ironclm's tri world

Changing Sites

2004-03-07T06:45:00.000-08:00

Moving to a new site: http://ironclm.typepad.com/ironclms_tri_world/

Tan Lines

2004-03-06T17:57:00.000-08:00

Yeah, the beginning of some! Today was a spectacular day in Northern California!! Sunshine, warm, blue skies...just an awesome day.

Met up with a bunch of the guys from Transition Sports and a gal from GGTC and we headed out. The guys were going to ride up to the Junction (really long climb), but we were all riding the same route the first 20 miles so we rode together. The pace was probably faster than I'd start out, but there are some good stretches to get down in the aero bars and hammer, and well, I can't help it. Said see ya to the guys and headed south and east, towards the Altamont Pass. By this time the weather was getting quite nice and I knew we had a good climb coming up, so I shed the arm warmers and was riding in shorts and a jersey. Nice!

The climb was good, then the stretch of rollers and finally back into Livermore, Pleasanton and back up to the car. The last 25 miles is flat to rolling and again, some great stretches to get down in the aero bars and just fly, but after the first couple of times of dropping my riding partner, I didn't.

Total for the day was 71 miles in a little under 5 hours. Rode the last half of the ride pretty easy and ended up worked on riding a higher cadence instead of popping it into the big chainring and riding hard (but man, that was tempting!)

Days like today are why we live in California!

It's A Beautiful Day

2004-03-05T06:37:00.000-08:00

Only time for a short run this morning before driving down to Silicon Valley for a long day of work, but what a nice morning! Thought about all my friends getting their last sleep before rising this morning in Taupo, New Zealand and heading to the start line. Hope everyone has a safe and fun day.

And no matter your views on the war and George Bush, if you are so inclined, please say an extra prayer for an Ironman who is in Iraq. According to his wife, it sounds like the next few days could be hairy. Stay safe T/T.

"Hi all, Steve says hi, he gets a call or e-mail through occasionally. That will be changing for the next few days and I ask everyone to say an extra prayer for their safety."

New Zealand

2004-03-04T08:11:00.000-08:00

Yesterday at work one of the attorneys said, "It's the first of March, shouldn't you be in New Zealand?" Ah yes. It's the first time in four years that I've not been at IM NZ, either racing or spectating and I'm bumming a bit. So, good luck to all.

The pro race is going to be fabulous! Bjorn (Mr. A), the G-Man (Gordo Byrn), Normann (ahhh) Stadler, Cam Brown, Rhodsey (Brian Rhodes), Garrett Macfayden and the Baron (Clas Bjorling) should make for an exciting race. My picks for top three are: Brown, Stadler and the Baron.

My "GOOD LUCK AND KICK SOME BUTT" personal wishes go out to: Hilary Biscay, Steve Blum, Shannon Boughn, Amy Buege, (Blue Shirt) Rick Dana, Ken Davico (welcome back to IM), Jennifer DeWald (the HI JEN sign gal), Kristy Gough, Tanya Grossman (K&T--rip it up girls!), Diana Hassel (pro debut!), Jason Hobson (IM VIRGIN), Mark Hofman, Sandy Liaw, Roger Martin (that Kona slot in in your sights), Melanie Mociun, Roger Nyquist, Ariel Parrish, Paul Perkins (go Paulie!), Kevin Purcell (kick some butt KP!), Scott Smith (yeah Scrotester--bust out of our 16:50 club), Amy White, Iain Gauld, Ray Pitch, Nigel Sanderson, Wyanne Chase, Ally Leslie, Stuart Fafeita (you'll get it this year), Steve Jacobs (from long-time volunteer to Ironman last year), Tiare Lund, Rose Sandison, Scott Molina, Tom Demerly, Canuck Greg and Andrew the IM Virgin. Man, now I'm really bumming!

First Early Morning Ride of the Year

2004-03-03T08:28:00.000-08:00

AND WHAT AN AWESOME WAY TO START THE DAY! One hour 20 minutes hill climbing on the bike with my friend Steph. Blue skies, fairly warm, the skies clear as a bell! You could see the lighthouse off the point past the Marin Headlands and Mt. Diablo to the east and there were lots and lots of cyclists and runners out. We did 5 good hill climbs and if I didn't have a 2 hour meeting today at work, I'd still be out there.

February Wrap Up and March Goals

2004-02-29T22:29:00.000-08:00

February: Not so good. Lost about 10 days of training to illness.

Goals for February:
* run 80 miles and average 4x/week
* ride 400 miles
* swim more consistently, at least 2x/week, if not 3x/week
* maintain workouts with work travel

Numbers for February:
Swim: 7,665 yds
Bike: 108 miles
Run: 16 miles
Time: 16:34

Goals for March:
* Swim: 16,000 yds
- Start swim cord work
* Bike: 400 miles
- Do at least one 100 mile ride
* Run: 100 miles
- Keep up the run workouts with a trip to Houston, San Diego, Los Angeles and New York during the month.

The Numbers

2004-02-29T22:13:00.000-08:00

I went Friday and had a VO2 max test done on at the club. The testing was done on the Computrainer using the same equipment as the last test (May 2002) and done by the same person. I also had it done in 1999 on the same equipment, but I think a different person.

Year 1999 - 2002 - 2004

VO2 @ AT 20.5 - 26.3 - 27.8

HR @ AT 154 - 169 - 166

VO2 max (ml/kg/min) 29.8 - 35.8 - 42

AT as % VO2 max 69% - 73% - 66% (?)

Watts @ AT ?? - 170 - 175

Max watts (power) 222 - 245 - 255

I'd like to be retested at the university lab, just for kicks, to see if the more trained personnel and different equipment make much of a difference. And, I'd like to get a Power Tap (or SRAM if I win the lottery).

Come Meet Roch and Huddle....

2004-02-23T10:04:00.000-08:00

Are you an avid Triathlete with many races under your belt? Or have you been thinking you like to do one? Then please join us for our next meeting as:

GOLDEN GATE TRIATHLON CLUB presents

Paul Huddle and Roch Frey

of

www.multisports.com

When: Monday March 1st, 7 p.m.
Where: Sports Basement, Presidio
Who’s invited: You! All runners, swimmers, bikers, all triathlon clubs, accomplished triathletes, wanna-be triathletes
Cost: $5, GGTC members free

We’re flying in Paul Huddle and Rock Frey from San Diego to speak to us!! These guys are great! Here's a little about them:

• Former professional triathletes
• Contributing writers for Triathlete Magazine
• Well-respected coaches of triathletes of all abilities, from beginners to such greats as Ironman champion
Peter Reid
• Race directors and consultants of the Ironman North America race series
• Former Canadian Long Course National Champion (Roch)
• Founder of the UCSD Master's Triathlon Training Club in 1996, and past head coach (Roch)
• Head coaches for the Asian MSOQ Team who participated in the Mild Seven Outdoor Quest China race
(adventure racing)
• Western States 100 Run finisher (Huddle)
• Creators of the “underpants run”
• plus, they're really funny

We’ll be raffling away Giants tickets, Sports Basement Gift Certificates, Tri-California Wildflower Race Clinics, and for new or current members, a Wildflower race entry, followed by an Alcatraz entry next week! (Details at ggtc.org).

Quote of the Day

2004-02-21T17:44:00.000-08:00

"I collect an imaginary receipt after every great training day.
Usually it reads:

Price -- Energy to train for six hours hard
Tax -- Physical and emotional commitment
Subtotal -- All your hopes and dreams

Total paid -- Euphoria, pain, fatigue, and no regrets"

From my buddy Victor Plata, 2000 USA Triathlon Olympic Team Alternate and heading to the 2004 Olympic Trials

The V-Man is keeping a "100 Days to the Olympic Trials" diary. Some
good stuff.

http://www.teamkinesys.com/default.asp?Page=Diary&Date=1/9/2004

FINALLY!

2004-02-21T15:14:00.000-08:00

After ten days, I am finally feeling better and good enough to try and ride. My coughing is much less and I finally have my voice back, though it still has that, "hmmm...husky" quality. Or at least that's what I was told last night.

Anyway, after sleeping in until 9:00 AM today (which I could get used to), I eventually headed out on the bike for a little over an hour. Mid-50s and overcast, but no rain, thankfully. I rode out to the fort under the Golden Gate Bridge and then around the Presidio for a while. I felt pretty good on the flats, but on the hills, it felt like I was breathing through a tiny straw. Lots of nose blowing and some coughing, but all in all, a good ride and no wheezing in my chest. I'm on the road to recovery.

A Bad Deja Vu

2004-02-19T08:39:00.000-08:00

I missed most of last February's training to injury/illness and just when I was on a roll this year, came down with the cold/flu. A week spent sick and very little training (one 20 minute swim; one 15 minute trainer ride). The doctor got me on antibiotics yesterday and I feel way better today. There may be hope for this month yet. Now, if the rain willl just stay away, at least on the weekends!

Three Day Weekend

2004-02-14T12:10:00.000-08:00

This is definitely NOT the way I wanted to start the three day weekend. Had a temperature yesterday (over 100F) and I was still coughing and have a rattling in my chest. Had to go to work for a while, but came home early and took a nap. I was hoping I'd be feeling better today and I am (no fever, less coughing), but the raspy chest is still there. Everyone says that above the neck...OK to train. Below the neck...don't train. So, I got up and rode out to the Bridge where I was supposed to lead a ride. Couldn't breathe on the short ride out there and my cough got worse and what I really felt like doing was curling up on the cement bench and falling asleep. Instead, I got everyone lined out with a couple of folks subbing in to lead the ride and I rode home and went back to bed. My stomach muscles and ribs are sore from all the coughing. And, it's a totally beautiful day here and would have been the perfect day for a long ride. But, better to miss a couple of days now, than to miss a couple of weeks down the road. ;-(

Just When You Are On A Roll

2004-02-12T06:16:00.000-08:00

Something jumps up and gets in your way. Yeah, I'm sick with a stuffed head, sore throat and cough. Woke up with it yesterday and fell back asleep for another 2.5 hours. Guess I needed the rest. I feel somewhat better today and think I'll go swim tonight. Maybe the chlorine will help unclog my head. At least I got a really good run in on Monday and rode the trainer Tuesday morning. I have a big ride planned for Saturday, so I need to get rid of this now! Time to hit the echinacea, Zicam and TheraFlu and down the oranges and chicken soup.

Recovery and Rest Week

2004-02-08T21:03:00.000-08:00

After five weeks of increasing volume, this was an easier week, mostly due to travel. For the week, two runs plus the medium day today. Today, instead of riding long we did some hill work--a 40 minute or so climb, with a great downhill on the other side. Only 2:15 riding time, but I had breathing issues today. And, I need a lot of hill work. The ride was followed by an hour swim outdoors in the sunshine (in the long course pool). A perfect California day. Tonight I physically feel great and ready to up the frequency and volume next week.

Sometimes Rest Is Good

2004-02-07T16:34:00.000-08:00

I had planned this week to be a recovery week, but hadn't planned to do mostly nothing (only a very short treadmill run from Monday to Friday). But, I now think the days off due to travel were a good thing. I didn't set the alarm this morning and decided to sleep in until I woke up. Woke up at 3:30 AM, but told myself no more Eastern Standard Time and went back to sleep until about 6:45 AM. Spent most of the morning getting caught up around the house and doing errands that I'd not had a chance to do. Found out our ride schedule for tomorrow got changed with a long swim added, so late morning I headed out and ran 48 minutes. Felt great and my heel/Achilles that had been bothering me for a couple of weeks did not hurt at all. It had been pretty sore the past couple of weeks, so taking that time off was a good thing. I felt great on the run! A trip to the grocery store to stock up on healthy food and I'm golden.

50 Hours....Too Much

2004-02-06T18:31:00.000-08:00

This week of work, not working out. A short trip to three time zones away really wrecks your training. Add in sitting in meetings all day or on an airplane and it's stiff-city! But, two long airplane trips meant time to read my book and no one calling or emailing me with work requests! Monday I flew to Washington, D.C. for four days. I left early from San Francisco and thanks to snow in Chicago, was late getting to DC. Arrived at the hotel at 10 PM. Fitful sleep that night and I slept until the last possible minute before heading to our DC office. Thought about getting up to work out, but 5AM would have been 2AM Cali time. Worked all day Tuesday and instead of going to work out in the mini hotel gym, I went and had dinner with a triathlete that I know in the area. We had a fun time catching up since we only get to see each other once or twice a year. Did a short treadmill run on Wednesday before we had to leave DC and drive to Virginia. It was freezing cold, with icy streets and sidewalks, so the treadmill was a necessity. There is no way I could go back and live where there is real winter. I've been in California too long.

Wednesday night, another dinner out with another triathlete. This time someone I'd emailed back and forth with but we'd never actually met. Had a good time talking Ironman, catching up about fellow triathletes that we knew and lots of other stuff. That's one great thing about my work travel...it takes me to places where I always know at least one triathlete or runner to get together with. I've been loaned a bike in So Cal, taken running in Central Park in NYC, had lots of beers and dinners in lots of other cities and have made some super friends. So, since I only see these folks once a year, I didn't mind missing a workout or two (or three). Besides, this is a recovery week.

Flew back Thursday (again a long delay in Chicago) and left the mid-20F weather with freezing rain and snow coming in and landed in the Bay Area to sunshine and 60F. Aahhhh! Then, dinner and beers with a fast Ironman last night. A great way to end the day. The next few days is bike time.....ride Saturday, ride Sunday (long) and ride Monday. I can't wait!

January Numbers and Goal Recap, February Goals

2004-01-31T20:03:00.000-08:00

January Goals:
* run 50 miles--check
* lose 1.5 kg--pretty close, like 1.3 kg
* ride 200 miles--yeah! almost 344 miles
* swim 15 times--no (only 5x)
* PR at San Diego Half Marathon--cancelled this one
* do four of the five early bird crits (bike races)--check
* read two books--finished one, started another

Numbers for January:
swim: 10,340 yards (this is actually a lot for me)
bike: 344 miles
run: 50 miles
time: 28:22 (includes s/b/r/trainer/weights)

Goals for February:
* run 80 miles and average 4x/week
* ride 400 miles
* swim more consistently, at least 2x/week, if not 3x/week
* maintain workouts with work travel

Still Cranky

2004-01-31T17:50:00.000-08:00

I woke up this morning in a bad mood for some reason. It would have been so darned easy to lay in bed all day and drink coffee and read books, but I didn't do that. Instead I headed out to ride. I was supposed to ride 85 miles today and thought about doing the local Paradise loop about 3 times which would have been close to that distance. Or, some of the guys were doing another ride and if I figured out where it was, I'd probably meet up with them at some point. Problem is, I had no idea where this route was or how to get through southern Marin County to get there. Well, I'd ridden to Fairfax ONCE, back in 2000 or 2001, so I kinda knew, but not really. My roommate showed me on the map and said there were a couple of big hills once you got out there. So, I was undecided all the way to the bottom of Camino Alto where you either turn for Paradise or go straight to the longer ride. At the last second, I decided to venture into the unknown.

