I have your sign....

Don't worry, it's being taken care of. If you ever want to see it again, it'll cost you $100 MEEELLLION dollars.

Look out Boulder...

So my family and friends presented me with the greatest surprise I've received in quite some time. Our friends Sarah and Kevin (from Chainwheel Bikes in Little Rock, AR) road tripped it out here for some great early December mountain bike training, and to bring me a new ride. And my Lord is it beautiful. It's a Giant TCR A0 with SRAM Rival components, and some freaking ridiculous Blackwell Research racing wheels. First off, I've never raced on race wheels, so the difference is going to be obscene. The difference in the beat up old Schwinn and this beautiful Giant is going to be so much fun to see. Anyway, we're going for a ride tomorrow, I'll take the race wheels for a block or two just to see how they feel, and then they'll live under my bed until the 5430 Sprint in June. I've threatened Ellie that the bike gets the bed, and we'll take the floor, but that was shot down quickly. :-) Without further ado, here she is. I need help naming her. And just another big big big thank you to Sarah and Kevin, and my family and friends who chipped in on this. You're all the best.

Wheels:
The ride:
I'm in love.

E

Cold!

I'm not sure that these posts every 3 weeks are a good thing, I need to get back here more. I've been busy with things, and recently Sarah and Kevin have been visiting from Arkansas (along with 4 ridiculously badass bikes...Orbea Alma anyone?). These bikes are awesome, and are really really getting me the mountain biking itch. We're going to try to get a ride (road) in on Sunday, I'd love to show them some of the great roads CO has to offer.

I've been doing a lot more lifting, and feel myself leaning out a bit. I've tried to run a few more times after work, headlamps and all. Wednesday night, I went out and it was about 12 degrees, nice to get out and breathe some fresh, crisp air. After about 4 minutes, the fresh, crisp air turned to pretty freaking cold air, so I hustled the last mile and a half home for some warm dinner.

I'm loving the weather, I love snow. I'm going to try to get some snow shoeing in soon, and that's all I know.

E

Ho hum...

Just a quick update, I'm working into winter training mode. The morning usually goes like this - alarm goes off - "Man, it's dark out. My bed is so warm. How cold is it out? 27 degrees?!? Maybe I should just hit snooze and cuddle up with my warm bed. You'll regret it later if you don't go. Shit, I hate you voice of reason. Here we go, gotta get ready, it's cold out of this bed. And GO!!" At this point I'm half running, half skipping to my closet in the other room, jumping into my tights and wool socks. And then I'm loving my life. Getting out for a morning run in the autumn/winter is fantastic, and I usually float through the rest of my day. Now I've been on exactly 2 morning runs since daylight savings time ended, and I'm trying to get better at it, but the bed has been a constant winner lately. Meaning, I've been in the gym about 4 times this week lifting. So in the next few weeks, I'll be running more and still trying to lift a few times per week. We'll see how she goes. I'm also seeing if I can recruit any friends to run a fall marathon with me next year, but I've had no luck so far. Anywho, winter is setting in, and I'm trying to adjust. I just stumbled upon one of my headlamps tonight, so there are certainly some evening runs in the dark in my near future. Holler.

E

I'm out of shape...

Funny how fast that can happen. I've had about 2 or 3 weeks of low volume training due to some external stressors. Ellie and I have been working hard this week on re-tiling our kitchen floor, which looks AWESOME, but it has been an all consuming process. Every night this week we spent at least 3 hours on the floor. This has led to very little training time. I think I got 3, 2.4 mile runs in, and then got out on the bike today.

What a perfect day for a ride. It was about 74 degrees, sunny, and the fall leaves are just ridiculous right now. I rode for 25 miles, about an hour and 20 minutes. I wanted to just ride all day, but my legs were sufficiently toasted at that point. My poor bike is at the end of the line. I've never heard it creak and crack and rattle the way it did today. I tried to do a little tune when I got home, but nothing seems out of whack. I think it's just what happens to an entry level bike after 6 years of hard riding. She's done me well, but it's time for an upgrade...

Okay, off to finish cleaning up the tile with some nice, sore, biking legs. I'm going to be able to ramp up my volume this week, the weather should be beautiful, so that means some longer trail runs and a bit more time in the saddle. And at least one swim and one lift this week. It'll be good to feel healthy again :)

E

Best. Ride. Ever.

I had the freaking best ride ever this weekend with my buddies Brandon and Matt. Matt got some new Mavic wheels, and was super excited to ride, so I think I fed off of his excitement quite a bit. Plus, it was low 60's, cloudy, and the leaves were just perfect. It rained just a bit, so if you know me, you'll know this is my kind of weather. We rode about a 25 mile loop from Downtown Denver into Golden (through the Coors brewery, man I love the smell of hops!).

We had a little climb on a trail, and just as we were about to hit the base, Matt told me that he typically does a Mark Cavendish sprint from the bottom to this covered bridge about 300 yds up the hill. Brandon was just in front of me, and Matt was behind. Brandon is by far the superior cyclist of the 3 of us, so my whole goal was to hold his wheel. About half way up, my legs were screaming like they've never screamed before, and I decided I wanted to pass Brandon. I moved to pass, and tried to hammer, but legs were already red-lining. So I tucked back in and just kept pedalling like mad. We made it, both sucking air, and looked back for Matt. No Matt. I turned around, and see him walking up the hill, chain in hand. He had hammered so hard he popped his chain. So we rigged him up so he could limp the mile or so we had to go to get into Golden. We came up on this little bike shop called Peak Cycles, and man, these guys were top notch. They were more than willing to lend us a hand, and even shoot the breeze for a few. Probably the nicest couple of bike shop guys I've ever come up on (besides Sarah at Chainwheel of course). I will probably go out of my way, and Golden is about 45 minutes out of my way, to support these guys. They were awesome.

So we made it home just in time to watch Texas dismantle the Buffs, but we had some good BBQ ribs, and some good cold beers. It was a GREAT day.

E

What a run.

Man. I had a fantastic run tonight. I think my favorite thing to do is to be running or riding when I know no one else is. So when I can get a run in at 5:00pm on a Friday when everyone else is at Happy Hour, I smile knowing I'm working that much harder. I'm sure Craig Alexander, who is my bet to win the Hawaii Ironman next Saturday, is out there working, so dang it, I want to be too. Now I have no prayer of becoming a professional Ironman, but there is no better way to get your brain to dump after a week of work than an autumn run on a Friday afternoon. However, I lifted heavy last night, so my hamstrings are a weeee bit sore. It's a good sore though.

Ellie is out with her friends, so I'm enjoying a Friday night of pizza, beer, and baseball. I'm such a frugal health nut though, I've been craving pizza so bad lately, and when Ellie told me she had a girl's night planned, I was pumped to go get a pizza. Except I realized that for half the price, I could make my own pizza and have it be healthy. So I went and got an organic whole wheat pizza crust mix, organic chicken sausage, organic cheese, and some good fresh veggies. Dude, it's delicious. Screw Dominoes. And with a few Blue Moon Harvest Moon Pumpkin Ales, I'm a happy camper. You can judge me if you want, I'm happy to be sitting here on a Friday night. And if you want to judge, call me tomorrow morning at around 8am, I'll be getting back from an early morning run. :-)

E

Tis the most wonderful time....

...of the yeeeeeear.

Fall in Colorado is second to none. It is absolutely the best time ever to train. The leaves are changing, the air is crisp, the sunsets are absolutely gorgeous. I love it. I've gone for a few runs lately - and while the energy levels and motivation have been down - the atmosphere has been amazing. The leaves crunching and the sun setting can get me out the door no matter what.

I'm trying to figure out the energy and motivation, I think the extreme levels of stress I've been under may have something to do with it, but I'm dealing with it and really making sure I still get the workouts in - which have been helping. I've also put a bit of weight on, so I'm working on honing in my diet to get back down a few pounds. I think once I get the stress level down, and the weight off, I'll feel a lot better.

Anywho, enough whining. Brandon and I just had a kick ass ride on some fresh paved road at sunset. The aspens are changing, and tonight was a reminder of why I live here. Sarah got me super excited to get a new bike, as she was out visiting this week. Ellie and I did our best to hippi-ize Sarah, but I don't know that it worked. Either way, I think she'll be back some day, and finally I'll get to take her mountain biking here.

That's all for now. I'll be back more now, I find this helps...

