December Numbers

"I am coming to the conclusion that, if I want to stay in shape, I will absolutely have to do it in the dark/cold mornings." was a quote from my last entry referring to the necessity of riding my MTB.  Guess how many miles I actually rode in the dark/cold?  Try ZERO!  I just couldn't do it.  I just couldn't get myself psyched up to ride the dark, cold, trails solo.  Heck, I probably wouldn't have been able to psych myself up to ride the dark, cold, trails, with a group of my best buddies!  I absolutely dislike riding anything in the cold.  Cold, to me, is 40-55 degrees.  What can I say?  Born and raised in AZ baby!  In fact, I came to the resolution that I am taking some much deserved "time off."  I'll exercise, or ride, when I feel like it and when the morning weather is satisfactory. 

Starting around Thanksgiving, I've been able to stick to Eric's eating plan (from 2012) 99% of the time while I'm away from the house, but WHILE I'm at the house, that's a different story.  I've pretty much consumed whatever I wanted (within reason) whenever I wanted.  If we order in pizza on a Thursday night, so be it.  Snacking on pretzels, tortilla chips, salsa, and various other goodies?  You betcha.  A cookie and coffee for breakfast?  Why not?  I was full on prepared (and absolutely OK with it) to acquire a few extra lbs this holiday season.  It only makes sense that, with my lack of exercise, and increase in garbage intake, I would put some more pressure on the scale.  To my amazement, when I stepped on said scale, on December 30th, I weighed 159 lbs!  That is the EXACT same weight that I weighed last December 29th.  I keep bringing this up, but Eric's diet still amazes me.  My IMAZ 2012 race weight was 155lbs and that was with all of my intense training.  To think that I've decreased the amount of exercising (compared to IMAZ 2012 training) for over a year and have maintained roughly the same weight!  It's especially amazing considering the amount of calories I've stuffed in my face since Thanksgiving too!  Let's take a look at my weight chart for the year:

Outside of that "anomaly" 164 lb reading in January (that I discussed in entries earlier this year), my weight has been extremely consistent with ranges between 156 and 162.  Fascinating, I know.

Looking back at my previous Decembers (starting in 2009) I have to say that 2013 was my absolute lowest output of pretty much everything!  Take a look for yourself:

DECEMBER 2009 TOTALS:

SWIM = 6300 yards

BIKE = 350 miles

RUN = 30.5 miles
 

DECEMBER 2010 TOTALS:

SWIM = 23275 yards

BIKE = 161.44 miles

RUN = 56.58 miles

DECEMBER 2011 TOTALS:

SWIM = 12025 yards

BIKE = 94.84 miles

RUN = 3 miles
 

DECEMBER 2012 TOTALS:

SWIM = 15100 yards

BIKE = 55.46 miles (All road)

RUN = 24.5 miles

DECEMBER 2013 TOTALS:

SWIM = 0 yards

BIKE = 114.2 miles (all MTB)

RUN = 8.03 miles

November & Annual Numbers

Before I get into the numbers, I want to cover my quest for obtaining more MTB miles than tri miles this year.  On November 11th, I laid out this personal goal and indicated that I only had about 10 - 14 riding days to achieve my goal.  Everything was cruising along fine until November 22nd.  That's when a HUGE winter/rain storm drenched Phoenix/Cave Creek for 3 solid days.  The storm lightened up on the 4th day, but it was still misty out with low temps and muddy trails.  Knowing that time was running out, I got back to said muddy trails on Monday the 25th (despite the suboptimal conditions).  On the 27th, I put in a nice 15.33 mile ride that sealed the deal!  I was able to accomplish my goal of riding more miles on the trails than on my tri bike despite only starting on June 16th.  To be fair, my total miles on the "road" did outnumber my MTB miles if I include the 125.48 miles ridden on my old BH G4 roadie.  Still, if I add up my tri miles, and road miles for the year, I'd only be 92.17 miles shy.  Again, that's not too shabby considering that I only started MTB riding less than 6 months ago.

Let's also talk about the cold, dark, days ahead.  Every single year, around this time, my exercise seems to take a sharp nosedive.  I seem to complain that I feel the lbs creeping up and my fitness level creeping down.  I can see it on the horizon already.  With my time coaching at Sole Swim Solutions, and my coaching football, I have ZERO time to ride, run, or swim in the afternoon...or evening.  I suppose I could lace up my shoes and go for a late night, chilly, run, but why?!?!  I am coming to the conclusion that, if I want to stay in shape, I will absolutely have to do it in the dark/cold mornings.  While I'm fairly excited about riding the trails in pitch dark, I'm also a bit spooked by it too.  Recently I've seen a deer on the trails, I know there are bobcats, coyotes, and javelinas too.  If I were to break down (busted chain, flat, fall, etc) I would have to take care of business alone, in the dark, with all of these critters near by.  Oh, and I also saw a few episodes of Walking Dead this week.  Seriously?!?!  Have you seen this show?  I can't believe they can actually show some of that stuff on regular TV!