It was a gorgeous day here in Northern California--blue skies, not a cloud anywhere, near 60F, but with a wind coming in from the west and north. Hundreds of cyclists were out today, including a nice Prime Alliance guy who said hi on the big hill. I got to Fairfax with no problem, then started up Sir Francis Drake Blvd. and White's Hill which is 0.9 mile long and steep. For some reason, I had in my head that once I got that hill out of the way, it would be pretty flat and a good aerobar ride. Hell no! Turned onto Nicasio Valley Road and there was ANOTHER long, steep hill! I was really pissed now. And, on the other side was some serious headwind. I got out to the end of NVR and forgot which way to turn. I guessed left and rode on out to Pt. Reyes Station, near the coast. Of course, before I found the stupid town, I made a wrong turn and started heading towards Tomales Bay. That added about 5-6 miles to the total, which was fine in the long run, but irritated me at the time. I got to PRS and saw my friend Melanie. She had a map and showed me where I was (I had no clue--it was the first time I'd ever been to this part of the area.) She said there were a number of ways to return back to SF, but the least steep way of getting back would be to turn around and ride back the way I came. Of course, none of the ways would be flat. She invited me to ride with her and her friend, but I didn't want to hold them back and actually wanted to ride solo and not have to talk to or deal with anyone.

So, that's what I did. All in all, 85 miles of solo riding and about 4,000 feet of climbing, plus lots of wind. I didn't eat/drink enough, but felt good enough at the end of the ride on the flats to hold 20 mph. The hills, well, that's another story. And the guys? Well, I saw them in PRS and yelled at them, but did they stop? Hell no. That fueled my pissed offness for the ride back. I seem to ride better when I'm pissed. I set no speed records, but considering how hard the ride was, I'm fine with the time, but I set no speed records. And, I'm glad I made myself go ride this by myself. I figured I had a lot of cash on me, an ATM card and a credit card, so somehow, someway I could eventually get home if need be. I had my cell phone too, but of course, no service out there.

One weird thing today...when I got home, I had a huge blood blister on the roof of my mouth. Not sure why or what caused it. What I had on the bike was:

3/4 large bottle of Accelerade (yuck)
1 large bottle of blue Gatorade
a couple of squirts of Hammergel
one Powerbar
All the above were while riding. And, I know..not enough.

Only 3 short stops--first one to buy the Gatorade and use the
bathroom (5 minutes).

Second one of about 10 minutes--drank a Coke, ate what was about 4
Fig Newtons and a bag of salted peanuts (craving for salt).

Third one of about 5 minutes to slam down another Coke.

Got home and started to eat a sandwich and drink a Red Bull and felt
something funny on the roof of my mouth. The next thing you know,
blood is gushing out of my mouth and a huge blood blister had popped.
Yuck! Anyone know what causes this?

What to do....

2004-01-30T13:31:00.000-08:00

Got up and ran 1:15 this morning. Most of it in the rain, but it wasn't too cold, though I was stiff the entire time. Oh, to be one of those smooth, effortless runners. Maybe some day.

Now, should I skip the last Early Bird crit on Sunday and run long? Or do the Early Bird? Or, run the Home Depot Half Marathon? It's a bummer that I didn't go run the San Diego Half since there is also the full on the same course and if you are at the less pointy end of the speed spectrum, then there are still lots of people on the course. Not so at HD Half. Yes, things like this stress me out. Still.

Cranky Pants

2004-01-29T22:13:00.000-08:00

Yes, I'm going to borrow them from Tim Goodman, TV writer for the San Francisco Chronicle. You put on your cranky pants when things and life irritate you and you can then vent. Mine have been on this week. After a great week of training last week, I had to fly down to Orange County Sunday night, then sit in an audit all day long Monday, then fly home Monday night. That made for a long day. I did get a short treadmill run in before work Monday, but got home late Monday night, so slept in Tuesday. Tuesday was really, really busy at work and I was there until around 9PM. Tuesday became a rest day.

Wednesday I thought about getting up and running long, but ended up only going out for about 30 minutes. I was stiff (probably from sitting too much on Monday) and tried to call to get an appointment with Dr. Hal. Nuts! He's out until next week. Still busy at work on Wednesday, but left in time to get home to watch part of "The Apprentice" (that stupid show is addicting) and "The Bachelorette." (My God! What the heck was she thinking for keeping dorky blabbermouth guy??? Just go for Ian the hottie and be done with it.) I digress. But if anyone ever wanted to do "The Bachelorette...Iroman Style", I know two beautiful, funny, smart tri gals who are available.

Today was supposed to be long run day, but I got up and the cranky pants were still on and getting tighter. So instead of running, I goofed around, doing stuff around the house that I'd been putting off and didn't get to work until 10:30. No run. Tonight I made myself go to the pool and swim. Once I got there and got started, I got into it and swam an hour non-stop. I was the only one in the pool, it was dark and quiet and outdoors and was really pretty nice. I did 60 laps, doing the alphabet twice, plus 8. The alphabet is an easy way for me to keep track of the number of laps (not that I'm anal and would stress to not write down the correct workout). The first time through was a French word for each letter. X was hard. And, I need to work on my French vocabulary. The second time through was cycling words and people. G is always George and H is always Hincapie. By the time I finished, the cranky pants were gone. Melted away in the water. I sat in the steam room a bit, then showered and came home. A great way to end the day.

Bike Emphasis Week and Crit Report

2004-01-25T16:49:00.000-08:00

And a great week it was! Volume was 12 hours 30 minutes, the most in a long time. 135.5 miles on the bike and a couple of trainer rides. A good long run. No swimming--my bad, but mostly due to my schedule this week.

I wasn't sure how my legs would feel today after the long ride yesterday, so my plan for the crit was to do the mentoring, then see how I felt in the race. If my legs started to blow up, I'd drop since I don't want to fry myself just when Ironman training is getting going. The mentoring session was good, then four of us Hypercats went and did a warm up ride. Felt pretty good. The weather was cold and there was a brisk wind, but it was sunny, so that is always nice.

We lined up to start the race and I was in the first row. The field was a lot smaller this week, so they didn't have to split the field and only a few juniors, mostly at the older end of the junior age range. We took off and I rode mid-pack for a few laps. On one lap, I was on the outside and we hit the last turn and came along where the start/finish straight was. This stretch really had a good headwind and the pack dramatically slowed down. I kept my same speed along the outside and suddenly, I was off the front! That was pretty fun as it was right where all my non-racing teammates were and they were shouting. Nikki yelled to move right and she caught my wheel and as we came out of the next curve, I moved back in the pack to let someone else do the work. After 25 minutes, my legs were starting to go, so I dropped. It was a good day's work and didn't leave me fried. I'm quite happy with the week.

71 Miles

2004-01-24T21:48:00.000-08:00

My longest ride (and biggest volume week) since the Ultramax race in September. And I feel great!

I was sitting in North Beach at dinner last night and my friend says to look outside as it was raining. Nuts! No rain please, as I was riding today and really looking forward to it. Got home and fell asleep and it was still raining. Got up this morning and the rain had quit, but it was pretty foggy. Headed out to Contra Costa County with clubmate Aussie Mick and we got to the meeting place and it seems everyone else had bailed due to the weather. It was chilly (low 50sF), really foggy, but no wind and the streets were wet. We got ready and headed out. In the first few miles....a flat! Stopped and changed it and took off again. Let's hope we got that out of the way early.

We started in Alamo and rode south through Danville and turned east onto Sycamore Valley Road and headed out to Livermore. Even though there is traffic along here, the lanes are quite wide and there are big, wide bike lanes, so it's really nice riding. The first 25 miles are pretty flat, with a few rollers, but once you get out to Livermore, you can head east, up over the Altamont Pass. Carroll Road doesn't look that steep....until you are on it. You ride alongside the freeway and up, crossing over Hwy. 580, out where the wind turbines are. Out there, there is no traffic on the roads--lots of birds singing and cattle, horses and sheep.

We came down the backside of Patterson Pass Road and into the south part of Livermore. The great thing about this ride is you can spend a lot of time in the aerobars and a lot of time riding two abreast, so we had lots of time to chat. Mick was a great riding partner. After our tour through Livermore, it was into Pleasanton and then the trip back up San Ramon Valley Road to the car. This ride seems pretty flat, but there are a few hills and some rollers and generally, wind. We were within about 5 miles of the car and we were down in the aerobars riding about 20 mph and one of the Healthnet pro riders comes by us like we were on cruiser bikes. We caught up to him at the stoplight, so when he took off, we were right with him, about 6 feet off his wheel. We decided, what the heck, we'll try to keep up with him as we weren't that far from the car, so we were cruising along at about 25 mph. He was still riding easy, but I was working hard. About a mile of that and we let him go. We got back to the car and the sun came out. We ended the ride with burgers in Walnut Creek. Man, did that hit the spot.

71 miles; avg. speed 14.8 mph
I'm pretty pleased with this as I'm just building up my bike miles and this is the same average speed that I was riding this course back a few weeks before my September ironman. I'm at 11 hours for the week, which is the highest volume since, well....the September ironman.

Tomorrow...Early Bird mentoring and crit.

Am I, Or Am I Not?

2004-01-19T21:29:00.000-08:00

Well, my friend and I had a little heart-to-heart talk last night. Mostly he talked, I listened. He said it's time to decide...do I really want to do CaliMan (May 22) or not? If so, I have to FOCUS on ironman training, ramp up the volume, and not do bike racing, track bike racing, goofing around, etc., etc., etc. for the next four months. He's right, I am much too easily distracted and want to try everything. But yes, I've decided I DO want to race CaliMan. So, after the last two early bird crits, no bike racing (or the women's track series) for me until later this summer.

Since it's the 3-day holiday weekend, I rode 3.5 hours on Saturday and 3.5 hours again today. I rode about an hour and a half yesterday at the mentoring and crit and I did get an hour straight swim in later in the day. So, it's been a good weekend....about 9.5 hours over the three days.

The ride I did today was a solo ride and it was a little cold and drizzly when I started out. The drizzle stopped, but it stayed cold and cloudy the entire ride. I wouldn't have gone out on a day like that last year, so that's a big deal for me.

There is Crashing in Bike Racing

2004-01-18T21:44:00.000-08:00

Today was Early Bird crit #3. I was feeling a little tired after my ride yesterday, so my goal was to just sit in and get in a good workout and see what they talked about in the mentoring. I thought that since it was a holiday, the field would be a little smaller. No...we had a field of 80(!) in the women's/juniors race. The mentoring went fine (rotating pacelines) and I felt pretty good. Warmed up with my team and then I lined up in the second row to the left. We took off in a flat balls-out sprint (stupid thing to do) but slowed going into the first turn. As we took the turn, I thought I heard something behind me but didn't think about it as we were sprinting out of the corner. We got to the third turn and the mentors were saying, "slow down". I was thinking, "Good! They've realized we are going at way too fast a speed." We got around to the start/finish and they were neutralizing the field, then stopping us. They said there had been a crash on turn one, so they sent us to the infield (parking lot) to ride around. After about ten minutes, someone said it was one of the juniors who had crashed, but then someone else said, "Where is Renee?" (one of our Hypercat teammates). We had about 12 teammates there and had accounted for everyone but Renee. One of my teammate shouted out that it was Renee was in the crash so we rode over to Coach Phil to see what he knew. He was an eye witness, since he'd been riding as a mentor in the race and it happened right in front of him. It seems that one of the (squirrely) juniors either slammed on his brakes, or did something else he wasn't supposed to do and took out himself and another rider. Renee was right behind them and couldn't much do anything but go right into them and did an endo. She is spending the night in the hospital with a concussion and busted clavicle. The junior kid was unconscious. My roommate got an email tonight saying it was thought that he had broken his arm. Both of them went off in ambulances. About 20 minutes after the crash, they restarted us, though in two groups this time. I did two laps and my legs were tired from yesterday and I mentally wasn't into it, so dropped out and went and rode a few miles on the road to shake my legs out. They will be splitting the field in the future.

Tonight I went and swam 2,500 meters in the nice outdoor 50-meter pool. I'm still slow, but I have a nice stroke, so I hear.

The week:
s: 4,900 yds
b: 68 miles
r: 7.5 miles
hours: 8:31

Volume over the past three weeks: 4:36, 5:16, 8:31 hours
Next week will be another bump up.

A Great Ride!

2004-01-17T20:36:00.000-08:00

I headed up to ride in Sonoma County today, meeting my buddy Paul in Windsor. Thought Kona Dave might make it too, but he ended up oversleeping. Paul and I headed out back along miles 50-40 of the Vineman course (in the reverse direction), up over Chalk Hill and then at the end of Chalk Hill Road, we turned east onto Hwy. 128 and rode almost over to Calistoga. The section along 128 is through a canyon, a little bit uphill (false flats) going east. We stopped at Ida Clayton to down a Power Bar and some drink and we noted that we'd started out in sunshine (but chilly--in the 40s), but now it had clouded up. And, we mentioned the fact that we had really only see a couple of cyclists, not the usual high numbers you usually see. Turned around and headed back, me in front down on the aero bars and doing some high cadence/big ring time trialing. It was awesome--not breathing hard (Zone 1.5, OK, maybe low 2, but not even near AT), but motoring along, about 22-23 mph. We passed a team out for a ride, going the other way, but couldn't tell who they were. We turned back onto Chalk Hill Road, went up Chalk Hill the race direction and back to the cars. Pulled into the parking lot with 36 miles in the bank. Paul was finished for the day, so he headed home and I rode another hour solo. I ended up with 50 miles and 3.5 hours. I wouldn't have done that last year. I'd have put the bike in the truck and finished up too.

We ended up seeing another big group of riders on Chalk Hill Road and then I saw quite a few folks out riding solo when I did my solo hour. Later I headed over to Paul's house to visit with Toni and the kids, and we ate lunch and Paul cleaned my bike. Sweet and THANKS!

Tonight it's legs up, fuel up and get ready for the crit tomorrow.

Revised Goals

2004-01-16T17:19:00.000-08:00

January Goals
A couple of goals for January have been revised.

* run 100 miles -- REVISE to half that
* PR at San Diego Half Marathon -- cancel that one since I'm not heading down to San Diego this weekend. I'll go out and run 13.1 on my own, just as a benchmark. I could do the Home Depot Half Marathon at the end of the month, but it's also the last Early Bird Crit so we know which one I'd prefer to do.

Long weekend plans.....tonight an Ironman friend is flying in to town and I'm picking him up at the airport and we'll go to dinner. He's crashing at my house tonight, then tomorrow he and a bunch of folks are leaving for the annual San Francisco to San Diego ride. I hope they get good weather! Saturday I'm riding with my buddy Paul up in the wine country. Sunday is the the crit, then maybe I'll swim in the evening. Monday--run and then kick back.

Ramping It Up

2004-01-13T19:26:00.000-08:00

I got the lecture Sunday....it's time to quit fooling around and beging ramping up the IRONMAN training. Yes, I know. May 22nd will be here sooner than I think and I do have some time goals I want to meet. But, my first goal is to just finish the damned race.

