Stepping down from coaching and stepping into racing

What a fun five years it's been at Linfield. We set a bunch of school records, sent kids to state, sent kids to college and I learned a ton coaching high schoolers.

It all came at a cost though. I tend to go all out in my pursuits and this was no different. Basically practice Mon-Sat for 2-3 hours year round. This may not seem like a lot to some but when you have a wife + four little ones vying for your attention and juggling two other businesses and investing - it's A LOT!

My own personal racing and training pursuits were also put on the backburner. Over the past five years I've just had random bouts of training (swim/bike/run) and I actually did race a 5k in January 2020 and won the Masters division in 19:40 haha. Definitely my slowest victory but a win nonetheless! 

After stepping down from Linfield, I've had a change to revaluate my own fitness pursuits. With races popping up all over the place and being in a place financially where my family can do destination races, I am really excited to get back to it! Not to mention, Amy has been training over the past few months and is ready to jump back into racing too- and who knows maybe the other kids will want to race as well.

It all starts with the Hood to Coast relay. It's been a bucket list of mine for a long time and after my buddy Eric got into it a few years ago, I told him as soon as someone drops out - get me in. And this is the year! Late August I will be flying up to Portland and joining the reining Masters champions for H2C and I couldn't be more excited to get back to training and racing.

COVID lockdowns have definitely done a number on my fitness though lol. I sat little too much, ate a little too much, drank a little too much and gained a little too much! Right now I weigh 160 pounds which is not obese for my height by any means but I would like to lose 15 pounds before H2C. That's just a good racing weight for me - it has nothing to do with body image - I just know I race well around that weight and it's a good indicator (if I'm eating well) that I'm fit and ready to race fast again.

So I'm going to be documenting this little 9 week journey weekly, posting my training and random thoughts as more of a diary to look back on (which is why I created this blog in the first place) as we move closer to the race.

For reference of my laziness - here are my training stats this year so far:

January: 42 (total miles for the month haha)
February: 28
March: 22
April: 19
May: 23
June: 26 (so far)

Most of this is walking & jogging with the dog or training with clients and then an occasional solo run. I'm averaging like 10 minute miles. Occasionally I'll test myself (like last week) and drop 7:20 miles just to see how it feels (not good haha). The bottom line is, I'm not super out of shape - just need to lose some fat, eat better and get really consistent training schedule.

I like building training blueprints and this is what it will look like:

Week 1 (this week): 5-6 runs @ 30 min run/jog/walks. Just putting in 30 mins consistently and jogging or walking as to not overdue it and stay injury free. Mileage around 20-25 miles/week

Week 2: 5-6 runs @ 30 min run/jogs. If feeling good, throwing in a 45 min "long run." Mileage 25-30

Weeks 3-7: 6-12 runs (lots of short double days) @ 30-45 min runs and incorporating 150m uphill/downhill strides twice/week. 45-75 min long run. Mileage 30-40.

Weeks 8-9: Start to incorporate track work/intervals, long runs up to 12-15 miles total and mileage up around 40-50 miles/week.

90% of this work will just be all low impact aerobic work. So many people think you need to run fast all the time to be fast (not true). I'll be incorporating a ton of prehab work in there along with strength training so I can stay healthy. I wouldn't recommend this plan for everyone. I have 30 years of running experience (wow, I'm old haha) so I know my body well and know when to back off or pour on.

I'll race three legs at H2C and probably will be around the 12-16 range in total miles. If all goes to plan and I stay healthy and execute this plan I expect to go from averaging 10 miles right now for 3 miles total to being able to do 12-16ish (split up in 3) around 6 min pace.

Think I can do it?? Follow along and see. Thanks for reading! 

Finally feeling good

Disneyland for Thanksgiving with my crew!

There was a few weeks there when I was SLOWLY jogging along around 9 min pace and was seriously wondering if I could do this big goal of mine. I started back over a month ago and didn't think it would take this long to show some signs of progress.

Every run seemed to be the same 8-10 min pace run and none of them felt very good. Then just as I was doubting, I had a few forced day offs - Disneyland for Thanksgiving! Then I started back up again this week and what do you know - the magic is coming back!

So what do you do as a coach/athlete when you see something like this happen? You duplicate it. So I'm going to be going 3 weeks on then 1 week easy/recovery week. Friel really believes in this strategy...I do to a certain extent - however, I don't think there's such thing as a "one plan fits all" kind of approach. Each athlete is SO different and responds to training in their own unique way. Then when you get older, you still need to make adjustments. I have 20+ years of running experience under my belt and I know what works for me but again, making adjustments from the signals my body gives me (not just copying what I have on my training plan) is going to be key in hitting sub 2:40.

So feeling better is coming at just the right time -next week starts my second block of training. Here's how I've split them up:

Block 1
Lose weight/get in shape/consistency - 7 weeks

Block 2
Add speed components, lengthen long runs and raise overall mileage - 10 weeks

Block 3
Marathon specific training - 12 weeks

Race Orange County Marathon - May 6th

You can follow along with my training on Strava!

