CABO (sorry, I know there's a lot of pics here)

All clear...for now

The rain stopped.  The sky cleared up.  The sun came out.

 

They’re still coming later today to batten down the hatches here with all the hurricane shutters and whatnot.

 

Looks like we aren’t getting out of here on Wednesday.

180 degrees of weather

Very nice

Very nice

Not so nice.

Some pics of the surf

Pictures of the waves don't do them justice.

So Kirk is standing here taking pictures until we

Two seconds after he moves a wave crashes where he had been standing.

Hurricane Rick

I watched that show "Surviving Disaster - Hurricane" on Spike a few weeks ago.  I should probably try and remember a few of the points he gave.  Just kidding.

Long Run

To start with, my Blackberry is MIA.  Not sure where it ended up but it's not in my bag.  I had to run this morning with no tunes.

I got up 7:30-ish which I was thinking was a bit late.  I downed a bunch of advil and water and some oatmeal.  I tried shaking off the effects of the damage I did to my body in Cabo last night.

I got dressed and stretched and opened the door to start what should have been a 2:50 run. 

HOT!  It must have been 85 degrees with 100% humidity.  After the first hour my clothes were completely drenched and I was overheating.  Sweating only works if the sweat evaporates.  It was so humid that the water just sat on top of me.  I was drenched.  I stopped for a minute and bought a coke.  I walked in the shade when I could.

Ended up OK.  I got the time in if not the distance that I wanted and I feel pretty good.  One more big week of running.

CABO!

The view from the beach looking up.  Our place is the one with the negative edge pool.

The ocean

Keith and Kirk contemplating going in to save Terry.

Waves are really high.

One of the views off the patio

Another, this one from the hot tub

Looking towards the beach.

Looking out the living room

More views.

The negative edge pool

Outside

The living room

The kitchen before we started using it.

I took a lot of pictures of the views

I'm on a Calvin and Hobbes kick right now.

I want my blood back!

I thought for a second that I was going to die on the first interval this morning.  The warm up went fine but 1 minute into the first pull I was really in distress.  I reached the end of it far short of where I would have liked to have been distance-wise.

The second, third, and forth were far more comfortable but still painful when compared to previous weeks.

I got stuck at a couple of bad lights and my time in was 1:08:29 which is less than a 20 mph average but still not bad.

I was going to call but there was no number and I left my cell at home so I jumped.

Actual sign on the Golden Gate

United Blood Services

I gave blood today.  I like giving blood, it makes me feel like I'm doing something good for the world.

I've given 11 times.  I am a power red donor which means that I give a pint of red blood as opposed to a pint of whole blood.  In a traditional blood donation, donors give whole blood—which consists of red cells, plasma and platelets. With the automated process called double red cell donation, donors can give just red cells—but two units of red cells—and that’s the component of blood that is in the greatest demand.

Before you give blood they take your red blood count.  It's a measure of how much iron is in your blood.  Mine usually runs in the high 40s.  I've actually measured a 49% once which I think is an automatic flag for blood doping. 

I have always wondered how giving blood should affect physical performance.  An average human male has between 8 and 10 units (a pint more or less) of blood.  I'm shorter than average so let's say I have 8 pints (1 gallon) of blood in my body.  At 50% red blood that means I have 4 pints of red blood.  If I donate 2 pints of red blood I should really kill my body's ability to move oxygen through my blood.  I've never been able to test my math until today.

Finally, after asking again and again, they took my iron level AFTER they took my blood as well as before.  My measurement before giving was 43.5% and after if was 39.3%, a drop of 4.2 or 10%.  Not exactly the dramatic 50% reduction I was counting on.  We'll see later today and tomorrow if I feel the effects.

NOTE TO UNITED BLOOD SERVICES - Here are some ways that you can make life easier for people donating blood. 

1.  When someone makes a 9:00 appointment, get them into the interview room at 9:00 am. 
2.  When you schedule someone for a dual RBC, have a machine available for them.
3.  Figure out a way to make the blood donation tax deductible.
4.  Make the room comfortable instead of the 65 degrees that it always seems to be.