E

Oktoberfest Triathlon

So I had my final tri of the summer yesterday, the Oktoberfest Triathlon in Longmont. I had a good buddy, Michael, fly in from San Diego and race with me, and this was Michael's first triathlon. It was really nice to wake up at 5:30am (sleeping in in terms of triathlon time), get a few mini bagels and a banana down, and head to Union Res at about 6:00am. We got there at 6:20, were the first few people there, and staked out a really nice transition spot. I helped Michael set up his spot, and we started walking around the Res and scouting everything out. I was really really excited that this was such a laid back race. 250 or so people, 4 waves, and everyone there seemed genuinely happy to be there. This is a stark contrast to the 5430 races, that have gotten so popular (for good reason!), that about half the people there are making appearances for a sponsor, and seem rather put off that they had to get up early and go do a race. So the atmosphere was just great.

The swim was a waist deep start, the water was 71 degrees and just awesome. Our wave went out right aftet the pros, and I got myself right to the front, and just redlined the whole way. 750m, 10:58, good enough for 14th overall on the swim.

The bike was a 4 mile, 3 lap course through some neighborhoods. There were a lot of slight inclines, but overall, this was a very fast 12 mile bike leg. It obviously got harder as we went, as by the time I got to the second and third lap, it was getting more congested and the turns (lots of
them) were tough with a lot of people. It was nice though, the people were all pleasant, and people were announcing passes, and just saying hi to you as you passed, etc. It was great. I had a guy pass me on a down hill on a super nice Felt bike, sperm helmet and all. I passed him a few minutes later, and he was obviously pissed at being passed by a beat up Schwinn with clip on aero bars. He said a few things to me under his breath, and was really trying to suck on my wheel. I kind of laughed and hammered harder, and he kept up. The best part was, this was my third lap, so I came to the left hand turn that would take me back to the Res, and I hear a bellowing "DAMMIT!!!" behind me. I look back and he was making the right hand turn to start his third lap. He wasn't too pleased, but I thought it was slightly humorous. My bike split was 35:06 for 12.4(ish), a 21.2 mph average, and 34th overall.

The run was a 3.1 mile out and back along Union Res. It was absolutely gorgeous, the temps at this point were just touching the upper 60's, the sun was out, PERFECT. I went out behind a guy with his name and "USA" on the back, typical of a pro racer. So, the plan was, stay with that dude. About 3/4 of a mile into the run, I looked up and saw a pretty daunting hill. Sooo, I just tucked my chin into my chest and spun the legs. Got to the top, grabbed a water, and saw USA not too far ahead of me. Just ahead of us was the turn around, and I was curious as to who was behind me. I made the turn, and first checked out the guys behind me, 2 of them, not too close. Good. Then I looked up and realized that since I crested the hill at about 1 mile, the last half mile to the turn had been a slight downhill, and the climb back up didn't look too fun. Tuck chin. Run. Made it to the crest of the big hill and just bombed down. At this point, USA found a new gear and started to hammer, so I tried to do the same. He put a good chunk of distance into me, but in the process of hanging on, I was able to pass a pretty good member of the University of Colorado Triathlon team - that felt great. I came around the corner in pain, and very excited to see the finish line. I ended up running a personal best 19:51 5K (6:24/mile), the 23rd best run of the day.

Overall, I finished 14th out of 237, and took 2nd in my Age Group with a total time of 1:08:03. This was a big goal of mine, to place in my age group this season, and I couldn't be happier about it. I won a Cowboy Boot Beer Glass.... .... .... only in Colorado. This is the race I needed to get me excited about triathlon again. The atmosphere was perfect, and I just really really enjoyed myself. Here are some pixxors (just for Fish):

Michael and I - Pre-race

Before the swim

Michael coming out of the water

Me in transition

Leaving transition
Finishing...
Michael off on the run
Really great run
Michael finishing

Getting back to it...

So it's been just over 2 weeks since the Long Course, and I'm finally getting back into the groove of things. I took a good 3 days completely off to let the body heal, and on the 4th day went for a quick swim. That weekend, I got a short tempo run in and that's about it. This past week, I got a few middle distance runs in and rode to work one of the days. This week, tempo run Monday, fast ride yesterday. Massage today. Then we're heading to Steamboat this weekend where I plan on riding at least 2 times (one mtn bike, one roadie) and getting some runs in. I have my last tri of the summer next Saturday (9/6), and it's a super fast one that I'm really looking forward to. I'm really enjoying this new approach - which is, What do I feel like doing today? How hard do I want to work? How long do I want to go? It's much more fun!!! I think this will pretty much be my approach for at least the next year, as I need to get back to really truely enjoying this vs. having it as a stress point. My goal for next summer is 4-5 Sprint to Oly distance races, which will include at least one off-road tri. The mountain bike (the sad one Sarah) will get some really good TLC this winter, and will be ready to roll come spring.

That's all the rambling you need for now. Still waiting for Fish's LIVESTRONG Race Report...

E

5430 Long Course

What a Sunday. I was up and at 'em at 4:15am - tried to get some food down, which usually never works, so I'm left to force feed myself. It's just as fun as it sounds! I got to the Res just before 5, got marked up and set up transition. I found myself, as usual, with a lot of time before the start. Usually I'll just putz with some stuff, stretch, walk around, tinker with my bike, whatever. This day, I just plugged in my iPod and sat there. It was great. So I got my swim gear together, went down to the beach and warmed up a bit in the water, watched the pros go out, and then just started pacing. I ate my gel, and had to run up and grab a sip of water, and on my way back, I hear "Eric!!". I look over, and Sarah and Aaron are standing there. It was great! I went and chatted with the two of them and heard a bit about Sarah's Leadville adventure. It was cool that they were there and were able to find me in the sea of wetsuit wearing triathletes at the Res. So with that I ran down to the beach to catch the start of my wave.

I made it to the front outside on the swim. I felt the slight tug of someone catching my draft, so I let them get comfortable for about 2 seconds, and then kicked it into another gear. He couldn't hang. I worked my way to the front of my wave, and started catching some of the other waves. I kept hitting buoys, going, "Oh, this is the turn..." only to sight and see another buoy a few hundred meters ahead. Finally came out of the water in 33:24, and hear "YOU'RE AN F'IN ROCKSTAR!!!". Thank you Sarah, I am a rockstar! My swim was good enough for 114th overall.

T1 was slower, but I don't care. I got my socks on, and had a bit of trouble getting on the bike. I heard Aaron yelling, "BREATHE ERIC!!" - oh yeah. I wasn't breathing, once I took a breathe, I got clipped in, and the wheels started turning. All I need to do is slow down and everything happens right. It's weird how that happens!

Off on the bike, and what a ride it was. The course is a rolling first half, and then just fast and flat for the second. The first is a slight incline for about 4 miles, and it's just a lot tougher than it looks. It really gets the legs burning. My wave was the 7th wave out, so there was a lot of jockeying for position for the first 28 miles, but by the time the 2nd lap started, the people you were surrounded with were really in the same league as you on the bike. I settled in, and really just tried to ride my own ride. I ate when I felt like I could/wanted to, I really monitored my Gatorade intake around gels, but I didn't have a specific plan. I just followed my gut, literally. There is a spot out on St. Vrain Road where you can just hammer, and I was holding over 30 miles an hour for a good 3 or 4 miles, it was just fast, clean pavement. Awesome awesome riding. On the second lap, I knew my Mom and Ellie were going to be out on the course, so I got pretty stoked to see them at about mile 51. Ellie missed me on my first pass, but Mom was there rocking the cow bell, screaming like crazy. They ended up catching me 2 more times as they were driving into the Res, and the cow bell was blaring. It's always good to have fans, they really make the race a lot easier. My bike split was a blistering 2:35:09, a 21.7mph avg over 56 miles. I've really worked hard on my bike this summer, and it showed yesterday. My legs, back, and shoulders are all in some pain today, but I'm good with that. It was a great ride, 239th overall (and I ride a beat up old Schwinn with clip on aero bars - how you like me now Cervelo P3C guy????).

T2 was quicker, and I was off on the looooong run.