Thanks for reading!

Long Road Back

Being patient is going to be my biggest challenge. The 20 something James thinks he can train and get fit without getting hurt. I've done a good job so far at ignoring those voices and just focusing on the plan I have written out. I guess you do get wiser with age? Still, TBD...

So far mileage has looked like:

Week 1: 17 miles
Week 2: 26 miles
Week 3: 26 miles
Week 4: 26 miles
(all with one day off each week)

I'll be bumping up to 30 next week and just slowly raising mileage with no intensity to 45 miles a week by the end of the year. First week of January will be my first block of two where I will slowly add intensity and continue to build up mileage.

Depending on now the body reacts, if all goes well I plan on maxing out around 100 miles/week, something I haven't done since I was 20! I highly doubt I'll get that high but you never know if I continue to stay disciplined, consistent and healthy.

Just a short three years ago I was backing up a 70.3 triathlon races with low 1:20 half marathons so, although the marathon is a different animal, the idea of going 6:06 pace doesn't seem that all fair fetched. I actually may be changing my marathon debut to the Orange County marathon in May as to make sure to collect on some bets that are in the process of being made...

2:40 or bust!

2:40 before 40

I have this void that I cannot avoid. 

For the past several years I've been "forcing" myself back to the sport of triathlon. I enjoyed those 4 years of training/racing so much and I think I was chasing that. It seemed like every time I started getting into a training groove I would run into big life changes and I would put it all on hold for months at a time, get out of shape and do it all over again.

As you can imagine, that became exhausting and frustrating. During these past 3 years...wow, 3 years since I last raced - I have always thought about the idea of doing an open marathon. But not just for fun and games but to actually train for one and RACE it. I've thrown down a decent half marathon of 1:14 about 4 years ago and a bunch of sub 1:10's in regular lactate threshold training runs in college lol (I never even knew that was very fast at the time).

So fast forward to now! I started my own business, our baby girl Juliet is one and after discussing it with Amy - we think now is a good time to go after my new goal of breaking 2:40 in the marathon before I'm 40 years old which gives me 1 year and 4 months to train and accomplish this goal. I always tell my high school team that you have to have big goals to accomplish big things. 2:40 isn't necessarily super fast but for how out of shape I am right now and the little time I have, it really is.

It's not going to be easy. I'm definitely out of shape and have years of abuse on these legs. So lots of aches and pains as I get back to speed...pun? In the past my build up has been pretty aggressive as I think I'm still a young kid chasing dreams. This time, I'm putting on my coaches hat and training myself the same way I would train one of my athletes while incorporating key workouts that I know I respond well to.

I'm 3 weeks in back to training. Just easy 30-45 min runs each day ~20-25 miles a week (you can follow all of my workouts on Strava - link on the left). Mileage will slowly increase each week for the remainder of the year with zero intensity other than occasional runs where I feel good and increase pace a bit. Basically, giving what my body craves, whether that means taking a day off or going a little longer/faster - it's smart that way.

I'm targeting the San Diego Rock & Roll Marathon in June. I don't run well in the heat so that's not in my favor with a time goal but it's a local race where I can train and sleep at home during race week which will give me my best shot of doing it in my first attempt. I will have 2 build phases starting in January with some 5k, 10ks and a half marathons leading up to June. I'm excited to race in the local scene again - a lot of familiar names/faces are still racing and I can't wait to line up with them again like old times, with old legs and gray hair slowly starting to show.

So 2:40 before I'm 40. That's 6:06 / mile pace. Back to my first love. Let this new journey begin!

Thanks for reading -

Endurance Camps

I seem unable to get away from multi-sport! After trying to make a comeback from running, I found myself injured often and remembered why I got into multi-sport in the first place! So I'm back swimming, biking and running again and so far, doing it healthy. No plans of racing quite yet....However, I started a new business. Endurance Camps. I plan on changing the way camps are done throughout the US. Follow along at the blog over there!

Also, like us at:

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

If you're a coach and have experience running camps, we are looking for you (paid position)! Please submit your resume at endurancecamps@gmail.com

I will continue to update this site occasionally with training and MAYBE a little racing. 

Baby Steps

Throw back to the Dirt Dog Series

For the past five years, I've dedicated a big part of my life to triathlon. I never thought I would slip back into "out-of-shape James." Multi-sport just becomes who you are, your identity and your lifestyle. Looking back on it, I ask myself what made me completely stop and walk away? I think it was a multitude of things. Burnout, job promotion, accomplishing goals, boredom, time constraints - the list could keep going but I think those are the big ones. It all happened naturally too. After my Ironman, I felt like I did everything I wanted to do in the sport. Sure, I wanted to go to Kona, but after IMCDA I realized I didn't really...As soon as I finished, I felt complete, I felt closure and I all of the sudden didn't care about the result but how much stronger of a person it made me.