Last week:
Swim: 2,800 yds (hey, I swam twice without being forced..and even liked it!)
Bike: 30 miles (most of it very high intensity...and loved it)
Run: 12 miles (this is where I need to focus and get back to the consistency)
Time: 5:12

Fun time is over and it's time to get to work.

Early Bird Crit #2

2004-01-11T20:48:00.000-08:00

Today was the second Early Bird Crit. I wasn't as nervous as I knew what to expect and, having done a little thinking about my motivation in various areas, so I wasn't so stressed about maybe getting spit out the back and being dropped. My goal--don't crash, don't get dropped off the main group unlike last week, practice the stuff they would tell us in the mentoring session.

Our team, Hypercat Racing (http://www.hypercatracing.com/), had 7 or 8 women out there today. We are anxiously awaiting our jerseys so we can keep track of each other during the race. They had told us last week that the first session is usually the biggest, then the numbers drop off. Well not this time! There were 46 last week and 64 this week! Add in the juniors and a handful of women 3s and you have a big field.

We worked on cornering during the mentoring session and that's something I can do fairly well. There were a lot of people who can't (or are afraid), slowing way down to go into a turn. Errr! After the rookie men's race, we went to line up, but they said, "Take a lap and then line up". Maybe to give everyone an equal chance at the line up? I was in the third row this time instead of fourth or fifth, but still ended up pretty far back when we got going. We took off at a pretty good pace and this time, I didn't get spit out the back! I was in the back half of the main group and with about 5 laps to go, was able to work up to the front, towing teammate Nikki up. Then, I got caught up in a turn and lost about 20 places. On the last lap, I went to the inside and was able to move past a bunch of people and just missed out on the mass sprint (like 25 people) at the finish, but I did pass 3 or 4 people in the last 100 meters and held someone off at the line. I ended up 39th out of 64, so percentage-wise, I'm improving. And, Nikki WON!! Two weeks and two first places for the Hypercats--a bunch of triathletes!!!

There were two crashes today, both minor. I also had a junior rider (the squirrely kid from last week) try to force his way between me and another woman. Luckily, neither of us women were freaked out by it and the kid ping ponged back and forth between us until we could go clear. A mentor told him to cut it out. I wanted to tell him, if anyone was going down, it would be him. Later, a couple of the mentors came over and told us we did great, which is nice. The people riding off the front all day got yelled at by the mentors for not taking the corners correctly which caused lots of breaking and bitching in the field.

Last week's average speed: 19.3 mph
Today's average speed: 21.9 mph

It was a blast!

Motivation

2004-01-09T08:19:00.000-08:00

I don't have a coach per se, but rather someone who tries to keep me on track, gives me advice on my training and tries to rein me in when I get too scattered. That is a big job and I thank him for that. I've been tasked with asking myself what my motivation is to do Ironman (and specifically, CaliMan on May 22nd). Thinking about that raises even more questions, all of which I am mulling over. But I did have some thoughts about swim, bike and run.

Swim: I actually don't mind swimming once I get going. If I had a 25 meter pool in my back yard, I'd probably get up and swim every morning. What is a pain (and why I put it off) is the getting to the pool, getting ready, dealing with other people in the pool, etc. If I go swim 30 minutes at the club I belong to (the location which is closest to my work), it's 30 minutes to walk there and change, 30 minutes to swim and at least 45 minutes (more like an hour) to sit in the steam room, shower, change and walk back to work. That is two hours out of the day. Drive there you say? That would take longer probably (and cost a fortune with downtown parking). This isn't the suburbs. I did swim last night in the dark which was nice. And I don't mind the Sunday evening swims we do down the peninsula, but I'm probably not going to drive down there myself. I'm rather liking swimming laps doing my "alphabet swims"--each lap is a letter of the alphabet so I can keep track of how many laps I do (yes, I'm anal, Type A). Usually it's cycling (A is for Armstrong, B is Bianchi, etc.) Sometimes it's triathlon. Last night was cities. Anyone know any city that starts with X? ha I don't really like Masters' swimming because I don't like swimming with a bunch of other people and being all structured. Why? Who knows. Maybe I got burned out swimming AAU as a kid and in high school.

Bike: I LOVE to ride my bike!! What I don't like is to be too structured. I love to ride with my buddy Paul up in Santa Rosa. We'll head out and either talk or not talk. Doesn't matter. We'll stop at the Dry Creek Store or Jimtown for a snack. We'll be Lance and Greg and do some sprints along the way. It's all fun. I also really liked racing the crit last weekend. It was hard, but way cool at the same time, though I can see my (ultra) competitive urges coming out right away and really strong. I really want to do some track riding and want to race a time trial sometime this year.

Run: Ah, the run. I still have the "you know you're not a runner" loop going through my head even though I've gotten faster and am running better. It's not fun, I feel like I plod along and that the fast, smooth runners go by thinking, "What does she think she's doing running". And running WITH people totally stresses me out since I'm so slow. The question is, how to get over this mentality?

Like I said, many more questions than answers. But let me ask you....what is YOUR motivation?

Time Management

2004-01-07T19:27:00.000-08:00

The first quarter of the year is usually my busiest at work and this year will be no different. I sketched out my schedule, including travel, and it's not pretty. Probably two East coast trips, a probable trip to Houston and then three Southern California trips. Keeping up with the training will require diligence. Forget stuff like laundry (wash & fold is a god-send) and house cleaning! And, if I'm at work in the evening at 7PM, they feed me! Oh well, better to be employed than not. Though I see some early training mornings in my future. And the best thing about the travel is that I know triathletes in every city I'm traveling too, so hopefully I can hook up with friends for a workout, or at the least a beer.

I did get away in the afternoon yesterday to swim. I did 1,400 yards under a cool, cloudy sky, but the water was a nice 80F. That was followed by some time in the steam room. What a great way to spend a (late and long) lunch break. Last night it was spin class and that was a good workout. Tonight I think it will be to bed early, if I ever get out of the office.

Running the San Diego Half Marathon has been dropped from the plans. Instead, I'll run long that Saturday and do the crit on the Sunday. I may do the Home Depot Half Marathon here in San Francisco on February 1st. We'll see.

Racing the Bike

2004-01-04T22:19:00.000-08:00

"I become a happier man each time I suffer."___Lance Armstong

Well, if that's the case, I'm danged happy today! I've talked about racing the bike for two years now so it was time to put up or shut up. Here in NorCal, there is an Early Bird Crit series, with mentoring, followed by some racing, with the mentors riding alongside during the race. I had planned to ride with a women's team last year and even did some training with them, then my racing year fell apart, the surgery, etc. etc. and I never did bike race. I thought about riding with the same team this year, but for some reason, never did commit, then in the late fall, a couple of people I know were putting together a team, men and women, focusing on beginning racers. I knew and liked the coaches and would know a lot of the people who were going to be on the team, so this was perfect! Sign me up.

It was nice and sunny, but very cold this morning (40s) as I headed over to Fremont. I got there, got signed up ($10 and DAY OF REGISTRATION!--unheard of for triathletes). Got my number, got the bike ready, hit the bathrooms and then it was time for the mentoring. First they went over things, talking on the microphone with the mentors showing us with the bikes, then finally, they split us into groups of about 10 and we did a little paceline riding, each group with two mentors. The group I was with was doing fine.....until the mentor told us to speed it up (from about 13 mph to 18 mph). I was in the front of the group and we went around a corner and....the sounds of a crash. "Keep going, just slow down", was the call. Not sure what happened, but I'm glad I was in the front. We finished up the mentoring session, then it was time for the men Cat. 5 (less than 5 races) to race. There were lots of them and they had a number of crashes going on. After the 50 minutes, it was time for the women and juniors to line up.

Well, the Hypercats had at least 10 women racing, all but 2 of us were virgin bike racers. The other big team had at least 15-20. I think the women's 4 field (we start as Cat. 4s, not 5s) had 46 or so total. I ended up about 5 rows back....NOT a good place to be as things started out fast and got strung out pretty quickly. And, one junior had a bike that was bigger than he was and he was all over the place. No one wanted to take his wheel at all.

When they announced 5 laps to go, I was so happy I was almost giddy. I figured that I could suck it up and make 5 more laps. With two laps to go, I was still pretty far back, but decided I would try to move up on the inside some, if I could. The folks further back were taking the corners wide and I was able to pass a few people. I also tried to sprint the last couple of hundred yards and passed two more gals at the end. I crossed the finish line and thought....I AM A BIKE RACER!!!!! Damn, that is hard work!

We rode about 50 minutes averaging almost 20 mph. No crashes in the race and I was 29th out of about 46. Lesson #1--don't line up more than a couple of rows back! Lesson #2--don't eat a PowerBar within an hour of racing. The mentor guy told me afterwards that I did great, and did a good job of moving up at the end. Our coach WON the race and another teammate was 3rd. I definitely need more miles in my legs (very little riding in December) and need to learn how to surge when needed. But the most important thing about today--IT WAS FUN!!! I'll definitely be back.

Taking the Plunge

2004-01-03T20:25:00.000-08:00

I've talked about racing the bike for two years now so it's time to put up or shut up. Tomorrow I'm going to do the first local early bird crit. It's a series of four Sundays, each Sunday a training session with mentors riding along during the training, then the same day you actually race a criterium. It's every Sunday in January and a good way to get into bike racing. There should be quite a few from the Hypercats Racing Team (my team) joining in the fun and some tri club folks coming to watch. I have my stuff laid out and partially packed up and the bike cleaned, and I'm ready (I think). Though, I'm just a little bit nervous about tomorrow. Like I told Sarah (my roadie roommate--Cat. 3!), it's not that I'm a control freak or anything (hahahaha), but I don't like not knowing exactly what will be going on. At least with triathlon, I know how it works. It WILL be fun.

After sleeping in today, I finally got out and did an easy 3 mile run about noon, so that's 12 miles for 2004 so far. It was a beautiful sunny day here, but really cold. My legs are kind of stiff and sore so I think it will be early to bed.

Another Run

2004-01-02T09:52:00.000-08:00

Ran three miles this morning in the rain. Legs were a little tight and I'm paying for slacking off the second half of December. Ah, who am I kidding...I slacked off most of December. Maintaining consistency is definitely something to work on this year. But, I'm 9 miles further down the road on the way to my running 100 miles in January goal.

Tonight....the Fiesta Bowl. GO K-STATE! My alma mater and the university I wanted to go to even as a little girl. And now, 10 straight bowl games! I still smile when I think back on that first bowl game in 1982....the first in the history of the university. Man, was that a great time! I was a student athletic trainer at the time and everyone got to fly down to Shreveport, Louisiana on the charter flights and I remember that we spent all our per diem money on beer. There was one bar for the K-Staters and one bar for the Wisconsin players/fans, and we were out every night. That was one fun week! Even the torrential rains the day and night of the game couldn't make us down. And even though we lost the game, we were just so damned happy to be there, it didn't matter. Winning the bowl games now matters.

Kansas State Bowl History

All-time: 6-5

Season Bowl Score
2003 Fiesta Kansas State v. Ohio State
2002 Holiday Kansas State 34, Arizona State 27
2001 Insight Syracuse 26, Kansas State 3
2000 Cotton Kansas State 35, Tennessee 21
1999 Holiday Kansas State 24, Washington 20
1998 Alamo Purdue 37, Kansas State 34
1997 Fiesta Kansas State 35, Syracuse 18
1996 Cotton Brigham Young 19, Kansas State 15
1995 Holiday Kansas State 54, Colorado State 21
1994 Aloha Boston College 12, Kansas State 7
1993 Copper Kansas State 52, Wyoming 17
1982 Independence Wisconsin 14, Kansas State 3

Starting the New Year Off Right

2004-01-01T15:36:00.000-08:00

I had an early evening last night since I've been fighting off a cold or something. I woke up this morning to torrential downpours and high winds and we seriously thought about starting work on the ark. Sent out some emails, talked to friends and family on the telephone, read the paper, drank two pots of coffee (they are small pots) and finally a little after noon the rains quit (but not the wind), so I headed out. I ran 6 miles out and back, along the waterfront, but boy, was it slow going into a stiff headwind along Marina Green and Chrissy Field, but it was nice coming back. There were some people out running and a couple of cyclists, but not the usual numbers. I followed the run up with 30 minutes on the bike trainer and some stretching, while watching (again) Ironman Hawaii 2003. I am still amazed at how Tim DeBoom was running right up to the end, in awe of how strong Peter Reid looked all day and so happy for Marc Herremanns to finish. What a great start to the NEW YEAR!

Food Note: It's an old southern and midwestern tradition to eat black-eyed peas on New Year's Day, so I threw together this tasty (and healthy!) dish. It's based on a receipe that was in today's San Francisco Chronicle, in the wine section. It will go good with the bottle of Kendall Jackson Pinot Noir that we opened last night.

THE BLACK-EYED/LENTIL GOOD LUCK STEW
Saute some onion and garlic in olive oil.
Add the following:
one can black-eyed peas
a couple of handfuls of dried lentils
a can of chopped tomatoes
some shredded Swiss chard or spinach or whatever greens you want
two cans water
a chicken bouillon cube
one potato, chopped into cubes
one carrot, cut up
one bay leaf
a couple of shakes of thyme
a couple of shakes of red wine vinegar
salt and pepper
Stir all to mix and let heat over low heat (about an hour?) until the lentils and veggies are cooked.
Take off heat and stir in a couple of shakes of Tabasco (depending on your heat preference).

Would go good with rice or a nice dark rye bread. And the wine.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Year End Totals

2003-12-31T15:26:00.000-08:00

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!">

New Year's Traditions (or superstitions)

2003-12-31T07:57:00.000-08:00

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.

January Goals

2003-12-30T10:06:00.000-08:00

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 ;-)

Holiday in Kansas

2003-12-27T11:48:00.000-08:00

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.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

2003-12-24T12:49:00.000-08:00

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

2003-12-21T18:31:00.000-08:00

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!)

Renewed Enthusiasm

2003-12-21T08:05:00.000-08:00

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.

How was your 2003?

2003-12-20T09:20:00.000-08:00

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!

Damn!

2003-12-19T14:29:00.000-08:00

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

How Awesome are Triathletes???

2003-12-18T13:46:00.000-08:00

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 Week

2003-12-15T06:35:00.000-08:00

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.

An Off-Kilter Week

2003-12-07T19:12:00.000-08:00

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.

My Cycling Poll

2003-12-03T15:39:00.000-08:00

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.

Holiday Training

2003-12-01T08:16:00.000-08:00

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

RIP--Norton Davey

2003-11-25T10:15:00.000-08:00

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.

The Running Experiment

2003-11-23T20:50:00.000-08:00

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.

Back on the Bike

2003-11-22T14:51:00.000-08:00

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.

Airplane Seats

2003-11-19T15:21:00.000-08:00

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.

I love my bike...

2003-11-11T17:36:00.000-08:00

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

(From the Treasure Island Sprint Tri)

Year End Party

2003-11-10T05:52:00.000-08:00

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.