At least it's digital now

 

Ken figured out how to take pictures with my phone

Now I have a memory card full of dinosaurs and I can't bring myself to
delete them.

Road Rage Prosecution

http://www.velonews.com/article/99128/california-road-rage-case-heads-for-court

Here's a story about how an asshole named Dr. Christopher T. Thompson is going to be prosecuted for trying to kill a cyclist with his car.

It's too bad that California District Attorney Steve Cooley mailto:info@stevecooley.com didn't feel the case was a winner the first time "Dr." Thompson was accused of similar behavior.

"Dr." Thompson should be stripped of his license to practice medicine. What fucking part about "first, do no harm" don't you get?

I bet the cowardly Steve Cooley, esq. has a great conviction record. That's what happens when you don't take the "winner" cases. It also means a whole bunch of people get away with murder.

Dark and Stormy

I got all set to leave this morning when I looked outside and it was still dark out.

I haven't put any lights on my new bike yet so I put it in the back of my car and figured I'd drive over to Mike's house and we could ride from there.

Then I looked at the ground and saw it was soaked.

Then I felt the rain drops.

Crap.

Biggest Loser

I'm a fan of the show "The Biggest Loser". Note to the producers of the show. I refuse to watch the show live because of the stupid commercial breaks. I TIVO it first and I can get through a two-hour episode in about 45 minutes.

A slight injury

Yesterday riding home I felt a bit of discomfort as I rode. The seams of my shorts were rubbing me a bit. I ignored it on the ride but when I got home and jumped in the shower I noticed that I had been rubbed rather raw. When the hot water hit me I wanted to scream and jump out of my skin. The pain subsided and that was pretty much the end of it.

This morning I went out for an hour run. I could feel my shorts rubbing me and my legs rubbing which brought about the same pain. When I got home I was about to jump into the shower and I saw blood running down the inside of my thigh. The hair on my legs had rubbed me completely raw. Yuck. And painful.

I picked up a bunch of antibiotic cream with pain killer. I have to ride tomorrow so we'll see how that goes. I think I'll get up a little early and adjust the angle of the seat as well.

Cute story from my first Ironman

I was almost done with my second of three laps of the run course in April 2007. I had just gone through an aid station and my knee was starting to hurt a little bit.

I had been carrying a knee brace with me so I stopped to put it on. I was sitting for a second when a girl came limping/hopping up and sat down on the wall across the running path.

We shared a couple pleasantries and more than a couple not so pleasant comments about how tough the day was. I think she was on her first lap and I was about to reassure her that the day was going to get better when a volunteer came over to her.

He asked if she needed any help. She popped her leg (which turned out to be prosthetic) off just below the knee and handed it to the volunteer. "Do you have some water that you can rinse this off with? There's some sand in there and it's starting to irritate the stump."

I wished the both of them well and hobbled off for my final 8 miles.

An couple of obscenely hot and talented triathletes

http://jennashoemaker.blogspot.com/

http://www.jennyfletcher.com/

Rest Week In Progress

Not a heck of a lot to report. Bike rides very nice. I've been swimming a decent amount.

I just got a pair of underwater headphones. They are OK. Not great but I think they will work better while wearing a swim cap.

Need to get a haircut today after I get home.

Balance

Perhaps you’ve heard that the “average” age-group or amateur Ironman triathlete cycles 300 miles per week, runs 30 miles per week, and swims 10,000 meters per week. And perhaps you’ve heard stories of the year long sabbaticals from work, the neglected families, the ruined marriages and the obsessive lifestyle that results from these insane attempts to maintain a “normal” lifestyle while training for Ironman. And perhaps you've also noticed that the majority of these individuals walk across the finish line and have a complete lack of confidence and preparation for the race, despite giving up their lives to barely even complete the race!

Full article
http://www.trifuel.com/training/triathlon-training/7-key-principles-of-training-for-ironman-with-minimum-time-commitment

Very, very, very sore

My legs are just beat today.

I'm a little concerned because I don't think they should be this bad this late in the season.

This weekend marked the end of the second-to-last month of real training culminating with a 3,000 plus meter swim Friday, 100+ mile ride on Saturday, and a 15+ mile run on Sunday.