Finally, why aren't I talking about swimming?  I can stay in shape by hitting the pool in the AM right?  To be perfectly honest, I haven't thought much about swimming for myself at all and, you know what?  I'm actually enjoying my hiatus.  I can't say that I feel guilty about not swimming, nor can I actually say that I miss it.  I guess that sometimes you just have to take a break.  Enough said.

Remember, my "year" begins in December and ends in November.  So, for example, my data for 2013 is calculated from 12/01/2012 to 11/30/2013.  On to the numbers!

As far as workouts go, my biggest months in terms of swimming, biking, and running for 2013 (12/2012 - 11/2013) were as follows:

SWIM - April (44150 yards = 25.09 miles)
BIKE - August (485.1 miles)
RUN - January (26.89 miles)

NOVEMBER NUMBERS:

NOVEMBER 2010 TOTALS (Includes IMAZ):
SWIM = 21320 yards
BIKE = 226.24 miles  
RUN = 41.1 miles

NOVEMBER 2011 TOTALS:
SWIM = 0 yards  
BIKE = 81.99 miles  
RUN = 107.84 miles

NOVEMBER 2012 TOTALS (Includes IMAZ):
SWIM = 16788 yards
BIKE = 221.67 miles
RUN = 68.59 miles
 
NOVEMBER 2013 TOTALS:
SWIM = 1000 yards
BIKE = 208.17 miles (all MTB)
RUN = 0 Miles

ANNUAL NUMBERS

2010 TOTALS (12/01/2009 - 11/30/2010):
SWIM = 252964 yards (143.73 miles)
BIKE = 5788.37 miles  
RUN = 703.41 miles

2011 TOTALS (12/01/2010 - 11/30/2011):
SWIM = 285396 yards (162.16 miles) 
BIKE = 3670.31 miles  
RUN = 495.13 miles
 
2012 TOTALS (12/01/2011 - 11/30/2012):
SWIM = 275084 yards (156.30 miles)
BIKE = 3984.35 miles
RUN = 548.70 miles
 
2013 TOTALS (12/01/2012 - 11/30/2013):
SWIM = 213450 yards (121.28)
ENDLESS POOL = 490 minutes
BIKE = 2197.93 miles (tri 1019.62 & 1052.83 MTB & 125.48 Road)
RUN = 91.34 miles  

ACCEPTED!

Santa Fe in February?!?!?  YES!!!!

MTB > TRI

While looking at my yearly miles in the saddle, I realized an interesting tidbit about the total miles ridden on my tri bike vs. the total miles ridden on my MTB.  My "year" starts in December, so November is the last month for me to close final numbers out.  The reason that my year starts in December goes back to my first IM in 2010.  Back then, I signed up in November and completely freaked out about what I had just done.  I thought that I needed to start training right away and thus, started keeping data in December and haven't changed it since.

As of today, November 11th, I've amassed 1019.62 miles on my tri bike (since December 2012) and a whopping 930.58 on my MTB (since June 2013).  Always trying to find some kind of goal or milestone to accomplish, I figured out that I can accumulate more MTB miles than tri miles before my "year" is up.  I guess that this is another one of those entries that isn't really ground breaking or Earth shattering, rather it's just a way for me to chronicle my accomplishments and to be accountable for challenges that I present to myself.

The difference between mileage is 89.04.  There are 19 days left in November, but because of football coaching commitments, morning child transportation duties, Thanksgiving, Ironman (I'll be spectating this year and cheering on our athletes), and other unseen items that may pop up, I figure that I have between 10 - 14 days to get it done.  That equates to rides ranging from 9 miles to just over 6.  Lately, I've been going out for an hours worth that nets just under 12 miles.  If I were to keep just doing those same rides, I would only need about 8 days to accomplish my goal.  So, here we go!

USAT Coaching Application

I applied for a USAT Level I coaching clinic today.  USAT only holds 15-18 clinics per year, in various cities across the US, and only 40 people are chosen to attend each.  The application period, for the Santa Fe clinic, is November 6th - November 12th.  The application process isn't terribly difficult, but they are fairly strict as to what needs to be submitted, how it is to be submitted, and when.  I needed to turn in a resume that included things like, any triathlon coaching experience, coaching experience in a related field (swimming), any formal education in sports science, current certifications, any service (volunteering) to the sport, and two references.  The resume had to be in a certain format and would automatically be denied if it wasn't.  Along with the resume, I had to answer 4 application questions (5-6 sentences each), and submit a letter of recommendation from an athlete that I am currently coaching.  Even if I were to submit all of this stuff correctly, but outside of the window mentioned above, I would still automatically be denied.  Once submitted, I can't change anything either.  According to the automated e-mail that I received, I should find out if I've been selected by November 20th.  Fingers Crossed!!!!!