It wasn't by plan to stop completely though. I took a few weeks off, swam & ran a few times but it just didn't feel the same. Still tired I thought, wait a few weeks. Eventually I figured it out that I had no more interest in competing at triathlon at a high level (using that term loosely). Fast forward eight months and here we are! Time to see how fast I can get in running now. I'm definitely taking baby steps in getting back in shape. I've been greeted with a ton of scar tissue, calf aches/pains and soreness from years of running and then the past five years of triathlon abuse. I'm being patient though, trying to avoid injury and lose some weight so I can actually start running without an extra 10-15 pounds hitting the pavement. 

My coach has me doing a lot of sprints and fartleks to inject some speed back into my legs. Something I haven't seen since my collegiate / post collegiate days. I'm starting to find out that there is some life still in there. And as out of shape I am, I'm still seeing 4 mile tempo runs at 6:20 pace which is no where near I want to be, but right now - ahead of schedule. 

I imagine I'll be hitting the track this summer at USATF's all comer's track meets in San Diego. This should be a blast. Just a great chance to get on the track, have some fun and use them as little workouts for the big picture. Fall will be the Dirt Dog Series which is basically the local adult cross country season. I haven't raced these races since I first started getting back into shape, back in 2010, even blogged about them back then HERE. Fun to look back on those old blogs of getting back into shape. It's almost the same story right now as I read them. Calf issues, loosing weight, being upset with results...haha. Some things don't change! The cool thing about this go around is I'm so much more mature now and have such a better head on my shoulders. I was impatient and cared way to much about results and sponsors instead of just living in the moment and progressing mentally and physically as an athlete. 

I'm excited for things to come. Bo (baby #3) is due an day now. Track season begins next month. I live in the heart of San Diego. Life is good.

I'm back!

Wow, what a break this was. My last post was IMCDA in July of last year - can't believe it took me that long to blog again. To be honest, I can't believe I AM blogging again here. I convinced myself that I was done with endurance sports and Love the Hurt. A lot has happened since my last post. I needed a break from it ALL. I got way to wrapped up into triathlon and both my mind and body needed this break. So what have I done this whole time?

1. Sold my Slice, bought an EVO
2. Sold our home in Temecula and live back in San Diego now.
3. Baby #3 is due in 2 weeks!
4. I drank a lot of delicious craft beer.
5. I gained 15 pounds (see #4).
6. I've swam maybe 10 times since IMCDA with half of those within the past few months.
7. My riding habits are sporadic, but when I do ride, I sure love that EVO.
8. My running has been a roller coaster. 1 month off, 1 month on, 2 months off, 1 week on...etc
9. I raced the Ragnar Relay in April.
10. I hired a running coach three weeks ago and am going "all in" to see what I can do in running.

So here I am, back blogging. I shut down "Kona Journey" and transferred all those blogs over here so I apologize for all the pictures missing from basically all of last year. I did go back and insert IMCDA pics though, that one was special to me. I've told a lot of my friends that I am a stronger person from that race. Even though it didn't pan out like I expected, I overcame so much during those 11 hours and now I take that race with me in everyday life. When I feel like something is hard, I fall back on that race. It made me a better man and I am thankful I went through that experience.

Now what? Time to run! Who says you still can't run fast in your 30's?? I love to compete and I happen to be good at running, so why waste that? The long-term goal is to break 2:30 in the marathon. It may come quick, it may take some time but I want to break it as badly as I wanted to break 4 minutes in the mile 12 years ago. It's going to be a gradual build - first thing is to get some speed back on the track. Mile, 5k, 10k most of the rest of this year with maybe a half marathon at the end of the year.

Not going to lie. Getting back into shape sucks. Carrying around this extra weight and trying to get my running legs underneath me without being sore ALL THE TIME is brutal. But I know it's part of the process. It's one of the reasons why I hired my coach. He's big on the mental approach which I love and believe in. I already know how to coach myself and what workouts to do to get me fast but it's so important to introduce new training methodologies and have a coach to hold yourself accountable - which is exactly what he is doing, good stuff.

Well, thanks for reading - I plan on posting each week like I always have. This blog has been so cool to be able to look back on. I got a message months ago that told me my blog helped someone quit drugs and get into triathlon. It absolutely blew my mind. Words are powerful. Be bold and share your story, you never know who it might impact or inspire.

Ironman Coeur d'Alene Race Report

3200 miles were driven and 140.6 miles were raced and it will go down as the two best weeks of my life. Granted, I did not qualify for Kona but as many of my friends and team mates have pointed out, the journey is what made the whole experience special, not necessarily the race and it is so true. Even my dream wedding and honeymooning in Australia for two weeks 10 years ago did not compare to the epic road trip I did with my wife and two kids topped off with a "dreamlike" vacation from the vacation in Las Vegas with some amazing people. Wow. Where to begin! Since this is a triathlon blog, I'll stick to the race...

