Where Did the Time GO???

WOW! It FLEW by! Here it is Thursday and I haven't posted anything since LAST Thursday... I'm sure you're all chomping at the bit... (can you feel the sarcasm?) SO... onward!

As I had mentioned briefly in an earlier post, my coaching has completely fallen through. This has left me in somewhat of a lurch trying to figure out how I'm going to approach the current season as well as '09 as I prepare for IM CdA. To be honest, I feel a bit lost in terms of training at the moment. The thing I most enjoyed about having a coach, beyond the friendship and comraderie, was the fact that I didn't spend a whole lot of time thinking about my training... I was just training! Ya know? It was easy; get the training plan, look it over, ask any questions I might have, and get to it! Done! SO... now I'm beginning to research my coaching options going forward. I'd like to thank JDub for being willing to help with recommendations and support! THANKS bro! I'll keep you all posted as things develop...

I had another business trip to Bend on Monday and Tuesday and was able to take advantage of their amazing 50m pool as well as some of the mountain deliciousness for a run! I put in a call to my buddy Drew so we could hook up for some post-swim breakfast but he was gettin his stuff together for his ski trip to Utah... next time Iron Drew!

This was the view I woke up to before heading to the pool! NICE!

I swam in the FAST lane! (b/c no one else was there!) Bah ha HA! BOY did I feel COOL!

Did 3200 meters. Felt great. The whole 50 meter thing screws my breathing up for a bit... I really didn't get completely used to it until I'm just about done with my warm-up. Did a "ladder" which was, 50, 100, 150, 200, 250, 300... and then back down. I negative split the down-climb. Cool stuff!

After taking care of bizniz I started heading home and pulled over to get my run done. What's really cool about doing this is that you really have no idea where you're headed... until you get there. The problem is... often-times not knowing leads you straight up some sort of nazi hill. As was the case with this run. No biggy... I didn't even notice b/c of the view! GOOD TIMES!

OH! I got my VO2 tested yesterday! It has REALLY messed with my head! I'll post something a little later about that.

Today found me in the pool for another 3,000 yards. Part of the main set was 5 X 200s "smooth n steady" on 20 seconds rest... I was happy to find that every one of the 200s I clocked in at 2:50 to 2:55... and it felt effortless! ZIPPY!

I also put logged a 45 min Zone 2 run of 5.5 miles. Run is just beginning to come around. Not as slow as it has been and I'm feeling more and more relaxed. I threw in 5 X 1 min strides at a cadence of 96. The high cadence thing is coming more and more naturally to me. I noticed today that my cadence is normally between 85 and 90 anyway... so 96 isn't THAT much of a leap... but it totally feels like you're floating.

Thanks for taking a read! Hope all your training is coming along nicely!

Breathe...

Art and a Brick!

Guess what?  My artist friend and philosopher J.D. is turning 40!  I just LOVE the fact that he let's me post some of his work... keeps it interesting AND it gives all of you a break from my obsessive triathlon stuff.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY J.D.! Here's to another 40 of, "Scratching the days of my life off the cell wall of my mind".

On a totally different note of obsessive triathlon stuff... did my first brick of the season today.  45 min on the trainer followed by 20 min run all in zone 2... yes... the base building continues.  Good times.  Felt good.  Felt like some kinda triathlon training goin on.  Yum.  

Thanks for visiting...

Breathe...

FINALLY! Some Discomfort!

I have been sitting in the "aerobic zone" for SO long... that I had forgotten what it felt like to be uncomfortable during training!  I mixed it up a bit today!  Don't get me wrong... I'm still working on my base.  But beginning this week I'll also be incorporating some more intense stuff once a week in all three disciplines.  YIPPEEEEEE!!!!!

First there were the weights.  Yeah... me... weights. It's kinda funny standing in the weight room with all the big meat-heads that are built like The Bigun. I don't quite have the grunt down yet... nor can I quite muster the appropriate, "I'm a freakin tough guy don't mess with me or I'll squash you with my huge guns because I can" look.  I'm workin on it though.  I DID however start what's going to be a 6 week strength building program with a particular focus on leg strength.  Yeah... seen my legs?  THAT'S why.  I'm also continuing with the core work.  It's been a while since I've been in the gym... and it showed.  But I know that's one of the places I need to invest a little time... so there ya have it.

Second?  I got to do some HILLS today!  YES!  Easy 15 min warm-up followed by 8 X 30 hill sprints up the steepest mo' fo' hill in Eugene on 2 min active recovery (i.e. jogging back down) and then a 15 min cool-down.  I like running hills.  Its a sickness. I like feeling lightheaded at the top.  I like getting just a bit further up the hill than the last time.  I like barely being able to keep my feet under me coming back down.  I like getting my HR up to 186.  Good times.  Good times.

