This week I decided to take it fairly mellow. I was really wiped out after Alcatraz and just tired in general, plus I was moving at the end of the wek so I was doing maintenance and recovery workouts all week. In the mean time I am trying to figure out the calendar for the last few races of the year. It looks like Tinley's may be the last race unless Rev3 Anderson in South Carolina is something that I can work out. Felt good by the end of the week and with the rejuvenation of new technique and equipment for running this was really a good week.
Swim 9,000 yds
Bike 6.5 hrs
Run 26 mi
8/15 - 8/21/2011
The first half of this week I spent recovering from back to back races last weekend and then the second I went back into prep mode for another race this sunday. This was my first time racing the Alcatraz Triathlon and from everything I heard and saw I just kept telling myself that it was going to be an adventure.
It was a crazy early morning as you have to get down there and set in time to make a 6:45 am buss to the boat launch. Then you climb on to a ferry with a thousand other people that all need to use the bathroom too. I am getting to know more people in the triathlon arena and so I had a good chat with a few of my fellow athletes to pass the time.
By far the coolest part of the event occurred while we were motoring out to the start and I was just kind or lazily starring about the cabin of the boat and all of a sudden there was David Duchovny! Just putting on a wetsuit like it was no big deal! We all had a little chuckle about it and I tried to stamp out the worries my mind conjured up about jumping into an unknown body of water with Fox Mulder.
The swim start was a little confusing and chaotic and the water was choppy...and with a last minute change due to permit complications the swim was LOOOOONG. I felt like it was taking forever and worried that I was way off course and/or was really being left behind and/or might not be able to finish. I really thought that at one point. Out of the water to see my parents and a good friend shouting encouragement got me going.
It was a long run back to transition because of the swim change then out onto the bike. There was a lot of up and down the steep San Francisco and a lot of burning in the lungs and legs. A tough course for sure with all the hills and curves and wind.
The downhill and flat back to transition was fun because you feel like you are absolutely screaming. The run starts out nice and flat and soft which was gerat to get my rhythm settled. Then you run up and trough a ton of stairs and windy trails and even a tunnel! There are spectacular views from the top of the run course by the way. Down to baker beach on a fire road and then maybe two hundred meters of beach running. Then you hit the sand ladder which is a sandy staircase that goes straight up. IT IS STEEP! I just kept my head down and shuffled my way up them easing off a little any time I felt my heart begin to pound in my head. From the top of the ladder it is basically flat or downhill and I just let my legs loosen up and pushed to the finish.
This is a TOUGH race and if you are looking for an adventure and a serious physical chalenge this one is for you. I feel like I did a 70.3 The result was good for me especially for my first time racing and first time on the new bike.
Swim 13,450 yds
Bike 8 hrs
Run 20.5 mi
It was a crazy early morning as you have to get down there and set in time to make a 6:45 am buss to the boat launch. Then you climb on to a ferry with a thousand other people that all need to use the bathroom too. I am getting to know more people in the triathlon arena and so I had a good chat with a few of my fellow athletes to pass the time.
By far the coolest part of the event occurred while we were motoring out to the start and I was just kind or lazily starring about the cabin of the boat and all of a sudden there was David Duchovny! Just putting on a wetsuit like it was no big deal! We all had a little chuckle about it and I tried to stamp out the worries my mind conjured up about jumping into an unknown body of water with Fox Mulder.
The swim start was a little confusing and chaotic and the water was choppy...and with a last minute change due to permit complications the swim was LOOOOONG. I felt like it was taking forever and worried that I was way off course and/or was really being left behind and/or might not be able to finish. I really thought that at one point. Out of the water to see my parents and a good friend shouting encouragement got me going.
It was a long run back to transition because of the swim change then out onto the bike. There was a lot of up and down the steep San Francisco and a lot of burning in the lungs and legs. A tough course for sure with all the hills and curves and wind.
The downhill and flat back to transition was fun because you feel like you are absolutely screaming. The run starts out nice and flat and soft which was gerat to get my rhythm settled. Then you run up and trough a ton of stairs and windy trails and even a tunnel! There are spectacular views from the top of the run course by the way. Down to baker beach on a fire road and then maybe two hundred meters of beach running. Then you hit the sand ladder which is a sandy staircase that goes straight up. IT IS STEEP! I just kept my head down and shuffled my way up them easing off a little any time I felt my heart begin to pound in my head. From the top of the ladder it is basically flat or downhill and I just let my legs loosen up and pushed to the finish.