The swim was uneventful. I should have gone swimming today but didn't.

The ride was fun. I rode up to Flagstaff and met up with Ken who was up there with his family. We were going to go out around Mormon Lake but they have the road all ripped up on the way so we decided to head north. I figured I needed an easy 20 or so out so that I would get a hundred in when I got back home.

Don't miles 40 - 80 look easy and fun?

Seriously, it was a good time and the hills didn't feel as hard as they look here.

This time on the run I went out north instead of south. I ended up not getting in as many miles as I had hoped but all in all a good run.

I ended up averaging a 9:35 pace over 15.7 miles although I think if I had it to do over I would have pushed through and gotten another 1/4 mile in to make it an even 16.

Rest week now and then a big 3 week push through the finish.

Wish me luck.

Free Speed

When did $2,000 become "free"?

On a side note, I think that I learned in college that the question mark in that sentence belongs inside the quotes. As in "free?" I disagree.

Anyway, I got my new bike yesterday. Very nice. I rode to work this morning. Fastest time from my house until now was 1:06:20. Today I did it in 59:58. I'm sure that I got stopped at the same number of lights.

Kind of a bum

I'm pretty sure I took it kind of easy last week. I ran and rode but I think I missed a day of each.

I just rejoined my gym today. I need to focus myself and prioritize swimming. I don't have a heck of a lot of time left.

I went up to the cabin late. Katie went up on Thursday afternoon. I was going to go up Friday but instead I had dinner with Keith and his family. Then I went back to his house and tried to drink all his scotch. Then for some reason a cigar sounded good.

I wasn't in very good shape at 4:00 am the next morning to go up to Flagstaff. I finally cleaned up the kitchen and left and got up there around 8:30. I left my bike in Phoenix. Kind of an all around crappy Saturday. Had a nice time with Katie Saturday night.

Sunday I did manage to drag myself out of bed for a 15 mile run. I intended it to be flat. Instead I did this little gem:





Pretty nutty with the climb. I actually finished OK. I think we're up in Flag again next week so I'd like to think I'll do OK again. This time shooting for 16 miles. I went South this time on I-17. I think next weekend I'll run North. At least the profile on my rides there looks like it's downhill on the way home. Start with a 250 ft drop over 2 miles then climb 301 feet over 4.5 miles and then pretty flat for 1.5 miles and then back.





Of course the rotten part is the last 2 miles coming back home.





The cool thing on my plate is the bike. I think I've settled on a Scott Plasma 20. A very reasonably priced bike. If TriSports in tucson has the price I want I'll zip down there tomorrow and get it. I'm very excited.

And now the run

13.5 on Sunday. Felt good. A little better than a 10 min/mile pace.

Mike is fine. They kept him overnight at the Mayo Clinic but released him after his stress test.

Here is a longer video of Ken and my Stepdad Bob while we were in Chicago.

I put the hurt on him...

But I didn't intend to send him to the hospital!

Ride started out normal enough. I met Mike and then we picked up Doug along the way. Matt joined up shortly thereafter. We rode up north to Cave Creek road in Carefree and then rode down and intended to go to New River.

I had been careful the entire ride of not letting my HR go above level 2. I was going to try and get a century in at race pace. As we came out of the town of Cave Creek a dark haired very thin guy with shaved legs goes flying past. There was no doubt that Doug was going with him and he flew past me in full chase.

What you need to understand is that if you sit behind someone you use less energy. So I figured that even if Doug was going faster as long as I sat in his draft I could stay around level 2. I jumped on his wheel and Mike and Matt came along.

We were flying through the town when our little peleton almost rear ended a pickup truck that was stopped in an intersection letting someone cross. Matt saw it coming and went around the pickup and accelerated the rest of us had to lock up our brakes.

I raced ahead and as the pickup passed me I jumped behind it into its slipstream and caught Matt in a couple seconds. Mike and Doug were working together pretty well behind and dropped the other rider. The road was turning uphill.

As Doug and Mike caught us I jumped out of the saddle and accelerated. I caught them all off guard and got pretty far ahead before they were able to regroup and reel me in. Just as they caught my wheel I launched another attack and broke free. I stayed on it for a while and then backed down and waited for them. This went on for a while.