October Numbers

With all of the mountain biking, that I've been doing lately, I found this video to be rather amusing:

 
Now that fall is upon us, daylight is getting shorter, the temperature is getting colder, and my desire to get up early to ride is starting to erode.  I bought those 1200 lumen lights, that I mentioned in previous posts, with the anticipation of having to ride in the dark, but for some reason, grabbing an extra few Z's has been winning the battle of "Do I ride or do I sleep?"  On the days that I am getting up to ride, it's typically just as the sun is rising, which only gives me about an hour until I need to get home.  As a result, my 18 mile rides have now been shaved down to 12, 11, or even 10.  My swimming yardage was the lowest it's been since January 2012 too.  In fact, I was between the lanes just twice this month.  I did, however, visit our endless pool a total of 7 times.  The good news is that I am still using Eric's diet plan (from May 2012), as the framework of how I eat, and still only weigh about 158 lbs (155 lbs was my IMAZ 2012 race weight).  I am, however, not as stringent as I was a year ago.  My one cheat day used to start after breakfast on Saturday.  Now, it starts Friday evening when I get home from the swim studio and enjoy pizza with the family.  Furthermore, that one cheat day has turned into two for the past several months as I continue to not monitor my intake on Sunday as well.

OCTOBER 2010 TOTALS (IMAZ 2010 TRAINING YEAR):
SWIM = 25794 yards
BIKE = 584.01 miles  
RUN = 104.9 miles

OCTOBER 2011 TOTALS:
SWIM = 4000 yards  
BIKE = 97.72 miles  
RUN = 97.98 miles
 
OCTOBER 2012 TOTALS (IMAZ 2012 TRAINING YEAR):
SWIM = 48579 yards
BIKE = 518.06 miles
RUN = 74.18 miles
 
OCTOBER  2013 TOTALS:
SWIM = 4900 yards
ENDLESS POOL = 230 minutes
BIKE = 191.71 miles (All MTB)
RUN = 0 miles 

To Swim!! Wait....NOT to swim.

So, after thinking about the invitation to be the swimmer on a relay, and posting my previous entry, I decided to do it.  Both the cyclist, and the runner, were previous Kona participants, and 70.3 Worlds participants, so how could I say no?  This was a very fast relay indeed!!  I made the decision to try and get in race shape by utilizing the Michael Phelps endless pool, at the studio, only.  No pool time, and no open water time.....the closest lake is closed because of the government shutdown.  As a result, I logged 200 minutes in about 8 days.  Yesterday, after completing 40 of those 200 minutes, I texted the cyclist to make sure we were still a go.  Unfortunately, I was informed that the runner changed their mind and was going to do the entire 70.3.  That decision rippled down to the cyclist, who became 95% unmotivated to compete, to me.  The cyclist did say that if I could find a runner that could help us win, he might be game.  Ultimately, I could tell that the passion was lacking and I didn't really want to go out and find another runner.  Soooo, there will be no competing for a relay medal this Sunday.  Instead, I will be down there supporting the ONE Multisport community as well as our Sole Swim Solutions athletes.

Sole Swim Solutions 

Sole Swim Solutions FB Page 

To Swim, Or Not To Swim, That Is The Question

Soooo, last night I was asked to be the swimmer of a 1/2 IM relay.  Normally, I'd jump all over the opportunity, but in the last 147 days, I've been in the pool exactly 21 times for a total of 56,850 yards.  I've also only had one OWS that totalled .81 miles and two sessions in the Michael Phelps endless that totaled 70 minutes.  This may sound like a lot to some, but when you consider that I have done between 44,000, and 48,000, in just one month, 56,850 in almost 5, pales in comparison.  There is no doubt that I can do the 1.2 mile swim, and there is no doubt that I could do well.  My concern is that I'm not in "race shape" and may disappoint the other two that tapped me to swim for them.  IF I decide to take them up, I will need as much time in training with Mr. Phelps as possible as race day is only 13 days away.  I did this very same race last year, but did the swim AND bike.  I was in IMAZ shape and about 5lbs lighter.  I did the swim in 28:26 (Garmin) or officially in 29:22.  I did, however, go off course (2012 SOMA 1/2 IM Relay Race Report )To me, disappointing a teammate would be doing the swim in 30:00+.  Stay tuned. 