We left Wednesday night to stay in Vegas for a night to avoid the dreaded SoCal traffic. We then headed to Park City, UT the next day to stay with some friends and get a quick glimpse of the beautiful mountain resort town. Thursday we drove to Yellowstone, saw Old Faithful and then drove to Missoula, MT for the night. Between Montana and Yellowstone, we saw some of the most beautiful parts of this country I've ever seen and I've been to every state except five. Breathtaking! Friday we finally arrived in Coeur d'Alene and although it was beautiful it didn't compare to what we just witnessed the day before! The city of Coeur d'Alene seemed like the whole good side of the street/bad side of the street. We were very unimpressed until we got around the resort and Ironman check-in area which was amazing.

Friday and Saturday was very low key. Check in, pre-workouts and getting around were very easy and simple. I was able to spend a lot of time napping, hydrating and staying off my feet. Come Saturday night I felt very rested and very hungry to leave it all out there the next day.

2.4 mile swim: 1:21:02 (2:05/100 yd pace) 141 out of 316 in AG

The day before the race I swam in the lake Coeur d'Alene choppy waters and wasn't so concerned. I've swam many times in Vail lake (local) which is always choppy and over the past month I've swam at La Jolla cove which can also be choppy. Well race day the wind was kicking pretty good. I actually laughed out loud when I saw the lake. We basically had to swim straight into it, make the turn home and then do it again. I told Flanny the day before that if he saw a 1:15 swim split to not be alarmed because I knew it was going to be a slow swim and I was not going to fight through it and potentially ruin my race. It was a "self-seeded" start so I ended up going in the second wave (1:00-1:15) group. There's no delay in between the waves, it's just a rolling start. It was definitely the most violent swim I've been in. Between getting a shiner on my forehead, swam over, and knocked around. I also had trouble siting -- whenever I tried a wave was blocking the buoys. I've learned over the past 4 years of doing triathlons that the best way to get through these kind of swims is to just relax, not force it and actually just smile. So that's what I did. Just took the punches and swam as strong as I could.

I hit the first lap in 36 minutes and was on pace to break 1:15. I was pretty disoriented when I got out of the water to make the turn to go back in. The waves and chop can really make you dizzy. I definitely felt the fatigue going into the current again on the second lap and could tell my pace dropped. I just did my best to get through it and not get overly concerned about it. I knew historically if you swam around 1:15 you still have a shot of a Kona slot. When I saw 1:20 on my Garmin when I came out, I just knew it was time to get to work and figured with my run - a 1:20 wouldn't take me out of the race.

T1: 4:46

First time experiencing the whole Ironman tent changing room. The volunteers were amazing. Got me out of my suit, my bike bag, sun screened me up, went pee #1 of the day and I was on my way.

112 mile bike/4500ft of climbing: 5:42 (AVG 19.6 mph) 46th in AG

The temperature was actually perfect. I went with no arm warmers and felt great. It was the wind that hurt me. It seemed like it continued to pick up momentum as the bike went on. Strong winds for my slender frame really took me out of the race. Based off of the last 8 months of using power, Flanny and I decided 190NP was going to be my magic number to ride a 5:00-5:15 bike split. With all of the intervals, hills, long days, short days etc...we had no doubt that the bike would be a huge advantage for me and I'd be able to run off the bike holding that power and crush this course. Well I held 189NP and rode 5:42 haha. You can check out data HERE. The only variable we couldn't factor in was the wind. I stayed very aero the whole race and did my best to fight through that wind but it just ended up being a day that favored the power riders. The ones that didn't get blown over by the wind on the bike and the ones that could power through the chop in the swim. HOWEVER. I still felt like I was in the race. My biggest maturity in triathlon over the past few years is that I learned times mean nothing in triathlon. There are so many variables in long course that your S,B,R times really don't mean anything nor do they tell the story of the race.

So I just kept eating and drinking, nailing my nutrition plan. I peed three times on the bike and never felt hungry or thirsty. I finally started feeling my efforts for the day right at mile 100. I fought to stay at 190 watts for the last 10 miles which tells me that Flanny's plan was spot on. Hard enough to question whether or not I could run off the bike but no cramping, GI issues or dreading the run. Even coming in at 5:42, I had a feeling that a lot of people's splits were slow so I still didn't throw in the towel, I knew I had work to do!

T2: 3:13

Again, the volunteers were awesome. Found my bag right away, slipped on my shoes, took another pee and off I went!

26.2 mile run/1500ft of climbing: 3:43 (AVG 8:31 pace) 36th in AG

Again, after months of training data - Flanny and I decided that 7:15 pace was going to be the magic number for me. Data found HERE. I got off the bike and that first mile felt a little bit weird. It just took some time to get my running legs off of me. I carried a flask of nutrition and just sipped on it while refueling it at each aid station with whatever sounded good. After the first mile, 7:15's became effortless and I knew I was going to have a good run. I just stayed on top of my nutrition, picked a stronger runner ahead of me in the distance and just worked my way up to them for the pass while staying on my own pace. It's a 2 loop course, basically go through a neighborhood, up the long hill and back x2.