NOW... as I sit here... I'm tired... I feel worked... it was a good training day.

Breathe...

Alright. Here it is. For everyone to point and laugh at. My competitive goal for the 2008 Barclay North, Ironman 70.3 at Lake Stevens, WA. Being 20 weeks out from the race... I thought it was time that I made it public. The rest of my races are lower on the priority list... so I won't bore you with the details.

I've struggled with this on a couple of different levels. First of all... its tough to come up with stretch goals that are still realistic when you don't have a whole lot of perspective of what you're capable of in the sport. Do you know what I mean? Here I am in my second full season of triathlon-dom! I've done a grand total of 4 triathlons, (3 Olympic, and 1 Half-Iron), so basically... I know nothing! BUT... I'm simply not interested in a goal like, "I wanna live a healthy lifestyle and do the best I can." Uhhhh... yeah... that doesn't get my juices flowing.

Secondly, there's the whole accountability thing. Once you write the goals down... and you've made them both specific AND measurable... you're on the right track. However, if those goals just sit in your notebook... the only person that's going to hold you accountable to those goals is yourself. I don't know about you... but I find it pretty easy to give myself a pass on certain things. SO... by putting these goals on the blog... I have a whole TON of people to hold me accountable... and mock me... and make me cry... and laugh at me. You get the picture.

SO... here are my goals for Barclay's North, Ironman 70.3 at Lake Stephens, WA:

• Swim: 30 min (1.2 miles at 1:30/100 yds)
• Bike: 2:35 (56 miles at 21.6 mph avg)
• Run: 1:34 (13.1 miles at 7:09/mile)
• Finish: 4:45 (including transitions)

Let the harassment begin....

Breathe....

Birthday Festivities and ANOTHER Break in the Clouds!

Yeah... I'm 38 now... yet I still feel like my pre-teen, immature self. That's weird huh? Maybe I shouldn't brag about that.

Had another STELLAR sunny day here in Eugene so I called my buddy Scott up and headed out for the traditional, "Bike Your Age" ride. It was so nice out that we tacked on another 12 miles. 3 hours, 50 miles, average HR 138. Good times! The ride was good n hilly and we still managed to stay in zone 1 the entire time... which may be boring... but it's exactly what I'm supposed to be doing! It's really funny... at this same time last year... doing 50 miles in ANY zone would have been really challenging for me. Actually... yesterday was probably the 3rd longest ride I've ever done. Isn't that ODD? To date the longest ride I've ever done was during my half-iron last year! Anyway... my point is... I'm super pumped about where my fitness is right now compared to last year!

OH! As a side-note, my coaching has fallen through... so I'll be tackling things on my own this season until at least December when I start base work for IM CdL '09. Yes... I'm leaving out the details purposefully. SO... if you have any recommendations for a coach... I'm all ears.

Here's a couple O pics from the ride yesterday! Thanks for taking a look!

Purty huh?
Usually all I see when riding with Scott.
This face... right here... is how I first impressed my wife.

Oh yeah... today?

Run:

• Duration: 01:10:00
• Distance: 8.1 miles
• Pace: 8:38/mile
• Avg HR: 149 bpm
• Max HR: 161

Yet again... slow base mileage. YUM! It was foggy and COLD all day long until about 2:30... then the sun EXPLODED through! SO cool! I know I'm going on and on about the sun being out... but you gotta understand that this just doesn't happen in Eugene during this time of the year. Usually everyone is huddled down inside, curled into the fetal position and crying for mommy! Its been SO great! Robby like the vitamin D!

Thanks for taking the time! Come back soon!

Breathe....

Crunchy Runnin!

I had one of those days on Monday where you get so much work done, that you're basically free for the rest of the week! Don't you LOVE that? I know I do! I took care of my largest accounts and then headed over to Bend for the night.

The thing about traveling for business while you're training is that you have to remember all of your training crap! Well... I got into Bend fairly late and realized that I had forgotten my swim stuff! Of course I had a swim scheduled first thing in the morning! No problem right... I'll just stop at a sporting goods store and pick up a suit! Wrong answer. I stopped at no less than 4, count 'em, 4 stores with NO luck at ALL! I was FUMING! Finally I headed clear over to the other side of town to REI and picked up a saucy little number. By this time it was 8:30 pm or so and I was FAMISHED! Sorry... that was pointless huh?

