the half IM and now I'm kind of floundering out there not getting ready for anything in particular. The only race I have scheduled for the rest of the year is Escape From the Gorge in... SEPTEMBER! That's a long time away! I was supposed to do the Deschutes Dash but the dates conflict with a last minute visit from my parents... who rented a beach house in Cannon Beach during that time. So here I am with all this fitness and nowhere to use it. Kind of an odd feeling... like... "Why the heck should I go out and ride tough hills right now?" I suppose I should just think of it as extra base training for years to come! Yeah... that's what I'll do... perfect... thanks for letting me think through that!

AlRIGHTY! Off to coach a T-ball game and then a baseball game! Life is good!

Breathe....