The first lap (1/2 marathon) I was enjoying myself. Smiles, giving some fist bumps to the awesome house parties going on and just clicking off the miles. As I went through the first loop I saw my family, gave them a wave and saw that I clicked off a 1:34 half. Right on pace! Then like almost clock work the next mile I started getting some serious taste fatigue. Everything I tried to eat or drink I just spit it out. I tried drinking a lot of water and eating some pretzels to rinse my palate like I was drinking wine or something but with no such luck! I just gradually started bonking. Whenever I tried to force food down I felt like I wanted to puke. Not because of GI issues but because of the sweet food/taste fatigue I had going on. Everything was just gross. Sweet, salty - didn't matter. So my great pace eventually turned into a slow jog. I just did my best to keep form and stay positive. Those last 6 miles ended up being one of the toughest things I've ever been through. I was so stubborn and refused to walk and just forced myself through it.

Ironman isn't easy. These past several months haven't been easy. So when I arrived to that long finish chute it was almost like my mind just replayed pictures and videos of all of the good and bad in my life leading up to this race. I choked up big time. When you are in a lot of pain you become very vulnerable. With each step and high five I gave heading into the finish I was very proud of myself. Not just of the race but the entire "Kona Journey" that I've been on over the past year. It took every ounce of discipline mentally and physically to get there and even though it hurt that I did not qualify, when I crossed that finish line - that wasn't what was on my mind. My family was there and as I looked at their faces with watery eyes, I looked up into the sky and became an Ironman.


Final Result: 10:55:01, 36th in AG, 161st overall.

Thank you all for the amazing kind words and encouragement; this was truly an experience that I will never forget.

Thanks for reading-

Race Week: Training Log (April 21-27)

It's RACE WEEK! With the job of qualifying for 70.3 World Championships out of the way and IMCDA still two months away, I jumped at the opportunity of racing Wildflower. There's zero pressure to perform well, so what are we going to do? We're going to take risks! Every single 70.3 I've raced has been on a conservative approach - which is smart since I was so new to the sport. With this being my fourth year in triathlon, I think it's time to put on my big boy pants and actually take some risks and race aggressively. There's no doubt that this course can really hurt you if you're too aggressive but I really don't have anything to lose. I'm not tapering or taking this race too seriously. It's all about having fun with team mates and racing harder than I ever have before.

Why risk a blow up when this is my last race heading into the most important race of the season? Well, my confidence is sky high right now. There's no doubt that I'm in the best shape of my life. I've also matured as a triathlete a lot this year and I know what I am capable of. My once hesitant confidence at my chances of qualifying for Kona are now a distant memory. I now believe that as long as I execute come race day at IMCDA, I'll be standing on the podium and collecting my Kona slot. Flanny mentioned that I'm ahead of his expectations with my fitness and I still have two months of solid training to build into the race.

So really, the goal at Wildflower this weekend is to put myself in such a deep/dark place that once I start to suffer at IMCDA, I'll remember the battles that I won at Wildflower.

Here's how last week's training looked like. Work was super busy so I really had to manage my time well and be disciplined on the hour.

Monday: 1 workout

Bike Tempo Session Data HERE:  1:40/ 30 miles / 18.4mph

Flanny’s workout: 1.5-2 hours depending on available time. 2 x 20 minutes @ 70.3 Race Watts on 5 minutes easy. Stay aero as much as possible.

Post workout notes: (in notes) [hr]

Tuesday: 1 workout

Run Track Workout, Data HERE: 1:10 / 8.5 miles

Flanny's Workout:
15 min WU
2 x 2 mile on 2 min rest
(first one I want at 6:30 pace, second one I want at 6:15 pace)
2 x 800 on 1 min rest
(I want both at 6:00 pace.....NO FASTER)
This workout should not be too hard for you.
Easy CD for the remainder of the run.

Post workout notes: (listed in data file). [hr]

Wednesday: 2 workouts

Masters Swim: 90 mins / 4000 yds
500 wup, 4x100 on 1:40, 4x50 on 50
Main set:
5x200 on 3mins
500 pull (buoy/paddles)
5x200 on 3 mins
500 with fins

Post workout notes: I hit all of the 200's between 2:50-55. For not swimming since Friday, this was a really good workout for me - basically 2k at race pace.

Bike Tempo Session DATA HERE: 2hrs / 35 miles / 17.7 mph

Flanny’s workout: 2 hours today with 3 x 20 minutes at your 70.3 race watts on 5 minutes easy riding between efforts.

Post workout notes: (listed in data notes).[hr]

Thursday: 2 workouts

Morning run: 41mins / 4.5 miles / AVG 9:07 pace.

Flanny’s Workout: Easy morning run.

Post workout notes: 5am run's are always hard for me to warm up. Just an easy slow run.

Afternoon run: 1:22 / 10 miles / AVG 8:12 pace.