Five Days Last Week

2003-11-10T05:47:00.000-08:00

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.

Learning to run

2003-11-08T09:27:00.000-08:00

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.

Instructions for Life from the Dalai Lama

2003-11-04T14:32:00.000-08:00

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.

RR: Treasure Island Sprint Tri

2003-11-03T06:52:00.000-08:00

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

2004 Race Schedule

2003-10-31T12:13:00.000-08:00

After some thought, here is the proposed race schedule for 2004.

January 1: either a trail 10 mile running race or the San Bruno Hill Climb (bike)
January 18: San Diego Half Marathon
April 3: Ralph's Half IM
May 22: California Man IM
June 28 - July 15: Tour de France trip
August 1: Half Vineman
September 25: UltraMax (probably)

Also, throw in some other running races (maybe) and some bike racing to round out the schedule.

Working up to the 6x per week running

2003-10-28T16:54:00.000-08:00

A very sore right quad yesterday! Tried to run in the morning, but my quad really hurt, so I turned around and came home and took the day off. Got up today and it felt a lot better, so I ran an easy 40 minutes. No problem until the very last couple of blocks. My buddy Gordo (see his link to the right) suggested ramping up my running to 6x per week, since I really need the running help. It's a definite limiter. I had four sessions last week, a couple of them only 20 minutes, but I'll aim for 5 sessions this week. Frequency over long distances right now. As I told my friend Pieter, today's run wasn't effortless (far from it), but at least it didn't suck. That is an improvement.

If you forget your socks....

2003-10-27T06:00:00.000-08:00

Mizuno Wave whatever shoes are just fine for a 40 minute run. That was me yesterday....no socks, but I ended up doing 40 minutes in the sun and heat (90F) and had nary a problem. No blisters, not even a hot spot. Yesterday's run gave me 4 runs for the week, on my way to building up to 6 sessions a week. I ~will~ become a runner!

Throwing Plate

2003-10-24T17:34:00.000-07:00

Changed gyms this week (lost the good outdoor pool, but gained more locations, better weight lifting facilities and lots more options re spinning and yoga) and today I went and had my free intro session with one of the trainers. Turns out Michael is an ex-roadie! And, he used to live in Boulder and ride with Tim De Boom before TDB became a kick-ass ironman. Perfect!! I hadn't lifted since pre-surgery and I'd forgotten how much I really like to do it. Also did a short run on the treadmill. Gotta get going on the run so I can work up to the Gordo-advised six times per week base run program.

Some good training set for the weekend.....swim/bike the Treasure Island course tomorrow and swim/run on Sunday. Don't forget to change your clocks!!

Back to it

2003-10-23T10:08:00.000-07:00

Resumed training this morning. A 25 minute run, which felt pretty good. I'm going to build up my running frequency over the fall/winter.

More Kona Pics

2003-10-22T08:41:00.000-07:00

Kerri's pictures are here:

http://www.ofoto.com/I.jsp?c=c0mu4ql.16rkjcb9&x=0&y=rxl868

Kona Pics

2003-10-21T16:28:00.000-07:00

I'm home. Too bad, but it's now time to train!

Kona pics are here:

http://www.ofoto.com/I.jsp?c=avr6ezf.az8gxz33&x=1&y=-7fiauj

Hopefully they will give a flavor of how much fun we had.

Kona Post-Race

2003-10-19T17:36:00.000-07:00

What a day yesterday!! Boop, Kerri's and my day began about 3:10 AM with the alarm and then we headed down to body marking. It was crazy for awhile as they were using the rubber stamping method instead of writing numbers, and, we got to mark a few of our friends, which is always nice. A little confusion and big crowds getting everyone into the water, but finally, the cannon about 7AM.

We saw a little of the race on the big screen, but spent most of the time out on the course in various places. We started out on the pier and watched the start and the beginning of the swim. That is always so exciting--the churning of 3,400 arms in the water, the helicopters overhead, the crowds lined 5-6 deep along the sea wall and on the pier. An awesome sight! We then headed to Palani Road, where you see the bikers at two points--about 1.5 miles in on a downhill (and moving fast), then coming back on the uphill about 10-12 miles into the race. We stayed there until everyone was out of the water and onto the bikes, then it was to the finish line where they had a big screen showing live action with Bob Babbitt and Paul Huddle doing commentary and Roch Frey out in Hawi checking in there. It was a hot and sunny day in Kailua-Kona and it seems the winds weren't too bad on the bike course.

After watching the action for a bit, we headed back to the condo for a shower and a change of clothes, then it was time to chalk the road outside our condo. We were at about mile 1 on the run, so we stuck around there for a few hours. The first to come running by was Normann Stadler, one of my favorites!! About 2PM, we were starving, so we walked a few hundred yards down the street to Lava Java for cold coffee drinks and lunch. This was a great spot, as we saw running in both directions. After an hour or so here, it was time to head to the hot corner.

The hot corner is the spot where you can see people 3 times if you sit there long enough. The first time is at about three quarters into the start of the run, then about 18K coming back, and then about 1/4 mile to the finish, where you watch people come down the hill to make the last curve onto Alii Drive and to the finish line. We sat here for a good long stretch and we'd look up people's number in the program and shout out their name as they'd run by and they would smile or high five us. One pro from Australia (never heard of him) even blew me a kiss. Later, we went to the finish line to watch the guys we know finish since they were all within an hour of each other. Then, we went to a restaurant on Alii Drive for dinner and beers and had a table overlooking the street where we could yell at people. Then, we ended up back at the finish line until midnight. There were two or three people missing the cutoff, one by only about a minute and a half. The last guy was 15 minutes past midnight and everyone had started walking back up Alii Drive (you only go one way basically to get to all the condos/hotels), and when he came around the last corner, hundreds of people moved to the side of the street, stopped walking and cheered him on. It was totally cool. I've been here four times now and it always gives me a thrill to see the last finishers come in and all the earlier finishers sitting in the stands cheering them on.

About the race itself--we heard it was great and I can't wait to see it on the TV broadcast. Our day was more about cheering on our friends and all the athletes all day long instead of following the pro race. We saw our friend Hillary this morning and she thanked us for cheering for her and said she heard us multiple times throughout the day and that it helped. That is nice to know.

Today there are some stiff legged people walking around and lots of sunburns of varying shades of red. We swam this morning and the water was so clear, but there were lots of cold spots. Lava Java has been packed all day and no one is moving too fast. Tonight is the Awards Banquet, followed by the after-party. Should be quite the time.

Kona Update

2003-10-17T09:26:00.000-07:00

OK, computer time is hard to come by and a little expensive, so I'm a bit behind on the updates.

Wednesday: I took the morning off from swimming since my back was hurting a bit. We had to be down to work registration early and ended up working all morning and until about 2PM. I sat out in front and checked photo ids and USAT memberships while Betty and Kerri worked in the main room going over the registration packets with the athletes. It was a fun time since we got to talk to a lot of people from all over the world and I ended up meeting in person, a guy from Australia who I'd known through email. We also got pictures with the "Jen sign" with Lori Bowden, Julie Moss, Normann Stadler and Macca! The Jen sign is becoming well known around town.

Wednesday afternoon we picked up the Corn (aka Dave) and drove out to the Energy Lab and parked and ran that section of the course. I ran 2 miles and the other three ran a little further. It's a slight downhill and it didn't feel too bad (considering it was 4PM). But, when we hit the turnaround and started running back, it was like an oven (and it was even overcast!)....no breeze and sweat just poured out of your body. We all decided it was a good thing to do to kind of experience what the athletes will experience on race day.

Wednesday night was an early dinner with a group of triathletes from an email list I'm on. That was fun since it's always nice to put names and faces together. It was an early night, and I ended up back at the condo to find Betty and Kerri watching "The Bachelor".

Thursday--We started the morning at Lava Java and had pre-arranged with our Cali friends to wave at them on the surf-cam. That was fun. Dan Empfield and Roch Frey came by, so they ended up in Jen sign pictures. We then went to swim and did our long swim--probably 3,000 yds or so. A great day with pretty calm water. I love swimming here. We finished the swim just in time to view the Underpants Run, but unfortunately, did not get any photos. The rest of the day was: return the rental car, lay by the pool, shop, go to the Ultrafit bash (and meet Joe Friel), more shopping, walk through the expo, get Tomas Hellreigel with the Jen sign, dinner, then drinks at an open air bar on the water. A very full day.

It's now time for coffee, then a swim, then we have a full day of working. Bike and bag check-in is today, then we help Dan Empfield with his bike count.

Kona Tuesday

2003-10-15T01:26:00.000-07:00

Got up and hit Lava Java (of course). Then, went swimming and the water was pretty wavey again. Back again to Lava Java, then we decided we would go lay by the pool. Did that for a couple of hours, then we did go shopping. Then, went and got my picture taken with my favorite woman pro...Natasha. We made up a sign that said "Hi Jen....Wish you were here" for our friend Jen who emailed and said she'd give us $5 for every pro that kissed us. Instead, we got people to hold the sign and we took their picture. Started with my buddy Hal's friend, then Natasha, then the publisher of Triathlete and Whit Raymond, one of the announcers, then we really got going. We watched the parade and asked all the pros who were in the parade to hold the sign, and they did. There was a guy standing next to us who then started stopping the parade so we could get pictures and telling us who to approach. Come to find out, he is the producer of the NBC coverage of the Ironman. It was entirely too fun. We got Wendy Ingraham, Scott Molina, Mark Allen, Shingo Tani, Cam Brown, Bill Bell, Sister Madonna, the Fig Newton Guy, Paul Huddle and Heather Fuhr and I can't remember who else. Time for bed cause we work tomorrow.

Kona Monday

2003-10-14T16:20:00.000-07:00

WHAT A GREAT FREAKIN DAY YESTERDAY WAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Started the day at Java Lava (the local coffee place and IM hangout), swim, drive to Hawi, drink more java in Hawi, drive back, shop, phone call from an ironman hottie, Java Lava again, sit and watch it rain with my friend Boop (Betty), meet up with our other roomie Squirrel (Kerri) and then go to Hard Rock for dinner, meeting the Corn (Dave) and G (Joe) our two buddies who qualifed at IMC, dinner for five, photo taken, walk over to check out the Dairy Queen (didn't eat any) a Normann Stadler sighting (about the 5th of the day and always appreciated), then to the computer and to bed. Oh yeah, talked to Scott Molina yesterday and he looks ready to go! And, he likes the saying, "NEVER NOT RIDE!" which means he actually reads my stuff on slowtwitch.com.

This morning was another Lava Java run, then swimming and chatting and taking pictures (including one bare butt of a man with very little body fat). I love Hawaii!!!

Kona Baby!

2003-10-12T09:47:00.000-07:00

What a beautiful morning in Kona! I arrived yesterday, on the same flight as Huddle and Paula NF and Mark Allen and his son. Plus, a tour group coming to the IM from Begium, I think. Good flight and hot and steamy when we landed with dark black clouds lying low over the mountains. The radio reported rain so hard over on the Hilo side that some car races were cancelled. Picked up my friend Hal later at the airport and we had lunch and walked around some shops looking for any bargains. No purchases. Last night was dinner at Huggo's with some great grilled ahi, then early to bed.

Lots of people already here and out riding the Queen K or running up and down Alii Drive. Curious to see how many will be swimming this morning at the pier.

Awoke with a start at 4:00 AM thinking it was time to get up, but instead, went back to sleep for a couple of hours until my phone rang with my friend Kerri calling to tell me that Dave Scott is on her flight. I pick her up in a few hours, then later we pick up our friend Betty and our buddy G. G is racing here after qualifying at IMC. But first, a swim and a meeting for registration to learn all the details of all the changes in procedures.

Aloha!

Back To It

2003-10-08T07:24:00.000-07:00

The emphasis on this week is "ease back into training", so after 10 days of NOTHING, I headed out this morning for about 30 minutes. I had that itchy, "wanna work out" feeling and today's run was nice and easy, but it felt pretty good! I'll go a little farther tomorrow. Saturday I leave for 10 days in Hawaii where I may run a little, but we do plan to swim every day. Saturday the 18th is the Ironman World Championships, where we will volunteer. I can't wait. Being in Kona for the Ironman always gets the motivational juices going.

8 Days of Rest

2003-10-05T07:54:00.000-07:00

And now, I'm itching to get back training. I believe that tomorrow will be the day.

Question of the day.......

2003-10-01T09:44:00.000-07:00

Why is it that virtually none of the women in Saturday's race speak or encourage each other? There were a couple of gals who did, who were in the back of the pack like me. This is very much unlike nearly ALL the men in the race--fast, slow, young, not so young--who all had "way to go", "keep it up", "you're doing great" comments all during the run. Just wondering.

Quick Ultramax Report

2003-09-29T13:48:00.000-07:00

1:41 swim. No faster, no slower, but I felt better in the water and felt great coming out of the water.

7:35 or so on the bike (15.0 mph average on my computer). Also, bike was something like 114.8 miles, with 75% headwinds and still pretty damned hilly, but felt great and rode controlled (via HR numbers, not hammering) the entire way. Very happy with the bike.

Got to about mile 16 of the run and almost blacked out and got taken back to the finish line and to medical where I got two IVs and other assorted meds. My blood sugar was way whacked. The doctor there suggested I go see my doc, which I will.

The volunteers are the best I've ever seen in any race. Even beating the Kiwis, which for me, you know that takes a lot. At least I made it 16 miles farther than last year. And, the UM race director came to find me in the medical tent Saturday night and gave me a hug and yesterday before the awards banquet, gave me a little present. I thanked him for the 115 mile bike ride. Full report later.

Day after pictures at: http://www.ofoto.com/I.jsp?c=avr6ezf.4zsu8dcn&x=1&y=-nq9dcy

A Bike Ride and A Bike Race

2003-09-14T20:42:00.000-07:00

Saturday I had a 3.5 to 4.5 hour ride on my schedule. Everyone was either racing or riding Paradise and I was strongly told that I should do a more race specific ride, so I headed out to Contra Costa and rode solo. I was a little ticked about having to do so, but now, I'm very glad I did. (Thanks Pieter.) Rode 3:45 and about 55 miles in 97F weather with major winds blowing over the Altamont Pass. (I guess there is a good reason they put those power windmills there.) Got passed by Chris Lieto (at least I think it was him). Got blown around a lot on the bike, so much so in one area that I was too leery to stay down in the aero bars. Easily went 20 mph on the flats without pedaling and a tailwind. A little tougher when I had to come back the other way into the wind. Rode steady, but not hard and was very pleasantly surprised when I saw that I averaged 1 mph faster on Saturday for this ride than I'd done earlier this summer. Followed it up with a short transition run. Lost close to 5 kg between start and finish of ride so I spent the rest of Saturday rehydrating and refueling, with a stop at the LBS's party last night.