September Numbers

Well, it finally happened this month....I logged more miles on the trails than on the roads.  Does that officially make me a "Mountain Biker"?  Do I have to start growing out my hair?  Try growing a beard?  Buy camping gear?  Wear baggy MTB shorts?  How about races and racing?  Do I need to purchase a MTB license and start participating in races with names like, "Barnburner", or "12 Hours of Fury", or "The Whiskey Off-Road"?  What the heck is the MBAA anyway?  OK, seriously though, I have to admit, I'm a fan of the trails, the views, the challenge, and just the overall "newness" of it all.  I've talked about entering a few races, at the end of the year, but I'm not overly excited about the idea.  I think I'm supposed to be part of a 4 man team on one of those 12 hour endurance races, but nothing is firm right now.  I think it'll be fun, and I'll be ready, but I'm entirely OK with just enjoying what I'm currently doing....pressure free riding fun.  Before I get into my monthly numbers, here is a pic from a ride I did a few days ago.  This is essentially in my backyard (about a 20-30 min flat desert ride from my front door).  The pic was taken from a peak on the Sidewinder trail.  You can see it's continuation down there below:

SEPTEMBER 2010 TOTALS (IMAZ 2010 TRAINING YEAR):
SWIM = 28150 yards
BIKE = 802.23 miles  
RUN = 78.76 miles

SEPTEMBER 2011 TOTALS:
SWIM = 0 yards  
BIKE = 352.99 miles  
RUN = 82.40 miles
  
SEPTEMBER 2012 TOTALS (IMAZ 2012 TRAINING YEAR):
SWIM = 29639 yards
BIKE = 458.87 miles
RUN = 63.19 miles
 
SEPTEMBER  2013 TOTALS:
SWIM = 11625 yards
BIKE = 291.75 miles (tri 97.43 & 194.32 MTB)
RUN = 3.02 miles

Go To The Light(s)!

So, as summer winds down, and fall/winter creeps up on us, waking up uber early to get in a ride is no longer a necessity....unless, however, you have my schedule.  It's this time of year that bringing my bike into work and then heading out for a ride around 3:30PM or 4:00PM is extremely welcome.  I can sleep in, wake up with the family, and help get everybody ready for the day.  Problem is, that this year, my afternoon/evening schedule is JAMMED!  Coaching football from 4:30PM - 6:00PM, or working at the swim studio until 7:00PM, doesn't really allow any time for those glorious afternoon rides.  Enter the "dark rides"!

Before I continue, let me give some background on the gear I used when riding in the dark was unavoidable (i.e. Those Stenholm Crit rides that started at 7:00PM year round or IMAZ training when I had to ride in the AM and swim in the PM).  When I started cycling, circa 2008, I ended up buying a NiteRider Sol LED headlight that broadcast about 200 lumen.  It's done a fantastic job of both letting people see me and allowing me to see things on the road.  I've used it religiously every road ride, that has required a light, in the last five years and have been very satisfied with it's performance.  It's been soaked by rain, dropped, left on for days, ridden on the bumper of my truck for 20+ miles (I forget I left it there), and even been used by my son when he was learning to ride a bike.

A stock pick of my old light:

OK, getting back to my jammed schedule and the necessity to still ride in the morning darkness.  I've made the conscious decision to rack my tri bike indefinitely and start riding the trails more.  I've discussed this transformation in previous posts, so I won't rehash my rationale, but I will tell you that it's largely because of the increase in cycling vs. car incidents.  Rolling at 5:00AM allowed me to get up to a 26 mile MTB ride if I wanted to be home by 7:00AM.  Recently, I've had to roll closer to 5:30AM or 5:45AM and it's only getting worse.  My rides have dwindled from 26 miles to around 17 or 18.  I'm now going to have to ride my MTB, on the trails, with absolutely no kind of city lights, in the pitch dark.  Unfortunately, I didn't think that only 200 lumen would be enough, so I took the advice of my experienced MTB neighbor and purchased TWO 1200 lumen Cree XM Flashlight lights.  I wanted to mount one on my helmet and one to the handlebars.  The day after ordering them, I ended up taking my old light, on an MTB ride, out to the desert about 15 minutes before sunrise.  I must say, she did a satisfactory job, and 200 lumen lit up the desert trails better than I anticipated.  At any rate, at $23 per light, how could I pass that up?!?!?  I mean, my old NiteRider was $115 five years ago.  A quick search of other 1200 lumen lights came up with prices in the $250 - $300 range.  I did pay an additional $5 for a helmet set up too.  Everything arrived yesterday and this morning was their maiden voyage.

I set off at 5:30AM knowing that I would only be needing the lights for about 30 minutes.  I'm still getting used to avoiding rocks, cholla cactus, sandy washes, and slippery turns in the daytime, let alone in the dark, so I wanted to keep the darkness portion of the ride down.  Ultimately, when I become more adapt at riding in the dark, I will probably roll at 5:00AM again.  WOW!  What a huge difference these lights make!  I absolutely loved having the one on my helmet as it allowed my to look around instead of concentrating on 5 feet in front of me.  The handlebar light was also awesome in that it still kept the path lit even if I was looking off to the side trying to anticipate a turn coming up.  I attached one of the relatively small batteries to the underside of my handlebar and slipped the other one into my jersey pocket.  I could hardly tell it was there.  I can't wait until I get in a group ride that is in complete darkness, as I think that the bouncing lights would look awesome as they travel across the trails.  I've also heard that when the group stops, they all turn off their lights and enjoy the environment (listening off into the darkness or looking up at the sky).  Gotta love new adventures!  Oh, and my trusty old NiteRider?  Well, that's now firmly attached to my 7 year old son's bike.  It was like Christmas in September when I asked if he wanted it!