The run in this race is always the biggest gut check of the summer. It starts out through a parking lot, and then hits 2 really steady climbs. They are not long, but they are just ruthless. They are there to make you suffer. And suffer I did. My first lap, my right quad basically locked up on me. I had a lot of electrolyte chews towards the end of the bike, so I knew that if it was a lack of electrolytes, they would hit my system soon. I took a minute to stretch the quad out, and then started running through the cramp. After about 1.5 miles, it went away, and off I went. From about mile 3 to 6, I was strong. Running an even pace, just feeling good. I told myself to back off a bit, save some for lap 2, which I tried to do. But then something weird happened at about mile 6. I stopped and walked. It wasn't pre-meditated, it just happened. I took the time to catch my breath, and off I went. I came through the finish area and saw Ellie and my mom again, and that brought the spirits up. I heard Sarah call me a Rockstar, and Aaron tell me to run faster (I'm trying!!!) and that really helped to hear the support. But the second lap was torture. I hit the first of the 2 hills and the wheels just came off. I walked some of that hill, but looked around and noticed a lot of people walking. It wasn't hot. I don't know what happened. My guess now is that the cloud cover and cooler weather encouraged a lot of people to go much harder on the bike, and the fact that they weren't hot or sweaty made them forget about hydration. I kept hydration on my mind, but think the hard ride definitely took it out of my legs. My mind was strong, my lungs were strong, my legs felt good, I just didn't have the get-up-and-go. I hit the second hill, and had to walk a bit again. I grabbed some ice water to shock my system, and that worked here and there. But the second lap was a big mix of walking/running. I hit mile 11, and the bikini aid station, and decided I had had enough. When the girls in bikinis look like sasquatch, it's time ot end this thing. I turned my hat around, folded the bill so I could only see about 3 feet in front of me, and just ran. I didn't look ahead, I just ran. I made it about 3/4 of a mile out from the finish, and both hammies cramped, and both calves started to cramp. They were sending up the white flag. I just gritted my teeth and kept going. I hit the crowd and the cheers really guided me in. I hit the finish at 5:04:30, nearly 11 minutes faster than my previous PR. My half-marathon left a lot to be desired at 1:53:23, 8:40/mile. I didn't train for the long run, and the long run was my undoing. I know that if I could have held a better run pace, I would have finished sub-5 hours. But still, 12th in my age group (out of 52), and 184th overall (out of about 1100) are fantastic results, and I'm really proud of my race.

I'm glad it's over. I need a break from the big distances, and the training. I've got a super-sprint in September and then next summer I'll probably pick some fun Oly distances and just try to enjoy them. It was a great summer, but I'm really ready for some recovery time.

Thanks for reading, I'll keep posting some training stuff here, as that's what it's all about. Thanks to Sarah and Aaron for coming out and cheering me on, especially on Sarah's birthday. Thanks to Ellie for being so awesome about my training, and being such a big fan. Thanks to everyone else for holding me to my training. It was a good summer.

E

Getting down to the wire

First off, Sarah, if you read this tonight, kick some Leadville ASS tomorrow!!!!! You'll do great. The weather will be great, just ride it like you stole it!!

I'm laying low. Ellie is heading out with some girlfriends tonight for a dance night, and I'm just having a few (2) beers and watching the Opening Ceremony. I had a nutzo week, and didn't get out of work until 5 - I have a long standing rule of not working past 4pm on a Friday - didn't pan out today. So I ran by Whole Foods, saw Ellie and picked up some food for tonight, and ran by the bike shop to pick up some gels and tubes. Got home and went for a lazy 1000m swim. Felt fantastic to move. I'll run for about 20 minutes tomorrow, and ride my bike for any errands, and then eat a MONSTEROUS bowl of pasta and watch the Broncos first preseason game. I need to sit down and really plan out my nutrition, but the theme of this summer has really been just rolling with it, and I may apply that nutritional theory on Sunday. Try to get a Honey Stinger in when I need it, but I'm not going to force it. I'm just going to go out there and enjoy myself, and see how I do.

So here I sit, in my sweats, just chillin. I'm going to eat some granola soon, and get a good night of sleep. If you want to come watch the Broncos game tomorrow night, I'll cook you dinner!!

E

I just wanna ride...

I got out of bed this morning ready to ride the 11 miles to work today. 22 miles round trip, rolling hills, Colorado sunrise, crisp air. There is nothing better. Except that my legs were a little sore from last night's run, and it hit me yet again that I need to rest and recover for Sunday. I stood in the shower saying, "I'll be there are some guys that are out there training right now", and that just pissed me off. But, I need to listen to my body. I'm going to try to get to yoga tonight to loosen up, and maybe get a 45 minute light ride in on some flat stuff, rather than the rolling hills that I face on the ride to work. I put some ridiculously clean white bar tape on my bike, it looks awesome. And ridiculous. I'm excited for Sunday to get here, I've got butterflies already.

Triathlete against tapering...

So this weekend was really the last weekend for me to get any sort of distance in before Sunday's 5430 Long Course. Saturday was an interesting one. Our good friends Brandon and Karen went with us to the Louisville Street Faire and then for some late night chow at the only bloody restaurant (Chili's) that was open past 9:30pm on Friday night. We got to sleep around 12:30am, and B&K crashed in the basement. At about 6:00am sharp, I heard them sneaking out, trying not to wake us up, but I've been known to hear mice walking in my sleep (I could hear them every night that we lived in Australia), so I was up. I finally got back to sleep around 6:45am, but at 7:12am (looked the clock), the doorbell rings. I go answer it to find Brandon there, in full bike gear with his bike, saying "You wanna go for a ride?". He's lucky I had pants on, but I had to think, real quick. No coffee, no breakfast, still half asleep..."Sure, why not?" I said. So, we went for a quick hour back to his place to drop him off, then I turned around and came home for coffee and eggs. Ellie and I walked a little that day, but went to a few barbeques where we ate way too much, my justification being that I need to carb up this week.......Little early for that big guy, but whatever.

Sunday, I got out the door at about 9:30am, and it was already piping hot. I was going for an hour of running, and I set out on my usual Sunday long run course. The hardest part of this course, and I really think that it's going to pay off come Sunday, is that it is super exposed, hardly any shade, and it is a slight decline the entire way out. So that means by the time I turn around, I've got no shade and am just roasting, with a slight incline for the entire run home. It really has hardened me up a bit, and the exposure is exactly like the Long Course's run course. So I think I'm training in the proper conditions for Sunday. The last time I did this race, I trained in Steamboat in a much milder, shaded run course. So I think I'm ready in that sense, but I haven't put in the mileage this summer, so I'm nervous about the run. I did complete 8.45 miles yesterday averaging about 7:50/mile, so if I go just a hair slower Sunday, I'll still run a nice half marathon.

So today, I start my beloved/hated taper. I am going for a decent swim today, massage and light run tomorrow, easy hour ride Wednesday, light swim Thursday, and then try to walk Friday and Saturday. I love the taper as I get to rest, but I also hate it because I have WAY too much energy at the end of the day. It drives Ellie nuts. I see Sarah writing about her taper, and feel much of the same. Just can't sit still. The final race information email just came through, and I got butterflies, so we'll see how this week goes. Eating and hydrating, that's the name of the game this week....

E

Man, I miss Steamboat...

What a fabulous weekend in Steamboat. It made realize how much I miss the laid back lifestyle that small town American has to offer. Ellie and I had made a goal to get back to a small down within 5 or so years, and this just made me realize how much that goal is still a huge part of my everyday thoughts. How does this involve working out? Not really sure, but the weekend was completed by the 2 hour bike ride I took on one of my favorite rides in Colorado, followed by my 1 hr 20 min run on my absolute favorite run in Colorado. It was just a perfect weekend of working out, the stomach cooperated, the temps were in the mid-70's with some cloud cover, and my body responded when I pushed it. Aaand, the beer was cold when I got done :-)

Fish, I'll get you some pixxors soon. The bunniez ate my camera charger, so I have to get a new one.

Sarah was in my thoughts this weekend as well. Sarah, I hope you are getting excited for Leadville. My thoughts have been constantly going to my fear of being under-trained for my HIM, and I'm sure Sarah is having the same thoughts for her Leadville 100. I think it's completely natural to think back on your training, or to review your training log, and focus on the workouts you missed, or the ones you did 'poorly' on. I keep having to tell myself, "You're going to kill it, you know it." Sarah, you know you're going to kill it. You've put in the miles, and the stress. And when you're done, the beers are going to be ice cold at mi casa. Only a few more weeks!!

E

Bike commuting....

Freaking rocks, and sucks, all at once. I love it, all except for the heavy backpack I have to carry. But there is NOTHING like a brisk, 65 degree Colorado day at 6:30am, with the road to yourself. I love it.

Heading to Steamboat this weekend for my mother in law's 60th. I'm going to ride some of my favorite rides, and do a good long run on my favorite trail. I'm so excited, I may actually just leave now on my bike.

Less than 18 days. Oh man. I'm in for it.

E

Just checking in....

Wow, it's been a freaking crazy few weeks. Just nuts. One of my best friends got married this past weekend, and he and I, along with about 8 of our friends cooked the rehearsal dinner for about 60 people. He and I were in charge of logistics, and it went perfectly. It was all-consuming though, so the only rides we got in were just over an hour each on Friday and Saturday morning. They were absolutely gorgeous, and it was good to blow off some steam on the bike. Saturday morning, we did a monstrous climb to end the ride, and that was just awesome.

