ironclm's tri world

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/obituaries/20031125-9999_1m25davey.html

Norton was a great guy. I raced with him a number of times, including the last two years at the San Diego Half Marathon, and he was always very approachable and very gracious. We ran together part of the way at Ralph's Half IM in 2002 and he was like a rock star--everyone calling out his name. I also remember him volunteering at the 2001 IM California and buzzing like a mother hen over the fellows in the upper age groups, including his buddy Bill Bell. A true IronGent.

It's been 5 weeks since I've been focusing on my running. Gordo suggested working up to six run sessions per week. He said the most bang for the buck is "...run frequency, even short ones when combined with a balanced training program and excellent nutrition is a good way to make headway." So, that's what I've been doing.

Here is where I am, 5 weeks later.

Week 1: 4 sessions, 7.3 miles total, 1:32 total run time; avg. pace around 13:00 min/mi (starting from pretty much nada)

Week 2: 4 sessions, 10.1 miles, 2:07 total run time; avg. pace under 13:00 min/mi

Week 3: 5 sessions, 15 miles, 3:09 total run time; avg. pace around 12:45 min/mi

Week 4: 5 sessions, 12.3 miles, 2:32 total run time; avg pace around 12:20 min/mi

Week 5: 4 sessions, 11.7 miles, 2:16 total run time; avg. pace mid-12s (week messed up by unexpected work travel)

What I'm finding is that I'm getting faster at the same effort, that I need a lot more rest with the increased running and that increasing the run frequency (and therefore the volume somewhat) wipes me out way more than riding big days back to back on the bike. Now, to slowly add back in some bike time. All in all, I'm pretty happy where I am right now.

I've only ridden a couple of times since the ironman race in late September and done a couple of spin classes. It's definitely time to get back on the bike, as only running, even if it's 4-5 times a week, doesn't cut it for riding success.

I rode 60 minutes today with some friends. Well, I rode a little bit with them since we were in the Oakland hills and whenever the road goes up, I drop off the back. Tanya is headed off to New Zealand next week for Worlds and then staying until March to race IM New Zealand, Jason and Kristy are training for IM NZ, so they are deep into their training, Maginn has been riding regularly, Krag is always fit and Jimmy is just an animal. I did have John to ride with me for the first thirty minutes as he was riding easy since he just raced IM Florida two weeks ago. The ride was pretty hilly and I need to get a lot more miles in my legs, so it's time to add the bike back into the training mix.

It was a beautiful day for a ride, though a little on the cold side--arm and leg warmers, full gloves and a vest. But lots of sunshine and bright blue skies! I love California and I love to ride my bike.

Just back from 3 days in Houston for work and most of the time there were lots of storms in the area--rain, flooding, winds, tornadoes. Very exciting. My meeting got delayed a day, so I had to make do at the Four Seasons Hotel.

I spent most of the day Sunday traveling and arrived to a huge rainstorm, the hardest rain I've seen outside of New Zealand. But, once I got to the hotel I did do a run on the treadmill, about 20 minutes. It was still raining Monday (the tornadoes came Monday mid-day and night), so I ran on the treadmill again and lifted weights in the morning and then went to our office. The meeting I'd gone there for was postponed to the next day due to weather, so instead of going to dinner with a fellow triathlete, I spent an evening of leisure, ordering in room service and watching the live storm coverage on tv and then watching Monday Night Football. Tuesday morning it was clear as a bell, so I ran about 20 minutes outside. They have heavy air in Houston, so the 20 minutes was enough! Sat though the meeting yesterday morning, then flew back yesterday afternoon/evening. I was able to go standby instead of much later, but I was stuck in a middle seat on both flights. Still had 12 hours on the time sheet. Overtime is a good thing.

Speaking of airplane seats...that is one way to gauge how much weight I've lost--how I fit in the airplane seat. More than adequate room there now. Couple that with the fact I'm going to have to buy new clothes and I'm quite pleased (down about 15 kilograms so far--you do the math for pounds). There is this new person, an athlete, looking back in the mirror when I go lift weights which is a little scary. I'm still a work in progress, but I'm kinda liking the new me.

I ate pretty well while I was gone--mostly salads and protein (one night I ordered a salad and a hamburger, ditched the bun, and only ate a few french fries, when before I'd have eaten all of the french fries). And, it's getting to be second nature to eat like this. Monday at lunch I ordered a chicken caesar salad, dressing on the side, while everyone around me ate BBQ and fries or chicken fried steak. I've also started noticing how many grossly obese people there are. There were quite a few on my flight, including a guy next to me (remember that middle seat) who really should have purchased two seats (he couldn't put the arm rest down and therefore, took up half of MY seat too). Couple that with the #(%*($%&(%$&*@#&* KID behind me who kept kicking my seat and whose parents did nothing about it, I suppose I should be thankful I didn't kill someone. Yeah, that sounds pretty bitchy, but I paid a lot of money for ONE ENTIRE seat, not HALF of a seat. Crikey!

Fact of the day: Chicken fried steak is on every menu in Houston.
It has nearly 600 calories! That doesn't include the potatoes and
bread that usually come with it.

