| Date | Race | Location | Distance (swim/bike/run) |
| 4/6/08 | | Olympic (.9/24.8/6.2) | |
| 4/20/08 | Palm | International (.75/24/6) | |
| 5/10/08 | | 68 mile bike ride | |
| 7/20/08 | | Half Iron (1.2/56/13.1) | |
| 9/7/08 | | Half Iron (1.2/56/13.1) | |
| 11/1/08 | | Ironman (2.4/112/26.2) |
Friday, March 28, 2008
2008 Race Schedule
These are the races I plan to do this year. I've already registered for all of them:
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Beautiful day, great workout
I had been dreading today's workout, the last really tough one before my Lavaman race in two weeks: 35 miles hard on the bike then an 8 mile run directly afterwards.
I decided to switch to my triathlon bike since that's the one I'll be taking to Hawaii, and after a brief adjustment period, I was off on a beautiful ride on PCH, heading north from Zuma Beach.
I started about 10AM and it was already over 80 degrees and so clear, Catalina Island looked like you could reach out and touch it! The beach was starting to get busy even at that time, and after a great ride that took a little less than 2 hours, it was teeming by the time I got off the bike and headed out on the run.
My legs felt heavy at first but then I loosened up and had a fantastic run. The heat actually felt good and I just enjoyed the beach and ocean view the whole way.
I took it pretty easy for the first 5 miles but felt so good that I picked it up the last 3.5 and finished strong.
I'm also completely over any illness, so that's great news.
On days like today (and yesterday too when we had a great open-water swim in Long Beach) I always remind myself 1) how lucky I am to train in Southern Cal and 2) how I have absolutely no excuse for not doing my workouts!
Happy Easter!
I decided to switch to my triathlon bike since that's the one I'll be taking to Hawaii, and after a brief adjustment period, I was off on a beautiful ride on PCH, heading north from Zuma Beach.
I started about 10AM and it was already over 80 degrees and so clear, Catalina Island looked like you could reach out and touch it! The beach was starting to get busy even at that time, and after a great ride that took a little less than 2 hours, it was teeming by the time I got off the bike and headed out on the run.
My legs felt heavy at first but then I loosened up and had a fantastic run. The heat actually felt good and I just enjoyed the beach and ocean view the whole way.
I took it pretty easy for the first 5 miles but felt so good that I picked it up the last 3.5 and finished strong.
I'm also completely over any illness, so that's great news.
On days like today (and yesterday too when we had a great open-water swim in Long Beach) I always remind myself 1) how lucky I am to train in Southern Cal and 2) how I have absolutely no excuse for not doing my workouts!
Happy Easter!
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Thus far this year...
I have:
biked 450 miles
ran 150 miles
swam 22 miles
Much, much more to come over the next 6+ months!
biked 450 miles
ran 150 miles
swam 22 miles
Much, much more to come over the next 6+ months!
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Here we go!
Just over a year ago, I came to the sport of triathlon through Team in Training, a complete newbie that had never even seen an event.
I had run a bit for exercise but never had participated in a timed race, and always liked the water but never would have been confused for a serious swimmer. And the only bike I owned was a mountain bike hybrid I had barely taken around the block.
But here I am about 13 months later, getting ready to make a big push towards a full Ironman: Ironman Florida, November 1, 2008!
Oddly, I'm not that worried or nervous about it. The one thing I've learned in this sport is that you commit to an event then follow your training plan, you'll get there. Instead of getting freaked out about the race (OMG, 112 miles on the bike THEN run a marathon???) I just try and concentrate on each week, executing my workout plan to the best of my ability. And experience has taught me that the desired results will follow.
So, I am less than three weeks out from my first event of the year, which is just a step toward the BIGGIE. My next race will actually be the first triathlon I'll have done twice, as it was my very first tri of any type almost a year ago. I did okay in that race but not as well as I had hoped or expected but in many ways that was a good thing. I learned a healthy respect for the sport very early on and it certainly lit my competitive fires, knowing I was capable of a better performance.
I've been training in earnest since the holidays and the last month or so has become more intense with more speed work (sprints and intervals) in the various disciplines. This will be my last 'build' week before starting to taper down before the race date. Unfortunately, I've been ill; first with the flu and now a fledgling chest cold. After taking some time off, I've decided just to push through and keep doing my workouts the best I can. Hopefully, my cold will pass soon although last year at this time I had something similar and it lasted weeks and through my first Lavaman. As I've learned, that's all part of this sport.
I hope to update this blog at least weekly so I can document my progress. Even if others are only marginally interested, it will be a fun thing to look back on for yours truly.
Cheers!
I had run a bit for exercise but never had participated in a timed race, and always liked the water but never would have been confused for a serious swimmer. And the only bike I owned was a mountain bike hybrid I had barely taken around the block.
But here I am about 13 months later, getting ready to make a big push towards a full Ironman: Ironman Florida, November 1, 2008!
Oddly, I'm not that worried or nervous about it. The one thing I've learned in this sport is that you commit to an event then follow your training plan, you'll get there. Instead of getting freaked out about the race (OMG, 112 miles on the bike THEN run a marathon???) I just try and concentrate on each week, executing my workout plan to the best of my ability. And experience has taught me that the desired results will follow.
So, I am less than three weeks out from my first event of the year, which is just a step toward the BIGGIE. My next race will actually be the first triathlon I'll have done twice, as it was my very first tri of any type almost a year ago. I did okay in that race but not as well as I had hoped or expected but in many ways that was a good thing. I learned a healthy respect for the sport very early on and it certainly lit my competitive fires, knowing I was capable of a better performance.
I've been training in earnest since the holidays and the last month or so has become more intense with more speed work (sprints and intervals) in the various disciplines. This will be my last 'build' week before starting to taper down before the race date. Unfortunately, I've been ill; first with the flu and now a fledgling chest cold. After taking some time off, I've decided just to push through and keep doing my workouts the best I can. Hopefully, my cold will pass soon although last year at this time I had something similar and it lasted weeks and through my first Lavaman. As I've learned, that's all part of this sport.
I hope to update this blog at least weekly so I can document my progress. Even if others are only marginally interested, it will be a fun thing to look back on for yours truly.
Cheers!
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