There are two possibilities when this back and forth starts to happen. One is that the trailing group gets tired of chasing and lets the breakaway go. The other is that because the group never puts themselves into distress by launching an attack, they eventually tire the attacker out. In this case the latter happened. As they caught me again twords the end of the hill Mike watched me closely and as soon as I shifted to a bigger gear he went around me like a rocket calling me a "F---er!" as he went past. I didn't have enough left to chase him so I just jumped on Doug's wheel and caught him at the top. It was a good time but we'd pay for it later.

About an hour later as we were nearing the end of a long gradual downhill into the wind Mike signalled he was having some trouble. I thought it was a flat but when we stopped he said he was having bad chest pains.

We turned and took a different route to get him close to his house and the Matt went with him pretty much all the way home. The last thing he said to Matt was, "If I tell my wife about this, she's going to make me go to the emergency room.

Doug and I continued on and I ended up getting 90 miles in just about 6 hours. Slow but probably what I should expect. Anyway, when I got home I had a text from Mike that his wife made him go to the emergency room. They admitted him and he's got to get a stress test done tomorrow.

Doctor

Saw Dr. Chamberlain today.

First thing he said was that the hernia doesn't seem any worse than one year ago. Also that it still seems to be only on one side.

He also said that a hernia itself isn't painful so he bet the pain I am feeling is just tendon and muscle pain from training. He prescribed 2400 mg of Advil every day for 6 weeks. I have a follow up with him in three weeks and then I'll schedule the surgery for after the race and before Christmas.

156 pounds

Not bad after a week of doing almost no exercise and not exactly watching my diet.

Hernia... continued...

I had a really great ride yesterday with four hard intervals. Riding tomorrow and Thursday. I hope to be able to keep up the intensity.

I have an appointment to see my doctor about my hernia Friday at 9:45.

I didn't run this morning. I intended on doing so but I got in from Flagstaff a little late. I'm also a little worried as to how my body is going to react. Riding felt great. I didn't notice the hernia at all yesterday.

Speaking of laughing...

Ken climbed into bed with us last night. I admit to indulging this habit of his a bit too much. Anyway, whatever he was dreaming about had him giggling in his sleep at about 2:00 AM. He has the most infectious laugh on the planet. Have a listen if you don't believe me.

Just something to make people laugh

Hernia

I've swum the past couple days. I feel good except for the fact that I don't think my hernia is going to wait until after Thanksgiving. I think that after the weekend I'll make a decision (hopefully that decision won't be made without me).

Didn't weigh myself this morning. Yesterday I was a bit behind schedule and Katie had to be at Paige's school at 6:00 so she picked me up 5 miles from home. I dropped her off at Paige's school and she asked me to go pick up Paige's new glasses.

Now, in fairness I didn't ask her to bring a change of clothes for me but she also didn't think to bring me anything so I was walking around the mall in my cycling outfit. At least I had the kids. Afterwards we stopped at a restaurant where I had two Miller Lites, a couple sliders, and a dozen chicken wings. I'll be a week undoing this damage. :)

First time I ever heard of Ironman

I've always meant to write this story.

I was really young. I must have been in 7th or 8th grade and I was flying to Florida with my family. I was sitting next to this woman who told me all about this race she had just done in Hawaii. Swimming, biking 100 miles, and then running a marathon. She described how people crawl across the line and some people lose control of all their bodily functions while running.

I was hooked. Of course I can't remember exactly when it was, nor can I remember her name. I don't remember what she looked like or anything like that.

I just remember her description of the Ironman.

154 pounds

That was a nice treat this morning.

Also, I managed to drag myself out of bed and swim for the first time in I can't tell you how long. Short time, 20 minutes or so but it felt good. First 5 were a bit tough but I think if I can just keep it up regularly and add 5 minutes or so each time I should be good to go.

I need to check my training schedule against Cabo.

Easy ride into work today. It's a rest week. I think this weekend I might get some LT testing in.

Weekend in review

First the good news. My weight this morning was 155. Down 5 pounds from last Monday. I haven't been starving myself but I have definitely been watching the portion sizes. Plus I've been holding myself to 1 or two miller lite beers at night.

