Rock and Roll AZ Half Marathon RR + Wattie Ink Elite Team

So I was going to post two blogs but I figured I'd just do one long one -so sorry if this is waay overkill. Sunday was a good day. I pr'd in my third ever 1/2 marathon and ran 1:14:40. After enjoying some beverages at the beer garden, we started walking to go get some food with friends and that's when I find out that I was accepted on to the 2012 Wattie Ink Elite Triathlon Team. So needless to say - I drank my fair share that day and celebrated/topped off a great weekend. I'm really stoked to be a part of the team. We'll be getting a team kit and since K-Swiss is our title sponsor I'll be racing/training in their shoes for the 2012 season. Along with K-Swiss, they have a great line-up of sponsors that I'm excited to work with. It looks like there are some studs on the team, so I'll be sure to do my fair share of damage to the competition as we look forward to the new season. On that note, I "officially" started my season on Sunday and this is how it went down...

Waiting to board...

Since Amy and I were away from the kids last weekend, she decided to stay home with them and I was sent off solo. I ended up flying out Saturday morning just in time to get checked in at the EXPO and then head over to the local watering hole to watch the playoffs. One commitment I have made this season is to stay away from wheat/gluten and alcohol the week of a race. After trial and error I know that it doesn't settle well when I race hard. So I think the toughest thing I had to do over the weekend was to watch the amazing 49ers/Saints game in rowdy bars and just drink water! Fortunately I held strong, but it didn't make any difference for my buddy Eric. He was sick, drank some beers and whiskey to help "clear" his congestion and still ran 1:19 the next day in his first ever half. Rock. Star.

Race morning I woke myself up at 4:30am to eat half of a sweet potato, a Powerbar and a glass of water -then I went back to sleep for an hour. I've been listening to a lot of podcasts (with my long commute) one of them being Ben Greenfield and getting race day nutrition is more important than you think. There is usually a three hour window that you have to get in a meal -let it digest so that your glycogen stores are topped off and ready to go come start time. That's why (for most people) if you eat and then less than 2 hours later you workout/race hard - you can feel a little sluggish or may not have the most happy stomach. Well the plan worked for me and come race time, I felt good and ready to roll.

Relaxed and Ready to roll

After getting in a 1.5 mile warm up, some stretching and strides, I took in a gel 15 mins before the start just to get in a little caffeine boost to go along with the FLUID Performance I'd been sipping on. My legs felt a little off just because I've been putting in some pretty tough weeks both in volume and intensity. This race week was no exception, we didn't back off at all except the day before where I just put in an easy run. This was a "C" race for me and I was really curious how I would handle the load. The course was a deceiving long gradual (slight) uphill for pretty much 10 miles, then heading downhill 3 miles to the finish. It was a very weird feeling, because you knew you were putting in a harder effort then the splits suggested...Or maybe that was my fatigued legs! I lined up at the front, didn't recognize anyone and felt like I had a good shot of getting top 20. There were only like 5 elites in the race cause everyone else was in Houston.

The gun went off and as usual everyone sprinted out like it was a 5k and after a few miles people started finally settling back and being more realistic about their pace. I was very focused/determined to just knock out 5:40-45's all day long. I already knew I was going to have a good race after 2 miles. It felt so effortless and my mental game plan was unfolding just as I had visualized all week. Cheeks moving up and down, legs light, leaning forward, arms straight and a fierce mental mindset that I was going to go sub 1:15 today. 5k I went through in 17:40 (5:41 pace) and kinda just settled in with a pack of guys that were chatting away about where they were from, how old they were...etc. I didn't want in on that conversation so I left them for a bit (only to get passed by them later!). Before I knew it 10k came and I went through in 35:16 (5:40 pace) and we were all spread out by this point. I pretty much ran the second half of the race solo.

