ironclm's tri world

Quite the interesting year it has been.....it started so full of promise with a race on New Year's Day and training for Ironman New Zealand. Then things went south in a hurry, with a condition requiring surgery in March and limited training for four months. Add in an auto accident the first weekend of February, and I was glad to get the first part of the year over with.

But, there was a trip to New Zealand in there to brighten the picture. No race for me, but I was able to visit friends and to cheer on all my buds on race day. I think I knew about 25 people racing so that made it fun. And, I was there for my friend Steph's first Ironman finish. I'd also been there for her first half IM finish (when she wasn't sure she could do it), so I got all verklempt when she crossed the finish line in Taupo. I also got to see my friend Wy bust out a 90 minute PR, see my buddies Steve and Gordo on the podium in 6th and 7th place respectively, and meet one of my heros--Scott "The Terminator" Molina. What an awesome trip! Training began in earnest in late April and I was able to ~finally~ get in some races and train for the big trip--Le Tour de France. And, a trip to Kona with my girls Boop and the Squirrel, and the Purcell Family, the Corn and G. Those are three trips I will never forget.

The other great thing about this year is a lesser me...down over 17 kg or so from the high pre-surgery weight, which is nearly 39 pounds. And, a couple of sizes. And, new jeans. And, wearing old jeans which I haven't worn in a very, very long time. I love shopping!! And, I plan to be even less of a tri chick next year.

Yesterday, a friend of mine wrote: "It makes a difference having someone who believes in you, and I felt that I'd made a promise that I wasn't about to break." [regarding her committment to running] I told her that I agreed and I think this was probably the most important component in my success this year. I had a few folks who gave me a lot of support this year, who encouraged me, put me back together and who kicked my butt when it needed to be kicked. Thanks Dave, Dan, Hal, Steph and Gordo, and especially, Pieter.

Now, to the numbers..............

Running races in 2003: 3 (17K trail; half marathon; 5K)

Cycling events: 1 (+100K fun ride)

Triathlons: 6 (3 sprints; 1 Oly; 1 HIM; 1 IM)

DNS due to surgery/injury: 5 (ouch $$)

Totals for the year (really, only 8 months of decent training):

Swim yards: 65,190
Bike miles: 1,652
Run miles: 345
Weights: 14 times
Hours: 265:00

Lowest swim yardage in three years, not as many bike miles as last year, but more than 2001, about the same run miles as last year but down from 2001. Total training hours down by about 100 hours over both 2002 and 2001.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! See ya next year!">

What New Year's customs, traditions (or superstitions) do you follow?

Me?

There is a saying: "What you do on New Year's Day sets the tone for the rest of the year." So, I will run long early on 01/01/04 since I'm not big on staying up late and getting drunk and stupid.

Must eat black eyed peas.

And, from my Chinese landlords, you should have oranges in the house (and eat them), a la Chinese New Year.

I always like turning over a new page on the calendar and having a new month spread out before me, so full of possibility. My goals for 2004 are posted below. Here are specific goals for January.

* run 100 miles
* lose 1.5 kg
* ride 200 miles
* swim 15 times
* PR at San Diego Half Marathon
* do four of the five early bird crits (bike races)
* read two books
* get my holiday cards out ;-)

Oh my, I'm going through internet and email withdrawals and spending some money and becoming quite caffeineated at the Java Cat Five cafe in Emporia, Kansas. No, Mom and Dad are not part of the online world, though they do have a yahoo email address. Anyway, I have gotten in a little training this week, between checking email and drinking lattes.

Tuesday: Spent all day either waiting at the airport; flying; or driving from the airport to home (2 hour drive). The nice curbside check in man at the Oakland airport decided to only tag my bags to Denver and not all the way to Kansas City, so I got to KC but my bags didn't. They got the deluxe delivery treatment, arriving about 3AM.

Wednesday: Cold but sunny so Mom, Dad and I went to the Rec Center and I showed Mom all the weight machines. She WILL be going on a program. Dad is the workout king, doing 20 minutes cardio on the cross trainer, lifting and then walking another 20 minutes. He does this 4-5 times a week and watch out if he doesn't get his workout in. I lifted, then ran 20 minutes on the treadmill.