ANYWAY, up bright and early and headed over to the Juniper Swim and Fitness... which is a totally SWWWWEET public facility to get in my swim! Normally it's a 50m pool divided in half to create more lanes... but on Tuesday it was all 50m heaven! YES! Of course, being the mathematician that I am NOT, it took me the entire warm-up to adjust my mind to the length and not screw up the count! Anyway... here's what I did:

• 1000 warm-up
• 4 X (4 X 50s on the 1 minute decending) 1 min between sets
• 5 X 200 smooth n steady (1 min rest between sets)
• 400 cool-down
• Total meters: 3200

Swim felt good. It was nice not having to do as many of my "special" flip-turns. Yeah... that's right... I'm not afraid to admit that the perfect flip turn continues to elude me!

OK... so here's the good part! I head out of town around 2:00 pm after taking care of biznez and it is just gorJESUS outside! We're talkin about 56 degrees and beautifully sunny! I get to drive through some of the beautiful high desert on my way home and I still have a run to do... so why not pull over somewhere and get in some high altitude training in the snow??? YEAH! So I find a spot, pull over, change, and get to it! Here's what I did:

• Distance: Who cares?
• HR: It was high!
• Cadence: Didn't count.
• Altitude Gained: a LOT!
• Zone: The Fun Zone.
• Total Time: Long enough to feel it.

Yeah... how's THAT for some stats! I just had a ball out there! It was SO pretty! It was one of those runs where everything lines up just perfectly and you're just happy and blissed out and that's enough. SO watch the terrible video, (shot into the sun), and try not the throw-up from the bouncing... I'll try to get better!

Breathe...

14 Screaming Girls and a Break in the Clouds!

Two significant things happened today! Lila had her 8th B-day party AND the sun came out! Now... being the guy that I am, I tend to believe that the two are NOT mutually exclusive... rather... they are directly related!

The morning started out with the usual pre-party chaos... you know... cleaning... cooking... trying to make the place presentable so that my daughter's friend's parents will actually let their children through the door. The thing is, K and I have done this so many times that we're a well oiled machine! It's kinda like getting better at transitions... practice... and as my brother says, "Slow is smooth. Smooth is fast." So we were done in record time! Kathryn says, "Didn't you have a ride scheduled for today? GO! You have till 11:30." BANG... I was off!

The REALLY great thing is that, for Eugene in February, it was unbelievably warm AND sunny! What a TREAT! SO... I headed out and got in 24.5 miles in zone 1 on rolling hills. SO great! I could have stayed out there all day long just soaking it in... but that would have been a poor daddy/husband choice. So I headed back in for the screaming 8 year old girl High School Musical festivities! Yeah... the party's theme was High School Musical... and if you've seen it? It's "FABULOUS" (parents of little girls will get it). Party was a smashing success and all involved left with a frosting bezoar!

Alrighty! For those that are wondering... Aggie came through just fine. As a matter of fact... it's a struggle to keep the psycho puppy quiet! I can't believe her recovery time! I mean.... I picked her up Friday afternoon and all she wanted to do was play tug-o-war with her favorite "fluffy". Wish I could recover like that!
Breathe...

Blah, Blah, KABLOOEY!

Another piece of art from my buddy J.D. Casten. He's been kind enough to allow me to continue to post some of his work on occasion. Gives all this triathlon mumbo jumbo a little PIZZAZZ huh?

Like the title of this post? Yeah... I thought you wouldn't.

Uhhhhhh... today?

Run:

• 45 min (15 min warm-up, 5 X 1 min at 96 cadence w/ 2 min active recovery)
• 6.1 miles
• Avg HR 150
• Max HR 175

This was fun. Yes. Fun. Weather was in the upper 40's with a light drizzle. Perfect. I actually had my cadence at 100 for the 5 intervals... so neener neener neeeeeeeeener. Felt great.

Swim:

• Warm-up: 400 swim, 300 kick, 300 pull
• Main Set: 4 X 500 negative split on 1 min RI
• Cool-down: 100 swim, 200 kick, 200 pull
• Total yds: 3,500

Intervals broke down like this:

• 3:35/3:39 (7:14)
• 3:34/3:34 (7:09)
• 3:41/3:35 (7:16)
• 3:41/3:34 (7:15)

Kinda all over the place with this... but feel pretty otay about it. Still learning about pacing in the pool... not an easy task for me. If my math is correct I'm off pace a bit but I'm sure things will come along nicely... it's early in the season right?

Eating like a mo-fo... which is great b/c it's stabilized my weight. Hey... don't laugh. I have this weird reverse eating disorder thing... food... I can take it or leave it. I'm just really glad that I'm not dropping any more weight!

