2013 Schedule

Well it's holiday season and it's been a few weeks since I've actually blogged. For those of you that missed "My Day with Betty" VLOG last week, go check it out. During the off season there's not much to blog about. There's no races in the near future and it's just all about family time, structuring the next season, planning races and getting in good base work. My season next year? For the most part it will look something like this:

January: R&R 1/2 marathon. Really the only "serious" running race I'll do all year. Although this year I won't be hammering track workouts over the winter in getting ready for this one. This will strictly be all off of aerobic work so we'll see how it goes. Not planning to go 1:14 like I did last year!

March: Desert Triathlon: I really had fun doing this race last year and it's a great race to "open up" with.

April: Ragnar Relay. This will be the 4th year in a row I've done it and it's pretty much become a tradition and a great running based workout.

May: Ironman St. George 70.3 It was a tough call between chasing a Vegas spot or partying with my Wattie team mates but if I'm going to throw down money for a 70.3 then I need to go after St. George. I'm a climber on the bike and a strong runner, so this race suits me. Plus I like the idea of mixing it up this year at different races.

June: Ironman Boise 70.3 Almost pulled the trigger on this race last year, time to go after it this year!

June: San Diego International: This will be my 3rd time doing this race too. This year (although the results say otherwise) I won the overall amateur and I'd like to maybe join next year in the elite wave if the season is going well.

July: Ironman Lake Stevens 70.3 or (Vineman-wait list) This is a maybe. If I don't qualify at either St. George or Boise I'll do this race for sure. If not I want to make the trip up. I love that part of the country and getting away with the family up there appeals to me. We'll see.

Sept: Ironman World Championships 70.3 *If I qualify As I noted, that's the goal this year. I only gave myself one shot this year and giving myself 3 next year.

So that's it. I'm more focused coming into this winter and am paying extra attention to the details that I never did before. I guess you can say I'm more disciplined because it's not just all about logging the hours/miles - the stuff in between is the hard part and I hope to get it right!

I'll leave you with a bunch of pics over the past weekends. I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and best wishes for you and your family over Christmas and the New Year.

Thanksgiving family pic. Love.

2nd stop Thanksgiving dinner

Good beer was consumed

The whole family

Some fun riding and good beer. Love my winter warmer beers!

Visiting with Santa!

Love this little guy!

And her...she's just a little bit excited about xmas.
Which totally makes it fun for Amy and I again.

Tasters at a new brewery - Weins! Happy Holidays everyone
Cheers!

Betty Designs Review

So this will be my first VLOG (video blog) and I actually enjoyed it. I do a lot of video at my work and it was pretty fun doing one as a "product review." Morgan from Smack Media hooked me up with a sweet Betty Designs Men's Graffiti cycling bib shorts and shirt. I've actually never owned a pair of bib shorts before so I really didn't know what I was missing out on. Now, I don't think I'll ever go back! The kit is a head turner (like all of their designs) and this kit is quickly becoming one of the more comfortable ones I've ever owned.

Every kit I wore this year was Betty Designs. From the Wattie Ink team triathlon kit, cycling kit, jacket, to the Temecual Valley Tri Club kit to The Bike Shop team jersey. All of them had that same Betty Designs "flair" and I couldn't recommend them more. Men, don't be scaaared. Although you may think it's all women's stuff, it's not! Check out the men's selection, such rad gear. I'll admit, I'm bit jealous of the ladies too - so many cool designs.

 

Here's a video I put together that I titled "My Day with Betty" Hope you enjoy!

 

 

 

Be sure to check out their website at: www.bettydesigns.com

 

Respect the Process

So my short little 2 week "off" period is over and I'm back to structured training. I'm slowly working my way back into it and I must admit I'm really enjoying it. Especially swimming and running. For months leading up to SOMA I had a lot of 200+ mile weeks on the bike. That meant A LOT of time in the saddle. There's no doubt that it made me monster on the bike (although SOMA doesn't reflect that at all..) but it's been nice to get OUT of the saddle for awhile and just do some chill rides that are only 1:30-2:30 hours long instead of those 3-4 hour rides. It won't be long until I get back to those longer rides but in the meantime I'm enjoying the sloooow build up. Right now it's all about aerobic base training. Building the engine before I fire it up.

I have some big plans for 2013. This will be my 3rd triathlon season and I really feel like this is the first time going into a season where I feel smart, experienced and confident. Here's been my experience thus far:

1st year = Mental overload, crazy swim starts, thinking that I train a lot, still wanted to train like a runner and excited about the sport.

2nd year = Impatient, knowing I train a lot, nutrition conscience, coached, sponsors, Wattie Ink, getting smarter, podiums, frustration, cramps, pretty much a roller coaster year and the biggest thing is... I learned soooo much! I became a student of the sport.

3rd year = TBD. Lots of breakthrough years happen in the 3rd season. I've seen it with a lot of triathletes and I even experienced it myself in high school AND college track. It's my junior year and I'm going into it a lot better athlete and not to mention I got rid of that horrendous 3-4 hour/day commute that no doubt had an effect on my energy levels.