I got a great, short run in on Thursday evening, but it was so short since I had to get back and prep the meal. It was a down hill adventure, and then a nice climb back up - someone took all the oxygen out of the air though, and that made it tough. Sunday was spent recovering, so no workouts.

I rode my bike to work today for the first time in a while. It was really nice to get out in the early morning air and have the roads to myself. I'll be riding most days from now on.

Work is nuts, so I'm going to be checking in here when I can. Lets just hope it mellows out a bit soon...

E

Now THAT'S will power!

Went for a GREAT bike ride with my buddies Brandon and Matt yesterday. It was mid-70's out, crystal clear Colorado sky, just a perfect day for riding. Riding on a day like that in Boulder is essentially a bike show - there were a million bikers out, all seemily pros or on their way to being a pro (they are ALL in team kits). The bikes are all really fun to look at, there are some rides that I would love to be on, just once in a race, to see if my equipment is holding me back. Either way, it was just a gorgeous day, and I really loved being out.

When we got back to my place, my 2 buddies both just stretched a bit, got into the house, while I went up to put on my running gear for a quick 2.5 miles to round out the brick. On my way out the door, I heard the "pssssht" "pssssht" of two cold beers being crack, and the boys were so kind to offer me a beer on the way out. "Keep running". The beers tasted fantastic when I got home, a little too fantastic. I'll be running with a slight headache this morning, but I was very proud of myself for running when the dudes were enjoying icy cold beverages.

I'm heading to Breck for one of those guy's weddings on Thursday through Sunday, and I'm really really pumped to train up in the mountains. I just have to make sure I get the workouts in, and I've informed everyone up there that I fully intend on getting each workout in. Hopefully I'll get some good pictures and will be able to get some entries up.

E

Sufferfest

Man, today's 8 mile run was just brutal. It was pushing 90 outside, and I turned back after 5 minutes to grab a water bottle. It was still a really rough run. I don't think I was 100% prepared hydration and nutrition wise, but I can usually get through it. I think the roughest part is that on the way back, there is a very long false flat, and that combined with the heat just smoked me. I'm glad I got this run in, as I think this will be similar to the conditions in the Long Course, so I just need to learn to stay cool, and push through. Once I got through the false flat, I took off my shirt which cooled me off a LOT, and I just hammered through the last mile or so feeling rather strong. Lessons to take with me.

Yesterday was one of the best bike rides I've had all summer. It was the type of ride that makes me realize why I love cycling. Crystal blue skies, 68 degrees, got on the roads by 8am, so they were just empty. Gave me a lot of time to be in my thoughts, thinking about the 4th of July and all the sacrifices people have made to allow me to get out there and enjoy the freedom of the roads. It let me pretend for just a few minutes that I was on a break at the Tour de France and that the Peloton wasn't going to get me. It let me take a check and realize how lucky I am that I won the genetic lottery by being born in the US - even if I disagree with most of our politicians and the way we handle ourselves in the World. It's pretty awesome when you can just get lost in your thoughts that way.

I hope all 3 of you that read this had a fantastic 4th, and I hope you have a great Sunday.

E

Look Mom, no pants!

That was a freaking awesome weekend. I had a great brick yesterday, and today I had a good, solid, 50 minute run. The ice bath did wonders for me, I was able to hang in there for about 15 minutes, and if I could have done longer, I would have. I usually have to wear a hoodie to keep me somewhat warm in there. I substituted a beer for some hot tea this go round - hey! no judging, I earned that beer. The bath made today much more bearable, and allowed me to train today too.

The funniest part of the whole weekend is the sunburn I got. After living in Australia, I have been a hard-ass about putting sunscreen on for each and every workout, whether it be 20 minutes or 3 hours. Well, yesterday I put it on, but missed a few spots. I'd usually have Ellie help me with my back, but she was heading out the door for work, so I did what I could. Well, I also wore my tri jersey and shorts for my workout, and missed a few spots that I usually don't have to get too much. That spot above my ass is where my jersey was creeping up. Doesn't hurt, just looks kind of ridiculous. Well, lesson learned, laugh away.

I'm off to ice the knees, fold some laundry, and have a bit of port. I am sore, and very tired, but it's the best feeling in the world when I know I've earned it. I'm having less doubts about my long course, but I can't let my guard down. I have to keep hammering, so next weekend, it's a 2h 30m ride followed by an hour on the run. And another ice bath.

E

Owned....

I did a big brick today, and freaking destroyed it. 50 miles on the bike in just over 2h 30m - averaged right at 20mph. It felt awesome, my legs felt good, and I got about 20 miles in on the bike course of my Half Ironman. I'm trying to get more familiar with it, where can I coast, where can I push it, where do I need to conserve energy. Where can I eat!?! The weather was perfect, the pre-ride nutrition was less than perfect, but not bad. I got home with 49.4 miles on the trip, so I just rode around my neighborhood to hit 50.

Jumped off the bike and transitioned pretty quickly in my garage. Straight out for a 30 minute run, and it just felt great. I slipped right into a good pace, and held it the whole 30. I got in about 3.7 miles in 28 minutes, so held about a 7m 30s mile pace. I'd be pretty pleased if I could hold that pace for the long course, and I really felt nothing today that makes me think I couldn't. I think I got tired at the end, and the fact that I did the entire 3 hours on a Clif Bar and a Hammer Gel caught up to me. I started thinking about food, which is always a sign I'm approaching Bonkville, and need to go ahead and exit.

Off for an ice bath (brrr) and a well deserved beer. Hugs and hand pounds.

E

A different approach

So I had an epiphany on my bike ride last night. I'm taking this WAY too seriously. I love triathlon. I love the feeling of getting a good workout in, I love the soreness the day after, I love the nerves I get on race morning, and the comradere of the athletes on race morning. You know what I hate? The guilt I place on myself when I miss a workout, or eat a hot wing. And folks, I'm done with that. I've had 3 great workouts in a row, no heart rate monitor, no watch, no bike computer - just me and the outdoors. And it's helping me a TON. Don't get me wrong, I'm going to continue using those tools when I feel like I can safely use them without analyzing the crap out of the information they feed me. Too often lately have I spent too much time watching my RPM's or minutes per mile, and I'm forgetting to take a peek at the scenery that this beautiful state has to offer. So here is the pact I've made with myself. I'm going to have fun with the rest of my training this summer. I'm going to get my workouts in, for sure, and I'm going to continue to eat right. But the guilt needs to go. I've got 7 weeks to go to the HIM, and I'm going to follow my training plan the best I can, but I'm just going to take what I can get. Once I get my head right again, then I'll start using the tools again. But for now, I'm going to enjoy the sights, sounds, smells, and feeling of my training. And you know what? I betcha this improves my overall training by leaps and bounds.

So unhealthy...

Spent the weekend getting fatter and out of shape in Vegas for one of my best friend's bachelor party. Probably lost 2 weeks of fitness. I'm going to really hammer it for the next few weeks. I'll report back soon. If I can get my fat fingers to the keyboard...

E

Pic from yesterday...

Looking strong, feeling like poo


Trying to finish strong


"My stomach went like THIS!"

Foiled by the Chocolate Outrage

First tri of the season today, the 5430 Sprint, and it couldn't have been a prettier day. I got to the race at about 5:30am, and I'm glad I got there that early, as the line to get body marked was about 35 minutes long pretty soon there after. I got a great transition spot, and set up very quickly. It's funny to me how paired down my transition areas have become the more comfortable I get with this sport. Did a quick warm up, and my running legs felt great. I'm ready.

The swim started at 7:35am my time, and I started out towards the front and went out pretty hard for the first 150m or so. The water was really really cold, but after a little bit of swimming, it felt great. There was quite a bit of contact, which is fairly unusual for this race, as it is typically pretty laid back. No bother, I can throw a bow or give a kick if someone is being a prick. I was swimming HARD to the outside, and some dude tries to swim over me. I give him a few strokes to realize he was on someone, and as he is STILL trying to swim over me (probably 4 strokes later), I kicked hard. He backed off. I started getting a side stitch on the swim, but it got better, and I finished pretty well, 12m 38s (exact same time, to the second, as my swim in this race last year).

T1 was fast. Wet suit just slid off, socks slid on, and I was off.