Today, I got up and did an easy 30 minute run, taking in part of the women's race of the T-Mobile Grand Prix. Came home and showered and ate, then walked a big part of the course and watched the men's race. Nice day and got LOTS of walking in. Part of the race was only a block and a half from my house (the first 3-4 pictures). Gotta love that!! Congratulations to Chris Horner and Saturn (1-2) and Eki and the Posties (3-4). Lance rode, but dropped out. Here are my pics:

http://www.ofoto.com/I.jsp?c=avr6ezf.33c77pav&x=0&y=t4bc4y

M-Dot is Bigger Than Tri Itself....NOT!

2003-09-13T06:55:00.000-07:00

Someone said that the M-dot was bigger than triathlon itself and I truly hope that that is not the perception of the majority of triathletes. Because triathlon is oh so much more than one race (or series of races). Sure, Ironman (both the trademarked one and the ironman distance itself) are important pieces of my triathlon experience, but there are many other pieces.

Triathlon is three co-workers getting together to do one of these triathlon things as a team because none of us could have done a sprint tri solo. That was the Rinconada Triathlon on the Stanford University campus in 1987. I was the swimmer because no one else could swim a half mile without drowning. I was a swimmer in high school and this would be no problem, right? Ha! Open water was a little different than the pool. And 56 degree, dark, murky water where someone had drowned the prior week was very different than the pool. Wetsuits? Nobody had a wetsuit. But, our team finished and we were hooked.

Triathlon is also me, standing at the finish line of the 2001 Barb’s Race, getting all verklempt when my friend Stephnee crossed the finish line of her first half Ironman. She’d done it and surprised herself by meeting and even surpassing her goal. It’s also being at the finish line in New Zealand when Steph finished her first Ironman. That was also the day when our friends Brent, Alyssa, Janet, Bernie, Andy and Clint became Ironmen.

It’s also watching the very first Tri for Fun put on by On Your Mark. My buddy Stu, the guy who got us into this triathlon thing in the first place, swam the course to set the buoys and there were only about 30 people racing. Fifteen years or so later, I’m standing on the same beach and hearing Mark announce to the crowd that for the first time in the history of the series, the field had hit 1,000 people and was 51% women. That same day, I was about half a mile from the finish, trying to finish strong, when a girl caught me and said she’d been chasing me for a while. She also said she was so excited because she was going to do it....finish her first triathlon! I told her to go on ahead, make sure her number showed for the photographer and to SMILE when she crossed the finish line. How happy I was for her! Earlier that morning, I’d driven out with club mate Tina who was battling first timers nerves and had a million questions. She also finished strongly and is now hooked.

It’s also knowing that my friend Victor raced the best he could, but was only the 4th best American in 2000. People told him, “Too bad you missed the Olympic team.” Victor disagrees. He did his best on the day and that’s all you can ask. Really, that’s all you can ask at any time in anything, to do your best. I try to keep his 3Ps in mind at all time--Passion, Patience, Persistence. (And, Vic still got to go to Sydney as first alternate.)

Then there was the women’s only Olympic distance race we did the second year we were racing. We swapped out our cyclist Paul for his fiancee’ (now wife) Toni, and we WON! We thereafter dumped Paul and had a new team. Not to worry, we found Paul a new swimmer and runner. For two years we finished pretty much in the top three of all the Northern California races we did. We then went to the Bud Light San Diego race and got our butts kicked. But, it was a great road trip and my first ocean swim.

It’s helping out with a women’s tri club and seeing women who are “late onset” athletes blossom and gain all kinds of self confidence. It’s going out to lunch and answering question after question and seeing that spark in their eye of “just maybe I can do this.” It’s hearing all about their races and hearing the pride in their voices when they talk about training and racing.

It’s my mother, who upon hearing I’d signed up for Ironman California 2000, say, “You ~know~ you’re not a runner.” After I DNFed that race and left the medical tent, she said, “I hope this isn’t going to put you off trying it again.” She and dad have now been to four ironman races and have become ironman spectator experts. They will be at number five in September.

It’s seeing my friends Mike, AJ, Jane, Robert, Steve and Lyza waiting for me at the finish of IM NZ, just like they said they would be. And the Taupo resident who, after seeing me out on the run, jumped in his car, drove down to the finish and stuck around until I came out of the mandatory medical, just to shake my hand and say congratulations. And the couple the next day who stopped at our table in a restaurant to say they’d seen me finish and congratulate me.

But perhaps, the most important piece of my triathlon experience are the triathletes themselves. There is a wonderful community of triathletes all over the world. Like-minded, fun, willing to help out or give advice, or even give you the shirt off their back. It’s a triathlete in one part of the United States packing up and shipping off his extra bike when he heard a fellow triathlete in another part of the country had his bike stolen and an important race coming up. It’s traveling for work and being able to find someone to swim, bike, run or just drink a beer with any place I go. It’s my local club, a great mix of young and old, fast and slow, pure beginners and long time triathletes, short distance racers and ironmen, all of whom cheer and support everyone, no matter your goals or aspirations. It’s a group of strangers, all signed up for the same race in 2000 and who met on a yellow web page, who are now very close friends. We’ve been through at least three marriages, a couple of divorces, engagements, breakups, birth of the next generation of triathletes and unfortunately, death. But all of this has been shared among people who are now friends, and who are like family. Yes, triathlon and the Ironman may have brought us all together, but there is something more that keeps us friends.

So, don’t say that M-dot is bigger than triathlon itself. Sure, it’s an important part, but at least in my world, only a very small part.

Tour de France 2003, part 1

2003-09-10T17:24:00.000-07:00

My work asked me to write about my trip to the Tour, so I'm re-writing what was on Slowtwitch.com, filling in a few details. Here is part one.

WHO WANTS TO GO TO THE TOUR?

I don't remember how long I've been following the Tour de France, but it was before Greg Lemond's first win in 1986 (the first American to win the race). I still have a tape of the 1989 Tour, which came down to the final day....a time trial into Paris, in which Lemond came from behind to beat Frenchman Laurent Fignon by 8 seconds. Back then, before Outdoor Life Network, all you saw of the Tour were the highlights, maybe once a week during ABC’s Wide World of Sports, so you waited on pins and needles for the coverage in "Winning" magazine. Yes, even back in the late 1980s, I said, "Someday, I'm going to go to see the Tour." Fast forward to July 21, 2002.....

Earlier that day, seven of us had been sitting around Jean's patio drinking a few beers and sitting in the hot tub, when the subject of the Tour came up. I said, "Who wants to go to the Tour with me next year?" Everyone thought it was a grand idea, so that's how we came up with our traveling group of triathletes. After pouring over many different websites, Jean, JV, Fred and I decided on going with an Australian tour company for the first 9 stages—Paris to the Alpes. Our friends (and newlyweds) Dan and Laura went with an English company for a week, then went off to Italy.

Tour (the holiday, not the race) details: Our tour package included hotel, airport pickup, bus transfer, all breakfasts, some dinners, support, two ex-pro riders and one current pro and other rider guides, plus a host of other stuff, including the chance to ride parts of the same routes the Tour covered! (Airfare not included.) Our group was about 50/50 Aussie/American, with a few Canadians and one each—Kiwi, Brit, Scot and Mexican. Before I left, I thought the riding would be great, but really, for me, I was hoping the biggest thrill of the whole trip would be getting to see the Tour live. [http://www.bikestyletours.com/index.php]

THE PROLOGUE AND PARIS

First things first, it's probably not the best thing to develop a cough and stuffed nose (allergies or cold?) before flying across the Atlantic. I had both before I left and it turned into full blown laryngitis. At least I was able to keep everyone entertained. It was also fun to go to the chemist and have test out all kinds of different French remedies for le rhum et la toux.

We arrived in Paris and cleared customs (without them barely even looking at my passport, let alone getting it stamped!) and walked out where our buddy JV was waiting with two of the BikeStyle guys. Onto the bus and to the Novotel near the Tour Eiffel. We are finally here!!!!!!! A group was going to go for a ride, but we were too jet lagged, but we had to put our bikes together so they could take all the bike cases offsite and store them until we got back at the end of the trip. Well, I can put my bike together if I have to, but really, that is what I pay my guys at City Cycle to do. And, I was tired, had no voice and a hacking cough. I must have looked quite forlorn because Craig, one of the mechanics, came up and said, “Can I do that for you?” YES YOU CAN! Craig had my bike together in less than 10 minutes.
The first night in Paris, there was a group dinner where we met all the staff and the other tour guests. Jean, JV and I hit it off right away with Tony from Mexico. Poor Tony, his luggage and bike neither one had made it to Paris. Luckily the BikeStyle folks had given us bright blue t-shirts so he at least had something else to wear. The next day was Prologue Day—the start of the Tour de France! One thing we learned is that the Tour organizers want each day’s race to finish around TV prime time of 5:30 PM, so the start time each day changes, depending on the length and route of that day’s stage. (And, every stage is shown live on TV, with a repeat of the highlights later at night. And, after the live racing is over, there is a “post-game show”, the Velo Club, with interviews of riders and team managers and former riders. Five straight hours of cycling!!!) The Prologue didn’t start until about 1:00 or 2:00 PM, so we were able to ride the course in the morning. They took us out in about groups of 40, riding from our hotel, down to the Eiffel Tower, then around the course. As we were bumping across the cobblestone streets, Jean and I looked at each other and said, “WE ARE RIDING OUR BIKES ON THE STREETS OF PARIS!!!” I think we had smiles plastered on our faces the entire day. We rode two laps with many stops for photos, then went back to the hotel, showered and got ready to go watch the race. We ended up grabbing a park bench about 1,000 meters from the prologue finish and saw all 198 riders go by. There were lots of people on the course the entire day. After Lance (who went last as he was last year’s winner) went by, we walked back through the area where the teams parked their buses and were able to sneak in through an open gate where we weren’t supposed to be. That was great until the gendarmes kicked us out, but at least we got a close-up picture of Santiago Botero, one of our favorite riders.

REIMS AND THE CHAMPAGNE COUNTRY

The next day we got up and onto the buses and went to the start of Stage 1. That was really great as we scored a prime spot on the railing where the riders were getting ready to take off. We were behind three high school aged girls who knew how to work the system. They had photos and autograph books and would call the riders over (the trick is to call them by their first name and ask please) and almost ever rider they called over came over to sign and pose for a photograph. The most astute purchase I made before leaving was a tiny digital camera—Casio Exlim, no bigger than a credit card. I just stuck it in between two of the girls and got some great close-up shots. (As an aside, the camera also became bus entertainment as we would repeatedly look at every single picture every day, usually multiple times. We took 204 pictures.)

After seeing the riders take off, it was back on the buses and a drive to Meaux, the finish town. We unloaded the bikes and some of us rode out the back way to intersect with the race and watched the peleton go by and another group did a longer ride to Reims, our base for the next four nights. We rode hard to get back to the finish and made it. Stage 1 was a mass sprint, but unfortunately, a large number of riders went down about a quarter mile from the finish. At the finish of every stage, it’s like a festival, with thousands of people, food, drink, a big screen TV showing the live action out on the course and an announcer who talks non-stop for hours. It sure helps to know French though. We couldn’t see the big screen TV, but could hear the announcer and knew something was up and then reports began to filter in and riders began coming across the finish line in small groups instead of one big peleton and you could see ripped jerseys, bloodied elbows or knees and finally, one lone Gerolsteiner rider who walked down the finishing chute carrying his mangled bike over his shoulder. He got a huge ovation from the crowd. This is the stage where American Tyler Hamilton broke his collar bone and everyone thought his Tour was finished.

Meaux was an interesting place, a town split into old and new by a river. The old part was beautiful—old stone houses, small winding streets. The newer part where the actual finish was. was much poorer and ethnic. There were lots of kids, all running up shouting “Autographé” and asking to check out our bikes, some wanting to sit on them or try to ride them. Jean and Tony were standing side by side with their bikes and one father picked up his kid, about 6 years old, and put him down right in the middle of Jean and Tony and their bikes and took a roll of pictures. The kid at first wasn’t sure of all of this, but then broke into a big smile. After the excitement of the finish, we got lost getting back across the river but finally found the buses, loaded up the bikes and got to Reims.

Reims is in the Champaign region and this part of France is NICE! I will definitely come back here for more sightseeing and champagne tasting. We were here for four nights and our hotels were a block away from the main square which was lined with restaurants and cafes with outdoor seating and a few blocks away from the cathedral. Every evening we’d get back, shower and then walk down to the square and run into our fellow tour people. There was one particular place where everyone seemed to congregate since they served “giraffe beers”, which was a very tall draw of beer, sort of like a giant test tube with a spigot at the bottom. I’m not sure how many glasses it held, but it was a lot. Of course, to foster international relations with the Aussies, we daily took up their invitation to drink or dine with them. The other thing about Reims is that is pretty far north so it stayed light until nearly 10 PM every night. And, they had a great internet cafe, which is good for an email addict like me. But, those darned French keyboards!!! The letters were not in the right place!

For Stage 2, the plan was for the “slower” group to head out at 8:00 and the fast group to head out later. There is a definite difference in the Aussie definition of “slower”. Jean, JV and I put ourselves into the slower group, which was about 40 people. We headed out with Patrick Jonker, one of the ex-pros, and a few of the other BikeStyles guides, at a nice conversational pace, through the streets of Reims, on our way to the finish in Sedan (about 60 miles or less). We got out of town and the pace picked up a bit on the nice, empty country roads. We were riding in a double paceline (two abreast) and I was riding along chatting with my new Aussie buddies when we came to a stop. Time to check the maps. Patrick thought he knew where he was going, and we soon were riding on the freeway! Yes, a group of 40 zipping along in the right hand lane of the freeway. We were moving along at a much faster clip now and cars and semi trucks were zooming past us in the left lane, honking and waving (the friendly honk, not the you #$*! biker honk). A number of official Tour de France cars passed us shouting and waving. Later, Jean, JV and I laughed and laughed just thinking that we were riding on the freeway! (We think Patrick was just a little lost.) We got to our exit and pulled off and regrouped in one of the towns. For the rest of the ride, we were back on country roads, on the actual Tour route, riding through quaint little towns, each decorated with flowers and bicycles and people parked along the route, with table, chairs, baskets of food, bottles of wine and plenty of good cheer. As we rode along, everyone would shout out, “Allez” or “Bravo” or “Vite!” THIS is the reason I came to France!

--to be continued--

The Big Calves Club

2003-09-01T07:23:00.000-07:00

That's what Horace called me, Mark, Johnny and himself today. We might not have the whippet-thin triathlete look, but we kick butt on the bike. Horace used to body build and Johnny is getting ready for cyclo-cross and is borderline Clydesdale. Mark did IMCdA (his first) and is still on the margarita diet.

We had a great ride yesterday--4 hours with 9 miles of climbing and some serious motoring on the flats. Part of the ride was on a road I'd never been on (the part with the 9 mile climb), but it was a great ride and the climb wasn't so bad. I just kept it nice and steady. Followed the ride up with a short transition run in the heat. Cheetham, I've known for a long time and rode with in preparation for IM NZ 2001; Horace I rode with some last year in preparation for Ultramax 2002. Both of them said today that I'm riding better than they have ever seen. That made me pretty happy.