We made the only "real" climb of the day up to the 10 mile mark and I went through in 56:44 (5:40 pace) and I was knocking out the pace no problem. Then a little downhill came and that's when I decided (against my better judgement) to just let it go and try and hit 5:35's the rest of the way in and go for sub 1:14...Well mile 10 went 5:33 then 11 at 5:36, then wheels fell off. The dreaded cramps started slowly making their way into my legs. The one I felt most was my right hammy. All of the sudden I had to slow down about 20 secs per mile which put me right on the edge of cramping up. That's when I saw my buddy Irving and he told me I was in about 25th place. At this point I didn't have much left. I just fought my way through those last two miles and was glad to finish in 1:14:40. It was a 2min 20sec PR. I know 1:14 isn't THAT fast to you full time runners, but as a triathlete that puts in only 25 miles a week, I was super stoked for the time. The fact that I ran well with tired legs gets me pumped up to see what I can do in Oceanside come March 31st.

Finishing up in the Pain Cave!

As far as the cramping goes...Still trying to figure it out. I usually think when someone cramps it's mainly to do with lack of fitness...ie. your mind wants to go faster then your body can handle. I think this had something to do with it, but I also chose not to take in anything during the half. no water, gels...nothing. I was locked into my pace and didn't want to disrupt it with any distractions. Plus the weather was absolutely perfect. Looking back on it, I probably should have taken in a gel, it might have saved me from the cramps. I ended up finishing 5th in my AG and 25th overall.



We ended up bar hopping, eating good food and talking about how fast we used to be. Isn't that what you do when you get old? The only difference is, I'm getting faster NOW and equipped with the right coach, the right team and the right support -I'm going to hit 2012 with a bang.

Thanks to Eric, Kim, Irving and Jamie for showing me around and being awesome hosts! Irving, thanks for letting me stay at the man pad!

Now for some pictures, thanks for reading!

Splits

Forward lean, arm swing...thanks Kloz :)

Finally looking relaxed...

The boys with PR's!

Dunno why my leg is shaped like that in this picture...

Finish line beer garden...serving "Ultra Sh*tty" beers

Finally, some good IPA, Cheers to 2012!

Weekend in the Mountains

Just outside our room looking out onto Main St.

So Amy and I celebrated our 8 year anniversary up in Julian over the weekend and as much as I love my kids, I sure love spending quality time with my wife. Often parents get it backwards and love their kids over their spouse and often spend more time with their kids -ignoring the most important person! For those of you that don't have kids yet, remember this - It's the secret to a wonderful marriage AND being a great parent! We stayed up in a bed and breakfast and it ended up being a great time. Great company, beautiful weather, great food and great wine (and beer). I was still able to get in some good quality training time last week and my fitness continues to improve. It included a 10 mile hilly run up in the mountains and then a 4 hr/70 mile ride - which used to be pretty brutal, but now I'm able to get through them with plenty of power and energy towards the end.

After just finishing up a hilly 10 miler

One thing I have noticed over the past few weeks is my weight loss. When I initially lost the 40 pounds (when I started working out again) I kinda just stayed stagnate after that. Then once I started focusing on the 70.3 distance and eating better, I've noticed myself withering away! I've lost another 10 pounds over the past two months and I'm down to 133 pounds now. I'm 5'9, so that's pretty skinny! When I was running competitively and putting in 80-100 miles/week I was always around the 128-132 mark -so I'm flirting with that same weight again. Although it's great for running (and climbing on the bike), I do need to start incorporating a little more strength training into my routine so I can last for these 3-4 hour races. Speaking of racing, it all starts this weekend in Phoenix. After racing pretty much every single month last year, and taking December off -I'm chomping at the bit to race. Besides a few missed days here and there from sickness this past month, my training has been flawless. I think its no coincidence that I've been injury free since training with James. I was obviously going too hard, too often. I've been able to stay consistent with training and just nailing each workout.

The Rock & Roll Arizona course is fast and flat so my goal pace is going to be 5:40-45 which will get me a finishing time of 1:14-1:15. It's not going to be easy though - I have a pretty tough week of training ahead of me and will definitely not be fresh come race day. Either way, I'm going for the pace and will just try to tough it out. I'm excited to try out some new mental techniques that I've been practicing lately with a lot of success. I'll share more about this in another post.