Thursday: Merry Christmas. No working out this day. But, Santa was good to me. I got the 6-DVD Tour de France 2003! Now I need a DVD player. I also got the 2003 Tour de France book, the 25th Annversary IM Hawaii book, a black leather jacket, cash, and a gift card to Old Navy.

Friday: Swam 1,300 yards. The pool was 89F. Yes, eighty-nine degrees. Oy! Later, we went and lifted weights again, then I walked/ran another 20 minutes, part with Dad. Mom went back and did the weights again, with little complaining.

Saturday: Today I think I have a fever, but screw it. I went and swam another 1,300 yards. At least the pool was a little cooler, but not much. Tomorrow it's back to California.

Since I will be without computer access tomorrow....happy holidays to everyone. Hope Santa brings you everything you asked for.

Have you ever been zipping along in life having a great time, seeing things a certain way, having expectations which include another person, and then BOOM--what you thought was one way really wasn't? Yeah, it sucks, doesn't it. Now I'm not sure which is these cats actually said the quote below, or which is the correct version, but it's true. I got slapped in the face with a certain reality today, but I'll live.

What does not destroy me, makes me strong.___Friedrich Nietzsche
What doesn't kill me makes me stronger.___Albert Camus

I'll leave Fried and Al to fight it out over attribution.

A crap training week this week due to major work projects which had to get out the door. I was way tired and slept in every morning and had an evening meeting and three parties which tied up four nights. The other night I was at work until 8:00 PM. I hate this time of the year. Merry f'ing Christmas.

Today started out fabulous....a GREAT training day! I went and rode with the bike racing team and we rode an hour and forty minutes, working on paceline riding with a few sprints coming back. There were 4 of us gals and we worked really well together (total on the ride--10). We all kept together going out, but then split up on the way back and we 4 rode together, except when I dropped them on the sprints. I can't wait for the first early bird crit--January 4th.

"if you feel something in your heart, and know it resonates within you as
something you should try, yet you hold back out of fear, you set yourself
up for regret. regret is an appalling waste of energy. you cannot build
on it, you cannot grow from it; all you can do is wallow in frustration."
--wayne dyer

"NO BEIGE", no regret--that's my motto tonight.

(OK--the no beige comes from a book called "The Sweet Potato Queens Book of Love" (Jill Conner Browne). It's a very hysterical book about life, love, men and the importance of being prepared. I read it in October 2000 in two evenings when I was in Kona with my friend Karen and our new friend Christina and we adopted the motto NO BEIGE--don't live a bland, boring life. You may not get hurt in the boring life, but what the hell kind of life would that be? The SP Queens other advice? Be particular; Be prepared; Do what you will wish you had done when you are old; Don't live a beige life; Settle for MORE!)

I went to the dojo last night to "Fight Night", then afterwards, they had a party. I've not trained there since very early last year, pre-surgery, and had only been in there maybe once to watch a graduation test, probably back in April or May. Since then, they've added a boxing ring and made quite a few changes (Karate One--2000 Van Ness @ Jackson.) I love to spar and watching the fights last night got my blood pumping to get back in there.

My mother asked me once, "Why do you like to hit people?" It's not really something you can explain and it's not really the hitting people, but rather, boxing is like a dance. Or, others have called it a silent conversation. When you hit the heavy bag, there is a surge of power that goes through your body that is very intoxicating. There is a sameness to the act of wrapping your hands and other preparation that is very comforting. Being in the dojo or gym lets you forget about everything else going on in the world or going on in your life since you need that in-the-moment concentration. And, boxing is a fabulous workout! I had a lengthy chat with Paul and Simon, two Irishmen who are boxers (Paul was professional, Simon has been Golden Gloves champ) and who recently opened a pure boxing gym in San Francisco (www.thirdstreetgym.com). Both invited me to come down and check it out since they know I used to train. I will just have to take them up on that offer.

But, how to fit it all in? That pesky work thing gets in my way of doing everything I want to do. I want to swim, to bike, to run, get back in to the boxing gym, learn French, learn Dutch. I don't have time to work! But now, I go ride.

A tri email list that I'm on has a year-end wrap up. It's a nice way to think about what you've accomplished during the year and to think about goals for the upcoming year.