Oh, want to know how to thrill a girl? Tell her she's ready to start coming on the boyz hammer rides. All in all, a great day.

Weekend ride(s) report.....

2003-08-25T15:28:00.000-07:00

Since I missed a couple of weekends of good long rides, I really needed to go long this weekend. On Saturday I drove up to Windsor High School and met my buddy Paul. We headed out on the bikes in the reverse direction of the Vineman course and at the end of Chalk Hill Road, went east towards Calistoga. I’d never ridden this way (that I remember) and it was a good ride—good road, not much shoulder, but not much traffic early, slightly uphill. We rode out almost to Calistoga, then turned around and rode hard back. We passed the carcass of a deer, picked clean, and I asked Paul if there were bears around here. “No, but there are a lot of mountain lions.” Time to put the hammer down! We rode back to the high school with 40 miles in the book and Paul had to head home. I refilled drink bottles and got more food and headed back out, this time to ride the Vineman loop in reverse and cheer on everyone racing the Full Vineman and Barb’s Race.

What a great day for a ride! It was sunny, warm but not overly hot and with everyone racing, I never got bored. The police had traffic stopped for the racers and I’m standing there waiting and a guy in a truck next to me yells out the window, “Are you Cathy Morgan?” HA! It was Ryan Rauzon, there to cheer on some friends who were racing. Great to meet you Ryan! I saw a number of friends who were racing and ran into one of my club mates who was up there supporting someone, so we rode together for a bit. I ended up riding another 60 miles solo and ended up with 100 miles, riding the last 60 faster than the first 40. I felt great, and could have easily ridden a lot more. Finished up with a short transition run.

I was staying up in Santa Rosa for the night and after some Chinese food and the movie “Shrek”, Toni, Paul and kids let me go to sleep. Up early Sunday and loaded the bike in the truck and drove over the mountain from Sonoma County to Napa County for the Tour of Napa County. The plan was to ride the 100K.

Sunday was gorgeous—blue skies and a bit of nip in the air, but that went away in the first 10 miles. In fact, it ended up being close to 100F degrees. This ride left out of Yountville and went up to the top of Napa County, mostly on country roads, along vineyards, a lake, though a canyon and some good hills, including one 3-4 mile climb of 8-10 percent, which I walked the steeper parts due to my slowly improving shoulder/neck/back problem. The first and last 10 miles (or so) were pretty flat. I felt great on the flats, but my legs could feel the previous day’s effort on the hills. So, I rode pretty steady on the flats, hammered any slight downhills and rode easy on the uphills. Probably more than the hills was the heat. Luckily, the aid stations were spaced out well, but I didn’t drink enough. About mile 57 on a gradual incline, I totally blew. I could hear Phil and Paul’s (Ligget and Sherwin) voices in my head and the image of Roberto Heras on the stage this year in the Tour where he was riding tempo and then in the next breath, was going backwards, came to mind. I mean, some casual riders on the 30 mile route on mountain bikes WITH KNOBBIES passed me. Crikey! I finally crested that incline and got a second wind and was able to ride hard (around 20 mph) on the flats back to the start/finish. I ended up with 67 miles and even with the walking, was pretty happy with my average speed. I’d definitely do this ride again.

Total mileage for the week: 187 miles. I’m super thrilled with this.

Cool Sayings List

2003-08-20T08:55:00.000-07:00

I get asked for this quite often, so here it is. It's pretty long.....
=============================================

"The hardest thing in life is to know which bridge to cross and which to burn." -David Russell

"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

Do not go where the path may lead,
go instead where there is no path
and leave a trail.

Always bear in mind that your own resolution to success is more important
than any other thing. ___Abraham Lincoln

The greatest pleasure in life is in doing what people say you cannot do.
___Walther Bagehot

The higher a monkey climbs, the more you can see of his behind. ___General
Joe Stillwell

If you aim towards perfection, you will reach excellence. ___Vince Lombardi

I have finally come to understand my own definition of success: Love, Work,
Knowledge. And not having to choose between them. ___Letty Cotting Pogrebin

Don't give up what you want MOST for what you want NOW.

It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.
___Theodore Roosevelt

Even failure can be the springboard to growth and discovery, so we should
never allow the fear of it to keep us from daring to risk. ___Gloria Gaither

Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.___RW Emerson

The unlived life is the real threat.___ Dr. George Sheehan

...who not only marches to a different drummer but brings his whole
orchestra.

Ask yourself, "Can I give more?" The answer is usually "Yes."___Paul Tergat

If your mind believes, your body achieves.

Pain is the feeling of weakness leaving the body.___USAF Pararescue motto

Obstacles are what you see, when you take your eyes off of your goals.

Half the battle in solving problems is our attitude.___Gloria Gaither

Do not be afraid to be touched with afflictions beyond your own ability to
cope. It is from being shaken apart and not being destroyed that one
becomes strong and courageous.___Laura Lewis Lanier

Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit on his hands, hoist the
black flag, and begin slitting throats.___ H. L. Mencken

A man is not old until dreams turn to regrets.___John Barrymore

Train more than you sleep.___Karate Master Masutatsu Oyama

The thing that marks the super athlete is his capacity to suffer, and
stand up to continued suffering.___Percy Cerutty

Can't is a four letter word.

He who fears being conquered is sure of defeat.___Napoleon Bonaparte

Success is what happens when hard work and motivation meet ambition.

Lead with SPEED. Follow with POWER.

Champions never take the easy way out. PAY THE PRICE.

The more you sweat, the less you bleed.

To perform like a champion, you must practice like one.

Fatigue makes cowards of men.

Winning isn't everything, but wanting to win is.___Oscar Wilde

If you want to fight, train. If you want to win, train harder.

Today's preparation determines tomorrow's achievement.

Victory belongs to the most persevering.___Napoleon Bonaparte

If you can accept losing, you can't win.___Vince Lombardi

He who is afraid of doing too much always does too little.

When you're good at making excuses, it's difficult to excel at anything
else.

Winners are simply willing to do what losers won't.

The difference between a dream and a goal is a time line.

If you really want to do something, you'll find a way; if you don't, you'll
find an excuse.

It is good to have an end to journey towards, but it is the journey that
matters in the end.

A hard beginning maketh a good ending.

Nothing ever becomes real till it is experienced.

Whatever women do they must do twice as well as men to be thought half as
good. Luckily, this is not difficult.

Life is in session; are you present?

I share no man's opinion; I have my own__Ivan Turgenev

We cannot run the great race and look back at the same time.

Courage is the willingness to act against fear.

To become a champion, strive not to surpass your competition, but rather
yourself.___James Loehr

Great minds have purposes, others have wishes.___Washington Irving

It's neither good nor bad, but thinking makes it so.

The great thing in the world is not so much where we stand as in what
direction we are moving.___Oliver Wendell Holmes

Even if you're on the right track, you will get run over if you just sit
there.___Will Rogers

To try and fail is at least to learn. To fail to try is to suffer the
inestimable loss of what might have been.___Chester Barnard

Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.__Thomas Edison

There's never yet been a statue erected to someone who left well enough
alone.

Keep on going and the chances are you will stumble on something, perhaps
when you are least expecting it. I have never heard of anyone stumbling on
something sitting down.___Charles F. Kettering

Regard setbacks as opportunities to grow. Learn from them; use them to
propel you forward.

There is a big difference between wanting something to happen, believing
something can happen, and actually expecting it to happen.

Mediocrity is like hitching your life to a cloud, instead of star.___Dr. H.
Paul Jacobi

Luck is when preparation meets opportunity.

The moment you commit and quit holding back, all sorts of unforeseen
incidents, meetings and material assistance will rise up to help you. The
pure and simple act of commitment is a powerful magnet all its own.

If you obey all the rules you miss all the fun.___Katharine Hepburn

If I'm too strong for some people, that's their problem.___Glenda Jackson

It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees.___Dolores
Ibarruri, Spanish communist leader

Love is a fire. But whether it is going to warm your hearth or burn down
your house, you can never tell.___Joan Crawford

All men die, not every man lives.___Braveheart

The heart is an organ of fire.___The English Patient

The essence of life is struggle and its goal is domination.

Focus on your one purpose.___Japanese motto

See first with your mind, then with your eyes, and finally with your body.

There is timing in everything.

Fast as the wind, quiet as the forest, aggressive as fire, and immovable as
a mountain.___Samurai battle banner

Few things are more persistent and intimidating than our fears and our
worries...especially when we face them in our own strength.___Charles
Swindoll

It's not so much what happens to you; it's how you handle the
happenings.___Barbara Johnson

Belief is a truth held in the mind. Faith is a fire in the heart.___Joseph
Newton

It is not your circumstances that shape you. It's how you react to your
circumstances that shapes you.___Anne Ortlund

Our greatest glory consists not in never falling, but in rising every time
we fall.

Life is achievement... Give yourself an aim, something
you want to do, then go after it, breaking through everything,
with nothing in mind but your aim, all will, all concentration,
and get it.___Ayn Rand

And I say that the quality of any man's life has got to be a full
measure of that man's personal commitment to excellence and victory,
regardless of what field he may be in.___Vince Lombardi

Success is not final, failure is not fatal;
It is the courage to continue that counts.

To conquer yourself is a greater task than conquering others.___Buddha

The pain is only temporary; the glory lasts forever.

Winners must have two things, definite goals and a burning desire to
achieve them.

Winners don't have time to place blame; they're too busy getting ready for
the next battle.

It's better to try something great and fail than to do nothing and succeed
at it.

As long as you know where you are headed, there is no need to justify it to
others.

Everything ever accomplished in history was born of human thought and
ingenuity.

Don't let who you are stunt who you want to be.

Conceive and believe to achieve.

Never cut what you can untie.

Greatness comes to those who dare to sweat, dare to strain, and dare the
pain.

The person who has a right to boast doesn't have to.

There's no such thing as losing, only research.

Plan your work; then work your plan.

Sometimes it's good to go out on a limb, because that's where the fruits
are.

Ask yourself how can I improve, instead of why can't I improve.

If you think you are too small to have an impact, try confronting a wasp.

Walk like a champion, talk like a champion, make gestures the way a
champion would.

Never fear opposition; adversity builds strength.

The ability to be totally unstoppable is always within you. All you have to
do is picture the last time you were and how you felt.

The pain you feel now is nothing compared to the pain you'll feel if
you quit.

Don't confuse having a career with having a life. They are not the
same.__Hillary Clinton

Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in the rising every time we
fall.__Confucius

No pleasure without pain.

The art of pleasing consists in being pleased.__William Hazlitt

Asthma is a disease that has practically the same symptoms as passion
except that with asthma it lasts longer.__Anonymous

You've got to shoot for the moon, and if you miss, you're one of the
stars. So you've got to try.__Bobby Julich

If winning isn't everything, why do they keep score? __Vince Lombardi

The quality of a person's life is in direct proportion to their
commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of
endeavor.__Vince Lombardi

If you can't win, make the fellow ahead of you break the record.__Anonymous

The only easy day was yesterday.__US Navy SEAL motto

Pleasure lies in the heart, not in the happenstance.__Luci Swindoll

It is not our experiences which in the final analysis change us, it is
always and only our responses to those experiences.__Elisabeth Elliott

There is wonderful freedom and joy in coming to recognize that the fun is
in the becoming.__Gloria Gaither

Doubt brings discouragement and fear. Expectation brings delight.__Merlin
Carothers

There are two things to aim for in life: first, to get what you want; and
after that to enjoy it. Only the wisest of mankind achieve the
second.__Logan Piersall Smith

Passions are vices or virtues in their highest powers.__Johann Wolfgang von
Goethe

Seize the day, put no trust in the morrow!__Horace

You can observe a lot by watching.__Yogi Berra

Love conquers all.__Virgil

How old would you be if you didn't know how old you are?__Satchel Paige

It is better to wear out than to rust out.__Richard Cumberland

Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left behind by those
who hustle.__Abraham Lincoln

Anything worth doing well is worth doing slowly.__Gypsy Rose Lee

Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage.__Anais Nin

If you're going to do something wrong, at least enjoy it.__Leo Rosten

It is better to deserve honors and not receive them than to receive them
and not be deserving.

There comes a time when one must risk something, or sit forever with ones
dreams.___Trevor Peterson

I owe my success to having listened respectfully to the best advice, and
then going away and doing the exact opposite.___G.K. Chesterton

When making your choice in life, do not neglect to live.___Samuel Johnson

Life is what happens to you while you're making other plans.___John Lennon

It is not the same to talk of bulls as to be in the bullring.___Spanish
proverb

It's not whether you get knocked down, it's whether you get up.___Vince
Lombardi

Great ideas originate in the muscles.___Thomas Edison

The unexamined life is not worth living.___Plato

What we play is life.____Louis Armstrong

What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters, compared to
what lies within us.___Ralph Waldo Emerson

Words are a form of action, capable of influencing change.___Ingrid Bengis

You need to claim the events of your life to make yourself
yours.___Anne-Wilson Schaef

The most potent muse of all is our own inner child.___Stephen Nachmanovitch

Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he
grows up.___Pablo Picasso

The true mystery of the world is the visible, not the invisible.___Oscar
Wilde

To live a creative life, we must lost our fear of being wrong.___Joseph
Chilton Pearce

The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical
substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed.___C.G. Jung

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you've
imagined. As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be
simpler.___Henry David Thoreau

Undoubtedly, we become what we envisage.___Claude M. Bristol

Learn to get in touch with the silence within yourself and know that
everything in this life has a purpose.___Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

Slow down and enjoy life. It's not only the scenery you miss by going too
fast--you also miss the sense of where you are going and why.___Eddie Cantor

Develop interest in life as you see it; in people, things, literature,
music--the world is so rich, simpley throbbing with rich treasures,
beautiful souls and interesting people. Forget yourself.___Henry Miller

Success or failure, the truth of a life really has little to do with its
quality. The quality of life is in proportion, always, to the capacity for
delight. The capacity for delight is the gift of paying attention.___Julia
Cameron

The universe will reward you for taking risks on its behalf.___Shakti Gawain

Desire, ask, believe, receive.___Stella Terrill Mann

Whatever you think you can do or believe you can do, begin it. Action has
magic, grace and power in it.__Goethe

What doesn't kill me makes me stronger.___Albert Camus

Take your life in your own hands and what happens? A terrible thing: no one
to blame.___Erica Jong

Eliminate something superfluous from your life. Break a habit. Do something
that makes you feel insecure.___Piero Ferrucci

It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare; it is because
we do not dare that they are difficult.___Seneca

Look and you will find it--what is unsought will go undetected.___Sophocles

In order to get things you never had, you must do the things you never did.

Never start a fight, but always finish one.

Having is not as pleasurable a thing as wanting--it is illogical but it is
often true.__Spock, Star Trek

Opportunities are seldom labeled.

Whether you think you can or you can't, you are right.

A man is not finished when he is defeated. He is finished when he quits.

It is never too late to be what we might have been.