The new lights and setup:

 

AZ State TTT Championship - RACE REPORT

In typical fashion, my alarm goes off stupid early.....2:51AM to be exact.  Yeah, that's right, 2:51.  My snooze button gives me an additional 9 minutes of slumber.  I set the coffee timer the night before and double checked that it should start brewing around 2:45AM, but what I didn't check was the current time on the coffee machine itself.  Because of my oversight, no go-go juice was waiting for me once I arrived downstairs.  Not off to a good start.  I flip the switch, sit down in front of the tube, and press play on the DVR.  I wasn't able to stay up and watch my Arizona Wildcats football game the night before, so I figured I'd catch up this morning.  Side note here....I'm not sure what is better, watching the game live and experiencing the highs and lows, OR watching on the DVR.  If I watch it on the DVR, not only can I fast forward through the commercials, I can fast forward until it looks like something happened (TD, field goal, turnover, etc).  Somewhere during the 2nd quarter, the coffee maker signals me that she is done brewing.  No, we haven't run out and purchased one of those fancy K-Cup makers that everybody has....we are doing just fine with the same maker we've had since our wedding 11 years ago.  Anyway, I pour a cup and grab a left over doughnut from the kids juice/doughnut/bagel sale the day before.  Chocolate with chocolate icing and chocolate lava inside.  After another cup of coffee, and another quarter of football, it's time to relax in "my office."  I peruse a few triathlon magazines and a few swimming ones too.  In fact, there is also a Sig Sauer brochure, of all of their weapons, in there as well.  Before I know it, I've spent too much time rereading the same articles that I have been for the past month and looking at the same guns.  It's go time.  I assemble what little items need to go (I did most of the major packing the night before) and head out the door to be at James' house by 4.  I pick him up without much fanfare and we head off to rendezvous with Ben.  Dave stayed at a hotel with his wife near the race course, so he was on his own.  We pick up Ben and head off into the still very dark morning.  As the sun started to shed light on our surroundings, we could see a number of ominous clouds lurking near by.  In fact, some of them were clearly letting some rain fall down.  We get closer to our destination and the nerves kick in again.  The three of us stop at a convenience store and promptly lay claim to various stalls in the bathroom.  I take up residence in the last stall, while James occupies one two over.  Ben takes the one between us.  James and I carry on a conversation like nothing else is going on.  We finish, wash hands, James grabs a coffee, and we see Ben outside.  Um, yeah, that person in the stall between us?  No idea who that was.  Dude must've thought we were creepers for sure!  On the way to the race sight, it is very clear that it has been raining for quite some time and there is the possibility of another storm moving in.  Finally, we arrive, Dave follows close behind, we set up, and start warming up.  Unlike last years 15-20 minutes, we wanted a good 30-45 minutes of trainer time.  The rain started coming down good now.  In fact, it was coming down sideways, so I had to move my bike/trainer so I wouldn't get drenched.  Finally, it was time.  With fitness in the bank, a full summer's worth of practicing, and all warmed up, we head to the start line.  I run into two athletes that I coach at the swim studio, who are both training for IMAZ 2013, and just about die laughing when I see them.  These goofballs love to have fun and their "kits" definitely demonstrated that today.  Each had on a Hawaiian shirt and cut-off jean shorts.  Classic.  Anyway, we finally get to the front line and it's our turn.  After this, there really isn't much more to say, so this will be quick.  After a few pulls, Dave promptly drops out.  I had no idea why, but after the race was over, I learned that he got a flat tire just 3 miles in.  Damn.  Another year, another 3 man TTT in a 4 man TTT event.  Oh well, flats happen, it wasn't his fault, and that's just racing.  Me, James, and Ben ended up turning in a time of 58:08 (25.6 mph ave).  Compare that to our 2012 TTT with Carlos (57:02 / 26.3 mph ave) and to our state TTT last year with Joel (59:11 / 25.2 mph ave).  You can clearly see that having a 4th person cuts approximately 2 or 3 minutes off the time (the only time we actually had all 4 was the regular TTT with Carlos).  This year, we finished 4th out of 7.  Technically, I guess you could say we finished 3rd because the 1st place team was from Mexico and not state eligible.  While they weren't eligible to win state, and the state jersey, they still get the 1st place medal.  That means we missed the podium by about 2 minutes.  Well, hopefully next year, we will have it together again and finish with all 4 teammates.  Seriously, I think that I'd look pretty good in an AZ State Championship jersey, don't you?!?!