Flanny’s Workout: Evening Run 1:20 Z2+

Post workout notes: Hit the trails, felt pretty tired after a long day at work but started coming around towards the end. Good double run day, it's been awhile since I've done that.[hr]

Friday: 1 workout

Masters Swim: 90 mins / 4000 yards

700 wup, 10x50 on 50
4x500 @1:35 pace (odds swim, evens paddles)
500 drill (changing every 100)
c/d

Post workout notes: Another early wakeup call as I played golf with some clients for the rest of the day. Starting to love the longer intervals.[hr]

Saturday: 2 workouts

Wetsuit Swim: 31:36 / 2000 yds / AVG 1:34/100 
 
Post workout notes: Was scheduled for a long ride/brick run but woke up to nasty rain and wind so I made a quick call to Flanny and we just swapped Sat/Sun's workouts. I have access to a non-heated pool so I knocked this out and was 3 seconds faster per 100 then I was the week before Oceanside. Good to see some progress.

Tempo Long run, DATA HERE: 1:27 / 11.3 miles / AVG 7:44 pace 

Flanny’s Workout:
30 minutes Z2
30 minutes Z3+
30 Minutes Z2
Relaxed

Post workout notes: (posted in workout notes).6:30's never felt so easy (ok, except in college :)[hr]

Sunday: 2 workouts

Bike ride, DATA HERE. 3:30 / 61 miles / 17.5 mph

Flanny’s workout: Within today's session I want 3 x 30 minutes at Z3 watts with lots of rest between efforts. Stay down and aero for as much of this as possible. We don't need a huge climbing day today so keep it reasonable.

Post workout notes: Notes attached to the power file above.

Brick Run- 20 mins / 2.75 miles/ 7:16 AVG pace. 

Flanny's workout: Easy 20 min run off bike.

Post workout notes: Running is feeling effortless right now.[hr]

Totals (3 swims, 3 rides, 5 runs)
Swim: 10,000 yds /3:32
Bike: 127 miles / 7:09
Run: 37 miles / 5:00
Total hours: 15:41

Hours had to go down a bit this week with it being such a busy week commuting to San Diego 4 out of the 5 days, running a trade show at the convention center for two days and golfing all day Friday. Overall very pleased with the progress and my fitness going into Wildflower.

Wish me luck!!

Here's some more pictures from the weekend, cheers!

[gallery columns="2" ids="2808,2807,2806,2805,2803,2802,2801,2800,2809"]

Surf City Half Marathon Race Report

This picture sums up how I felt at the race!

I am no longer a runner, but a triathlete.

I'll keep this short and sweet, getting right to the details.

Going into the race I texted Flanny and wrote I could see myself running 1:12 and I could see myself running 1:17. I didn't really have any idea where I was. I just know that two years ago I kicked down a 1:14 and am in way better shape then I was then. Why wouldn't I go faster? Well, it's true, I would kick that little 1:14 runner's ass from two years ago anyday...in a triathlon. The single biggest thing I learned this weekend is that I am no longer a runner. I'm not built that way anymore, I don't train like that anymore and now...I FINALLY I don't think that way anymore. I know Walsh and Flanny both tried to get that through my thick skull but like a lot of things in my life over the years, I had to learn it myself. So as soon as I got over the major disappointment of running my slowest half marathon to date (4 total) of a 1:18 and running 5 minutes slower that I thought I would - the light bulb came on and I am completely content with the result now.

Pre race: Good friend and Wattie team mate Chris Masilon lives 5 minutes from the starting line so him and his amazing family took me in, fed me and let me crash for the race the next day. I slept good, woke up, put on my Spidertech tape and ate a Powerbar and banana two hours before the race and just sipped on some Powerbar Perform leading up to the race. After a quick 10 minute warm up and some strides I was ready to rock! I felt very relaxed and confident of the day to come. The sun started coming out, the beach smell was in the air and everyone's energy was radiating off of their body. I absolutely love the start of a race. All that hard work ready to be paid off. Time to have some fun!

Race: 13.1 miles / 1:18:42 / 6:01 pace / 7th in AG, 24th Overall (out of 15,447 runners):

Our plan was simple. Hit 5:40-45's for the first 10k and then race it from there. I settled into the 3rd pack which was quite large. We all took turns leading and tried to block the two women who were leading their race from the wind. This race was HUGE. Television camera's, helicopters flying overhead - it was a pretty cool experience. Since we held the leading women we got quite a bit of attention. The course is rolling with a lot of false flats. My splits for the most part where right on where I wanted to be:

After a bunch of zigzagging through some residential neighborhoods we popped back out onto the Pacific Coast highway, turned around and BAM. We hit a nasty headwind for that last 10k. The pack immediately started to dissipate and I did my best to hang on. It was a bit of a crosswind so it was hard to hide from. Before I knew it I fell off the back and had to run solo into that wind all the way back. I haven't hurt that bad in a race in quite some time. It got to the point where I wanted to walk but I just fought through it. It reminded me of some of these running nightmares I have where I am running the hardest I can but the wind is so strong it has me running in place, going nowhere. I started to see my pace fall, started to get passed and my legs just got heavier and heavier. I did my best to try and stay relaxed and keep form. I'll mention it again...I haven't hurt that bad in a LONG time!