Little bike and another swim tomorrow! Zippy! Aggie also gets her female parts removed tomorrow... the poor baby! She has NO idea what's coming.... she's just wondering why I'm not letting her have anything to eat tonight... I'm sure glad that I'm not a dog....

Breathe....

Back in the Weather...

After my unusually long "recovery week"... getting back on schedule has been welcome relief! It's funny how after a while your body just CRAVES the activity... which is reinforced by your mind which is screaming at you... you know... things like, "I hate you! Why aren't you moving?" OR, my personal favorite, "Rest is a crutch. So is sleep and food. You suck. And you're a pansy. AND you're ugly." So after today... the voices in my head are significantly more quiet.

Swim:

• Warm-up: 400 swim, 300 kick, 300 pull
• Main Set:
  
• 3 X (4 X 50s descend on the 1 min) 1 min between sets
• 5 X 200 Smooth and Steady
• Cool-down: 100 swim, 100 kick, 200 pull
• Total Yds: 3,000
• Total Time: 1 hr

Good swim. Splits on the descending 50s were consistent for all 3 sets coming in at: 40 sec, 35 sec, 32 sec, 29 sec. Fairly happy with that... although... I'm still learning about pacing. I forgot to mention that I "injured" myself while I was in FL. Yeah... I slept on my shoulder wrong! Bah ha HA! Sleep is dangerous! Anyway... today was the first day that it felt semi-normal. Feels MUCH better now though!

Run:

• 52 min
• 5.8 miles
• 8:57/mile average
• Avg HR: 151

Blah. Eh. This was a pretty rolly run so I found it hard to keep my HR down without bringing it to a crawl. SO... it is what it is. Weather was pretty nice... around 48 degrees with a little drizzle. Actually ran in shorts and was without gloves... and you know me... I'm no fan of being cold. Good times! It was kind of a shocker being out in the weather after the sunny stuff in Florida!

Uhhhhh... little bike-action tomorrow. OH! There's also a 4 mile fun run coming up this weekend... gonna hit that with my buddy Scott. Ought to be fun. I'm thinkin I'll wear compression socks and a cape... maybe a mask.

Breathe...

Good To Be HOME!

I got back into Eugene at about 1:00 A.M. this morning! The picture at left was taken by your's truly at the airport... during my 7 hour lay-over! People couldn't stop lookin at my extremely buff and burly legs in my 2XU compression tights and camo shorts! It's a good look don't ya think? Being the brainiac that I am... I left Florida in shorts and all I had was the tights to keep me warm... brilliant huh? Anyway... I survived the trip and was extremely pleased to get back into my own bed, wake up with the kiddos, and drink my own coffee! 1 week away might not seem like a big deal... but it's a challenge to be away from family for that long!

ALL triathlon type training ceased on Tuesday... yes... 4 days ago! I made an honest effort the first two days I was in FL... but I quickly fell apart and just coasted the rest of the week. Being "on" for that amount of time really takes it out of me and we weren't exactly given a TON of time to get your workouts in! It's funny though... by body did NOT like not being active. I couldn't stop moving... it was constant... I felt like my normal ADD/ADHD self X 20 plus a few rocks of crack! Even if my brain was numb and tired... my body was like, "HEYcomeon comeon comeon lets go go go lets go do somethin it'll be fun go runplayfightswimbikeclimb!" Really weird. I think I managed it pretty well though. I'm REALLY ready to get back on schedule starting tomorrow. Luckily Coach Matt scheduled a VERY light week anyway... so I'll probably really benefit from all the rest!

The meeting wasn't bad at all! Probably the most relaxing I've ever been to. It was really fun to re-connect with some old friends as well as make some new ones! I also got to know some of those friends a WHOLE lot better... which was really bitchin! (Bah ha HA! I just typed "bitchin"!)

Here's a couple of pics from the President's Club dinner. Good times. Pay attention... b/c this is the ONLY night of the year that you'll see me in a suit. Literally. Me with my buddy Mike on the right. Mike is non-stop hilarity and a breath of fresh air at these meetings! I have to give my brother the credit for the "Gay European Tourist" face I'm making... that's his creation and it's my favorite face EVER! REALLY good for formal pictures! As you can see we don't have any fun at these meetings. Its always nose to the grind-stone , no smiling, no skipping.

Big fat shout to BLINK who at this very moment is competing in the Rocky Raccoon 50 miler down in Texas. At this point he's probably kickin the crap out of Texafornia and whining about his feet or something... but we love you even though you're a big fat wuss Blink!

Breathe...