This year, as opposed to last year, we came prepared:

Me warming up:
 

The team warming up:
 

It wasn't ideal TTT weather:

Awesome:

Waiting to get under the starters tent:

Getting closer.  That team in front of us (Octane) ended up winning the state championship because the 1st finishing team was from Mexico and, therefore, not eligible to win said title: 

We are up next!:

We started off with four:

But ended with only three after Dave flatted at mile 3:

 

A Flat Tire, A Stan's Ball, & A Grave

What do these three things have in common?  They are all things that happened to me, or that I saw, on this morning's MTB ride.  Originally, I was going to suit up in my new skin suit, put on the race wheels that I borrowed from Carlos (again), and don my aero helmet for a full on dress rehearsal ride.  That plan was quickly scrapped when the tubular wheel on the disc wouldn't hold air.  It's a good thing that I didn't squeeze into the skin suit before pumping it up, because the guts of the stem were missing.  Carlos warned me that he snapped the valve off the last time he tried pumping it up, but it was still holding air....not so much this time.  To keep the legs fresh, I opted for a flat, and easy, MTB ride through the desert by my house.  A simple OAB totaling 12 miles in Z1 should do the trick, so off I went.  Just after the turnaround, I hit a ditch a bit off center and my front tire came un-beaded.  I immediately lost air and had my first ever MTB flat.  No big deal, but when I took off the tubeless tire, I was surprised to see a big ol' spongy ball of coagulated Stan's tire sealant.  I had never seen anything like it and was quite amused.  So amused, in fact, that I took a pic of it for everybody to see.  Later on, however, I would find out that this isn't a rare occurrence and happens more often than I thought.  Oh well, at least I got a kick out of it!  OK, I fix 'er up and get rolling again.  About 3 miles from home, I caught a glimpse of a white wooden cross out of the corner of my eye.  Naturally, I went over to check it out and quickly realized that it is the same pet grave that I mentioned in this post from June 2010 Dog Grave On Trail Run. 

As for the gutless valve stem, I took it to Airpark Bikes and they put a new one in (guts) and aired it up (the tire).  Hopefully, I won't encounter any more.....wait, never mind, I don't want to jinx anything!

The scene of my flat:

The spongy, coagulated, Stan's tire sealant ball that was tumbling around inside my tubeless tires:

RIP Fido (hopefully it's a Fido or some other animal!)

 

Skin To Win!

About 2 months ago, we contacted a kit manufacturer and asked if they would be able to produce custom skin suits in time for our TTT race.  The manufacturer said they could, but we would have to submit final mock-ups, purchase 30 pieces (arm warmers, leg warmers, jerseys, bibs, whatever), and pay for half up front.  On top of all of this, their production facility was, get this, going to shut down for the entire month of August!  They would have to send our design of to a plant in Romania, of all places.  James and I were able to put something together, grab a couple of sponsors, and had our company pay for them (advertising).  Well, it seems as though all of the planets, stars, moons, juju, yin, yang, and Karma all lined up because they came in today....just 3 days before the event.  In fact, we tracked them from Romania, to Germany, to the UK, to Philadelphia, to Louisville, to Scottsdale in just about a 36 hour time frame.  Hopefully we are as fast as they are by themselves!!!!  Any way, here it is:

 

Coaching Pro Triathlete Jozsef Major

Today, I had the distinct pleasure of coaching an Ironman Champion in our Master Spas Michael Phelps endless pool.  Joszef Major has been working with Frank and Sole Swim Solutions for quite some time, but today I was able to work with him on his technique.  No pictures, just a completely awesome opportunity that I can put on my resume.  He is a very gracious, humble, and gifted athlete that took every bit of advice and immediately put it to use.  In case you want to check him out for yourself, here are a couple of links to his Facebook pages.

Jozsef Major FB Page 

Jozsef Major FB Page 2

And here are his results from 2006 through 2012:

2012

• Ironman U.S. Championship (USA) (2.4mi/112mi/26.2mi) 3rd place
• Ironman 70.3 Rhode Island (USA) (1.2mi/56mi/13.1mi) 4th place
• Ironman 70.3 Syracuse (USA) (1.2mi/56mi/13.1mi) 5th place
• Ironman 70.3 Kansas (USA) (1.2mi/56mi/13.1mi) 9th place
• Ironman Texas (USA) (2.4mi/112mi/26.2mi) 4th place
• Rio Salado Olympic Distance Triathlon (USA, AZ) 1st place
• Samui Triathlon (Thailand) (4km/122km/30km) 10th place
• Ironman70.3 Texas (USA) (1.2mi/56mi/13.1mi) 4th bbs* 13th place

2011

• IRONMAN World Championship (USA, Hawaii) 19th place
• Nathan Tempe Olympic Distance Triathlon (USA, AZ) 2nd place
• SUPERFROG Half Ironman (USA) (1.2mi/56mi/13.1mi) 1st place
• Ironman National Championship (HUN) (2.4mi/112mi/26.2mi) bbs* 1st place
• Ironman Austria-Klagenfurt (AUT) (2.4mi/112mi/26.2mi) 6th place
• Ironman Texas (USA) (2.4mi/112mi/26.2mi) 2nd bbs* 5th place
• Ironman70.3 Texas (USA) (1.2mi/56mi/13.1mi) 6th bbs* 9th place
• Ironman70.3 California (USA) (1.2mi/56mi/13.1mi) 21st place