OK, end of bitching.

http://www.asiorders.com/view_user_photo.asp?EVENTID=2836&ID=5732664&FROM=photos&BIB=3728

(From the Treasure Island Sprint Tri)

Oh yeah, the Golden Gate Tri Club year end party was Saturday night. It was a lot of fun and quite amusing to see everyone all dressed up and not in workout gear. Sarah Rusby and crew did a great job on the food and even a couple of free drinks for everyone!

Janet Raugust put together a wonderful slide show/movie presentation of the year's activities, and, I was very pleasantly surprised to win a couple of awards, tieing with Grant Richards for most Most Sportsmanship-like GGTC member and then winning outright Most Inspirational GGTC athlete. It was a good chance to see Kirsten and Jojo before they move to Modesto and to see a couple of members who have moved out of the Bay Area...Clint, up from LA and Mark Dolley, who is now living in Switzerland and working for the International Olympic Committee.

Made five run workouts last week....probably a record in terms of frequency. The last three weeks build up has been:

Week of Oct 20: 7.3 miles; 1:32 time spent running; 4 sessions
Week of Oct 27: 10.1 miles; 2:07 time; 4 sessions (including a race)
Week of Nov 3: 15 miles; 3:09 time; 5 sessions

We'll see what this week brings.

In the past three weeks, I've started ramping up my running, which needs a lot of work. Though I'm finding that x hours of running per week is much more tiring than the same x hours of biking or swimming. Throw in some weights and a spin class or two and recovery is key! But, my times for similiar runs are coming down and it's getting easier and more enjoyable (I'm sure some who know me will fall over at that statement!)

Today's run: 4 miles
51:18 total; 12:49 avg.
mile splits: 12:45 - 12:19 - 13:09 - 13:05 (first two miles are
downhill; reverse on the way back)

I'm pretty happy with this as I normally average closer to 14 minute miles on this route. With a run tomorrow, I'll have five days running this week. Probably the most (frequency) ever.

1. Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.

2. When you lose, don't lose the lesson.

3. Follow the three "Rs": RESPECT for self, RESPECT for others and RESPONSIBILITY for all your actions.

4. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.

5. Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.

6. Don't let a little dispute injure a great relationship.

7. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.

8. Spend some time alone every day.

9. Open arms to change, but don't let go of your values.

10. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.

11. Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll be able to enjoy it a second time.

12. A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life.

13. In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation. Don't bring up the past.

14. Share your knowledge. It's a way to acheive immortality.

15. Be gentle with the earth.

16. Once a year, go someplace you've never been before.

17. Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.

18. Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.

19. Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon.

Treasure Island Sprint
0.5K-20K-5K

Total: 1:32:24 (20th/37 AG; 127/267 women; 335/538 overall)
Swim: 13:46 (342/538)
T1: 2:41 (fastest in AG)
B: 39:01, 19 mph (one of the fastest in the AG; 128/538)
T2: 1:57
R: 34:59, 11:17 min/mi (497/538)

The last line above shows it all--once I learn to run, I'll be in the thick of things. Just running "average" (27:00) in this race would have put me in the top 10. But I'm pretty pleased with my effort yesterday since it comes on about 10 days training and only two bike rides since late September and the IM race I did.

Saturday was spent at the Olympic distance and ITU race volunteering, so I was on my feet most of the day. I did get to spend a fair amount of time with Triathlon Informer's Amy White as we were stationed out at the run turnaround to radio in updates for the ITU race, so that was a bonus. Then, my pre-race dinner was Mexican food and vodka, but that seemed to have worked out well. There was a dinner for Team KINeSYS that I was invited to, and I had long time pro Alec Rukosuev staying at my house and well, we all toasted to his last pro race before he left for the airport.

Sunday morning broke overcast and pretty cold. I never did hear a confirmed temperature for the water, but it had to be 55F or less. I was in the next to last wave and when we got in the water to warm up, my hands and feet went numb immediately. The course was a 500m triangle and I took off at the horn and did a great 100m, then all of a sudden, it was like swimming in slow motion. I couldn't feel my arms and started to get a bit dizzy from the cold water. I finally hit the ramp, got pulled up out of the water and off to the bike.

The bike course is totally flat, but, with about 22 right hand turns, so it's more like a criterium (we did 3 laps), especially when you get 500 athletes of all sorts of experience and bike handling skill levels. And, being in the next to last wave means passing a lot of people. I ended up riding with a woman in my AG, we'd stay legal on the stretches of straight road, but then we'd get to a corner and come up on riders in front of us who would dramatically slow down for the corners (like to 5 mph). Luckily, most of those riders would take the wide "car turn", so we could take the inside line and get by them. There was also a lot of people riding down the middle of the road and not staying to the right. Luckily, the vast majority of the roads were closed off to traffic (so we had both lanes) and the small section that had cars, also had police controlling the cars. I felt GREAT on the bike!

Racked the bike and got my running shoes on and headed out on the run. My number fell off one side of the race belt, so I walked a little at the start to fix that, but then took off running. My goal was to run the entire way, except to drink at the aid station and to try to run harder on the way back. The course was again, totally flat, out and back. The last 5K I ran was at about 13:00 minutes/mile, so I am thrilled with yesterday's effort. I felt great the entire way and did meet my goals. Though, at least 11 or 12 women in my age group did pass me on the run. Every time I saw a 40-44 on the back of a calf go by, I gave me renewed motivation to work on my running.

The season is officially over now and it's time for Gordo's 6x per week running and to ride the bike. I ~will~ be faster next year!

clm