Eurostar made his debut appearance with about 800 meters to go and as much as I wanted to, I couldn't even crack a smile. I was in some deep pain. I crossed the line, wiped my brow which felt like sand paper from salt, wobbled through the chute and tried to pull myself together. After seeing a few fellow friends/triathletes in the chute, I got out of there as fast as I could with my tail between my legs...I was pissed and just wanted an IPA. Tired legs, wind, blah blah blah - stupid excuses, I hate them and don't want to come across that way. The reality is, I'm built to run a half marathon off the bike now, not crush an open one. My goal is to actually run a 1:18 off the bike this year and if you bring my pacing down to 6 minutes - I certainly think that's doable - especially since I've run 1:22 off the bike before.

To wrap things up, I am in a good place now. I learned more from that race then any other race I've done before. To let go of that runner I've been clinging so hard onto the past three years and accept the fact that I'm a triathlete now. I really enjoy triathlon and I didn't have anywhere near the same amount of fun at this race compared to the fun I have at triathlons....and that's what it's all about. Having fun!

Thanks for all of the support and I want to apologize for coming across like 1:18 is a slow time. I just have very very high expectations of myself and I didn't mean to come across as arrogant in my social media posts after my race. Thank you for reading and cheers to the 2014 triathlon season!

The Details + Training Log (Jan 6-12)

Here we go!

First The Details. I understand that everyone reading this is not in the same situation that I'm in. Everyone reading this will come from different backgrounds, different families, different structures. But the cool thing about triathlon is that we ALL started somewhere. Every single one of us at some point could barely make it 25 yards across the pool. Or barely made it up that first hill on that $100, super heavy Target bike. Maybe  we even walked/jogged that 50 pound overweight body for a run. Just over three years ago, all of these things I just mentioned were true. I started there and now I am here - trying to qualify for the biggest stage in triathlon. Kona. It's really important that people know I didn't get to the fitness level I am at right now off of talent. It was all work, early morning wake up calls and BELIEF & DESIRE to get fast.

I'm going to give you an overall idea of what my day-to-day is like without giving away my whole life. I really want to translate the whole family-work-workout ratio. The sacrifices made, the times I screw up or lost focus and hopefully inspire some out there to try and do the same so they can reach their goals.

So here's the details:

Family: I have a beautiful wife of 10 years, Amy - who you will see a few guest blog posts in the future from. She'll tell her side of the story and maybe give you some more insight to what REALLY goes on around here haha. I have two kids - a daughter that is 5 and a son that is almost 4. Amy is a stay at home mom.

Career: I'm the Director of Marketing and Business Development for a company down in San Diego. It's an hour commute each way. For three years I made that commute each day and as of about a year ago I am able to work from home 2-3 days a week now. Don't kid yourself though, I don't have it easy because of that. I'm often attending late night functions, all day golf outings and trade shows which is not ideal for training for an Ironman.

Finances: With only one income - triathlon is a probably one of the worst hobbies I could have picked! With a SoCal mortgage, a family to care for, bills and races/hotels to pay for - needless to say money is tight. I debated whether or not to include a "Donate" section on my website because it can come off tacky - but I really don't care. If you want to help contribute to my Journey, you can donate HERE. And thanks for considering!

Structure: If your situation is anything similar to mine then you know you have to make quite a few sacrifices to make it work. For me, getting up early is key which means getting to bed early is important. So I basically structure my day around getting to bed by 9pm. I need those 8 hours of sleep otherwise I usually get sick or see a decrease in performance. I'll discuss this more on Thursday's blog post.

[caption id="attachment_2558" align="alignright" width="225"] Rocking the Wattie World Championship Kit![/caption]

So there you have it. Hopefully this gives everyone an insight to what I'm up against each day going into these workouts. As far as training goes, some days I can get in a double workout, some one, some none. I imagine most of you out there are the same: each week is so different with family/work schedule which makes it even more difficult to stay consistent. Every Saturday is not going to be a long ride or every Wednesday a Masters swim - which can be a good in a way because you're always shocking the body and switching things up. Doesn't make it easy though. That's why I've learned to just take things day by day and not have a schedule etched in stone because things come up and you have to be willing to adapt and be as consistent as possible - key in triathlon!

I'm still toying with the idea of the best way to post my workouts. For now I'm going to write out everything and then highlight/take screen shots of my key workouts of the week. Eventually I might link up my Garminconnect account or maybe Strava. In the meantime you'll just have to trust what I put down is what I'm doing. There's no reason to lie about what I'm doing - it's just a hobby! lol. I have no shame or anything to hide, hopefully this gives you some insight!