Saturday I joined Doug, Ken, Mike, and Matt on a ride. After some confusion about when and where we were to meet we all got together for a ride out to the west side of Phoenix. Good time, I took my share of turns at the front and kept my heart low the rest of the time.

A little drama at the end. We were fighting a strong crosswind on a long stretch when a jerk in an SUV swerved towards us and honked his horn. I caught up with him at the next gas station and gave him a piece of my mind for about 5 minutes. I was pretty beat up at the end. Mike bailed a few miles before then and I went home. Doug and company had 20 miles or so left.

Sunday I managed to drag myself out of bed and get on the road before 6. The sun was just coming up so the first half of my run went well. The second half was uphill and I found it to be quite uncomfortable.

Saturday afternoon I bought a FuelBelt with water holder on it. Very Very Very nice and comfortable. It holds 4, 8oz bottles of water on it. Much better than the device I was using before. Turned out to be just a touch less than I needed though. I ended up walking the cooldown plus a little extra and finished in just under 10 minute miles.

Tired

My legs are just jelly. Ride home last night went OK. I think I'm used to the heat because it really didn't bother me.

My legs are very tired. I'm fine on the flats but as soon as the road tilts up a bit there's some pain and just a big sense of exhaustion from my thighs.

I didn't run this morning because I'm a little concerned about it. I've pushed through about 7 weeks without a real rest so that might be the cause of it but I don't really feel like I've done THAT much work either.

Latest Facebook entry of Katie's

Katie Edlebeck Petrine 127*F waiting for Paige



We have to ride home in this....

Yet again...

Tuesday night I fixed the the flat tire on my bike and rode to work yesterday. I rode home without incident.

This morning as I got my bike down to ride to work, you guessed it, another flat.

There wasn't time to fix it and drive to Mike's so I just threw my bike in the car and drove over to Mike's house and fixed it there.

Halfway to work that tire went flat. I borrowed a tube from Mike and made it the rest of the way in.

I just checked and the tire is still full. Keeping my fingers crossed it can stay that way for three more hours.

Three COMPLETELY UNRELATED Facts

1. I haven't worked out in two days.

2. I haven't had any beer in two days.

3. I've lost 3 pounds in the past two days.

Two forced rest days

All my big talk yesterday came to a screeching halt when I got home yesterday morning and discovered, you guessed it, another flat. I should have just fixed the tire and rode in to work but as has been my pattern as of late, I just drove in.

Anyway, during the day my legs felt worse and worse. I failed to take an ice bath after my run Sunday and I think that contributed to my pain. As the day went on I felt worse and worse. Climbing a set of stairs really was literally a pain by the end of the day. My shins and calves were definitely injured.

Last night I soaked in a tub for a half hour or so. I had the water so hot that I thought I was having a heart attack. Sweat was just pouring off my head the whole time. Afterwards I gave my shins and calves a good massage and I felt pretty good by the time I went to bed.

This morning I still didn't feel 80% so I stayed in bed an extra hour. I really do feel pretty good right now. I think the next couple days riding and I'll be good to go on Friday for my next run.

Weekend and weight

Was up in Flagstaff again this weekend.

Saturday I rode up to Flag and met Ken up there. We rode up to the top of Snowbowl. Went very easy up the hill. I'd like to say it's because my knee was bothering me. It was but the truth is that my legs feel very sluggish these days. I don't feel like I have tons of strength and speed in them.

Took my old handlebar cam up with me and filmed the descent from the top of the hill. I almost get killed right after I pass Ken and then again at 7:41 I stop paying attention for a second and almost ride off the road.

I went pretty slow down the hill. I didn't / couldn't push it at all on the last mile or I might have at least gotten close to my best time of 10:03. I think I ended up at 10:33.



Sunday was a long run. I have one more week of 2 hour runs until my rest week and then the time starts increasing by 10 minutes / week. I think my three hour run is in Cabo. I'm hoping there's a nice beach to run on.

Just like the ride my legs felt very sluggish. I'm glad to say that my heart and lungs felt very good. I'm hoping all this training at altitude pays off.