You can track me race day at this LINK. My race starts at 7:30am (6:30 CA time).

Wish me luck! Now -some photos from the weekend:

The Ride.

The Place.

The Room.

The Wine.

The Pour (in fancy cups...)

The Dinner.

The wife.

Love.

2012

Mountain biking at Lake Hodges

As great as 2011 was, it's time to bring on 2012! I have a lot of goals/plans for this year that I actually laid out months ago and it's for them to bear some fruit. It all starts in a few weeks as I open up the year at the Rock & Roll 1/2 Marathon in Arizona. I did this race last year - it was my first 1/2 marathon and I loved it. Growing up running the mile and 800 meters; it just didn't give you much time to think. As I move onto the longer distance running and triathlon races -I'm starting to appreciate the fact that you DO have some time to think, put together a strategy and to use your mind as a weapon in a race. This years focus will be all about the 70.3 distance (1/2 Ironman). The goal is to qualify for the 70.3 World Championships held in Las Vegas in September. You typically will qualify by placing in the top 3 sometimes top 5 in your age group at any qualifying Ironman event. In this case, Ironman CA 70.3 (the race I'm doing in March) is one of those qualifying races so I will be shooting for top 3-5 in my age group. CA is super competitive so I'm not being naive going into this race -but I know with the training results I have in the bank already and if I just keep nailing my workouts week in and week out I will have a shot to qualify. If I don't get it in CA, I'm going to hit up another Ironman qualifying race in the summer.

Feed the Machine feeding me for a 4hr ride

Why 70.3's? After racing the 70.3 distance last year accompanied with some Olympic triathlon races I really liked the fact that you have those 4-5 hours to race. The Olympic distances I always felt like it was over too fast and that I ran out of room on the run. With that short 10k at the end I really didn't feel like being a strong runner aided me in anyway. I also like the fact that you have 56 miles to have fun on the bike! The Olympic distances I felt like I was loosing so much time just getting out of the aero position for a second to take a drink. So as the new year begins, it's going to be nice to get out and put in a hard 1/2 marathon effort to set up the rest of the year. This will be my third one. First - 1:18:06  Second - 1:17:05. So I've been taking a minute off every 6 months. I'd be happy if I pull a 1:16:0x, but I'm really shooting to get in the 1:15's. I really have no idea where I'm at right now. Since I've started training with James I have thrown down a pretty solid 5 & 10k on tired legs and this half marathon won't be any different. I'm not really changing up my current schedule, this is a "C" race for me so I'll train through it--although I at least won't have a 60-70 mile ride in me the day before. It will be fun getting out of town, seeing some friends and having some post race beers!

On the training front - I have been killing it for the most part. I ran into two episodes of sickness in December that forced me to take some days off, but other than that I've had some solid training weeks. Last weekend was a big one, here's how it rolled out (Thursday-Monday)

Thursday:
am: 2000 yd swim
pm: 1hr 30min hilly run ~7:50 pace

Friday:
am: Hard 3,300 yd swim session
pm: 1hr 30 min Mountain bike

Saturday:
am: 3hr hilly (4,500ft climbing) bike ride w/30 min transition run ~7:30 pace

Sunday:
pm: 4hr hilly (4,000ft climbing) ride Avg'd ~17mph

Monday:
am: 1hr 45 min run w/ 3X15 mins at 70.3 race pace. Avg ~6:00-15

Early 4:45am trainer rides

I think the best thing about the weekend was that it only took me a day to recover from all of that (light swim). I felt great this morning on the bike and ready to knock out another run later tonight. Let me tell you though, the last mile of my last 15 min set on Monday was BRUTAL. I felt exactly like I did on my last mile at the AFC 1/2 marathon which was uphill....maybe worst. As much as my mind wanted to go, I was all out going 7min pace. My legs starting locking up, HR was way up and I was shutting down, I loved it and embraced it. It was a great simulator for what is to come in March. The thing is, I have enjoyed very minute of the training I have been doing. I feel like I'm a bit sick because in the past three months I've done virtually every workout solo. I've done I think maybe three bike rides with someone and I actually don't mind it. It allows me to hammer when I want to hammer and chill when I need it. I definitely don't have a problem pushing the envelope when I'm all alone so during these lonely four hour rides I'm basically feeding the fire for this year on ways to get better, faster and dominate.