Scarlett & I getting the Barbies
to plank just like we do in Yoga

Last week I mentioned of some of the changes I had planned. Well, they are already in the works. I've been doing functional strength training, yoga, changed up my nutrition game, bike fit is scheduled next week and coaching myself has been great. I feel like I listen to my body more coaching myself. I've already found ways to re-arrange workouts better in my schedule and take it more as a day-by-day model instead of planned, in-grained training weeks. This has helped with recovery, adapting to change and maximizing the time that I have available to train. What model am I using to coach myself? Well it's a combination of several influences:




1. Joe Friel
2. Dave Wilson
3. Irv Ray
4. Steve Scott
5. Bob Schul
6. Jeff Galloway
7. James Walsh

Those are basically the seven coaches I've had and/or studied. I have documented workouts, training logs, books - you name it. Not to mention years of knowing what works for me. The 20 years I've been running give me a ton of ammunition for planning out periodization which include key workouts in base, build, taper/peak phases. Running and biking are a lot alike in that regard. Swimming..Well I'm just glad I get to go to masters 3-4 times a week and let Coach Carol handle that!

College Track days, Pre style

One of the biggest things I've learned this year was how un-important numbers are in training. Walsh and I were talking about it in a run last week. Sure, they are great for training in the right zones and being smart but when it comes to nailing this or that workout and basing it off of the times you threw down don't mean a damn thing. In track the numbers mean a lot because there are waay less variables. You do key track workouts, there may or may not be some wind, then you race on the same track for 4 minutes. In triathlon, there are sooo many variables so you really can't gauge the times you throw down in training to what you should be capable of in a race. Conditions, mechanicals, nutrition, and the fact that you are out there for 4+ hours is a game changer. So this year I promise I will not get caught up in the numbers, post workouts, predict how fast I'll go...etc etc. I was soo convinced that I was a "sub 4:30" guy but the reality of it is, I had three shots last year and I ended up as a 4:47 guy. I hate the saying, but "it is what it is." Cramps, mechanicals, peeing, heat...whatever - the guys that go sub 4:30 go through the same learning process that I went through. So as Reilly Smith mentioned in a tweet to me "Respect the Process."

So f*ckng true.

Enjoying riding around wine country

Enjoying time with the kids

T rocking my new K-Swiss

My wife rocking her first 1/2 Marathon!!

Amy and I at a Holiday GALA

Enjoying some of my favorite things...

Cheers to 2013!

Switch it up before you Give it up

So I posted whats in the title on a twitter last week and I'll explain it here. After SOMA I was pretty down to be quite frank (if you couldn't tell from my race report). These past two weeks I've had a lot of time to think about triathlon, do some very light unstructured training and just live normal for awhile. It was great eating, drinking whatever I wanted, staying up late and having fun, but I pretty much got sick of that lifestyle by the end of the second week. I was ready to get back to training. Only this time I'm going into the off season and doing things differently.

The biggest "switch" is that I'm going to be coaching myself indefinitely. I've worked with James and Champion Factory Coaching for over a year now and if you've been following this blog during this time, there's not a doubt you know how I feel about him as a coach. Nothing but high praise and I highly recommend him to any triathlete at any level. Why the switch up?

1. Now that I'm working out of the house I have some time to put thought into my training program. I love being totally involved with the process but in the past I just never had time for it, now I do.

2. This will allow me to save some money and get into races next year and chase that qualifying spot. Last year I only gave myself one shot to do it and it was early in the season. I couldn't afford to travel and race for another shot. Next year I have big plans...

3. I think it's healthy to switch up your training program. Those that knew me back in college, I transferred 3 times - and the biggest influence in all of that was coaching. I wanted to keep things fresh, new, and shock the body into different training environments. It worked, I progressed and PR'd every single year and learned a TON from those coaches because of it. Being coached by James was no different and I'm grateful for the time we had.

That's not the only switch up - other plans I have in the mix:

1. Strength training. I'm a weak/fragile athlete..ha. I lack a lot of strength and haven't done a single push up or sit up in a looong time. Biggest influence of that was time. Well I don't commute 2.5 hours a day anymore, so it's going to become a huge focus in my training.

2. Yoga. I'm a big believer in the mental game and also a big believer in stretching. Yoga is going to help with both of these.

3. Base building. For the past 2 years I've been hammering at the track every Tuesday night and doing high intensity intervals on the bike year round. This year I'm going build that aerobic engine before I touch any anaerobic.

4. My running secrets. Ha. I'm going to be incorporating the same running structure/workouts that I did as an elite runner from base period - to build - to peak. Every runner is different, but I know EXACTLY what makes me a fast runner. Expect to see huge gains on my run next year.

5. Bike Fitting. I'm going to drop the $300 bucks and get a professional bike fit on my Slice. This may have something to do with my cramping....we'll see.

6. Speaking of cramps. I'm going to be aggressively seeking the answer to these this off season. I'm going to experiment with different supplements, see some specialists and really nail down the root of the problem.

7. Massage. I'll be seeing Dr. Brett twice a month. I see huge benefits in recovery when I get adjusted and deep tissue with him.

8. Swimming. I do have a swimming coach, Coach Carol (she rocks). I'll be swimming with her and her Masters run workouts 3x a week and getting in 2 more swims on my own which will include some longer continuous sets - working on pacing (a relevant problem for me in 2012).

So that's what I'm switching up going into the off season. It has left with with a deep down desire to train and race which tells me I have made the right decision.