Sunday in Monterey

Crowieto and I drove to the local gym for a swim. The pool was nice, 12 lanes. I wish the water was a couple degrees cooler. It was the last hard swim til race day. The main set was 4x(4x100fast on 2:10 + 200ez on 3:00). I felt ok. My body felt like it was in a car all day. Duh! It was. After the swim we found a decent breakfast joint. Bi333y and Josh met up with us. She ran the Big Sur Half Marathon earlier that morning.

Later that afternoon we headed out to ride around one of the most beautiful areas. The Thiel's introduced to a friend who lead us out on the ride. Brian said, "We get to see how the upper 0.05% live." The first part of the ride is slow because we have to ride on a bike path. There are people everywhere. Most of them are oblivious. Then we hit the coast. We were riding along the coast. It was awesome. After a few miles of the coast we hit 17 mile drive. There were homes that were not just big, but enormously gigantic. The views were spectacular.



The terrain was mostly flat until the about mile 10. There was a nice up section that started gradual and got steeper. Just when I thought we were cresting, there was another turn. Can you guess which way? Up of course. The grade did drop, so it wasn't too bad. Then the long cold downhill. The best part is we did the loop twice because we needed to ride for 2 1/2 hours. My navigational skills were right on par on the way back. Luckily one of us was paying attention. Crowieto wanted us to turn. I didn't think it was right, but I decided to oblige him. Sure enough, he was wrong. We turned around and continued on the right path. At the end of the ride there is a short hill 0.3 mile long. Bi333y is gonna get be a great hill climber since she has to ride that hill every time.

After the ride we quickly cleaned up and got dinner at Roy's. It was located on 17 mile drive. We saw an amazing sunset and listened to a bagpiper play.

Going down to Cali…

I woke up a little after 4am. We were out the door by 5. I took the first shift (of course it was the longer shift because I am Bad Ass). It was the boring shift. We have two different philosophies on driving. Crowieto is about efficiency. I am about getting there as fast as possible (without getting a ticket). The best part was stopping for coffee. It was called BAD ASS COFFEE.



The Legend:

The native people of Kona, Hawaii remember the days of the “bad ass ones.” The bellows of the donkeys could be heard through the mountains as they hauled the heavy loads of coffee up and down the mountainside. In honor of these hard working donkeys, we name our coffee company. The legend of the Kona Nightingale lives right here at Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii.

It is a definite sign of things to come.

A few minutes later we hit snow in the mountains. Luckily we were driving thru in the mid afternoon.



We arrived into Monterey a little after 8PM. I walked in and didn't think anyone was home. I looked in the kennel and saw Indy. He was quiet as a mouse. I let him out. He remembered me. He has grown. He is a lot thicker. He used to be skin and bones. What a day!

Last few workouts before heading out…

What a busy week! It seemed like every time I wanted to be somewhere, I was always delayed. UGH! On Tuesday, I had the hardest ride of the year for me. It was only 3 ½ hours, but felt like a 5 hour ride. The winds were relentless. Whenever I thought there would be a reprieve from the wind, it was only a dream. It seemed like the wind was testing me. All I could do was laugh. I laughed a lot during the ride. It was a little bit easier on the second half, but not much.

I had a strong run Wednesday morning. I warmed up for a 3 miles, ran 6 at tempo, then 2 ez. I met up with the McCurleys for breakfast. Nothing like being hungry and you wait 35 minutes for an order to be taken then wait another 45 for food. Crowieto and I headed up to Triumph to drop off our bikes.
I love taper time. Especially, when you know you have done the work. I went and picked up the bikes. On a whim I decided to something extreme. Some of you will have to wait and see.

Friday morning I swam 2500. The swim felt okay. I jumped on the trainer afterward and completed Chris Carmichael’s (Lance Armstrong’s coach) Time-trial DVD. I was surprised at how tired my legs were while sitting at work later that morning. Later in the afternoon, I hit the track for six miles. A little bit of speed stuff. Afterward, I took the dogs to the vet. The vet said they are healthy. She also wished me good luck with Kona. Her personality is the opposite of Fina. I got everything packed and tidied up the place.

Luckily, Jess was willing to watch the dogs. Actually we traded services. I wrote her a running plan for the Boston marathon. She may not want to have anything to do with me after a week and half. I hope they are good for her.

Last long training weekend

It rained hard all night Friday. I was shocked to see no rain when I woke up. The weather was trying to taunt me to ride outside. Luckily, I waited just long enough and the buckets of water began to drop. I bought a new spinerval, Harcore 100. It is 5 1/2 hours long. I rode for 5 hours. The sets were very boring, but the time went by quickly. I was calling at my lap splits, "Lap 1 1:35 check, Lap 2 3:10 check, T2 4:45 check". I jumped off my bike and ran to grab by shoes. Crowieto said, "What took you so long, I've been running for a few miles, slow poke." What can I say, this guy is a broke joker!!! I got back on to finish 5 hours. My knee felt good. I headed out for a quick 30 minute run. I felt really good. My knee started to act up. I turned around and started back. I knew this was a pace I could run off the bike at Arizona. As I hit mile 2.5 I saw Crowieto running toward me. Did he run to the same point? Of course not. He decided to run with me. The funny thing about this guy is that he ran with me for about 10 seconds then took off. I laughed because he barely runs 6:30's for a sprint tri. He thinks that will be his pace at Arizona. If you go that route, enjoy the death march. It will guarantee a smack on the butt as I lap you.