Sound a little intense? It's because it's not a hobby-it's a passion. You see, there's a big difference between the two. When you put passion in what you do -it's when you'll a. Be at your best and b. Full filled. Whether it's religion, family, work or an activity -do it with passion don't just go through the motions.

Anyway, that is all. I never have a plan on what I'm going to write in these blogs, I just let it flow and this is what my fingers had for today. Whether or not it inspires you, motivates you or just makes you shake your head -it definitely helps motivate me when I put my thoughts/feelings about training/racing in a blog format. Thanks for reading!

Some NYE Games & Beer

Kiddos at the beach

Lovely wife in a not so lovely picture. Happy New Year everyone!

Goodbye 2011

What a year it was. I can honestly say this was the happiest year of my life. This was the year I found balance for the first time in a long time. Finding a way to do ALL the things I love and not compromising anything. Having a full time job (with a monster commute) and balancing quality family and training time can be tricky, but if their is a will....there SO is a way. On the work front I got a nice raise and continue to help the company I work with grow even during these tough economic conditions... On the personal side of things, my wife and I celebrated 7 years of marriage, my daughter Scarlett turned 3 and my son Taylor turned 1. They are the backbone of everything I think about and do and without them I'd be that lonely tri guy you see at races that has all of the fancy gear and friends but comes home to an empty house. I'm so blessed to have such a great immediate and extended family to share life with. So off of the personal note, one of the biggest things that fed that "happiest year of my life" was getting back into endurance sports. I kind of went through some dark years from 2003-05 (work-a-holic, money driven) and 2006-09 (border-line alcoholic...and fat). 2010 I started working out again and discovered triathlon for the first time towards the end of the year. That set me up for 2011 and these are the stories that unfolded (in pictures):

January 2011

The point of 2011 was exploring different distances and different races to find out what kind of triathlon I wanted to focus on. (road vs. off-road) (Olympic vs. 70.3). To start the season off, I decided to head over to Arizona, party with some friends and race my first half-marathon at the Rock & Roll AZ 1/2 marathon.

1:18:06 Race Report here

February 2011

To start the season I decided to give off-road tri a go. To prep for the Xterra West Championships in April, I jumped in an off-road duathlon and a mountain bike race and the results came back great.

Desert Classic Duathlon: placed 1st in AG Race Report here

Snowy, Muddy & Cold Sagebrush Safari. Placed 1st in CAT 3. Race Report here



March 2011

March was just a big training month and I raced one more mountain bike race (Bonelli Park) to prep for Xterra Vegas.

Placed 4th in CAT 3, Race report here

April 2011

April would end up being my biggest race month of the year. I ended up racing three times. Carlsbad 5000, Xterra West Championships and The Ragnar Relay.



Hit 16:30, Race report here

Xterra West Championships...got worked. Race Report here

Ragnar Relay. 5th in Div, 10th overall. Race Report here





May 2011



 After not having as much fun in an off-road tri, I decided to give road tri's a go. So for the rest of the year I planned on kicking out some Olympic distance races. To kick it off, I jumped in the Temecula Challenge and raced the 75 mile distance.

Placed 1st in the 75 mile race. Race report here

June 2011

In June I finally bought myself a nice bike (Cannondale Slice) and entered my first Olympic distance triathlon...or in this case "international" distance:

San Diego International; placed 6th in AG, Race Report here

 July 2011

July was one of the few months I didn't race, so I just took it as an opportunity to get in some good training and enjoy the summer.

Thanks to The Bike Shop for always keeping my bike tuned



August 2011

August was another month of solid training and my second 1/2 marathon. At this point I set myself up to do another Olympic, Sprint and 70.3 distance to wrap up the year.