Success is never final. Failure is never fatal. It's courage that
counts.___Winston Churchill

Life's battles don't always go to the stronger or faster man. But, sooner
or later, the man who wins is the one who thinks he can.___W.D. Wintle

Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let
go.___Tom Feather

You already possess everything necessary to become great.___Crow Indian
Proverb

Determination and desire have no meaning without purpose and
direction.___John F. Kennedy

How you spend your time is the only true measurement of your priorities in
life.___Nancy Hunter Denney

The difference between stumbling blocks and stepping stones is how you use
them.___Meltzer

People can't make you feel inferior without your consent.___Elenor Roosevelt

The greatest love of all is inside of me. If I fail or if I succeed, at
least I live as I believe.___George Benson

Defeat is not the worst of failures. Not to have tried is the true
failure.___George E. Woodberry

The only way of finding the limits of the possible is by going beyond
them into the impossible.___Arthur C. Clark

There is no elevator to success. You have to take the stairs.

It is never to late to be what you might have been.___George Eliot

Whether you think that you can, or that you can't, you are usually
right.___Henry Ford

Everyone faces challenges and problems. Success lies in dealing with
them.___Anonymous

We are always getting ready to live, but never living.___Emerson

If you can't change the circumstances, change your perspective.___Anonymous

What does not destroy me, makes me strong.___Friedrich Nietzsche

I do not seek. I find.___Pablo Picasso

Don't fight forces; use them.___Buckminster Fuller

The follies which a man regrets most are those which he didn't commit when
he had the opportunity.___Helen Rowland

Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood.___Marie Curie

Nothing is worth more than this day.___Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.___Joseph Addison

Anything you're good at contributes to happiness.___Bertrand Russell

The heart has its reasons that reason knows nothing of.___Blaise Pascal

There are two great disappointments in life: Not getting what you want, and
getting it.___George Bernard Shaw

Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.___Theodore Roosevelt

The greatest griefs are those we cause ourselves.___Sophocles

The best way to make your dreams come true is to wake up.___Paul Valery

There can be no real freedom without the freedom to fail.__Eric Hoffer

The most terrifying thing is to accept oneself completely.___Carl Jung

The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.
Attitude to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the
past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failure, than
successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important
than appearances, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company, a
church, a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for the day. We cannot change our past, we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the string we have, that is our attitude.___Charles W. Swindoll, from his writing
"Strengthening Your Grip"

Don't cry because its over, smile because it happened. - Unknown

All things are difficult before they are easy. -Thomas Fuller, M.D.

As for courage and will - we cannot measure how much of each
lies within us, we can only trust there will be sufficient to carry
through trials which may lie ahead. - Andre Norton

It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare; it is
because we do not dare that they are difficult. - Seneca

One of the greatest discoveries a man makes, one of his
great surprises, is to find he can do what he was afraid he couldn't do.
- Henry Ford

A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist
sees the opportunity in every difficulty. -Winston Churchill

Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp--or what's a
heaven for?-Robert Browning

Never give up, for that is just the place and time that
the tide will turn. - Harriet Beecher Stowe

We tend to get what we expect.___Norman Vincent Peale

What makes something great is the battle that goes on to get there. It is
getting up every morning and doing what you think is the right thing. It is
working towards your dreams and not letting other people get in your
way.___Dean Golich, coach of Mari Holden

In life, you must make your own challenges.___Rudy Giuliani

Change is inevitable; growth is optional.___Mary Foley

I realize that things end -- whether it's being mayor or your life -- it ends. And part of being able to handle life is being able to handle the changes that take place.___Rudy Giuliani

Between Stimulus and Response is our greatest Freedom: Choice.___Stephen Covey

This is the moment I knew was coming. The moment when you feel like you're puking your guts out and want to quit and you have to find the next gear or surrender.___David Bailey

You have to think that you can't quit. Your brain wants to quit, but you have to fight it. It has nothing to do with speed, and everything to do with finishing.____Abe Weintraub (+90 age group runner)

There's something to be said for wanting and genuine belief.___Dusty Baker

TO UNDERTAKE is to achieve_____Emily Dickinson

You must do the thing you think you cannot do.___Eleanor Roosevelt

Well, they don't call it the Eco-Simple, now do they?___Alex, Team GO

If you really want to do something, you'll find a way; if you don't, you'll
find an excuse.

People become what they expect themselves to become.___Mahatma Gandhi

Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road. Time grabs you by the
wrist, directs you where to go. So make the best of this test, and don't ask
why. It's not a question, but a lesson learned in time. It's something
unpredictable, but in the end is right. I hope you had the time of your
life.___Green Day

It doesn't get any easier, you just get faster.___Greg Lemond

I tried.__Jackie Joyner Kersee

Only those who dare to fail greatly, can ever achieve greatly.___Robert F. Kennedy

You can have anything you want -- if you want it badly enough. You can be anything you want to be, do anything you set out to accomplish if you hold to that desire with singleness of purpose.___Abraham Lincoln

"Tama tu, tama ora, tama noho, tama mate."
If you stand up and fight you live, if you give up and sit down you die.___Maori saying

I met a guy up on that mountain who I grew to like, and do you know who that guy was? That's right, it was me.___Tim Moore, from the book "French Revolutions....Cycling the Tour de France"

Opportunities are usually disguised as hard work, so most people don't recognize them. ___Ann Landers

A man is not finished when he's defeated; he's finished when he quits.___Richard Milhous Nixon

The fastest way to succeed is to look as if you're playing by somebody else's rules, while quietly playing by your own.___Michael Konda

Success demands the highest price of discipline, of hard work and of eternal persistence.

Just keep going. Everybody gets better if they keep at it.___Ted Williams

Use what talent you possess: the woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those that sang best.___Henry Van Dyke

The worst thing to squander is time. That you can't get back.___Some climber dude on OLN

Retiring From Racing and Unretiring

2003-08-17T18:00:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I had signed up to do a 100 mile (or 100K) ride up in western Marin County. Lots of hills (like the course is 99% hills). I did it last year and did 100K. Hadn't done much all week due to my neck/back/shoulder, but I was cleared to ride, so I headed up to Tomales, checked in, and headed out. Immediately I could tell it was not going to be a good day. Every single thing was irritating me, from the bike to the weather, the crappy roads, the hills, the other people on the ride, my neck/shoulder were hurting. You get the picture. The love was NOT there. So, I made a couple of turns and ended the ride at 27 miles and 2 hours 20 minutes. Put the bike in the truck and drove home and emailed my friend Pieter saying, "I am retiring from racing."

Some food, a shower and I laid on the couch and watched the replay of IMH 2002, the year I wasn't there to volunteer, the comeback of Peter Reid, Marc Herremans courageous start, Karen Smyers and Normann Stadler not giving up when their races went south. I felt a little better. Thanks to NBC for picking yesterday to replay the show. Went to see Bruce Springsteen last night and after 3 solid hours of THE BOSS, I was feeling even better. (As an aside: Great concert, but I'd put it at #2 on my all-time list. Didn't top U2 and The Joshua Tree tour. Very interesting crowd. Every demographic was there.)

Slept in this morning, got up and ate breakfast, then around 10:30, headed out on the bike. THE LOVE WAS BACK from the first moment on the bike. Rode across the Bridge and around Marin, 44 miles and 3:40. Rode by myself, except when a guy rode up next to me and says, "Want to hop on my wheel?" (Winds were gusting to 30 mph all day and yes, headwinds.) Stuck to him for a couple of miles, then thanked him for the pull and let him go up a hill. Got home and felt great, so I have officially unretired. Hey, if Peter Reid can do it, so can I. Thanks to Pieter for not saying out loud that I'm a psycho pain-in-the-butt. ;-)

Folsom International Tri

2003-08-11T05:34:00.000-07:00

DNS (Did Not Start; Did Nothing Stupid)

Didn't race. Volunteered instead. Woke up Friday morning with a stiff neck. Thought it would go away and on Saturday, it was a little better. Went to the pool to see if I could swim and swam 1,000 yds and didn't feel too bad. Went up to the race site and registered and then rode the bike for 25 minutes. Shoulder/arm hurt a little on the bike, but not too bad. To dinner, to the hotel and my neck and upper back start hurting more. Went to sleep and race morning, woke up with an even more sore neck/trap/lats. Went to the race site, got body marked, put my wetsuit on, got in and tried to swim, sharp pain shoots down my back on each stroke. Got out, gave back my chip. Got a hug from the race director of TBF Racing and told him I'd help them out in the transition area, so that's what I did.

I did have a fun time going up and hanging out the entire time with one of our tri club's fast guys. We talked Tour de France, bike racing, tris and lots of other stuff the entire way up and back, at dinner and at the hotel. And, I got to preview the CaliforniaMan race site, so it wasn't a total washed out weekend.

Today? Off to see Dr. Hal.

Ironman New Zealand Info.....

2003-08-10T20:15:00.000-07:00

Like my friend Roger said, "If I'm not in New Zealand the first Saturday of March, I'm dead." What a wonderful place and race! I've been to New Zealand four times in the past three years and am planning another trip in 2004. I get a lot of questions, so I'll be adding information as I have time, or if you have specific questions, let me know. First things first...

Ironman New Zealand
Saturday, March 6, 2004
http://www.ironman.co.nz/

Travel arrangements:

You can do the web search and do your own airline reservations, but I've found better prices and it's a lot easier using Deepak and Premium Plus for airfare. He can also do an entire package for you. (Tell him you know me.) I have my own B&B that I always stay at, plus, I like to be mobile, so I rent a car in Auckland and drive to Taupo.

Deepak Patel
President
Premium Plus Sports -- The Athlete Travel Company
800-282-3636 USA & Canada
312-738-2543
312-738-2546 Fax
www.PremiumPlus-Sports

If you want to do your own accomodations, I'd suggest the Taupo Visitor Center. There is a link at http://www.ironman.co.nz/travel.html or details are below. If you are in the center of town, you generally don't need a car, but as I said, I like to be mobile and there are some good sightseeing opportunities in the general area.

Gail Henderson
Taupo Visitor Centre,
30 Tongariro Street,
Taupo, New Zealand
Tel: 0064 7 376 0027
Fax: 0064 7 378 9003
Email: taupovc@laketauponz.com.

Or.....

http://www.beds-n-leisure.com/

Or....

Destination Lake Taupo
Lake Taupo Convention Bureau
66 Paora Hapi Street, Private Bag 2005
Taupo, New Zealand
Telephone: +64-7-376-0400
Facsimile: +64-7-376-0410
E-Mail: info@laketauponz.com
Internet: www.laketauponz.com

New Zealand news:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/
http://www.stuff.co.nz/ (Taupo is in the BAY OF PLENTY region)

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Some answers to questions I've been asked a bunch of times:

* No, you can't do both NZ and Australia in three weeks. You'd be hard pressed to see the all of NZ in three weeks. It's a small country, but it's two islands and the pace of life is way kicked back (they have no freeways). It's so beautiful there and the North and South Island are like two different worlds. If you can, get to both of them. [SEE TOWARDS END OF MESSAGE FOR MY LAST FOUR TRIPS.]

* The people are the best and the course is great. The swim is in a pristine lake, so clean you can see the bottom the entire way (and drink from). The bike is flat to rolling, with one short, steep hill that you do twice. There is a big out and back (probably 40 miles RT), that is on a closed road. There is about a 5K of gradual uphill on this section coming back. You don't notice it the first go-round, but it's where I slowed down the second round. The last few miles of the bike are downhill (long, gradual) and then into town where the streets are lined with people. I rode way too hard through town at the end of the first lap. The run has a number of hills, some short and steep and one longer grade. It's a two-loop run. But, the best thing is the NZ people. They are so fabulous! Your race number has your name on it in large, bumper sticker type letters, so people are shouting your name the entire race. If I had had a dollar for every time I heard "Good on ya", I could have paid for this year and next year's trip. My report from 2001 is at http://www.slowtwitch.com/mainheadings/beginner/unlikely.html.

* The food is quite good. Lots of beef and lamb and fish. The beer is AWESOME! Tui is my favorite, but Specht's is good too, as is Steinlager.

* Yes, they drive on the "wrong" side of the road and the car. It's not too hard to get used to generally. Actually, I have an easier time driving there. Maybe I'm driver dyslexic. And yes, you will race on the bike on the LEFT, staying LEFT. Learn to take a water bottle with your left hand.

* The best bike shop is Cycle World on Spa Road. James and Marie are the best! FAST.BISCUIT@xtra.co.nz Tell them you know me. ;-)

* Jet lag: From the U.S. west coast, the time difference is only 3 hours (plus a day), so it's like going from NY to here or here to HI. No jet lag at all. You generally arrive early in the morning and it's a 4 hour drive to Taupo. Get a good night sleep the first night in NZ and you'll never know you are traveling. Coming home...different story.

Race days tips:

* T1: Definitely stick a small towel in your bag. You will be running/changing on grass and it was freshly clipped, so there was a lot of grass pieces all over and it was nice to have the towel to wipe your feet on.

* Bike: Definitely take arm warmers and pack them in the T1 bag. I wore mind for the first lap in 2001 and 2002, then shed them. A light rain jacket is also a great idea if you are cold blooded, as it rained all night before the race and from about 5-6:30AM on race morning in 2001. I'd also suggest covering your bike saddle and computer the night before.

* Course food/drink: Take more than you think you will need. The PB stuff they've served in the past is NASTY (though they may be changing that this year). Also, if you think you will have ANY urge for anything not-sweet---put it in your special needs bag. Nothing but sweet stuff the entire day. At one run aid station a nice lady gave me her own small bag of potato chips. No chicken soup at this IM (or at least the last couple of years).

Travel tips:

* Definitely bring some snacks and a big bottle of water for the plane. If you are on Air NZ, then most of the flight will be IM people, at least going over and it's fun to meet everyone. Coming home, it was the senior citizen brigade. They show you about 3 movies and feed you every few hours. Going wasn't so bad; coming home was a bear (but I was sick and the plane was packed).

* Money: What I usually do is to take $50 US and change that at the Auckland airport just to have some handy cash. Then, when I get to Taupo, I'll use my ATM card to get cash from the machines. Or, but as much as you can on plastic for better exchange rates.

Race week:

* May I suggest for those who are in Taupo on the Tuesday to do the swim that evening. It's your only chance to swim most of the course and there are lots of folks there. It's a great way to gauge the water and get rid of some jet lag. They have a 1,000 and 3,000 M (or so) "race" and they give out spot prizes. Minimal entry fee (like $2NZ) and lots of fun.

* Lastly, if you are in the market for a new wetsuit--buy one early in the week. The exchange rate is great and a couple of places had IM wetsuits on sale last year.

My prior trips:

You know what, first of all, unless you are staying for a month or two, there is no way you can see both islands. Things are just too spread out to do in a short period of time. Second, there are NO freeways, so if you are driving, you don't get anywhere very fast, especially on the South Island. Third, it doesn't matter where you go, it's all terrific. (Though I agree, pass through Hamilton on the drive down and instead stop in Cambridge--a great little town.) Which is why I'll be coming back for the fourth time in three years.