The bike ride felt okay. My legs were 'crampy' early. I was hitting the Gatorade, and just trying to spin them a little to start. It was probably the lack of riding I've done the previous week, but they loosened and I rode well. I played a game called "positive pass" - +1 pt. for each person I pass, and -1 pt. for each person who passes me. I ended up at -2, and I'm good with that, as I passed a fair share of really good riders (or just really nice bikes), and was passed by a LOT of really strong riders. About 11 miles in, I took a Chocolate Outrage gel. My legs were a little tired, so I thought, 'Okay, take a gel to make sure you've got energy for the run'. Bad move. Really bad move. As I was taking it, I thought, 'I'm too close to the run, I should not be taking this. I don't need energy.' Finished the bike 28 seconds shy of my split last year, averaging 21.3 mph over 17 miles - 48m 33s.

T2 was super fast. Passed 2 guys in transition.

Ah, the run. My specialty. Except today. I blew up. About 33 steps into my run, the Chocolate Outrage gel made it's presence felt, and my stomach basically locked up. It was the most painful stomach cramp I've ever had. I thought to myself, 'Man, just run through it, this is triathlon, there is pain in triathlon - I've got no quit in me!' I just kept moving forward. I passed and was passed, but I just kept moving. Aid station 1, I was parched, I just grabbed a bit of water and dumped most of it on my head. The stomach suffer fest continued, and I just kept marching on. At the halfway point, I just put my head down and tried to gear up, but the top gear just wasn't there. So the game plan became, just keep moving. Aid station 2 I'm still parched, so a bit more water. I picked a person, and just tried to hold on. I finished pretty well, but missed all of my goals. 22m 39s 5k - 7:19/mile. I was hoping for a sub-6:45/mile pace. Total overall time - 1h 25m 47s. 1 minute and 33 seconds off my goal. That's roughly 30-ish seconds per mile on the run.....

This was the first race I've run where I haven't set a PR. I knew this was bound to happen at some point, but it's disappointing that it happened today, and it wasn't due to a lack of conditioning, it was because of a stupid nutrition mistake. A really stupid one. I know I would have PR'd today if my stomach was okay - the conditions were perfect. Just a dumb move that I should be more aware of by now.

There were lots of positives, my swim and bike felt good, and I was consistent with last year when I felt I was in the best shape of my life. This year I felt under-trained, so to know I would have PR'd is a good feeling. My transitions were sharp and quick. No diddle dicking, just quick. I'm very pleased with that. And I learned an important nutritional piece that I've read 100 times - I don't need to eat in a sprint. I'm frustrated that it was such a beginner mistake, I should have known better. Just stick to Gatorade.

Okay. One more beer and I'm going to bed. I'm tired!

E

I'll post some pics that Ellie took when she gets home.

First Tri tomorrow!

First sprint tri of the season tomorrow - my wave starts at 7:30 a.m. Mountain time - that's 9:30 a.m. for you east coasters. Finished the race last year in 1:24:14 - this year I'm shooting for better than that...duh. It's going to be a really fun race, and for the first time I'm racing it by myself. The past few years I've had buddies run it with me (Ellie competed last year as well). I also am a bit nervous, as I've been very tired this week, so have essentially taken the whole week off of training, aside from a light jog on Thursday night and an easy swim on Wednesday night. Two things can happen here, 1. I'm super rested and my body just goes off and I finish in 1:20 and change, or 2. My body is super rested and I just blow up out there. I'm hoping for the first option, and I'll probably do a bit more warming up than usual tomorrow (maybe a little bike ride before my standard mile or so of running). I'll put up the results tomorrow evening. Wish me luck!

E

Good vs. Evil

This is what went on in my head from 5:40pm to about 7:45pm:

Good: Man, you're tired, you should really consider taking a day off

Evil: Don't do it! You're just being lazy. Get off your ass!

Good: You've had a busy last few days with workouts, man, rest up!

Evil: Lazy, lazy, lazy, lazy

Good: Oh, look, the Rockies are on. How bout a glass of wine and some baseball?

Evil: It's in the mid-80's bro, perfect workout weather

Good: You're legs would really appreciate it!

Evil: Where are the keys? Do you have your googles and a towel? Make sure you grab some Driven!

Good: Good idea! You can soak your legs in the hot tub, and then foam roll those aches away.

Evil: 300 warm up, 4x300 progressive speed, 100 loosen, 8x50 kick, 600 pull, 200 cool down

Good: Perfect! The pool is closed for swim lessons until 7pm. Just go soak, look, it's 6:30, you don't want to wait 30 minutes.

Evil: Is that a lane? Wait, there's a lane. Oh, wait, kids swimming.

Good: See, the hot tub feels great. Soak it up man, enjoy the rest

Evil: Lazy, lazy, lazy, lazy

Good: Okay, let's go foam roll, and go have some vino.

Evil: LOOK! Swim lessons are done 15 minutes early. VICTORY!!!

Good: Dammit.

Evil: 25......50......75......100.....No wine until you burn some calories.

Good: See, you're tired.

Evil: Just make it 750m, and we'll jam. Remember, you had that big ass sandwich for lunch fatty!!!

Good: 750! Done! Wait, where are you going?

Evil: Just 50 more, for good measure.

Good: Asshole.

Evil: See? You probably wouldn't have finished your tri Sunday if you didn't do that.

Good: I hate you.

Evil: I love you.

Be glad you don't have that crap going on in your head. It's really a nuisance.

E

Brick

Did my first brick on Sunday. 45 minutes on the bike, then roughly 16 minutes on the run. My legs felt like they were 100 lbs each - which isn't a bad thing! I'm getting them ready for the old linguine legs that I'll surely get this Sunday. It was a great workout. Did a fairly easy 3.5 miles on the run last night, and the IT band is tightening up. I'm going to go to the gym tonight, sit in the hot tub, and then just hammer it with the foam roller. Hopefully that'll alleviate some of the knee pain I've been having. I'll check back tomorrow.

I get so nervous for triathlons. More so than any other racing I do. I got the information email yesterday for the Sprint this Sunday, and the heart rate shot up about 100 bpm. It's a bloody sprint (!!!) and this happened. Sheesh! I'm nervous for how nervous I'll be for the Long Course. Man.

Short and sweet. Check out Fish's very inspiring post today, and Sarah's HTFU ride from the weekend - she's one tough cookie! Both of those are all the inspiration I'll need for today's workout...

E

Someone shut him up!!!

From this months Inside Triathlon magazine:

A too-passionate or obsessive-compulsive approach can cause athletes even keeled in other areas of their lives to lose an objective view of their training and racing.

Hi, I'm Eric. Have we met?

I'm working on mellowing out on my training a bit. It's a very easy thing to do if you are on the outside looking in. The easy step is to appear to be calm and collected when presented with something that will interfere with a planned workout. The words that come out are, "Sure, I think I can make that work." Inside my head however, all I hear is "NO F'ING WAY!!!! I'M GUNNA MISS A WORKOUT AND THEN I'M NOT GOING TO BE ABLE TO FINISH MY RACE AND THEN THE WORLD IS GOING TO EXPLODE!!!!!", or something along those lines. Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. I'm trying to get that guy to have a beer or two.

That said, on Wednesday night, I went for a quick 35 minute lift, followed by a 850m recovery swim. Just jumped in, swam 850, and went for the hot tub. Last night, I got out for a run, first one since last week. My knees took some persuading, but finally loosened up and made it happen. I tried for a run Wednesday night, but they just weren't having it. Speaking of, if anyone finds a good deal on a knee replacement, shoot me an email.

The plan for this weekend is a long bike ride, probably 40 or 50 miles, and then a Brick workout on Sunday, probably 15 - 20 miles on the bike followed by 2 - 3 miles on the run. I don't know how much I'll taper for next Sunday, I'm going to have to see how my body is responding. If my knees are sore, I'll probably shut down running as early as Tuesday or Wednesday, and just focus on the bike for the middle of the week, and then get some pool time in towards the end. And some yoga.

On a completely unrelated note, race photogs hate me. Exhibit A and Exhibit B. That is the worst aero form I've ever seen. Wow.

Hugs and hand pounds.

E

E-Rock 2K8

First century of the summer, done. We rode Elephant Rock yesterday, a beautiful rolling course from Castle Rock down to Colorado Springs and back. It started out f-f-freezing - and of course I tried to be manly, and not wear arm or leg warmers. I didn't want to carry them when it was 85 degrees as forecasted. Idiot. I didn't get warm until about mile 55. The first 20 miles were very difficult - we had a head wind the whole and the rolling hills just seemed like mountains. This was also the area where the people riding 50 and 65 mile rides were riding with the 100 milers. There were a lot of very inexperienced riders in this group, there were people walking their bikes up the first roller at mile 3. What?!? I'm not trying to be elitist here, but I'm sorry, if you are walking your bike by mile 3, then maybe you're a wee-bit under-trained. Call me naive, call me elitist, but please walk on the side of the road instead of in the shoulder where everyone else is climbing.

