Thursday, June 30, 2011

Hard, Hard, and more hard

Yesterday morning I swam 2.2k. The main set was 10x100 on 1:30. I averaged 1:20. It was 1 second slower than last week. It felt much more difficult than last week. After work and a nap, I headed to the track for 20x200 on 1:00. I love how this set creeps up on you. I started out very conservative and managed to run the last 5 at a decent speed. My average was 1 second slower than last week. Even though I ran 5 more, it was another failed workout.

Today after work and a nap, I jumped on the bike for a puke set. The set was 8x(2'@ very very hard effort with 2' between). I started strong, but faded the next 7. I took a little extra rest to try and find something left in the legs. The last one was into a headwind. UGH!!! I made 2 of 8, 25%. Another F (failed) workout.

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

No power today

I ran for 75 minutes Sunday morning. It was a gorgeous day! The dogs were happy to hit the trails because it was a little warmer than normal. I then headed to the pool for an easy 2k. It was a warm 87 degrees. I was so glad the workout was low key.

I had no workouts yesterday. I went to watch Green Lantern. I was disappointed. I would wait for DVD.
The weather forecast for today was rain. I decided to ride before work. The main set was 2x (20'@OLYMPIC + 4' cruise). I produced no power today. My legs had no snap. I average 21mph for the workout.

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Redemption

Last week I failed on my swim and run workouts.

Wednesday morning I swam 2.2k. The main set was 10x100 on 1:30. I averaged 1:19. I felt strong on the entire set. After work I headed to the track for 15x200 on 20 seconds rest. I blew up last week, so I made sure to start smarter. The set creeps up on you. My breathing was labored on the last 6. I quickly showered, so I could take my niece to Wild Waves. I could tell my legs were tired, especially when I climbed stairs, stairs, and more stairs.

I went to solo point for 15 hill repeats on Thursday. I felt awesome. My power numbers were almost 10% higher than a couple months ago.

Friday I went to the pool for 3.2k. I felt okay during the workout. After work I went out for an easy 46 minute run.

This morning I headed out for a 3 hour cruise ride averaging 21.1mph. My glutes were sore from the hill repeats. It was most noticeable when I had to ride up any length hill. I was glad the sun came out and the runs stayed dry. I quickly transitioned. I took the dogs for a short 15 minute run.

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Riding with a group

I worked the few hours of Saturday morning. After work I was so tired, I took a 2 hour nap. Motivation was low to go out for a 3 hour ride, so I switched my long run and ride workout days. I went out for an easy run just under 10 miles.

This morning I headed out for an easy ride. I linked up with a group (Chip, Allen, Vince, Lisa, Elizabeth, and Mark). Chip and I were catching up and pulling the train. We pulled off to let others pull through. Everyone slowed down. I decided to up the ante. I jumped back in front and picked up the pace. I decided to give them a nice change of pace for 2 miles. It was nice riding with a group of people. I was told not to come back to future rides. All good by me. I will be back at intervals and higher efforts next week.

Friday, June 17, 2011

Super swim today

I decided to swim outside and take advantage of the sun. The main set was 2k for time. I wasn't sure what my time would be because my legs were a little sore. I opted to not check my splits and swim. It felt like the first half was faster than the second half. My legs and upper body tightened up. I looked at my watch and saw 28:50 averaging 1:26.5 per 100m. It was a PR for me. Probably because I typically don't swim straight sets unless racing.

After work, I took the dogs out for an easy run in the sun. We managed a little over 5.5 miles. The dogs were super tired.

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Idiot!!!

After work, I grabbed a bite to eat and took a nap. I woke up to Kona's head laying over my neck. Crazy dog. I jumped on the green machine and headed out for several 1 minute anaerobic intervals with 1 minute rest after each. I felt very good on the set. The last time I did a similar set, I had to use the solo point hill to generate power. Today, I did it all in aero on range road.

Over the last several months, it seemed cyclists were being hit by cars. They were usually at the end of their workout and some jackalope decided to turn out in front of them at the last second. I was less than a mile from the house finishing up the ride. A car decided they were going to do a U-turn in front of Farrelli's. I hit the brakes. The back wheel became squirrelly for a second as I shifted my weight to prepare for the impact. Luckily I was able to maneuver my bike to completely miss. Idiot!!!

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

0 for 2 today

The "green machine" sat in the bike box until yesterday. I decided it was time to put it back together and head out for a ride. The main set was 5x (6'@OLY + 3' cruise). I felt good on the set. My lowest power output came on the last repeat. I love trying to generate watts with a tail wind.

This morning I jumped into the pool for 3.2k of swimming. The main set was 10x100 with 10 seconds rest. I felt great for the first 5. Then someone dropped the piano on me and my pace slowed considerably. 0 for 1.

After work, I headed to the track for 12x200s. I felt good for the first. Then repeat of this morning. I decided to shut it down after 6. No sense in trying to make something out of nothing. My left quad was so tight that it took 3 laps around the track for it to loosen up. 0 for 2.