2010

• Ironman Cozumel (MEX) (2.4mi/112mi/26.2mi) 8th place
• Ironman Arizona (USA) (2.4mi/112mi/26.2mi) 4th bbs* 5th place
• IRONMAN World Championship (USA, Hawaii) 22nd place
• Ironman National Championship (HUN) (2.4mi/112mi/26.2mi) bbs* 1st place
• Duathlon National Championship (HUN) (10k/40k/5k) 1st place
• Half Ironman National Championship (HUN) (1.2mi/56mi/13.1mi) 4th place
• Ironman St George-Utah (USA) (2.4mi/112mi/26.2mi) 9th place
• Ironman China (CHN) (2.4mi/112mi/26.2mi) qualify* bbs* 2nd place

2009

• SOMA Half Ironman (USA, AZ) (1.2mi/56mi/13.1mi) 2nd place
• Ironman National Championship (HUN) (2.4mi/112mi/26.2mi) bbs* 1st place
• Roth Challenge Triathlon (GER) (2.4mi/112mi/26.2mi) 28th place
• Rothsee Olympic Distance Triathlon (GER) (1.5k/40k/10k) 2nd place
• Duathlon National Championship (HUN) (10k/40k/5k) 1st place
• Ironman China (CHN) (2.4mi/112mi/26.2mi) 3rd place
• Ironman70.3 California (USA) (1.2mi/56mi/13.1mi) 10th place
• Desert Classic Duathlon (AZ, USA) (3.5mi/21mi/2.7mi) 2nd place

2008

• Ironman Arizona (USA) (2.4mi/112mi/26.2mi) qualify* 4th place
• SOMA Half Ironman (USA, AZ) (1.2mi/56mi/13.1mi) 4th place
• IRONMAN World Championship (USA, Hawaii) 35th place
• Ironman National Championship (HUN) (2.4mi/112mi/26.2mi) bbs* 1st place
• Ironman France-Nice (FRA) (2.4mi/112mi/26.2mi) 7th place
• Half Ironman National Championship (HUN) (1.2mi/56mi/13.1mi) 2nd place
• Duathlon National Championship (HUN) (10k/40k/5k) 2nd place
• Arizona Ironman (USA) (2.4mi/112mi/26.2mi) qualify* 1st place

2007

• IRONMAN World Championship (USA, Hawaii) 22nd place
• Ironman National Championship (HUN) (2.4mi/112mi/26.2mi) 1st place
• Half Ironman National Championship (HUN) (1.2mi/56mi/13.1mi) 2nd place
• Ironman Switzerland (SUI) (3,8km/180km/42km) 3rd place
• Ironman70.3 Switzerland (SUI) (1,9km/90km/21km) 11th place
• Duathlon National Championship (HUN) (10k/40k/5k) 3rd place
• Ironman Arizona (USA) (3,8km/180km/42km) qualify* 5th place

2006

• Duathlon National Championship (HUN) (10k/40k/5k) 1st place
• MÜRZMAN Extrem-Duathlon (AUT) (10k/100k/20k) 1st place
• Ironman France-Nice (FRA) (2.4mi/112mi/26.2mi) qualify* 4th place
• Ironman National Championship (HUN) (2.4mi/112mi/26.2mi) 1st place
• ElbaMan Ironman (ITA) (2.4mi/112mi/26.2mi) 1st place
• Ironman Florida (USA) (2.4mi/112mi/26.2mi) 7th place

* qualified for the Ironman World Championship

* best bike split (IMCHN2010 4:36, IMHUN2010 4:15, IMHUN2009 4:24, IMHUN2008 4:26) *4th bbs within 1 minutes of the fastest bike split

A Great Morning For A MTB Ride!

Nothing special to report other than a big lightning/thunder/rain storm woke me up this morning around 4AM.  When I heard the first clap of thunder, I immediately reached over and turned off my alarm and decided to skip my ride.  Eventually, the rain disappeared, the thunder grew faint, and I was now fairly awake any way.  Taking everything into consideration, I ended up saddling up and heading out for a solo ride.  Solo rides are often times my favorite.  I can go at my own pace, stop for no reason, enjoy the scenery on my time, or call a last second route change with no discussion.  This morning was a great ride that produced this awesome pic:

 

August Numbers

After looking back at the history of my rides, August 2013 saw the most times in the saddle.  I had a total of 20 rides.  I think my next closest, in the last 3 years, was around 15 or 16.  These rides were shorter, the longest was 32.37, but the volume resulted in fairly impressive total.  In fact, the total miles for this month would have been 6th most in 2010 and 2nd most in 2012 (both IMAZ training years).  Since the TTT, next week, is only 40K, there isn't any real reason to put in huge miles or take even more time away from the family.  I've split my time evenly (totally not planned) between the tri bike and the MTB!  I've had exactly 10 rides on each.  I can definitely feel that I am stronger on the tri bike and can directly relate that to my time on the MTB.  The natural intervals of MTB, the climbing, and the rough terrain, have definitely helped in my strength.  I also feel that the Beta-Alanine, Kre-Alkalyn, and Optygen stack is doing its job as well.  Ultimately, I feel very strong right now and am ready to put in a solid performance for the team.  Oh, as for swimming, I was in the pool only 4 times. 