We kept trucking, and I have a lot to say in a later rant, but we were riding with a group of 6, and stayed together for most of the ride. Brandon and I started to pull away at about 30 miles in, and we pushed pretty hard through a very pretty section of the Black Forest (didn't see any dragons or fairies). We both dropped into aero and were holding about 26-30 mph through some very fast roads - this into a headwind. This is when I started to get restless, we started having to wait for the rest of our group at the aid stations, and my knee started to get cold and tight. I was trying to keep stretching, as I really wanted to ride with everyone. It only would take about 5 minutes or so to get everyone together - but having all 6 people need to pee, eat, stretch, talk, make fun of each other, etc - started to rack up some time. So at mile 60, Brandon and I split off and went ahead of the group to finish up. From mile 0-60, we spent 1h 24m at the rest stops, from mile 61-100, Brandon and I spent 8m at rest stops. We hammered. There was a time when I looked down, we were coming down a slight decline, tailwind, fresh pavement, riding aero, and Brandon and I just chatting a bit - at 47 mph. I decided that we should probably focus on not dying, and we just hammered 10 miles in literally 11 minutes. Like I said - hammering. We left the group at 11:45, and finished just before 2, so just over 2 hours for the last 40 or so miles - not bad. My legs felt great, except for the BRUTAL climb at mile 93, thanks for that one race organizers. We finished in 5:56:38 or something like that, ride time that is. Total time out was more than that. We hung out at the post-race fest, Brandon won a car bike rack in the raffle (I missed out on a women's cruiser - dang...). They had BBQ and pasta salad for the post-race spread - that poor BBQ Beef Sandwich had no chance. It was gone in about 4 bites. I went outside to just see what running would feel like after that long, and it kind of felt okay...uh oh.

Here is where I need to rant a second. What the hell ever happened to bike etiquette? First, no one, I mean NO ONE was announcing themselves. Is 'on your left' really hard to say? Must have been, because I almost got into 3 different wrecks because as I said 'on your left' and got ready to pass, some jerk off would come cruising by without a peep. I actually ran into some dude, and the prick got mad at me! I even looked, didn't see him because he was sucking on my wheel, and moved to pass. He somehow got right next to me and almost caused a big wreck. Dumbass. Next, headphones are illegal in these races, no? I watched a guy just about get killed as he was passing, and at least 38 of us where yelling 'car back!!!!' as he moved to pass. He was completely oblivious. I passed a lot of people with headphones that jumped when I passed - after calling 'on your left'. If you can't hear me when I'm right behind you, take your f'in headphones out so you don't die or get someone else killed. Lastly, if cyclists want respect on the road, they HAVE to start giving it. I was shocked to see how many people were just walking in the middle of busy roads at the aid stations. Cars were just sitting and waiting for people to clear the road. I saw 2 dudes just standing in the middle of the road having a conversation, oblivious to whether any cars were coming or even other cyclists for that matter. I'm all about these rides being fun and chatting w/ your buddies, etc, but if you have a complete lack of awareness as all of these jerk-offs did, then get the hell of the road and go back to 24 Hour Fitness, your spin class is about to start.

Done.

E

Just keep moving...

I had a really tough, short, run last night. It was only about 3.7 miles, but man, I was sluggish! I think it could have been that it was in the mid-80's, and I was overheating a bit. I still held my pace at just under 7:oo min/mile - and it felt okay holding that pace, my avg. heart rate was about 79%, a bit high for a recovery run, but not something I couldn't maintain for a while. I think part of my issue was, of course, nutrition. From about 3pm to 5pm seems to be my nutritional black hole - as I can't really figure out what to eat/drink that is calorie dense enough to fuel a workout, but light enough to keep me from cramping. I've found a drink called Driven that is an amino load - but only like 15 calories per serving. It promises everything just short of the moon, and while I haven't really noticed 'Optimized mental focus & clarity"' or too much 'explosive energy', I think it has helped a bit with some pick me up and maybe a bit on the endurance factor. Granted, I've only taken it like 3 times, so we'll have to see. But either way, I need to get some calories in before a freaking workout, and I'm still experimenting with what will work.

I lifted kind of quickly last night as well. Did a quick circuit doing upper body push, upper body pull, lower body push, and lower body pull - with some core work in there as well. I think I was in and out of the gym in about 40 minutes, but I feel like I got a good lift in - so I'm happy. Ellie and I had a little sunset happy hour on our porch, and made some chicken legs for me, and then some tofu spring rolls for dinner. Light and delicious. I'm going to try to get a good swim in tonight, and then probably rest tomorrow before our century on Sunday - work on the bike a bit.
I'm at the point in my training where I'm struggling to find the motivation to get out the door. Each workout, I have to tell myself, 'just one lap', or 'just an easy swim' - and then usually I can't stop until I get the workout finished. I don't really believe in the concept of over-training - I eat well, rest well, and sleep well, and I'm sure I don't do enough volume to overtrain, but it could be mental over-training. I'll enjoy this weekend, and then probably take Monday and Tuesday off to get my head right...if that's possible. We'll see....

E

Bolder Boulder 2K8

I love long weekends. They are awesome. Every weekend should be 3 days long. Saturday morning, I went out for a good little hammer fest on the bike. I rode to the 5430 Sprint Triathlon bike course, about 11 miles from home, then rode the course, and rode home. I freaking hammered the course. I had a little tailwind on the back straight-away, and was holding about 34 mph - faster than I've ever gone back there. The winds started swirling pretty good on my ride back - but I made it safe and sound. It was roughly 37 miles, took me about 1h 45 min. Good, hard ride.

Sunday, I did a recovery swim and ate like a fiend.

Monday, Bolder Boulder. I had a blast running this race. It was the first time I've run it, after living in and out of Boulder for about 6 years or so. There were a TON of people out there, I think the last count I saw was 54,040....yeah...a TON! I started in the 3rd wave (AB) at 7:01:50. The first mile was good, slightly downhill, and pretty fast - 6:28 split. Regardless of how downhill it was, I needed to reign it in a bit. My next 3 splits, 6:54, 7:09, and 6:59 were actually a little slower than I had shot for, but after looking at the course profile after the race, those were the miles where I gained elevation, so I'm okay with it. Miles 5 and 6 splits were 6:42 and 6:55 weren't great, but the last mile had another big incline, however, a buddy put it in my head that this was a big big hill, and it certainly looked like it on the profile, so I saved some energy for that climb. I got to the top, looked back, and went "Is that it? DAMN!". Next time, I hammer.

My final time was 42:36, averaging 6:52 a mile. Again, I wasn't really geared up for this race, but after looking at my times, I always question things a bit, "If only I had pushed a bit harder here, or Run that 4th mile faster," but it was a really fun race. I'd do it again in a heartbeat, but next year I think I'd like to get a group together and just run it for fun. We shall see.

I'm gunna get a massage today, and then a good swim tonight. Prepping for the Elephant Rock Century this weekend. Woohoo!

E

Easy like Sunday Mooooornin

Had a great, early morning fartlek session today. Started out with a warmup lap, then 2 1/2 laps of 30 second pickups, with about 1:30 recovery. Last 1/2 lap was just to cool down. T'was a good run, felt good on the recovery, and the pickups whipped me, as they should. Overall, 5 miles, 35:43. probably the last big run before the Bolder Boulder, I need my legs to recover. I'll swim and lift tomorrow, and then get a good ride Friday, and again probably on Saturday. Swim and lift Sunday, then 10K it up on Monday.

E

It's 5:45am, what are you doing?

I was pulling into the gym parking lot. You know you are in a great triathlon community when you pull in that early, and there are 10 - 15 cars (lots of Subarus!), all with bike racks, beat up running shoes in the back seats, and various endurance sport bumper stickers. And, all the swim lanes are full. Waited just a sec, and got into a lane, boy the water is cold that early. Took me a lot longer in my warm up to get going - but I felt a bit off for most of my swim. It's still amazing to me how great I feel for the rest of the day after an early morning workout. The commute is better (although, I decided that my life will be infinitely better when the commute goes away), the work seems less stressful, and the weather always just seems to be better. So, as hard as it is to wiggle out of the warm sheets that early, it may have to happen a lot more, as it just feels so much better the rest of the day. I'm gunna ride for about an hour this evening, and life will be grand.