Today was not my day.

Monday, June 13, 2011

Kicked off the...

I kicked off the start of the second half of the season today with an easy 1.5k swim and a 30 minute run. It felt like I had worked out in a week. Probably because I hadn't. It should take a few days to get the feel back.

Friday, June 10, 2011

163 days until Arizona

The season is half-way done. I am enjoying no routine and relaxing. I haven't done any workouts all week. I was thinking about racing at Boise. I know I would have a good race. I don't have the desire to drive 9+ hours each way and spend $$$. I will try to sneak in a few races in the next few months.

Next week, I will start the path for Ironman Arizona. I have big goals and a lot of work ahead of me.

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Can you believe I snapped this shot?


Catching a wave


Race Logo

Car packed and loaded with 5 bikes.

The condo

 We stayed at the Outrigger Fairway Villas. Here are the pics:

King Bed - Girls


Girls Bathroom


Jared's Queen Sleeper

Ross - 2 twins and a bathroom

Dining Room

Living Room

Kitchen - Lisa, Ross, Karen

Monday, June 6, 2011

Beach & BBQ

Ready for the Beach - Ross, me, Jared

Jared ready to catch some waves.

Ready for frisbee

Getting some rays

Chef Ross

Hawaii 70.3 recap

I woke up 3 minutes before the alarm went off. I set up all my stuff the night before, so I could maximize sleep time. We were out the door at 4:35AM. We waited 15-20 minutes for the buses to take us to the swim sight.

PRE-RACE
I pumped up the tires, set my shoes, placed the OAKLEYS in the SPIUK, and started to set up my water bottles. I left the strap to keep the aerocup in place at the condo. DOH #1. Luckily, Lisa had black tape. I secured the cup after several wrap arounds of the cup. I applied lots of body glide and Vaseline to make sure I would have no chafing issues. I learned my lesson from Kona last October.

SWIM - 31:01
The water was very calm. After putting on my XTERRA swim skin, I waded into the water to get a short warm up. I felt good and saw a crab. I lined up at the line. Everyone starts at the same time including the pros. I felt good during the swim. My pace seemed to be increasing as I continued to pass people. Some dude decided to use me as a wall on a turn buoy.

T1 - 2:22
I started peeling my XTERRA skin suit off during the run-up to my LYNSKEY. This was a tough transition. It was all uphill.

BIKE - 2:55.23
I was glad I started my gearing in the small chain ring. It was uphill for the next 0.7 miles. I did not want to start too hard. I passed Karen in the first mile. I was passed by several people on the first few hills. I would pass them right back on the downhill. Somewhere near Hawi, I heard an interesting noise. It sounded like a tire lever was bouncing on the ground. At the start, I moved my salt container into my back pocket and forgot to close the aero bag. DOH #2. I remember seeing several people on the side of the road and thinking that would suck if it was me. I was feeling strong coming back from Hawi. I saw Scott and Julie, OOMPH, after the Hawi turn-around. I make a right back onto the Queen K and start to notice my front tire bobbing. I have a slow leak. I have no tire lever. My only option was to re-inflate and cross my fingers. It was only 5 miles to T2. No dice. It was flat again 1.5 miles later. UGH. I started walking my bike. I wanted to ask for a tire lever. It wasn't an option with riders going down the hill at 25+mph. A guy threw me a Pitstop. That didn't work at all. Foam was everywhere and now my hands were sticky. I saw a race vehicle on the other side of the road. They called in tech support. A rider stopped to offer me his wheel. He said his legs were toast. I told him he couldn't quit. I think he was looking for a way out. As I was walking uphill a girl asked me what I needed. I said everything. She threw me a ziploc bag full with 2 tire levers, CO2, tube, and inflator. I hope she had a great race as I did see her later. Tech support arrives within seconds of me pulling off the front tire. There ended up being a piece of metal in my tire. Ross and Karen go flying by me. Bike Works crew saved my butt again. After giving up 25 minutes, I was back in the race.

T2 - 1:32
I passed off the LYNSKEY to the bike catcher. I ran to my bag. The volunteer gave me the wrong bag. We looked for my bag. I had no idea where to go and almost ended up in the women's tent. I slipped on my NEWTONS, grabbed my visor &water bottle, and headed out.

RUN - 1:59.21
At this point, I was looking forward to the rest of the trip. I caught Karen in the first mile. She was not doing well. I decided to run with her. We saw Ross, Jared, and Lisa several times throughout the course.We thought it would be so cool if we crossed the line together. After 10 miles, I knew Ross was 6 minutes up the road. I asked Karen if she was good for the last 5k. She was and now my goal was to hunt Ross down. I saw him 600 meters ahead at mile 11.5. I knew it was going to be close. I ran up next to him at mile 12.5. I didn't say anything and he didn't notice me. He finally realizes it's me and we run together to the finish.

