58 days left

Weekend milage
Bike: 43.8 miles

I have been pretty bad about updating this blog lately. As the race approaches I will be posting more.

The weather around San Diego turned which is my excuse that my workouts have been lagging a little bit. I went for a few short runs before work last week and have been going to the gym almost every night.

On Saturday, I went for a 43.8 mile bike ride. It was very hard. All the hills between my house and Encinitas made for a pretty tough ride.

I am planning on running and swimming pretty hard this weekend. There are only 58 days until race time. That is about eight weeks left to train. The last week or two are tapering weeks, so there is really only six weeks left to really train hard. It makes me nervous just thinking about it...

From Wimpy to Popeye; 1:52:52 with a piss stop

Run: 13.1 miles

The Carlsbad race went way better than expected. My chip time for the race was 1:52:52, although I had to take a bathroom break at the beginning of the race that took off at least a minute and a half of my time.

I got to the race a little late b/c of all the traffic. As I approached the start line the gun went off. My bladder couldn't handle the delicious cup of tea I had for breakfast and I had to hit the bathrooms before the first mile even ended. I got a good pace after that and kept it throughout the race. I am pretty stoked on my time. I probably kept around an 8:20 minutes per mile pace. I shaved off 11 minutes from my last half marathon. Looks like all the training is paying off.

I am back to the gym tonight. I need to get some miles in the pool and on the bike this week. We'll see how I do.

From...



to...

Churning out "Wimpy" times

Run: 4 miles; 9 miles

I was in Palm Springs last weekend expecting to get a little exercise in on Saturday morning. I woke up at 6:00 am and went to go run on the highway. It was so cold I could barely get out of the car. I ran for about 4 miles and felt like my extremities were going to fall off.

We came back to San Diego on Sunday to watch the Chargers lose any hope of winning the Super Bowl. With no work on Monday I went for a 9 mile run that morning. I ran pretty fast for me and it felt good get some distance in.

I have been going to the gym each night this week, but I am trying to take it easy for my race this Sunday. I am running the Carlsbad 1/2 marathon and have a goal to beat the two hour mark. I am really trying to rest up so I have a chance at it. It really is a pretty wimpy time, but for some reason I can't keep a decent pace at that distance. I hope things change on Sunday...

Triathlon and Vegans

So, there is a new lunch place that opened up in Lemon Grove. It is called Cilantro and has the look of a delicious health food type place. I thought, " good for Lemon Grove. Delicious and healthy is just what I need". I decided to go in for lunch today. In one corner is a very pale lady in black eating what looks to be a plate of vegetables. Right as I am about to turn around I am approached by an equally pale waitress. I am too embarressed to leave, am in it this far and figure I might as well give it a shot. On each table is a nice looking little vase of wheatgrass. I think "what a nice little touch". Once I sit and take a look at the menu I realize that this is no ordinary health food restaraunt. These guys are serious about their vegetables. In fact, I can't find one non-vegtable related item. "That's alright", I think. I am always down for a good veggie burger and order one up.

As I order she informs me that everything is vegan. How different could vegan and vegetarian be? As I soon found out VERY! I was accosted with a plate of what looked to be a play-dough sandwhich. I wasn't sure if it was even food. Next to the play-dough sandwhich were three little things of colored sauces. They appeared to be ketchup, mustard and mayonaisse, although I had not ever seen anything that quite looked like this before. "Ketchup and mustard are delicious, I might as well give it a try", I thought. I took one bite of this wierd play-dough looking concoction and was totally blown away. It was worse than I thought. I ate around the edges because the center was just too concentrated with this taste that is so wierd it has no description. I promptly covered the rest up with a napkin and went to pay.

At the checkout stand she informed me that my play-dough sandwhich was thirteen ninety-five. I am not kidding. This thing actually cost almost fifteen dollars. Then she says something that really disturbed me. "You look like a healthy vegan. Are you vegan?", she says. I think to myself, "how could she say such a mean thing to me". All the people in this restaraunt are wierd looking and pale. Do I look like one of them? I leave as fast as I can.

Once outside back in the world without vegans I am totally disgusted with my new, healthy look. I see a Starbucks accross the street and run over. I order a latte with whole milk and a doughnut on the side (I don't even like doughnuts). I ate the doughnut before my coffee was even done. I then jumped into my car and raced to Jack in the box where I purchased two nasty, greasy tacos for one dollar (not thirteen ninety-five). I could only eat one and a half tacos because of their filthy taste, but I was beginning to feel the color coming back into my skin and a little less healthy. Thank god.

What does this have to do with triathlon? I am blaming my healthy, vegan look on two things 1) lack of sun from not surfing and working too much, and 2) all this triathlon training. Despite my vegan appearance I will continue to train...



Tonight I spin at the La Jolla 24 hour...

Chasing Speed Racer

Run: 5 - 6 miles Gym: weights

I finally got up early and went running. The sun isn't even out at 6:00 a.m. (who knew?) I kept a pretty good pace for the first few miles. Out of nowhere this speed racer marathon man comes flying by me with his fancy shoes and previous marathon shirt on (wait a minute I had fancy shoes and a marathon shirt on too). I figured I would try and keep up with him for the last two miles or so of my run. I felt like I was sprinting to keep up with this guy.

Kept up the fast pace until I got home and was exhausted. It actually felt good to push myself though.

Mini triathlon (with a surf)

Bike: 20 miles Run: 3 miles Surf: 1 hour

After my pretty grueling day on Saturday I set out for another had day on Sunday. I was intending to ride for 30 miles, but after 10 miles out I started to run out of water. I was really dehydrated so I turned around. Looks like I need another water bottle holder. Just another one of the sixty things that triathlon has had me purchase. If I had known the expensive side of this sport, I may have passed.



After getting home from the bike I rehydrated and took off on a run. Three miles after a bike ride felt like a half marathon. I am going to have to work on the bike/run transition. The waves were really good so I figured I would cap the weekend off with a surf.

Made for a nice mini-triathlon. Good weekend of training. I hope I can keep it up.

Saturday workouts

Run: 8 miles Swim: 1800 meters (72 laps)

Woke up early feeling pretty good and started my run. The first three miles were tough. After around mile five it was a piece of cake. I am glad that my running is getting easier. Still getting used to my new shoes but I think I like them.

Came home and rested for a bit and took off to the La Jolla high pool. I swam 72 laps non-stop. The swim felt great and was also a piece of cake. I think I am on track as far as my training goes.

In the afternoon, around 3:00, my body shut down and let me know that I did a little too much exercise for a day. However, it was worth getting the milage in.

Back at it

It feels good to be back training. I went to the gym on Wednesday for some strength training and did a spinning class last night. I can definitely tell that I have been slacking. I need to burn off all those calories I picked up in Mexico.

I think I will pass on the OC 1/2 marathon this weekend and do some training on my own. I hope to get in an 8 - 10 mile run on Saturday followed by a pretty long swim. On Sunday I am going to try for a 30 mile bike ride followed by another swim.



It may be a little too ambitious of me to go for all that exercise but IT IS GAME TIME...

New Year and more training

Alright...the holidays are over and I am ready to start the real training. There are only 89 days until the California Half Ironman. It scares me just thinking about it. I got some new running shoes over the holidays that are geared up and ready to go. They are bright orange and need some miles on them.

I am thinking about running the Orange County 1/2 marathon this Sunday. I don't know if I can make it though. My training was slacking over the holidays. I will be posting more frequently now that life has returned back to normal.

Happy new year...