1. What did you accomplish during 2003? (can be both triathlon and not)

* I realized that when you are really healthy, what a great thing that is.
I'm learning how to train right. It's an ongoing process and I'm a slow
learner.
* Lost around 15 kg (and still going down).

2. Did you meet your goals (assuming you had some.)

Most, no, since March surgery and a February car wreck kind of put them aside. The main one that I did meet was to decrease body fat and increase fitness.

3. Did you recover from injury?

Mostly, though my neck/back occasionally bugs me (post-wreck). No
tri-related injuries.

4. Did you have fun?

Always!

5. What will you remember about 2003?

* A life changing year with major surgery, which was really a good thing in
the long run.
* Riding my bike through the streets of Paris and finally, after years of dreaming about going, seeing the Tour de France in person.
* Hearing my friend Amy White yelling out my name in the middle of France as I'm riding the TTT course earlier in the day that the Tour riders would pass through. That still makes me laugh.
* Kona in October, with my girls Squirrel and Boop. That was just too much fun.
* How awesome it is to have someone who fully believes in you (and tells
you that).

6. Did you get to meet any TRI-DRSers? If so, who?

Met Holly Gannoe in the spring. Met Mike Peerless in the middle of
Kailua Bay. Also met the rest of the Peerless family, Debi Bernades and
family, the Wrighties and Karen Fralen and hubby. Saw stv, Steve Blum,
Kathy Matejka, Amy White, Nigel Sanderson, Mike Plumb, Emily, Haim,
Gordo, Judy F. and a few other lurkers. Drank too many pints in NYC with
Stephen Dragoni. I'm sure I'm missing someone and I apologize. Talked
on the phone with Dara Miles and Karen Finley.

7. What was your favorite race in 2003?

UVAS/South Bay--first race post-surgery
Half Vineman--all time favorite race

8. What are your goals for 2004 (tri or other)?

* Improve my running
* Break 3:00 at the San Diego Half Marathon
* PR at Ralph's Half IM (actually, I have specific time goals which will
remain under wraps for now)
* FINISH CaliMan
a. finish the darned thing
b. PR
c. Not end up in the medical tent
* Try bike racing
* Go back to France and ride the big miles with the Aussie boys
* Train ~consistently~ and continue to improve nutrition and body
composition
* HAVE FUN!

From an email I received today. This is a bummer, but all the best wishes for Steve, Carrie and the kids.


A NEW BEGINNING

When I began my competitive cycling career in 1984, I could never have imagined how far it would take me. The great people I have worked and raced with, along with the lessons learned through successes and failures, have all played a role in shaping the person I have become today.


Today, I am a husband and a father, to a phenomenal woman and two amazing children. Today, I am fortunate to have friendships with fantastic people around the world. My commitment to achieving personal bests, while learning from my mistakes and losses has been invaluable. Today, I would not trade any of these friendships and lessons for the material success offered by one more big win.


Although my passion for racing and winning still burns hot, I have made the decision to retire from professional sports. I am extremely excited by the intellectual challenges that await me. I am certain that the same skills that served me so well for twenty years as a full time athlete will pay dividends in my post athletic career.


Those of you that have made an impact on my career (both good and bad!), I want to thank you. You have all helped in my development as an athlete and person, and I am grateful.


My style, although not always understood or appreciated, has been to prepare and compete with 100% professionalism and dedication. This is the only way that I know how and shows the degree of respect that I have always had for my sport and my competition. I will miss the opportunity to measure myself against the best athletes in the world, but I will always compete. Of course, at the moment, that just means striving to become the best snowboarder in my family!


Thanks again to all of my supporters over the last twenty years. I truly see this not as an end, but just the beginning. I hope you agree, and that we will have the chance to work, race, or play together again soon.


Happy Holidays and all the best in 2004!