AFC 1/2 Marathon: 1:17:05, Race Report here

September 2011

In September I raced my first "real" Olympic distance and had mixed feelings about the race. Point being, I need to learn to swim!

San Diego Tri Classic; 6th in AG, Race Report here

October 2011

October was a big month. I raced three times: A local tri club sprint race, a low-key tune up 8k and really, only one serious race -Soma Triathlon 70.3. I really wanted to get my hands dirty in a 1/2 ironman and Soma provided that. I found out a few things about this race. 1. I didn't train properly and I needed a coach. 2. I loved the distance!

TCSD Sprint race (my only sprint of the year). 2nd place: Race Report here

Dirt Dog Cougar Challenge 8k. Race Report here

Soma Triathlon 70.3; DNF, Race Report here

November 2011

In November I finally pulled the trigger and hired a coach, James Walsh to coach/guide me through the 2012 season. I put in a great month of training and even jumped in a 10k and 5k.

Mission Inn 10k; 5th place, Race Report here

Oceanside Turkey Trot; 4th in AG, Race Report here

December 2011

December has been all about trying to stay healthy, tweaking my diet, working on my weaknesses and getting in some solid training looking towards 2012. 

Taking my nutrition to a whole new level...



So that pretty much wraps up my season for 2012. I posted my new 2012 Race Schedule here. All in all it was such a fun year balancing my training, racing, family fun, work and life in general. I felt like I had a successful year of racing and was even able to obtain some sponsors which I'm very excited to work with in 2012.

The Bike Shop

Rudy Project

FLUID

Xterra Wetsuits

H20 Audio

SportMulti

FLEXR

I want to thank everyone that reads my blog, gives me words of encouragement and follows along with my journey. Cheers to 2012!

Full Steam Ahead

Well the train has departed and is in full steam ahead for Ironman 70.3 CA. It's taken awhile to get this train going but I feel like I am finally riding on all cylinders. Four cylinders if you will; Swim, Bike, Run and Nutrition. Getting back into shape over a year ago has been no easy task. I've had a ton of injuries, inconsistent training and lack of patience. I feel like my body has finally caught up with my mind and my fitness level over the past month has risen to a new level. Why? It's an an accumulation of things, really. I think the best thing I did this year was sign up for the Soma Triathlon. It was kind of a last minute decision and I'm glad I went through with it because the whole point was to experience a Half-Ironman so I know what to expect for Ironman 70.3 CA. For those of you that don't know what happened, you can read my race report here. Not gonna lie, that race lit a bomb-fire inside of me. I was pissed and my mental outlook on the sport changed. I instantly knew I needed a coach. My swim was poor, my bike fitness wasn't there, my running wasn't at my potential and my nutrition planning was waaay off. So I started working with James and he's really helped me in all three sports, plus nutrition advice along with keeping me in check with intensity/volume. What else has changed? Well my wife continues to support me 100% which means so much to me. She even goes out in the freezing garage at 5am to give me some company while I'm on the trainer. Super cool! Then, over the past few months I've been able to get some support from sponsors. Not only are they going to make me look and feel good, but the are going to make it so much easier financially to afford all of the racing/training I do.

Speaking of sponsors, I picked up two more over the past week. I am really stoked to be working with The Bike Shop in Temecula. As I mention in my Support page, the first time I walked into the shop that opened up just over a year ago -I was able to make friends and watch them grow. Rick and Rich are unbelievable people and they are so different from your typical bike shop where you go in and get shunned and ripped off. They actually care about getting you on the right bike and fulfilling your passion. Not to mention, John their mechanic is well-known throughout the industry as being one of the best in the business. If you live in Temecula, make The Bike Shop your go-to bike shop for anything cycling or triathlon related. If you are out of town and on your way to Vail to put in some miles on your mountain bike, they are on the way. Thanks Rick/Rich for your support. As mentioned on my last post, I also teamed up with FLUID. I've always used the FLUID Recovery drink but I'm excited to add the FLUID Performance into my race day/training nutrition. If it makes me feel as good as I do after taking the Recovery, I'm gonna be a happy camper.