E

It feels like burning

We had a big boy bike ride on Saturday. Roughly 48 miles on the road, the first 10 were a pretty decent climb, long and slow. This ride used to chew me up, spit most of me out, and then get the rest with a really sharp, painful toothpick. So in my head, pulling up to the parking lot, I knew I was into it. We were riding with a big group, and there is an old house where a really sweet lady used to sit out on a Saturday with a cooler full of water, and sell it for $1 to the cyclists. We all loved her, and the plan was to meet at the lady, refresh, and keep charging up the hill. So I just put my head down, really actually enjoyed the 85 degree sweat-fest, and spun the crap out of my legs. They felt great! I was holding my cadence around 85-90 rpm, and trying to keep the speed above 10.5 mph. Before I knew it, I was passing an empty lot where there should be a water cooler. Sad. I don't know what happened to her. But my legs still felt sweet. My buddy Brandon beat me to her, and then our 2 other friends were right behind me. We pouted for a minute, and then charged on, this time Brandon and I really pushing it. This is where I got a bit frustrated, as I just didn't have a top gear in my legs. I jumped out of the saddle, and my legs would just peter out. So I had to make it work, adjust on the fly. Brandon still beat me, but I felt good on that climb. The rest of the ride was rolling, descending, and just a little bit more climbing, but I felt great. I should have brought my running shoes to get the first of the linguine legs out of the way, but I opted for lunch with the guys instead.

Sunday I took it easy and just spun my legs with Ellie. Today, I got out there for a beautiful run, 3.6 or so miles, 26-ish minutes. I really worked on finding an easy tempo the first 2 laps, and then a good, hard, close to vomit pace for my last loop, trying to get my legs to respond to being tired. I intended to go lift after the run, but I decided to grill some buffalo burgers and have a cold one instead. It's Monday. I have all week for 2 a days. I'll get up tomorrow, go lift and swim before work, and maybe get a short ride or 45 or so minute run in after work. Time to start stretching it out!

E

'Twas a very active, busy weekend. Friday night, Sawyer and I continued our slowly developing Friday Happy Hour bike ride. It has really been good for me to get out on the bike for a long ride rather than going to hammer back a few beers. This Friday, we took a pretty ambitious ride, from downtown Denver to the top of Lookout Mountain in Golden. Google Maps tells me that we did roughly 8,000 ft. of climbing, but that seems, oh, ridiculous? Subtracting roughly 5,000 feet of Denver elevation seems to get me to a better number...3,000 feet of climbing. It was a brutal climb, but it wasn't 8,000 feet. Either way, it was 36.5 or so miles, and took us about 2h 15m. It was a great ride.

Saturday morning I got up to run the Flat Out 5K - a Bolder BOULDER qualifier. I ran very well, considering the bike ride I had the night before. 20:40 - a 6:40/mile pace. I felt a bit tired at the end, definitely went out a bit quicker than I finished. I was hoping to get under 20 minutes, but not this day. It's amazing to me the people that come out and run these things though. There are so many people who are a) INCREDIBLY cocky, and b) just plain rude! This one guy was decked out in pure professional gear, nice racing flats, the new Skins tights, a racing bib with a wind breaker over the top. Just to the T pro runner. He was telling a very nice looking co-ed how he just had to finish the race in under 19:50 to qualify for the wave he needed to get in. Right as the gun goes off, he starts pushing his way through the crowd, getting frustrated with the 'slow start', and eventually finds a seem and is just gone. Oh, he made it a point to push through a mom running with her kids, both not older than 8. About 2.5 miles in, I see our pushy co-ed hunter, and just cruise right on by. He let out a very nice belly roar, obviously frustrated with the number of people that had passed him. I wanted to say something, but I'm not the type, and I don't understand why so many runners have to be such arrogant pricks. I can understand wanting a good race time, but get to the front, and let mom and her kids have their day. One of the kids was obviously upset from the near trampling, and probably has a bad view of running now since some prick was trying to get some ass. We're not out there making a living, so why is it so hard to be nice to fellow runners? That's why I love triathlon, it's the most accepting endurance sport out there. And I don't even want to get started on the pompous jerks that are 'pure cyclists'. There are exceptions to all of this, I've met some pretty cool runners and cyclists, but in general, they are too elitist for me.

And one more bit of ranting. There is a really cool new sport shop at Flatirons called At Altitude. They were open very early Saturday to accommodate the running crowd, and they were giving a 25% discount to the runners. Ellie and I went in, she picked up a jacket that was on sale, and I got a Fat Tire Bike Bell (AWESOME!). We go to check out, and this rep from Adidas is at the counter just giving it to the store owner - telling him how the At Altitude tent set up in the courtyard was taking up valuable beer garden space. The store owner politely told the corporate schmuck that he had gone through all of the right channels, and had everything cleared with the Director of Marketing for the event, and that he had no plans on moving his tent. Schmucky then said, "Fine, I'll just move it myself". The store owner, again, politely explained that he had every right to be there, and if Adidas moved the tent, then security would be called. Adidas boy stomped out of the store (he gave a much better tantrum than my 7 year old bro and sis EVER have). I don't know how it ended up, but I don't plan on ever buying another piece of Adidas gear after the way that whiny prick represented his company. What a joke.

/rant.

E

Stick to the muffin...

So no matter what anyone tells you, don't believe them if they tell you that Kombucha and a Vegan Blueberry muffin 45 minutes before a run is a good idea. The muffin, maybe, but carbonated kombucha, no. So I set out for an easy 3.8 mile run. This usually takes me, oh, maybe 29 minutes. Not today. I set out on my first lap, high tempo, probably 6:20 - 6:30/mile, nothing I can't handle. Feeling good, breathing a little labored, but again, easily harnessed. I start lap 2, and if feels like all the tiny little bubbles have formed one HUGE bubble in my stomach, and that my stomach is trying to actually jump out of my body. I tried numerous 'methods' to get said bubble out, but no dice. So what does one do? Crystal Meth....od (the music, not the drug). I completely tranced out on lap 3, and probably held a good 7:00/mile pace, which was much better than my probably close to 8:00/mile + pace on lap 2. So overall, I had a 32 minute +- about 30/45 seconds run. Not bad, but I learned an invaluable nutritional lesson today. Stick to the muffin.

E

Recovery Swim

Went for a quick, 1000 yd recovery swim last night, took me about 18 or so minutes. Swimming is by far my best of the 3 disciplines, but after a while, it becomes my least favorite. I LOVE open water swims, and would do those for every workout if it was reasonably possible, but alas, I have to do 90% of my workouts in a pool. With little Kirby doing cannonballs 4 feet from my face. And 13 people trying to share 2 lanes....

I usually hit a point in my swim training where I tire very quickly, like 200 yds into a workout, but if I push through, I hit another point where I could probably swim for a few hours straight. It's an odd feeling, but when it hits, I love it. That happened last night. About 250 yds in, my tris and shoulders got tired really quickly, then all of a sudden, everything felt fine and I just cruised through my last 750. It was awesome. I just hope it carries over to race day!!!

E

I'm back eh.

I'm back. It's been a bit since I've posted about my training here, but I enjoyed doing it, so here we go.

First things first. The plan I'm using is from www.beginnertriathlete.com - here is the link to my training log: BT Training Log

The plan is the closest I can find to what I need, but is still too much for me. You'll notice that a few weeks in, it called for either a 2 or 2 1/2 hour run........um, excuse me? You want me to run 15-20 miles in mid-April for an August Half Ironman? No no. Thanks for trying though. I value my knees and don't really feel like burning out too quick. Plus, one of my favorite things about summer is watching some baseball and grilling, so I'm just working to find a good balance.

So I'm editing the plan a bit to tailor my needs. Working 8-9 hours a day, with about 1 1/2 hours of total commuting, and having a desire to spend some time with my wife, I've had to change things up a bit. I'm not trying to win gold in Beijing, just finish my HIM in just over 5 hours.

So, all that said, I got a good swim workout in last night:

Warm Up - 400yds easy
Main Set - 8x100 as follows
1. 75 easy, 25 hard
2. 50 easy, 50 hard
3. 25 easy, 75 hard
4. 100 hard
(repeat twice to reach 800)
100 loosen
3x100 pull
Cool Down: 150 easy
1750 total

I love these speed workouts, and really find them the most beneficial. It feels freaking awesome after working that speed, to swim that '100 loosen' or '150 cool down' , and really feel like you are moving through the water more smoothly and much faster.

Had some Vegan Chicken Fajitas for dinner, used some of the Morningstar Farms Chicken Tenders - they are actually pretty good. 3 beers. I like beer.

