FREE Speed

Speed!

So, yes I know a lot of triathletes hate that term - but with the addition of my new ism Adamo saddle and my Wattie Ink Kask aero helmet - I can't deny it. They are going to make me faster overnight! In this case after putting in 60 miles on the new saddle over the weekend I found it to open up my hips, lean me forward a bit and I found a lot more speed with less effort. Not to mention the perenial nerve that was constantly being pressed on, numbing everything downstairs (which is never good) is now non-existent thanks to the genious design of the saddle. If you ever have a problem with numbing, I highly reccomend this saddle -I'm so stoked to be teamed up with ism through the Wattie Ink Elite Team and even more pumped to rock my new Kask helmet for Oceanside. I've never worn an aero helmet before, so I have no idea what to expect in time differences, but with Ironman California known for its winds, it can only help me! Not only is it going to knock some time off of my bike split, but it's gonna turn some heads at Oceanside. Watch for myself and many Wattie Ink teammates doing some damage on 3/31. Pumped to race, but the work is not over. This week is hands down going to be the hardest training week of my life. Even though I put in super hard blocks of work with the Bob Schul Olympic Development Team years ago -I wasn't working, I wasn't commuting and didn't have other responsibilities. I just ran, ate and napped! So this week I went inside my brain and turned on that focus switch -cause I'm gonna need it. So far, so good.

New ism Saddle

Last week was all about recovering as quickly as I could from the race. I felt great Sunday night and even Monday, but when Tuesday/Wednesday arrived -I had some serious DOMS. That really is the only noticeable difference I've seen in my fitness as I get older. Recovering from races. I feel like my miler speed is still there if I want it and I can handle some hard training loads -but whenever I race, it takes me down for at least 3-4 days. Although I probably should have hydrated, taken an ice bath and ate healthy instead of what I really did. Ate nachos supreme, drink Arrogant Bastard and stayed up late...No wonder I woke up Friday sick! Learning experience.

One cool thing about training with the Temecula Valley Tri Club is the access/support from local businesses. One of them is Simon Rose the President of the tri club who is also an independent distributor for Visalus Sciences. He hooked me up with some samples of Go, Pro, and Vi-Shape. To back up a bit, I do have a little background in this field. I used to be an independent rep myself for Advocare when I was training in Ohio years back. I experimented with a lot of products, checked out the business side of things and for ME it is all about the products. Do they work? Do they live up to the hype? So I gave Visalus a "Go" -which was the first product I tested. It comes in a 5-hr energy drink type bottle and basically offers the same results, minus all of the artificial ingredients and crap that goes into those things. I tested the grape flavor before one of my hard early morning runs. Took it down about 10 mins before I headed out (on an empty stomach) and to my surprise -no stomach issues and it really was a great pick-me-up. Taste usually doesn't matter to me, as long as the product works -but in this case; I really enjoyed the flavor. Good stuff and highly recommend it. Next I tried the "Pro" which is a pro-longed energy drink in powder form. I was pleased with the energy it provided and again the flavor-it was tasty! Lastly I tried the Vi-shape which is basically a protein/meal replacement shake. First of all I'm not really into meals in liquid form-it kinda grosses me out. I always figure you should just eat a healthy meal! But I do understand some people are on the go and have no time to put together a meal. This is where the Vi-Shake would be beneficial in my opinion. It tasted pretty much like what you'd expect out of a protein shake and satisfied my hunger for the most part. Overall I was pleased with all of the products and I highly recommend them. If you are interested in some free samples, contact Simon here.

She had a quick "mechanical" before the start

Another cool part of the weekend was that my daughter Scarlett raced her first bike race at The Tour de Murrieta. They have races for all ages and in this case, my daughter just made the 3 year old cut to race the ages 3-6 race. The Bike Shop was a sponsor of the three day race and on Saturday I headed down at the tail end of my ride and chatted it up with the guys, hung out at their booth and watched some racing. Later, Amy and the kids joined us and we got Scarlett ready to race. One thing I know for sure now is that my daughter is a competitor just like her daddy! As we were waiting in the "staging" area for her race, she pointed at the poor girl next to me and yelled, "But daddy, she is not faster, I am faster!" I told her to keep it down and to just think that to herself and she again yelled, this time almost mad at the girl, "But Daddy, I am a faster bicycle rider!" I couldn't help but be a little bit proud inside. Hey, it's not rude to talk like that if you're about to throw down and race!! ha. She ended up being really brave and did the race all by herself without any help from mommy or daddy. She received her first (bike race) metal and we couldn't have been more proud. Overall it was such a beautiful day to spend with family and friends. My coach also raced over the weekend and although he didn't get the result he was looking for, I think he still did well considering he was a full blown triathlete last year!

Here's a few more pictures from my race and over the weekend:

Wattie kits came in, look awesome!

One of my many sufferfest training sessions early a.m.

Pinning on her 1st of many numbers!!

Ready to race!

Mascots!

The Bike Shop's cool new canopy

The Bike Shop's owner, Rick Wessels giving a "safety" talk to the kiddos

Son all tuckered out and John, The Bike Shop's stud mechanic getting ready to race!

Discovered Barons for the 1st time...ridiculous selection of craft brews...My new 2nd home!

My beer lineup for the weekend:
Deschutes Brewery "Red Chair" Rate it 3 out of 5
Green Flash Barleywine Rate it 4 out of 5 (love this stuff)
Stone's Collaboration (forget the other breweries involved) TBA --hoppy Brown Ale 4 out of 5. Good!
Maui Brewing Coconut Porter 5 out of 5...This has been a household fav of ours for a long time!

 Thanks for reading!