I cannot seem to cut weight. In August 2007 I must have lost 15 pounds riding so much after we got back from France. I don't remember for sure but I must have been starving myself as well. I do remember bonking several times on the way home from work.

I'm stuck at 160 right now. I'll go a pound or two above or below but I really seem to be stuck here.

I'm at 89 days right now so I think I have to cut 15 pounds over the next 60 days. That's roughly 900 calories / day or 6,300 / week. That's another 1+ hour of exercise every day or cutting calories or both!

I have said this before, but I really need to get in the pool. If I do that three times / week that should get me about halfway there. I think I'm going to cut beer out except on weekends.

Jeez, did I really just say that?

I can't remember where I heard this, but recently I heard that if you drink a diet drink, 20 minutes later you crave something sweet. This is because your body is fooled into thinking that you just drank sugar so it starts to create insulin. I don't know if I believe this but cutting diet coke out of my diet is probably not the worst thing I can do for myself. Ok, I'm going to add a little food blog and try and keep track of what I eat.

More later

Kind of exhausted

Rode to work today. Feeling rather exhausted. Might hitch a ride part way home with Mike tonight. Supposed to run 7 miles tomorrow and then big rides in Flagstaff on Friday and Saturday.

Did I mention I'm a bit tired?

Cute story

I can't remember the last time I had a flat tire.

I used to get them all the time. I couldn't go more than 2 rides without one. When I started riding in Flagstaff that went down to one ride. There are these tiny, tiny wires on the road that are the remnants of truck tires when they shred. They are like little needles and a bike tire is a magnet for them.

I switched to Continental Gatorskin tires and Performance puncture resistant tubes. That was a couple years ago and I have had maybe one flat since then.

Oh, wait. Mike (the guy I carpool with) suggested that I do Ironman last November with lighter and faster tires and tubes. I did so without incident. Two rides later I got a flat and switched back to the Gatorskins.

Yesterday we drove back from Flagstaff in the morning and I rode to work. When I went to leave; you guessed it, I had a flat. I went to change the tire but at some point I think I loaned my spare to someone and never replaced it so I was stuck waiting for a ride home from work. Fortunately my sister-in-law Vicki works right by here so she picked me up.

I ran this morning and a really nice thing happened. I was on my second recovery jog and I was trying to figure out how I was so close to home. I realized that I only had one more interval left. That's the first time I ever felt good enough to think I had another inverval left in me.

Ankles hurt a bit now.

Sunday Run

After my ride yesterday I checked my training schedule to see where I am supposed to be.


I should be riding 5:00 long rides and my long run should be 1:40 at this point.

I've been running too far. I've been doing 2 hours runs for the past month and I accidently trained through a rest week.

I'm a little tired but I think I can push through another 2 weeks of this until my next rest.

Back to the run. I got up a little late and sat around for a few hours. By the time I got out of the house it was 11:00 am. I ran in some heat and wind but the hills up there are what beat me up the most. Got through it and after an ice bath I am feeling no pain.

Saturday

We went up to Flagstaff this weekend. Saturday I got up and hit the road about 8:00.

I planned to do Snowbowl. I was excited about the ride up because I am back to being able to ride the 20 miles up to flag in under 1 hour and I was able to keep my heartrate in level 1 - 2 the entire trip.

It's another 8 miles or so to the climb. The winds really started to kick up but I was doing fine until I got a couple miles away and saw a sign that said "Road to Snowbowl closed until 11:30". I rode up there to see if it was true and sure enough they had security turning everyone around.

The ride home was a bit tougher into a strong headwind but I think I finished the entire ride in about 3:10.

I know when I've been running enough...

I always like this part of my training when I start losing toe nails.

100 Days... Again!

From Thursday, January 04, 2007:

100 Days and counting....
Where I think I stand with 100 days left to go...

Run: Call me crazy but this has definitely become my favorite discipline. I don't really have any clue how fast I'm going to be able to go after swimming and riding but I think I could run a 1:30 half marathon if I had to.

Bike: What can I say? I love being on the bike still. The long rides are slightly burdensome because of the "have to" aspect to them. Or as Doug put it, "We're not riding with Marc today. We're riding with Marc's heart rate monitor."