Steve Larsen

My friend Boop had all three of her bikes stolen off her Xterra last week. They were all locked with multiple locking systems and still were ripped off. And, no insurance coverage. So, all my "yellow page" buds (The Tri Lounge http://www.wi.ca/imcal/comments/) decided to chip in and help her get another bike. We've set up a paypal account, or if people don't want to use it, they can send a check. Here's her message:

Date: Thursday December 18th, 2003 11:16 Comment 329605
Boop of OC email: @

Good Morning peeps! WOW! I've been completely overwhelmed by all the kind words, emails, and offers of help in replacing my bike. I am constantly amazed at how wonderful and generous triathletes as a group are, particularly those that hang out here in the Lounge! :-) With the encouragement of a few friends, I've gone ahead and set up the Boop Bike Fund. THANK YOU ALL for everything you've said and done this past week. I'm truly grateful. Talk about renewing my faith in people! :-)

So, if anyone wants to donate, they can go to PAYPAL.COM and send donations to my e-mail address: betts13@earthlink.net. If you'd like to mail a donation, please send it to CLM (since I don't have a permanent address). CLM's address is 1327 Vallejo St., San Francisco, CA 94109. If there is any extra cash, it will be donated to Children's Hospital in SD. THANK YOU ALL! :-)

As for my workouts for the week--not so good so far. Huge work project (which will be out the door hopefully TODAY), plus evening functions have left little time. Yeah, it's an excuse. Once I have this year-end project finished, I'll be golden. Next week will be prime workout time as I'll be on holiday!!!

A weak start to the training week last week, but I made up for it on the weekend. I'm trying to wrap up a major work project in the next couple of days and had a hard time getting up last week. I overslept by a couple of hours at least a couple of days. But, I'm keeping to the healthy eating, so the entire week wasn't a waste. And, I had a great weekend of training. Once I get this project out the door in the next couple of days, things should calm down at work.

For the week, I rode the bike trainer once; went to my roadie roommate's spin class once; ran once; rode once with the bike racing team I plan to race with in 2004; and swam once. I overslept three days and worked late at least that many.

Saturday I did get out for a run and ran a little over 5.5 miles, averaging under 12:00/mile for the entire run. This is a BIG DEAL!! I was just running my usual RPE and was really surprised to see the splits. I'm jacked about that and motivated to keep running. Those who know me well will probably fall over, stunned at that statement.

On Sunday I rode with the race team I plan to race with in 2004. It was a "get to meet you" ride and there were 22 of us, including about half women. Lots of varying abilities and bike handling skill levels, but we ended up with four of us, all women, who rode together and got a nice little paceline going. I also rode the hills much stronger than previously and both coaches noticed and commented on this. I got dropped by the main pack on the hills, but did beat a couple of gals up Camino Alto, which is a first. I was able to chase and get back on the pack. On the way back, I did stop and wait for one girl who had dropped way behind. Come to find out, she's bonked and so we stopped and put a can of Coke into her and a Powerbar and she perked right up. We caught up with two other women and rode in together. The ride was 41 miles and it was a beautiful, clear, but windy, day here.

Last night a friend of mine did the hard sell to get me to come swimming with him and I'm really glad he did. We drove down to Burlingame and we swam 40 minutes in the big, nice 50 meter outdoor pool under the stars. A great way to end the week. I hope we make this a regular Sunday evening thing after the first of the year.

Goal for this week: Continue the healthy eating, don't let work interfere with workouts and get back running more.

OK, I'll admit that I've been fighting off a cold for the past few days and therefore sleeping in, and that work is really busy, but the truth is--I HATE December and all the (usually) forced holiday festivites, and the short days and rain and dark. I come home from work, look at the mail and it feels like it's 10PM when it's only about 7PM. I am then so ready to go to bed. And, I just can't seem to get myself up to work out in the evenings. I could when I was going to to the dojo. Maybe I will have to return there after the first of the year.

Anyway, I will be very happy for the new year to arrive. Last year at this time, I was getting ready to head off to New Zealand for about ten days and I sure wish I were getting on a plane again this year. There is a half ironman in Taupo, NZ in mid-December which is so much fun. And, it's summer there.

I ran 3.5 times this week (one was an aborted run session--I just did NOT want to be there--so I can't call it a real run session), one time riding the trainer and once lifting. Totally unmotivated, until today. Today's run was good--7 miles at my hopefully, half marathon race pace. (Of course, it was sunny and warm, which always helps.)