First trip: 10 days, including race. Post race, we stayed in Taupo, using it as a base for day trips. I got sick right after the race, so the parental units saw more than I did.

Second trip: 3 weeks, including race. We drove down to Wellington after the race, took the ferry across to the So. Island, drove down the east coast to Christchurch, spending a couple of days there. Then, drove across to the west coast and down to the glaciers (excellent!), then back up the west coast to Greymouth (I'd go back and spend more time there), then back to the ferry and back up through the No. Island. Way too much driving.

Third trip: Hung in Auckland for a few days and did some sightseeing with the locals. Went to Taupo and hung out there, riding my bike and hiking around and doing a little race. I highly recommend the Leppin Half Ironman in December.

Fourth trip: About 9 days total. Went to the race, didn't race. Watched everyone else race. Drove back to Auckland and spent a couple of nights there with friends before flying home.

Where I haven't been, but want to: The coast up by Ohope, the northern islands, Fiordland--I'd like to do the Milford Trek, Mt. Cook (we saw it, but from Fox Glacier side). I'd spend more time in ChristChurch. I liked it a lot better than Auckland. I'd go back to Wellington and spend more time there. Auckland is a lot like San Francisco, so I'll go there just to see friends. And I do love Taupo. Someday I'll buy a house there, after I buy my house in France.

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Why is this such a fabulous place and race???

I got this email from one of the volunteers (who lurks on the IM NZ email list) after I'd posted how great a time we'd had:

Hi
Cathy it is poeple like you that get people like me on the job
at no cost to any one just because we can say that's another ironman

Here's a message I sent out to the IM NZ folks I went with last year.....

I was looking for a phone number in an old email and came across some IM NZ race reports from the last couple of years. Here are some bits of various people's reports. For those of you who are first timers in Taupo, just a glimpse of what you are in for. Extra points if you recognize yourself, or a friend.

clm, waiting for a job offer from the NZ Tourism Board ;-)

* This is an incredible race, and the best part of it
is the people of Taupo. They are so welcoming and supportive. I
have never seen better support in any race I've done anywhere in the
world, and I've been doing tris for 20 years.

* In hundreds of small, thoughtful ways, Taupo's volunteers eased the journey for us.

* The finish was magic. The course had us do one last loop around the back
of the park, running in near total darkness until we abruptly turned a
corner and ran into the blazing lights of a 100 meter finishing chute
lined with cheering spectators and finishers. Despite the pain and
fatigue, it's a moment you wish would last forever.

* There's simply no better place to do an Ironman than New Zealand, and no better venue than Taupo.

* To all the people who listened to me complain about training this winter and who heard me say time and time again "I will never, ever, ever train through the winter again", thank you for tolerating me. I hope you can stand it again this winter because I have to go back to Ironman New Zealand next year. The thought of not going back is more painful than any cold weather ride or any long run in freezing drizzle.

* They took me into medical for the mandatory weighing, then made me lay down for about 15 minutes and took my vitals. They finally let me go, and as we
were walking to the car, a guy came up and said he had been cheering out on
the course and wanted to come down and see me finish and shake my hand.
That's the kind of people there are in New Zealand and is a huge part of
what makes this race so fantastic.

Half Vineman Race Report

2003-08-05T09:03:00.000-07:00

First of all....HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME! And to my friends and birthday twins Boop, Bee, MikeyBoy and Pieter. What a great day 5 August is.

OK, Half Vineman...my first ever half ironman and my favorite race. I've been riding that course for about 13 years, so I know it like the back of my hand. And, it's always a good race to see lots and lots of people you know. Unfortunately, many of them are already finished, showered and gone home by the time those of us in the back of the pack finish racing since it's a wave start race and the waves are spread out over 3.5 hours. Totally sucks to be in one of the last couple of waves (which I have been 4 out of 5 years.)

Drove up to Santa Rosa with my friend Yuko. It was her first Half VM and her second half IM race. Got to the registration/expo and immediately started seeing people we knew. Finally got registered, walked through the expo, went to the course meeting and headed out to T2 (note--T1 and T2 are 15 miles apart; this is not a race for unorganized people.) Dropped off our run stuff and had a chat with Steve and Carrie Larsen, then went for a 20 minute bike ride to show Yuko the run course. Someone had told her it was flat. HA HA HA. No it's not. After that, dinner, to the house, got an early birthday present from my littlest fans, then to bed.

The swim: Race morning I got to T1, got body marked, chatted some more, then finally it was time to get in the pen for the next to last wave (women 40-44). I've been working with a swim instructor revamping my stroke, so I was curious to see how my stroke had improved. 48:44 later, the new form obviously hasn't translated from pool to open water. That put me in a pissy mood onto the bike. This was the slowest swim of the 5 Half VM races I've done.

The bike: I love to ride the bike and usually go out way too hard so I consciously decided to try to hold back a little in the first 10 miles or so. I must have been thinking way too much about that because I totally missed the right hand turn under River Road. The guy was standing there with his big purple finger kinda pointing up in the air and I was thinking I need to be geared down because you have to pop up a short, but steep hill, and just spaced it out. The second I went by him straight instead of right, I KNEW what I'd done. CRAP! Unfortunately, another woman followed me. Oops, sorry. Quick turn around and then up the hill and flew down the backside and hit the rollers. I learned how to ride the rollers in France, so I felt pretty good. A few gals passed me on some of the uphills, but I passed them back on the downhills and flats. Somewhere in here my back started to hurt, my crotch wasn't liking the day and it became not fun to be riding my bike. That is a bad day in my book, cause I LOVE to ride my bike.

Got over to the Alexander Valley and Hwy. 128 and the love came back. Motored along on the flats, into a headwind and started making a game of picking people off. I'd make bets with myself on when I'd catch and pass someone. Got onto Chalk Hill Road and hammered. I love this part of the course because you can get some good speed up. Hit "faux Chalk Hill" and then down the backside and rode easy on the lead up to real Chalk Hill. I got passed by a couple of folks (including one guy....he must have had a horrible swim or major bike problems), but I crested the top of Chalk Hill and could smell fresh meat in front of me. The last 10 miles of the bike are fast as heck (except for the crappy roads) and I flew, passing everyone who had passed me up the hill and a few more. Got back to T2 with a bike time of 3:34. Not a bike PR, but one of the fastest times I've ridden that course.

The run: OK, I'll get it over with. I need to shut up and JFR as Gordo would say or JUST DO IT, as Nike would say. I hate to run, I ran less than 10 miles in the month of July. Should I be surprised that I felt like crap? NO. And, it's my fault. I actually felt not bad for about 6 miles, then due to the lack of training, the heat and maybe a little dehydrated, the wheels fell off. Walk/jog, walk/jog, that was the rest of the run. I got passed by most of the people who I'd passed on the bike, including one woman who asked me how fast I was going on the hill when I'd passed her (only 40 mph). Got a big lift seeing my teammates at the Golden Gate Tri Club aid station. Got to the last quarter mile and there was my friend Steph waiting for me. Got to the last 100 yards and there was Yuko and Scott and I don't remember who else. Crossed the finish line with a 3:27 run (second worst run only to the asthma attack debacle of last year). Total time 8:01, third fastest of my 5 Half VM finishes.

Goals for the race were to (1) finish; (2) concentrate on what I've learned in my swim sessions; (3) hold back the first part of the bike; (4) don't lose focus in the third quarter of the bike; (5) run more than walk; (6) not have any asthma or nutritional issues and (7) have fun. Accomplished 1, 2 (but couldn't execute), 3, 4, 6 and 7 (at least for part of the time). I know what I need to work on. Now to do it.

Up next: Folsom Internation Tri this coming weekend. Eat some French food and drink some French wine tonight. And run. Consistently.

Tour de France

2003-08-04T16:31:00.000-07:00

My Tour de France reports on slowtwitch.com

http://www.slowtwitch.com/mainheadings/features/letour.html

South Bay/UVAS Race Report

2003-08-04T16:30:00.001-07:00

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South Bay Triathlon
May 18, 2003

“I tried.”___Jackie Joyner Kersee, after her very first track meet and her final Olympic games.

Most of you know how trying the first quarter of 2003 has been....medical issues, surgery, auto accident. Training was pretty limited or non-existent until recently. I did two running races in January, but then missed three races I’d signed up for....Ironman New Zealand, Ralph’s Half Ironman and Wildflower Long Course. I could have done WF Oly, but just didn’t feel ready. So, I set my sights on UVAS/South Bay Tri.

I did my first ever triathlon as the swimmer on a relay team in 1987. Didn’t do any tris from about 1991 to 1998, when I got the bug again. My first race back in May 1998 was the South Bay Triathlon, so it seemed apropos that South Bay was my first race back this year. (It's a 0.75 mile swim/16 mile bike/5 mile run)

I headed down to San Jose the day before the race and checked in. Saw Joe V. from the Tri-DRS list and chatted with him a bit. Got registered and went to drive the bike course. It’s been four years since I’ve done UVAS, so I wanted a look at “the hill”. After driving the course, I headed to Morgan Hill and the hotel. Chatted with club mate Katie a couple of times, had dinner, watched “Law & Order”, read a bit, then lights out.

Woke up before the alarm and made coffee and ate. I happened to flip the TV on and on ESPN Classic, there was a biography of Jackie Joyner Kersee. Two things she said really resonated with me. The above quote and the following.

“I am never again going to let me defeat myself.”___Jackie Joyner Kersee.

Wow, it was almost like she was speaking to me. I was a little nervous about this race as it was the first race back. Was I prepared? How slow would I be? Would I be last? But, I decided that the day would be a success if I could say, “I tried.”
There has been a lot of discussion about “racing” versus “participating”. Some people seem to equate racing with only the fastest people. I say, “NOT TRUE!” I think racing is in the intent. Even those of us at the back of the pack “race”. And, others throw out the “A”, “B” or “C” race theory...if it’s a “C” race, how can I race? In my definition, racing doesn’t mean going 100% every time. You may race for time goals, or race to work on something quite specific. It’s for each person to determine for him/herself. My goals for this race: (1) finish; (2) put in a good, hard effort in all three legs to get a benchmark of where my training is; (3) not be last (I have issues here; yes, I’m working on it); (4) HAVE FUN! I did have some time targets to shoot for, but they weren’t the most important part of the day.

Great thing about staying close to the race site....it took me 12 minutes to get there. Parked and headed to the transition area. The first person I ran into was Lori from Transition Sports. We got to the TA and saw a bunch of my GGTC club mates who had saved me a spot on the bike rack. Saw Joe V. again, Amy White, Dave Fish, Dave K from Transition Sports and a number of other folks I knew. Non-triathletes ask why I race....THE PEOPLE! I just love going to a race and seeing friends from all over.
Amy and I headed down to the lake to warm up, as we were in the last wave. I told Amy that one of my favorite parts of any race day is the few minutes when you are in the water, waiting to start, and looking back at the crowds on shore. The rest of the day just lying ahead, waiting to play out.

The gun went off, and our last wave, Clydesdales, Athenas, all women over age 35 and relays, were off. The swim was a down and around, going around a peninsula and ending at the boat ramp. The first few hundred yards were fine, but when we made the turn to come back on the other (unprotected) side of the peninsula, it got quite choppy. I had to dump my goggles about 4 times and I finally finished in 35:52. Yuck, that was WAY off my time target of 30:00. Oh well, shake it off and to the bike.

“Passion...Patience...Persistence”___Victor Plata

I have the first and third of Vic’s 3 P’s dialed in. I’m working on the middle one, I swear. I love to ride the bike and I only know two ways to ride...not and full out hammering. I tried to dial it back a bit and not ride at max and I think I did OK. The course is flat to rolling, except for one short (0.4 mile), but very steep hill about mile 12. In the first 5-7 miles I passed a lot of people and was easily holding 20-22 mph on the flats. I slowed down on the rollers, but just need more miles in my legs. I got to the steep hill and for the first time ever, was able to ride the entire way up it. That had me really psyched and carried me the last few miles. Bike 63:00 (14.9 mph avg.), which is the fastest I’ve ever ridden this course. Goal was 1:15.

Ask yourself, "Can I give more?" The answer is usually 'Yes'."___Paul Tergat

I’ve never done track workouts until this year. In fact, when I signed up for them, Dave, our treasurer, emailed me to make sure someone wasn’t impersonating me and then at one of the workouts, someone else asked, “YOU are doing track?” Yes, it’s a new me. I headed out on the run and immediately both of my lower legs began to cramp. Run slow, walk to shake them out, run, walk through the aid station and down Gatorade, stop to stretch once. All those people I passed on the bike? They were now passing me back on the run. The run is an out and back, so it was nice seeing lots of people I knew as they were coming back. I got to the turn-around and miraculously, the cramps went away (change in road camber?) I was able to pick up my pace and run the rest of the way, only walking to drink at the aid station. I got to the last half mile or so and Katie was there, then got to the turn to the finish and Yuko, Karen and Andy were there to cheer me in. Crossed the finish line feeling good about the run and the entire day. Run time 1:10; goal 1:15.

Total time: 2:56; goal had been to break 3:00. I’m back!

SJIT Race Report

2003-08-04T16:30:00.000-07:00

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San Jose International Tri--Oly distance.
June 22, 2003

Headed down to SJ on Saturday to pick up race packet, checked into
the Motel 6 and then went to meet some clubmates for dinner. We had
a very good time--lots of laughs and way too much pasta was served.
Back to the room, get the gear ready and to bed.

San Jose is a very flat course, both bike and run. There is one
little bump early in the bike, and then the hill on Bailey road, but
it's only 0.8 mile and not so bad. The worst thing this year was the
wind. Lots of headwind on the first half of the bike.

This year the bike was harder due said headwind. I thought I had a
better swim, but I guess not, but I did work on staying long and not
diving my arm down (two swim lessons so far--totally revamping my
stroke). I felt ~much~ better on the run this year and my time
includes a porta-stop (and, negative split the run). Pace on the run
was about 13:22/mile--I still have some work to do, but my race paces
are slowing coming down. I'm still having lower leg cramps in the
first couple of miles on the run for some reason (note--I REALLY held
back on the first part of the bike this year). I just need to get in
the pool and work on the run (we know I'll be riding the bike always).

Looking at the numbers from the race and comparing them to last year,
I'm actually pretty happy, considering I had virtually no training
from January to late March this year and last year I had Ironman
training for the same period of time. (I really have only 7 weeks of
decent training in this year.)

SJIT 2003:
32:24-3:03-1:30-2:49-1:23=3:32 (s-t1-b-t2-r) 8th out of 11
I was 8th on the swim; 6th on the bike; 11th on the run.

SJIT 2002:
31:16-4:58-1:29-2:27-1:23=3:30 (3rd out of 4)

Totals year to date (s/b/r):
2003:
14,090 yds/496 miles/151 miles

2002:
43,339 yds/844 miles/211 miles

Next up: The TOUR DE FRANCE! Then, Half Vineman on August 3rd.