Swim: Today I really think for the first time the stroke and the breathing all came together. I think I finally have a stroke that can get me through. It's all about the drills and the speed now.

I'm probably behind on the bike in terms of endurance and fitness but pretty close on strength. I think I'm way ahead of where I was prepping for last year's race. Can't say how I compare on the run though. I certainly had not yet experienced an injury while running then. The thought that I might get hurt hinders my runs.

I was pretty happy to have read that post about the swimming. It means that as bad off as I am right now with the swim that I am ahead of back then. I know that 1:30 is a really slow time but I can live with that. I do need to swim though.

Raining

Weather forecast was for a slight chance of rain this afternoon.

I guess there's still a slight chance that it will rain this afternoon so they might be right. But right now it's pouring out.

I have to remember to eat a handful of redvines before my next ride because that's what I ate yesterday before leaving work and I cut more than 5 minutes from my previous best time. I just pedaled strong the whole way home and felt great the entire time. I even did a nice warm up and cool down.

Not sure what to do today. I'd like to keep this string of workouts going. Maybe if the rain lets up I'll try out my Riptide.

Checking in

Doing well. Probably on track with running and riding. Still haven't spent any time swimming. Time management here is the inhibitor.

Running three times / week. Actually probably actually averaging two. My long runs are up to 12 miles and I'mg getting in another 12 during the week. The ice baths are saving my life I think. So far no unmanageable pain. Another running tip I have picked up is to stay off streets and sidewalks whenever possible. Treadmills and trails are best.

Riding a decent amount. My plan this year is to continue strength rides and climbing until the end of this month and then put the aero bars on and switch the focus to endurance for 60 days. I've climbed Snowbowl 3 times and I think I'll get another 2 - 3 climbs in this year.

I'm a little down because my weight is up. I can't seem to break through below 160 for any length of time. Back in 06 when we got back from France I probably weighed about the same as I do today but within 60 days I had dropped 15 pounds and all I was doing was riding. I don't remember starving myself or cutting out beer. I lost another 10 in the next few months training for my first IM. I think the only thing I'm doing different right now is not swimming so I guess I just have to throw another 3 hours / week of that into the mix and see what happens.

Long Run

Great run this morning. I almost repeated yesterday's non-workout. It was 47 this morning.

Somehow I managed to pull myself out of bed and get out on the road. I swear, back in 2006 & early 2007 I just bounced out of bed to run. Maybe I'm getting old.

I really like the run up here with one caveat; it's 2 miles practically straight down the hill from our place to the freeway. It's tough to run downhill and keep your pulse low. You almost have to work to keep from going fast so you end up going very slow. It's a warm up anyway.

I need to look at the data on my computer to know for sure but after I get to the freeway it's about a 2 mile gradual climb to Schnebly Hill Road. This is the road you can drive on to Sedona. It's not paved but any SUV can make the drive. Anyway, after a mile or so on that the road starts to drop and I'm on that for another mile or so. Then I turn around and go back.

Anyway I really felt great as I turned around and 10 minutes or so later as I got back on the freeway (huge shoulders to run on) I said to myself that I have to make a note of what I ate (2 packages of instant sugar-filled oatmeal, dry) because it was really working for me.

Anyway, I got to the Munds Park exit and then I got to the bottom of the on-ramp and I was about 8 minutes ahead of schedule so I took a little detour down a fire road. Then it hit me: All the fatigue from my legs pounding up and down the hills. Ugh. Just this overwhelming tiredness in my legs. My lungs felt fine but it was a struggle to keep picking up my feet and the whole time I just kept thinking about what was left - 30 minutes of climbing, 10 of it as a cool down.

Anyway, I got there. Iced down my legs and I ended feeling pretty good for the rest of the day. I'm going to run 2 more 12 mile long runs before my next rest week and then take it up 1 mile per week and hopefully get to 20 miles before the race November 22.

Flagstaff

I've ridden Snowbowl the last 3 weeks that we've been up in Munds Park.

This morning I got up and it was 42 degrees out. I gave the finger to the thermometer and went back to bed.