I also decided that not having a written schedule is NOT GOOD, since I tend to procrastinate way too much and the person who usually keeps me honest by asking me every day how my workout was, has been a bit busy and hasn't been asking me this week. (But, I hope he gets back to it since I definitely need the accountability.) I am going to use Hal Higdon's intermediate half marathon program for the San Diego Half Marathon (January 18th). [www.halhigdon.com] After that, I'll do a short recovery week, then ramp it up for CaliMan (May 22nd), using an Ironman training program I've used in the past. I'll also be working in the bike racing, which is all new to me, so I'll play that by ear.

Borrowing liberally from cyclingnews.com and then making a few changes. Just for fun, since there is no cycling on OLN.

Rider of the Year: Alessandro Pettachi

Best cycling image of the year: Tyler winning the stage to Bayonne in the Tour

Next bike you would like to own: Cervelo P2T track bike

Most memorable cycling moment….

a: That you saw live or on TV: tie between (1) Beloki's crash and Lance's cyclocross ride and (2) Lance's fall and subsequent pissed off ride up Luz Ardidan

b: Your own: Too many! (1) The first ride on the streets of Paris, (2) day of Stage 2 when we rode in a peloton on the freeway--the first time I understood the effect of the peloton, (3) the ride home to Grenoble from the base of Alpe d'Huez--FLYING!

Best 1-day pro race: Paris-Roubaix

Best pro stage race: Tour de France

Best local race or event (to watch or race): SF Grand Prix/T-Mobile

Cycling trip you'd like to take: To ride in the South of France when the Tour ISN'T going on.

My friend Betty arrived in San Francisco on Wednesday night to spend 4 days with me. Her friends Kris and Arnie were going to drive up from Pasadena, so this would be a chance to get in some great training and hang out with friends!

Thursday: Thanksgiving Day, but we didn't have formal dinner plans (instead, we were going to a traditional Thanksgiving dinner on Saturday evening). We headed out late morning to Ft. Mason and ran out towards the Golden Gate Bridge. A beautiful, sunny day and lots of people were out. I ran 4 miles and felt really good, even with the wicked fast pace Betty set in the first half mile (about 45 seconds per mile faster than I normally run). After about 3/4 of a mile, Betty went on ahead and did her run while I did mine. After we ran, we went to the gym and lifted weights for 40 minutes. We'd have swam too, but the gym was closing early. Dinner out in North Beach (Italian section) with Kris and Arnie that night.

Friday: The weather man had been saying the rain was coming Friday night and all day Saturday, maybe showers on Sunday. So, we decided to ride Friday to miss the rain. Ha ha. The joke was on us. We drove up to Santa Rosa and met up with Kris and Arnie and headed out on the Vineman course. It was cool, but not too cold, but within the first 10 miles, it started to rain. Not hard, more sprinkling at first, but steady. So, we rode 50 miles, most of it in the rain. I had on a jersey, arm warmers, a light jacket, leg warmers, shorts, socks, toe covers and full gloves and was fine for most of the ride. My toes got a little cold the last 10 miles. After the ride, we changed at the cafe and had lunch and lots of hot coffee. Friday night we all went to dinner in my neighborhood...Thai. Yum!

Saturday: Woke up to little to no rain in SF, but lots of rain in Santa Rosa. Ride or not? Kris and Arnie decided not to and instead, planned to drive back to SoCal where it would hopefully be a nice sunny day on Sunday. So, Betty and I went for a run, same as Thursday, but we ran the first half mile even FASTER this day. Home to shower and then we met Kris and Arnie for lunch and walked around the neighborhood. They headed back and it was a lazy afternoon in a cold, dreary SF. Thanksgiving dinner Saturday night was great!

Sunday: Day of rest. Stayed up late the night before and I had a little bit of a scratchy throat, so instead, we went out to meet a non-triathlete for breakfast. It started to rain and rained pretty much the entire day. We walked around downtown SF and did some shopping. Then, early afternoon Betty headed off to Yosemite. Last night was a nice evening at home and I now have a very clean bike.

Totals for the week:
Swim: 0 (my bad)
Bike: 51 miles
Run: 8 miles
Trainer: 40 minutes
Weights: once
Hours for the week: 7:46 (highest in about 2 months)

Goals for December:
swim 10 times
bike 150 miles
run 80 miles