January 6-12
Things to note: If you saw THIS post you'll know that I cut my fingertip off on Christmas Eve so I haven't swam in about a month. So this was another week of just riding and running. My wife and I also celebrated our 10 year Anniversary so we left the kids with the grandparents and headed up to Yosemite for the weekend. This weeks focus was all about trying to get in some good quality sessions while staying healthy before heading out of town.[hr]
Monday: Fri-Sun of last week was pretty brutal so Flanny and I decided to make this just a single day.

Trainer Threshold intervals (copied/pasted from Training Peaks account):
30 minutes WU
3 x 10 minute Z4 (Threshold)
5 min recovery between efforts
Let your legs recover fully during the 5 minutes between intervals so you can ride consistently.
4 x 20 sec right leg, 20 sec left leg, 20 sec both legs
Z2 remainder (total 2 hours)
Post workout notes: I don't have a power meter yet (very soon!) so it can be really hard to gauge my effort levels. I basically go as hard as I can without slowing down to much. This workout crushed me. I'm on Season 3 of "Walking Dead" via streaming Netflix and I felt like I was a "walker" after this. One thing to note: I do not watch TV which frees up an amazing amount of time in your life (more on this later). The only time I'll watch is when I'm on the trainer - just not during intervals-music for that! And I also watch the Charger games, although no more games this year :( [hr]

Tuesday: Again, without swimming - we have another single day. I work in San Diego on Tuesdays and hit this workout on my way home at night.

Group Track workout: At Cal State San Marcos with the North County San Diego Track Club.
20 min up, 2 laps of stride the straights, jog the curves.
2x1200 @ Half mary pace w/60-90 sec recovery (avg'd 5:50, 5:40 pace)
2x800 @ 5k-10k pace w/60-90 sec recovery (avg'd 5:19,5:11)
2x400 @mile pace w/60-90 sec recovery (avg'd 4:54, 4:56)
1 mile at 5k-10k pace (5:16)
c/d (total 1 hour)
Post workout Notes: I'm happy with the way my running is coming around. I led this workout even after four hard days in a row. I've seen some big gains lately which is perfect timing with the Surf City Half Marathon coming up in three weeks. [hr]

Wednesday: With the anticipation of me leaving town that weekend we had to get in a big day today.

3 hr Long ride: 2:53, 51.5 miles, 1500 ft of climbing - AVG 17.8mph
Easy run (non brick): 40 mins, 4.28 miles - AVG 9:28 pace

Post workout notes: I worked from home so I got up at 5am, worked from 5-9 - then rode 3 hours. Ate a big lunch, worked from 1-5, then put in a 40 minute easy run. Something to note: my easy runs are sloooooow. I don't even look at the watch, it's usually in the 8-10 minute mile range. I just go off of feel, with nothing to prove, all to gain. Kenyans do the same thing. After dinner, playing with the kids, reading stories...etc I had 30 minutes where I put in some stretching, foam rolling (something I'm trying to do more of). Some alone time with the wife, packed for our trip and then it's lights out at 9pm (about the same every night).[hr]

Thursday: Single day. Thursdays I work in San Diego. Today my boss let me off a little early to get a head start on our Anniversary weekend. After putting in final prep plans for the weekend I jumped on the trainer for some big gear work:

Big Gear Trainer session: After a 60 min warm up on the trainer I want you to do 5 x 3 min big gear (hard enough to slow your rpm's to 40-50) with 1 min of high cadence spinning between (100 rpm+). Ride the remaining time in Z2 (total 2 hours)

Post workout notes: Again, another QUALITY session. Flanny doesn't put a bunch of fluff or extra miles in. I have a limited schedule so each workout is planned with a purpose. I have a sick love for big gear intervals. I love the burning legs feeling - this is bike specific strength training.[hr]

Fri: We got up at 3am and drove 7 hours to Yosemite. After checking into our hotel, we hiked 6 miles and climbed up to three different waterfalls. Breathtaking! [hr]


Saturday: Flanny had a specific running workout for me, but with the trip it just wasn't going to happen. This weekend was all about celebrating our 10 year Anniversary. So we woke up, had a huge breakfast and hit a big day on the trails. Normally I would never input "hiking/jogging" miles into my log but this one was actually pretty difficult. We ended up hiking/jogging over 9 miles with 3k+ of climbing in altitude. It was one of the best days of my life. We were surrounded by beauty and on our way down it got misty and foggy and we ran most of the way home in this dream-like setting. Unreal. Something I'll never forget![hr]

Sunday: After traveling back home I got in an easy 40 minutes of running to shake the cob-webs out as my legs were pretty sore from that hike! 4.5 miles, 8:53 pace.[hr]

Totals:
Bike: 121 miles
Run: 16.4
Hike/Jog: 15.1
Total hours: 14:47 [hr]

So overall it was a great week. Our little getaway felt like it recharged us for the year! I can't wait to see what 2014 has in store and excited that you can follow along with me.