Pre race pics

Race meeting- Lisa, Jared, Ross, Angie

Jared needing alone time.


Lisa, Karen, Ross, Jared, me waiting for the shuttle to the beach.
Getting all the gear ready.

Karen, Ross, Lisa body marked.

Friday, June 3, 2011

Buddy's home

What a great morning!!!

The winds were calm this morning. I had to make 2 pots of coffee. The first one was watery. The second turned out better. Next time, I think it is going to take 6-8 scoops. After breakfast we headed to the beach for a short morning swim. I saw 2 turtles, a stingray, and several different kinds of fish. It was awesome!!!

The crew ran back to the condo. I did not have a run, so I drove back. I took my bike out for a quick spin to make sure everything was in working order.

Breakfast buddy

Jared with morning coffee


Karen, Ross, Lisa at breakfast

Breakfast buddy
Ross ready to swim

Hawaii shopping trip

Jared, me, Lisa


Check out these leis

Jared, Ross, Lisa

Looking at some Poke

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Race week

I didn't do any workouts on Monday unless you call packing 2 bikes into a bike box a workout. It's nice to have a day off here and there. I went in to work to make sure everything was squared away.


Tuesday morning I arrived at the airport 2.5 hours before my flight was scheduled to leave. I lucked out with the bike box, no fee. The line for security took 30+ minutes. I found a spot for breakfast and surfed the web. Did you know some airports charge to use the internet? Not Sea-Tac. I looked down at my watch and noticed the plane was boarding in 10 minutes. I walked over to the gate and saw only a few people left. Not only did they board early, we left early and arrived almost an hour early.

More time on the island. I picked up my bike and waited for a Thrifty car shuttle. I walk up to the first one, full. I see the second one approaching, full. Finally, I see an empty shuttle. I am the last one to get on the shuttle. Lifting 75+lbs onto shuttle is work, especially if you have to do it several times. If you ever use Thrifty, I strongly recommend signing up for Blue Chip. It is free. As we were driving along, the driver asks if anyone has it. I am the only person out of 10. I tell him my name and he radios it in. Everyone gets off at the first stop. I have to unload the bike box, so everyone can get off. We load it back on and he drives me to a different spot. I give him a big tip for all of his help with bike box. I walk into Thrifty and there is no line. I am in there less than 3 minutes. I walk out and the minivan is waiting in front with the keys already in the ignition. Awesome!!! Do you remember me mentioning 3 shuttles full of people were in front of me. I would have waited in line with them. It took me awhile to figure out how to lay the seat down.

On the drive south, I stopped at Costco to pick up bottled water. Next stop was the bike shop to pick up a new aero bottle. I couldn't find it before I left. I pulled into the hotel at 1:30. I unloaded everything, took a quick shower, and changed into shorts and a tee shirt. I headed over to my favorite stops, BASIK. They make the best Acai bowls. I put my bike together and went out for a quick spin.

In the first few minutes, I had trouble shifting gears. Luckily I was on the bike for only 10 minutes. I put the bike away and got ready for a quick run. I was supposed to do a few intervals at race pace. After 10 minutes of waiting for GPS, I said oh well. I ran by perceived effort. I felt really good in the heat.

I spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing. I ate dinner at Lava Java. I had fish tacos. More relaxing and then out cold before 8PM.


Wednesday morning, I headed to the pool for a short swim. I felt really good. I finished with 1900 yards. I drive straight to Lava Java for breakfast. I had a Belgian waffle, eggs, and iced americano. Great way to start the day.

I took the bike to Bike Works. The cables busted. I'm glad I decided to take the bike to the shop before the workout. It would have sucked to be 10 miles away and be stuck in one gear. While waiting around, I ran into the Scott and Julie, who are the owners of OOMPH SPORTS. They showed me some of their new gear. Their arm coolers piqued my interest.

Thanks to Nick and his crew at Bike Works for getting my bike squared away. I headed out for a short ride on the Queen K. I had a few intervals to make sure I had my pacing nailed for the race. The cross winds were no fun. Last year the only time I noticed cross winds was in Hawi. The cross winds made for excitement whenever a large truck would drive by.

Once cleaned up, I headed to Lava Java for lunch (poke wrap and iced americano). I met a couple of guys (Frank & Miguel) from Miami. It was there first time here. There are here seeking the coveted Kona slots. After lunch it was back to the hotel to get the feet up and relax. I chose to eat at the hotel for dinner. I ate a chicken burger with a sweet onion bun. Later that night I got a craving for chocolate. I headed to the ABC store for dark chocolate covered macadamian nuts. Delicious!!!

This morning I went out for a short run just before 6AM. I ran a few intervals at pace. I felt good. I am at Lava Java. I chose the breakfast stack. It is 2 over easy eggs with bacon, avocado, tomato, and arugula on top of home made wheat toast. Awesome!!! After some internet surfing, the plan is to drive down to Waikola. I am going to pick up my race packet and check-in. Shortly afterward, I will pick up the crew.