As far as the training front goes, I've been making huge strides in all three sports. Last week I did a 1000 meter time trial swim. James coaches for Training Bible Coaching, so this was no surprise to me because I had done one before months ago when I was coaching myself (referencing the book). It's just a good gauge to see where your fitness level is so you can help determine pacing structure in future swim workouts and also see how you are progressing. The original idea was to do it in a wetsuit at my HOA pool. The rec center pool has been so busy so I didn't want any interruption during my TT. The reason for the wetsuit is because they turn the heat off in our pool over the winter months. I figured I could handle 58-60 degree water in my Xterra Vortex which I love. So I got in and holy crap! This was not 58 degrees. Definitely more like 50! I did one 50 meter lap and my face, hands and feet started getting pins and needles just like I used to get in the 52 degree ice baths I took in college post workout. I jumped out of that pool as fast as I could and headed over to the rec center. Screw that!

The Bike Shop put this on loan to me
while Mr. Slice gets some love. Blue AC1

I jumped in the water at the rec center (sans wetsuit) and after a 300 meter warm up I set off. I've been feeling pretty good in the water lately. With my speed increasing each week, I feel like it's been easier to maintain balance and form as opposed to those slow strokes I used to take. I ended up swimming 14:43 (1:28 per 100 pace). Now I know that's not fast for some, but for me it was a huge break through. 6 months ago when I did this I swam like 18:50 something. Even 4 months ago when I did a TCSD club sprint race I swam 14:50 something for 700 meters! So all of the hard work in the pool is FINALLY starting to pay off. As far as the bike goes, I am just doing a ton of climbing and a lot of hours. Last week I put in ~10 hours just on the bike. I'm starting to feel increases in power and agility. With all of the riding and dropping a few more lbs, I feel like an animal on the climbs. The running is going well too. I'm running great on tired legs and feeling really really comfortable running off of the bike. Almost better then I do when I just go out for a run. And nutrition? James has just guided me with my diet a bit. I was already eating well, but we still made a few tweaks. The biggest thing is, he's helped me with my training nutrition. I'm really working on limiting my intake and teaching my body to be more efficient with calories which will help me come race day.

Mentally I feel like that steam engine. I'm slowly picking up speed but I know there is a long road ahead of me. Careful planning and perfect execution is all that is on my mind when it comes to triathlon. 2012 is going to be an exciting year and I am thankful that some of you actually read this blog and will follow along with me on this road. Cheers!

My son Taylor on the treadmill, getting his miles in!

Token Beer shot

Busy Holiday Season

Packed the Element with the Christmas Tree

So I think last week was the first week I didn't blog in the short year I've been doing this. Work has been crazy busy and top that with training and the fun family holiday stuff we've been doing, this month has been a blur! A lot has happened over the past few weeks training wise and I couldn't be happier with where my fitness is going during this "off season." The most noticeable difference is how quickly I'm recovering. Amy would pretty much notice me limping out of bed just about every week this past year. Now I hop out of bed at 4:45am and have fresh legs regardless of the workload the day before. I know James has some pretty killer workouts in the future and I know this won't always be the case, but I contribute the quick recovery to a few different things:

1. Just having a good coach to keep me in check and not going to hard.
2. Changing up my diet...more on this later
3. Fitness gains I've made over the past month
4. Recovering with Fluid.

Besides recovering quicker, I've also made huge gains on the bike. I wish I had a power meter to gauge it, but just by comparing past rides with ones I do now and just in general how I feel out riding now have been amazing. I've been on the trainer two days a week doing a lot of drill and cadence work and then on the weekends hammering out long hilly rides. I honestly can't remember the last time I went riding without climbing at least 3000 ft and it's making me strong. On the swimming front, I'm still working on form and hoping to hop in a swim clinic soon with James and former pro and local trainingbible coach, Jim Vance. I'm definitely getting faster on my own because I've been in the water consistently and working harder than I ever have but I still need some specific instruction and video to see what I'm doing right/wrong. As far as the running goes -it's the best shape I've been in since college. I've been racing/training effectively on fatigued legs and I'm especially stoked to see how fast and comfortable I'm able to run off of the bike.