On Sunday, I wanted to start my run by 630AM because I had to work later that morning. My body wanted a little extra sleep, so I started just after 7. I felt pretty good. It rained for the last 40 minutes or so. The real question is if I started on time would I have stayed dry? My knee was feeling ok. I got in swam 2000 later that evening. The last long training weekend is complete. Woo Hoo!!!

I swam 4500 yards this morning. I felt like crap. I love swimming in 85 degree water. NOT!!! I have four days to get everything ready to head out.

Only in Washington

Wednesday, I went to the track for my last speed running workout. It was the first workout in 8 weeks I had no knee pain. Finally, my body is recovering/repairing. The main set was 3x1 mile repeats. I have done this set two other times. My pacing is much better this year. I was only a few seconds my PR for the workout.

Only in Washington does the weather change so fast. It was 60 & partly sunny Wednesday. Thursday, it was pouring rain & wind gusts, so I opted to sit on the trainer for 2 1/2 hours. The whole time I was on the trainer it didn't rain. I know if I changed my mind, the weather would do the same. The first hour I rode watching TV and standing on commercials. The last 1 1/2 I did Totally Time trial 14.0. It was a good moderate workout.

I had another great swim Friday morning. The main set was 6x(3x50 on 35 + 200ez on 4:00). I did the same set a month ago and struggled. This time around, I could actually hold my stroke together. Crowieto and his better half decided to join me for the last 4 rounds. I dared both of them to swim a set without me. Karen accepted the challenge and made it with ease. Crowieto knew he couldn't make it, so he made up some story about why the chicken crossed the road.

He who laughs last, laughs best

On Monday, I could tell my legs were tired from the weekend. The number one sign is the walk down the stairs to drive to the pool. I figured my swim was going to be rough. I swam 6100 yards. The main set was 3x1200 descend 400's. I actually had a great workout. Even though my body was telling me one thing, my mind decided that was unacceptable. Karen actually swam all 3 too. I think it's one of the longest workouts she has done all year.

I was hoping to start my ride around lunch time on Tuesday, but work wasn't cooperating. I finally got out on the bike around 2:30. The weather was low to mid 50's. The wind has really picked up the last few weeks. I am not sure which is worse, hills or into a head wind. The main focus was 3x(2' hard, 15"ez, 2'hard, 15"ez, 12' hard, 2.5'ez). I felt good. I decided not to run off the bike. My knee did not bother me. That's the first time in several weeks.

I had a great swim Wednesday morning. The main set was 3x(3x200) followed by 9x100 descend every 3. I descended each set and progressively got faster during the workout. I had a "broke joker" in my lane. He decided to try and start 10 yards in front of me on the fastest 200 in each set. My favorite part was he would only swim 150 yards. He even shouted, "I won, you lose." That's ok. He who laughs last, laughs best. The last 200 of the set, I caught him at 125. I don't think he counted on me swimming my fastest 200 by 5 seconds. He also tried to swim on my feet during the cool down. I hope he decides to draft off me. I think he will be in for a special treat.

The volume is starting to come down

I had a solid bike ride on Tuesday. The main set was 2x(15' hard, 5' ez, 5' hard, 2' ez, 10x(45"accelerate + 15"ez), 6'ez). I was glad to stay dry.

I felt tired in the pool Wednesday morning. The bike ride zapped me. I got on the track before the rain came. My knee was feeling good through the warmup and the start of the main set. I decided to skip the fast 400s.

Crowieto and I rode just under 70 miles. We stayed fairly dry. Some of the roads were wet and it rained a little, but all in all no real complaints. We faced a steady head wind out and a small tail wind back. I decided to do my share of the work, so I pulled 5% and stayed on the Crowieto express for 95%. We have a great chef on our staff. She hooked us up with a chicken curry.

I was surprised with my swim Friday morning. My main set was 60x50 odds ez and evens fast. I was able to swim the ez 50s on a sendoff that was 5 seconds faster. This means I am recovering faster. 2 goonie goo goos tried to swim with me. Unfortunately they couldn't make the fast 50's and didn't really go ez on the slow ones just so they could say they made the workout. I guess that's good enough for some people. I was going to go into work for a couple hours, but decided to just call it a day and relax.

We were teased Saturday morning. It rained hard all night, so wasn't sure what the weather would bring. On my drive over, it was blue skies and sunshine. Crowieto and I were in no hurry since it was going to be our longest ride of the year. Our first stop was 39 miles in at the Texaco. We were getting ready to leave and it started pouring. I couldn't believe it. We headed out toward Bucoda. I thought someone was sitting on a cloud above us and dumping a never ending bucket over us. At one point, I was so cold that I thought I wouldn't make it through the entire ride. Luckily, the rain slowed and it warmed up as we were leaving Tenino and heading toward Olympia. For the most part the rest of the ride was manageable. Crowieto bonked with 5 miles to go. We ended up with 129 miles. I was exhausted after the ride. Thank goodness Karen had food ready for us. Otherwise I was gonna see what my arm tasted like. First dinner was spicy. We went out for second dinner and a few games of chess.

It was so cold this morning. My legs were tired. The plan this morning was to have a solid run. It took me 6 miles before I could change gears. After mile 9, I finally got into my race pace effort and held it for the next 11 miles. I went to the pool at 5pm. One of my swim partners decided she was gonna put the smack down on me. True competitors want people at their best and others will take what they can get. I wish I could run 8 miles in one hour and fifteen minutes then hit the pool. But hey, she beat me in the pool today. Victory!!!

I can honestly say, my body is tired. I feel physically exhausted. I am so glad the volume is coming down. I can tell it is time for my body to start prepping for an amazing race.

3 weeks to go.