Oh but it's been awhile. I'm slacking in my blogging duties- too much else going on. Here I am a little less than two weeks away from my first (and most difficult) race of the season- the Wildflower Long Course!
Oh Wildflower, how you vex me. I swore up and down after 2002 that I would never do the long course again, but after last year's Olympic effort, here I am again, ready to toe the line for 70.3 miles of fun on the hardest course I've ever done. I have a love-hate relationship with this race. The energy, people and overall experience are unlike anything I've ever done. The course itself- PURE HELL.....
There is the argument for the devil you know however. This will be my fourth time racing the long course, the first since '02. That's a pretty long break! Big difference this time is that I have a full year of training under my belt! I'm as fit as I've ever been and I honestly feel as though I can PR this race. It's going to be hard, but I know it's doable if I can just maintain my focus and dig through the coming pain. I know it's coming. It always comes. It usually comes at about mile 25 of the bike and just hangs around for the next 45 miles or so. Sortof like taking a meat hammer to your quads. That said, I know the course. I know the hills, and I know what's coming and when. I've been doing a LOT of hill work this winter, and I know that Wildflower doesn't have anything that scares me anymore. Nasty Grade? Not so nasty. Try Mines road going out to Mount Hamilton- yes that's right- 4500 vertical feet of climbing in about ten miles. Take that Nasty Grade.
I really don't know what to expect on race day. When I started back into the sport, my goal for 2010 was to get my body race ready, and then race well in 2011. I think I've achieved the first part. Now it's time to perform.
Time to bring it!
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Monday, January 24, 2011
The Training Block
I think she may be trying to kill me....
THe ELF is ramping up the training something fierce.This last week was big in volume and intensity. The kind of workouts where you're growling at yourself halfway through so you can finish them. The ones that you look at the night before and start mentally calculating base on your schedule for the day how the heck you're going to get THAT done. And somehow you do it.
Last week was definitely one of those weeks. Highlights included a 5am trainer session before heading for the airport for a 2 day biz trip; rest day going out the window because meetings ran long on Thursday and I wasn't able to get my second workout done, so I had to do it Friday. Not to be outdone, I had a 2 and a half hour suffer fest on my bike trainer at 8pm on a Saturday night. Who says triathletes don't know how to party?
Having navigated my way through that, I looked at the schedule for the week. Oh look- more fun! It's an hour more than last week! Awesome. And it's only January.
But Wildflower looms. It's out there, waiting for me, teasing me, taunting me. It knows that i haven't had a good day out there in over ten years, and it's messing with my head. Well guess what pal? I've got a plan this year. I've got coaching, I've got resources, I've got a full year of fitness base to work from, instead of starting from scratch. Wildflower- you'll be my bitch this year, not the other way around.
So, now I need to get ready for my swim & strength workouts. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
THe ELF is ramping up the training something fierce.This last week was big in volume and intensity. The kind of workouts where you're growling at yourself halfway through so you can finish them. The ones that you look at the night before and start mentally calculating base on your schedule for the day how the heck you're going to get THAT done. And somehow you do it.
Last week was definitely one of those weeks. Highlights included a 5am trainer session before heading for the airport for a 2 day biz trip; rest day going out the window because meetings ran long on Thursday and I wasn't able to get my second workout done, so I had to do it Friday. Not to be outdone, I had a 2 and a half hour suffer fest on my bike trainer at 8pm on a Saturday night. Who says triathletes don't know how to party?
Having navigated my way through that, I looked at the schedule for the week. Oh look- more fun! It's an hour more than last week! Awesome. And it's only January.
But Wildflower looms. It's out there, waiting for me, teasing me, taunting me. It knows that i haven't had a good day out there in over ten years, and it's messing with my head. Well guess what pal? I've got a plan this year. I've got coaching, I've got resources, I've got a full year of fitness base to work from, instead of starting from scratch. Wildflower- you'll be my bitch this year, not the other way around.
So, now I need to get ready for my swim & strength workouts. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
Friday, January 14, 2011
Free stuff!
http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2011/01/garmin-forerunner-310xt-giveawayjanuary.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+DcRainmaker+%28DC+Rainmaker%29
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Bike test- how I love thee.....
Yeah- not so much really.
The bike test was yesterday. I've done this probably half a dozen times since last summer and it kills me every time. I guess that's the point though. 20 minutes of all out , what-have-you-got, bring-it as hard as you can riding. That's what I call fun.
I don't know why the bike test is as intimidating as it is. I literally pushed it out as far as I could yesterday, finally getting on my trainer at 8:40pm last night after getting the kids to bed. Talk about procrastination. It's just a brutal 20 minutes and I have to gear up for it- get my head ready. Even then, during the warmup I'm filled with self doubt and over analyze every little tweak and cramp and muscle strain. It's amazing how the head drives the body.