If you haven't tried it...Do it!

One thing I have changed up a bit is my diet. I've been keeping a diet log and James has been giving me great feedback on not only day-to-day stuff but also my long workout nutrition which, come to find out -I was taking in WAY too many calories. I've just been eating way more good carbs (fruits/veggies) less bad carbs (bread, pasta) and incorporating good fats into my diet. I feel a lot better, especially DURING workouts. I used to have that bubbly stomach feeling a lot, but it seems to be getting less frequent when I stick to the diet. Lastly, I've been recovering with FLUID. I take their recovery shake literally as soon as I walk in the door from my hard workouts. Not only does it taste amazing (I use the chocolate) but I do feel like it gives me a recovery boost compared to a lot of other brands I've used.

Other than that, no big racing plans until the Rock & Roll 1/2 marathon in Arizona next month. I'll be shooting for ~1:15 and most likely I won't have fresh legs for it, but I think I'm still capable especially with the way training has been going. I'll be posting next year's schedule shortly as soon as I get all of the details figured out. Here's some pic over the past few weeks:

Some wine after setting up the tree

Hit up a Strung Out & Jugheads Revenge show...it's been awhile. FUN!

Made some homemade Kale Chips. Tasty!

Gingerbread houses with the kiddos

Plenty of good strong Winter Warmers and IPA's for the holidays at this house.

Swimming

I don't write a whole lot about swimming on this blog. First of all, it's my weakness - so there really isn't a whole lot to blog about. Yesterday I was telling Amy that I kind of made a big mental realization with my swimming. I had a pretty tough session that amounted to over 3000 yards in the pool and during the set my mind really started coming around to some things. Since I am a runner turned triathlete, I tend to relate everything to running. During some of the harder sets in my workout, I was only given 10 seconds to rest here, 20 seconds there--which compared what to what I was doing prior to be coached is a whole lot less rest. I remember doing 100's with like a minute rest in between. Or maybe 2x800 with 4 minute rest in between (I didn't know what I was doing)! So I related it to running. You see it at the track all the time in workouts. You know, those track workouts you see people taking their precious time in between sets, taking extended recovery, chatting it up and not really taking the workout seriously. They just look and admire the faster runners, but the result for themselves is no big improvement. Well that has been me at the pool the past year. I didn't embrace the workout. I didn't approach each of the swim sessions with a purpose. It was more about me getting in the pool, putting in some yards and as soon as that clock strikes one hour, I was outta there as fast as I could.

Well that has all changed these past few weeks. As much as I've been working harder in the pool physically, the biggest gains I have made have been mentally. I actually enjoy the swim sessions now. Once I truly believed that, I've noticed myself becoming more comfortable in the water. I've really felt as one with the water and it's allowed me to actually find a pretty good swim stroke that lets me work with the water instead of against it. Now I know I still have a lot of improvement in my technique, but giving myself a mental overhaul has really helped me find the right technique naturally. I think to piggyback that same idea - I think learning how to hurt in the pool is important too. I think I just started to learn how to do this with evidence that I cramped on the last set of my workout yesterday and had to slowly paddle my way back to the pool deck! It's such a different type of pain compared to running and biking both in cardio and lactate acid build up/muscle fatigue. I've even experienced a swimmers high? Kind of like a runner's high? You feel a little more dizzy than usual, but still have those endorphins flowing...ahhh. it feels good.

So I encourage those that are struggling with the swim (like myself) to mentally engage yourself. Take each swim session just as serious as you would a bike or run workout. Make it count, don't put in empty yardage and you'll start seeing big improvements....I know I am.

On a side note, I am really excited to partner up with Rudy Project for the next three years. I was really hoping to land something with them because I already love/use their products. Make sure you go check out their website, they have killer deals and really cool sunglasses/helmets/gear for 2012!