This is a TOUGH race and if you are looking for an adventure and a serious physical chalenge this one is for you. I feel like I did a 70.3 The result was good for me especially for my first time racing and first time on the new bike.
Swim 13,450 yds
Bike 8 hrs
Run 20.5 mi
8/8 - 8/14/2011
This week I was on a moderated training schedule in prep to race hard Saturday and Sunday at the Santa Cruz Sprint/International Triathlons. There was a larger prize purse this year which drew much stronger athletes and the races were furiously fast.
For my part I put myself on the limit the whole way both days but I still finished well out of the money. I suppose that there is not much I can do about that...but it is getting to be a little dejecting having my ass handed to me at every race, even at the small local ones. It is hard to know if I am doing everything that I can to maximize my potential but I do have some ideas about streamlining and improving my training. The unfortunate reality may be that I am simply not cut out for or genetically built to be a top tier triathlete, but for the mean time I still plan on following through on my attempt to make it a career.
Swim 11,000 yds
Bike 9.5 hrs
Run 25.5 mi
 |
| Photo Credit: Nancy Zefares |
For my part I put myself on the limit the whole way both days but I still finished well out of the money. I suppose that there is not much I can do about that...but it is getting to be a little dejecting having my ass handed to me at every race, even at the small local ones. It is hard to know if I am doing everything that I can to maximize my potential but I do have some ideas about streamlining and improving my training. The unfortunate reality may be that I am simply not cut out for or genetically built to be a top tier triathlete, but for the mean time I still plan on following through on my attempt to make it a career.
Swim 11,000 yds
Bike 9.5 hrs
Run 25.5 mi
8/1 - 8/7/2011
This week was a bit of a bummer. I was not feeling very well and I can't really explain why. My best guess is that I should have taken ten days to recover from Vineman 70.3 rather than just seven. It is getting late in the season and my schedule is more hectic, the cumulative effect of the years training is starting to catch up with me a little I think and all this stuff Caught up to me this week. No exciting training accomplishments so I figured I would do a post on the bike fit we have been working on.
The biggest thing going on right now having to do with my racing is the complete overhaul of my bike fit and time trial position that I am working on with Wade at Spokesman Bicycles. The very poor bike times that I have had this year, some significantly slower than last year made me certain that it was something mechanical or geometric that I was doing wrong.
When I first got into the fitting studio it was apparent right away that my bike was not set up to be very aerodynamic...what was most disheartening however that once we had my personal geometry figured we realized that the bike I had bought could not produce the fit I need or was capable of.
There is this amazing machine, the GURU Dynamic Fitting Unit, that allows you to produce your bikes geometry and then by remote control the person doing the fit can make adjustments to any of the geometric variations a millimeter at a time. With this machine we fiddled with my current position and pushed it much farther into the realm of optimal time trial position.
Although this revolutionary change in my time trial position is exciting as it may lend a huge improvement to my bike times, there is also a lot of stress brought on. I have to get rid of my current bike and buy a new one and adapt to it before I race again which is next weekend. The guys at Spokesman are giving me a ton of help and I am extremely grateful for that.
Photos and videos of the fit assessment to follow hopefully.
Swim 13,000 yds
Bike 10.25 hrs
Run 18 mi
The biggest thing going on right now having to do with my racing is the complete overhaul of my bike fit and time trial position that I am working on with Wade at Spokesman Bicycles. The very poor bike times that I have had this year, some significantly slower than last year made me certain that it was something mechanical or geometric that I was doing wrong.
When I first got into the fitting studio it was apparent right away that my bike was not set up to be very aerodynamic...what was most disheartening however that once we had my personal geometry figured we realized that the bike I had bought could not produce the fit I need or was capable of.
There is this amazing machine, the GURU Dynamic Fitting Unit, that allows you to produce your bikes geometry and then by remote control the person doing the fit can make adjustments to any of the geometric variations a millimeter at a time. With this machine we fiddled with my current position and pushed it much farther into the realm of optimal time trial position.
Although this revolutionary change in my time trial position is exciting as it may lend a huge improvement to my bike times, there is also a lot of stress brought on. I have to get rid of my current bike and buy a new one and adapt to it before I race again which is next weekend. The guys at Spokesman are giving me a ton of help and I am extremely grateful for that.
Photos and videos of the fit assessment to follow hopefully.
Swim 13,000 yds
Bike 10.25 hrs
Run 18 mi
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