I know I have work to do on the mental side. Everyone does. Even my coach. She put up a great blog posing on the subject today and I couldn't agree more with what she said. I'm my own worst enemy and my greatest limiting factor is my brain, not my body.
So here's to breaking down barriers and breakthrough performances! I know I have some in me this year.
The bike test was yesterday. I've done this probably half a dozen times since last summer and it kills me every time. I guess that's the point though. 20 minutes of all out , what-have-you-got, bring-it as hard as you can riding. That's what I call fun.
I don't know why the bike test is as intimidating as it is. I literally pushed it out as far as I could yesterday, finally getting on my trainer at 8:40pm last night after getting the kids to bed. Talk about procrastination. It's just a brutal 20 minutes and I have to gear up for it- get my head ready. Even then, during the warmup I'm filled with self doubt and over analyze every little tweak and cramp and muscle strain. It's amazing how the head drives the body.
I know I have work to do on the mental side. Everyone does. Even my coach. She put up a great blog posing on the subject today and I couldn't agree more with what she said. I'm my own worst enemy and my greatest limiting factor is my brain, not my body.
So here's to breaking down barriers and breakthrough performances! I know I have some in me this year.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
First run test of 2011
OK, so it's been awhile. The holidays are behind us. Work is setlling down a bit and I can get back into my training groove. Only 4 months until Wildflower! I'd better get it together.
Had my first run test of the new year today- it was a mixed bag. I was able to get my HR elevated and hold it, but my speed wasn't where I wanted it. Speed will come I guess. It's early and that was the first big test of the hammy since my injury.
I'm getting back into the swing of things. My only complaint is that it's COLD!!!! I'm going to need to get some warmer gear.
Had my first run test of the new year today- it was a mixed bag. I was able to get my HR elevated and hold it, but my speed wasn't where I wanted it. Speed will come I guess. It's early and that was the first big test of the hammy since my injury.
I'm getting back into the swing of things. My only complaint is that it's COLD!!!! I'm going to need to get some warmer gear.
Friday, December 10, 2010
Blog Lag
I'm sure all 4 of you have been dying to know where I've been! I've been a blog slacker. Too busy with many other things including travel for work, kids, home life and every once in awhile some training. I have been putting the OFF in offseason.
Not to say I haven't been doing anything. It just hasn't been very structured and I don't sweat missing a workout. I'm starting to think about races for next year and have 3 on the schedule already- WIldflower, Vineman and the Silicon Valley International- where I have my PR at that distance. I plan on breaking it this year!
Despite the lack of training, I must be doing something right, because I am dropping pounds left and right. I got on the scale today and weighed in at 189. To put it into perspective, a couple of years back I went to a trainer at the gym to work my fat butt into shape and weighed in at 227, so I've dropped my age in pounds! Even better, I was between 205-210 when I jumped back into tris, so I've dropped about 20 pounds in the last yearalone, and that's a great thing.
One downside- my wedding ring doesn't fit!!!I have abnormally skinny fingers for a guy (thanks Mom) and now they are even skinnier! My wedding ring fit 8 years ago just fine, got a little tight for awhile in my heavy years, and now if I shake my hand a few times the ring comes off, especially when it's cold. My wife had a wedding band that I bought her when she was pregnant with our first born- a spare if you will, as she was retaining water and couldn't fit her ring on her hand. To put it into perspective, I slid that ring on my hand yesterday with room to spare.
I'm going to go eat something now....
Not to say I haven't been doing anything. It just hasn't been very structured and I don't sweat missing a workout. I'm starting to think about races for next year and have 3 on the schedule already- WIldflower, Vineman and the Silicon Valley International- where I have my PR at that distance. I plan on breaking it this year!
Despite the lack of training, I must be doing something right, because I am dropping pounds left and right. I got on the scale today and weighed in at 189. To put it into perspective, a couple of years back I went to a trainer at the gym to work my fat butt into shape and weighed in at 227, so I've dropped my age in pounds! Even better, I was between 205-210 when I jumped back into tris, so I've dropped about 20 pounds in the last yearalone, and that's a great thing.
One downside- my wedding ring doesn't fit!!!I have abnormally skinny fingers for a guy (thanks Mom) and now they are even skinnier! My wedding ring fit 8 years ago just fine, got a little tight for awhile in my heavy years, and now if I shake my hand a few times the ring comes off, especially when it's cold. My wife had a wedding band that I bought her when she was pregnant with our first born- a spare if you will, as she was retaining water and couldn't fit her ring on her hand. To put it into perspective, I slid that ring on my hand yesterday with room to spare.
I'm going to go eat something now....
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