E

March 6, 2008

I got a few runs on Monday and Tuesday. Both of the shorter variety, but this week has been all consumed by the house purchasing process. Tomorrow we'll sign our lives away, and I'm going to take a few good bike rides to show that stress it's place.

I'm researching a few training tools for the summer, www.trainingpeaks.com and www.eraceplanner.com - I'm going to need a good plan, and I'm not sure if spending the money on tools like that is worth it. I used Beginner Triathlete's Half Ironman plan a few summers ago, and pretty much wung it last summer. I liked BT's plan, but I think I need more detail this summer, more speed workouts, more bike workouts, and probably a more regular swim schedule. I'm planning on doing some of the local Stroke and Stride races on Thursday nights in the summer, so I'd like to incorporate that in my schedule as well. And the Bolder Boulder, as well as a half marathon early. So I gotta find a plan that'll include all that. Wish me luck!

E

February 26, 2008

Got a good, little, run in tonight. Easy, 2.5 miles, about 20 minutes or so. Nothing too special, just a little stress buster.

E

Weekend Recap

'Twas a big weekend for me. I got a good, 3.5 mile run in on Saturday morning. It was a bit too chilly for a ride, so I hit the pavement, and ran pretty fast (I took no electronics, so I'm not sure of my pace).

Yesterday, I took 2 bike rides. I took a 60 minute loop from my house, and rode pretty hard, not hard enough though. I ran some errands, and then settled in to watch Tiger dominate, and then watch the last of the Tour of California. I felt pretty lazy at that point, and jumped back on the bike at about 5pm for 30 minutes of hill repeats. Delicious.

I am getting a massage tonight, more for the stress relief than the soreness. Back to working out tomorrow!

E

February 16, 2008

Awesome ride with Sawyer today. 1 hr 10 minutes, 22 miles. He was working off some stress, so he just freaking hammered me into the ground. I tried to keep up, but he was on a mission, and there was no catching him today. I am glad that he made me work on a lot of the hills - it's great to have someone so much better than you to ride with, makes me a lot better.

17.4 mph avg, need to get that up a bit. Not too shabby for mid-Feb though.

My typing is a bit rough tonight, I gave it my best to chop my left index finger off cooking tonight. The fish tacos were delicious, but I really haven't been able to stop the bleeding. I put some cayenne pepper on it which has really helped (thanks to Ellie for that tip). But right now I have a bit of TP wrapped around my finger with some duct tape holding it in place - not the most convenient time to run out of band-aids, but the duct tape is holding everything in place pretty tightly. It was a nice effort.

E

February 13, 2008

Good longer run with some tempo in there. 4 miles - 33 minutes - 3x45 seconds 6 minute mile pace, plus a good, hard pace up the 'heartbreak hill' near my house.

E

February 11, 2008

4 mile run, 32 minutes. Good, easy, recovery type run. My knees were sore at the end (inside of the left knee, and outside of the right knee). Taking Tuesday off I think, except for some body weight working out, and some core stuff. Oh, and some good stretching.

Dinner tonight: Vegan Lentil Stew
1 cup green lentils
3 cups veggie broth
2 cups water
1/2 white onion, diced
1/2 green bell pepper diced
1 carrot, diced
3 cloves garlic, diced
1/2 zucchini, diced
1/2 yellow squash, diced
1 tbsp each of curry powder, chili powder, tumeric, and garam masala (if you have them)
1 glug of red wine
Salt and Pepper to taste

Saute the veggies until they are sweating. Add the lentils, water, broth, and seasonings and bring to a good, rolling boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, and cook for 30 minutes. I served this with some roasted red potatoes, but ate it for lunch today over some whole wheat pasta. It is freaking delicious, and really hit the spot after a cold, windy run. And it's a very easy recipe, we usually have all the fixins in our cabinets. Yummy.

E

February 9, 2008

First bike ride of the year. It was a good one too. Very windy, so I had to cut it a bit short. I got a new wireless computer for my bike that also records cadence. I've gotta figure out the ranges I need to be hitting for various terrain.

50 minutes, 16 miles. Good, first ride for a while.

E

February 6, 2008

Good, later night dark run.

4 miles, 31 minutes. Nothing special, just a little de-stressing.

E

February 5, 2008

Had yet another good, quick run after work. It's tough commuting for an hour and then getting a run in. It's light when I leave work, and I may just have to suck it up and run in the concrete jungle of Denver rather than the beautiful trails of Boulder. Maybe not, I can handle running in the cold and dark to get nice trails. We'll see.

3 miles, 22 minutes
4 x 30 seconds @ 6:00min/mile pace, 1 minute 'rest' at 8:00min/mile pace

Getting back to the speed work. I would love for my 5K split to be about 6:30/mile for the sprint, if not faster. That means lots of speed work and hills between now and then. Mixing the bike back into things should help too, much more active recovery.

Tonight's Dinner:
Ellie's Baked Tofu (from the book Skinny Bitch)

Marinated tofu in Bragg's Liquid Aminos (tastes like soy), Sriacha, Honey, Miso, and Peanut Butter. Bake at 400 for about 20 minutes. Top with sauteed mushrooms and green onions. Serve with brown rice.

I took a little and wrapped it in rice paper. Delicious dinner.

E

February 3, 2008

Another great Sunday run. 3.5 miles, 23 minutes, good run. Allowed me to have a little more beer during the game :-)

E

February 2, 2008

Great Saturday afternoon run. Fast, mellow, perfect.

3.5 miles, 23-ish minutes.

E

January 31, 2008

I had a great run on the 31st. It was a stress run, but I had some pretty cool revelations. There was a LOT on my mind - closing on the house, the inspection, work, money, all of it. It was dark, just me, my headlamp, and my breath. The steam from my breath was blowing by my face, feet pounding on the asphalt, jacket swooshing. The faster I run, the more my thoughts trail behind me. I can feel the house inspection creeping up behind me, and I ran faster. The budget comes up, and I run faster. The more my thoughts try to catch up to me, the faster I run. I completely zone out, I can feel those thoughts and stresses, but I just run as fast as I can, and know that they can't keep up. As long as I'm running, they are far behind me. But as is true with life, as soon as I stopped, my thoughts and stresses came flooding back in, but I could tell, they were tired of running after me.

It was a great run.

2.5 miles, 7:30/mile out, 6:10/mile back. Beautiful.

E

January 29, 2008

Oh man, I had to run tonight, I don't care about my knees (they hurt!). Buying a house is stressful - enough said.

Roughly 2.5 miles. First 1.25 was at about 8:00 min/mile pace. Second half was about 7:20 min/mile pace.

It was a peaceful, quiet, dark run. My headlamp was about the only light I saw, and I got very into my breathing. Seeing your breath breeze by your head is a very soothing thing - helped me deal with a lot of the issues I've got running laps in my head. Didn't get rid of them, but it helped me compartmentalize them. So I guess I've got that.

E

January 28, 2008

After a weekend of pure non-fitness with the boys in Aspen (I think I took at least 10 steps backwards in my fitness pursuits), and a little bit higher stress day putting together our loan application for our house - I needed a good workout. I got done with work a little late, and the darkness forced me into the pool. I'm still working on getting my swimming back, so I'm gradually building up. The Master's Swim workout was still on the white board, and they did this circuit twice, but I could only muster one time through:

150 warm-up
200 race pace
400 easy
200 race pace
150 cool down

Again, a fairly easy workout, but I'm getting there. My race pace is at or faster than it was at my peak last year, so I'm hoping I can maintain this level. Happy Tuesday!

E

January 24, 2008

Had a decent run today. We up into Boulder Canyon a bit, then back out and headed toward the east side of Boulder. It was a good, tiring run, and my knee is a bit sore. Good though:

39:11, roughly 5 miles. Good pace, heart rate hung at about 165 ish.

Dinner:
Proto's Pizza (woodfire, veggie pizza)

My mom and John came up to look at a house we're going to put an offer on, so we went for a bit of pizza to chat about it.

E

January 22, 2008

Here she is, my training log for the summer. Not only am I going to post my workouts daily (or try t0), but I'm going to post some of my favorite training food recipes. No workout today, my knees are sore and I had a big weekend, so it's just some body weight stuff and core tonight.

Dinner:
Lemon Wine Salmon Pouch

1 salmon filet
Juice on 1/2 lemon
Lemon Pepper seasoning
Tad of Earth Balance Butter
1 good glug of white wine

Put the salmon on a big piece of foil. Juice the lemon over the salmon, and add the glug of wine. Sprinkle the seasoning on top, and put the dab of butter on top. Wrap the salmon in the foil, and put in a 350 degree oven for about 10-15 minutes. Serve with brown rice and steamed broccoli.

Yum.

E