Here are the monthly numbers:

AUGUST 2010 TOTALS (IMAZ 2010 TRAINING YEAR):
SWIM = 15750 yards
BIKE = 249.45 miles  
RUN = 39.72 miles

AUGUST 2011 TOTALS:
SWIM = 22891 yards  
BIKE = 342.96 miles  
RUN = 63.86 miles 
 
AUGUST 2012 TOTALS (IMAZ 2012 TRAINING YEAR):
SWIM = 19715 yards
BIKE = 384.58 miles
RUN = 81.51 miles
 
AUGUST  2013 TOTALS:
SWIM = 12000 yards
BIKE = 485.10 miles (tri 307.43 & 177.67 MTB)
RUN = 0 miles

Go Dback. Seriously, GO!

No, I'm not talking about the Arizona Diamondbacks baseball team, I'm talking about the Diamondback Rattlesnake that was coiled on the side of the trail this morning.  He wasn't too happy that we were bombing down the trail in his hood, so he quickly let us know with a very distinct, and loud, rattle!  "They" say that, for every one rattlesnake that you see, there are six near by that you don't see.  Yikes!  Luckily all four of us saw this fella, dismounted, took some pics, and quickly walked our rigs AROUND him.

 

July Numbers

One of the only interesting things about this month (that hasn't been previously blogged about) was that I helped coach a triathlon camp, in Prescott, AZ.  The camp was being put on by Destination Kona (Destination Kona) and Sole Swim Solutions (Sole Swim Solutions).  It was a great 3 day, 2 night event, that included things like nutritional presentations, the psychology of training sessions, a chi running clinic, swim technique at the local community college pool, rides in the cool pines, and plenty of social activities.

Here is a pic of me and Frank:

For more pics, you can go here Camp Pics or here More Camp Pics.

July Numbers:

JULY 2010 TOTALS (IMAZ 2010 TRAINING YEAR):
SWIM = 17850 yards
BIKE = 554.69 miles  
RUN = 82.70 miles

JULY 2011 TOTALS:
SWIM = 39042 yards  
BIKE = 578.87 miles  
RUN = 0 miles 
 
JULY 2012 TOTALS (IMAZ 2012 TRAINING YEAR):
SWIM = 27000 yards
BIKE = 338.63 miles
RUN = 96.33 miles
 
JULY  2013 TOTALS:
SWIM = 11200 yards
BIKE = 321.91 miles (169.77 tri & 152.14 MTB)
RUN = 6.5 miles 

Beta-Alanine, Kre-Alkalyn, & Optygen Stack....GAME ON!

I started my beloved stack of Beta-Alanine & Kre-Alkalyn again this morning.  I'm on this cocktail again because that it is confirmed that we will be doing the State TTT Championship on September 8th.  I'll be back on Optygen exactly one month prior to the race too.  After using this cocktail for my IMAZ 2012 training, I have repeatedly told everybody that I can how beneficial I thought it was...for me at least.  While there is no guarantee that they would experience the same benefits, I can say that I know of at least 5 other people that have used it and swear by it as well.  Since the number one web search that brings people to this blog is some derivative of "Kre-Alkalyn Ironman Triathlon" or "Beta Alanine and Kre-Alkalyn Stack" or just the words "Beta-Alanine" and "Kre-Alkalyn" together, I figured that I would group all of my posting about it here:
 
My initial report explaining what these supplements are and pics of the bottles I bought:
Introducing Beta-Alanine & Kre-Alkalyn

In this post, Beta-Alanine & Kre-Alkalyn 6 Week Report, I gave a rather neutral review 6 weeks in.

I started taking Beta-Alanine only when I was training for my swimming national championships: Beta-Alanine & Kre-Alkalyn Part II 

I gave a pretty positive 17 day update on the use of just Beta-Alanine:  Beta Alanine Without Kre-Alkalyn Update

 

Swim Meets & Nostalgia or Swim Meets Nostalgia?

On 06/21, my son competed in his 1st ever swim meet!  He participated in the 6 and under age group and completed the 25 yard freestyle and the 25 yard backstroke.  He completed his second meet this last Saturday (07/13).  I brings a tear to my eye to see him starting to enjoy being part of the swimming community and doing well at it.  Seeing him swim brought back a flood of memories, emotions, and feelings that completely overwhelmed me.  When he brought home is first ribbons, it reminded me that I still have, get this, EVERY SINGLE ribbon/medal that I ever won!!!!  They have been packaged neatly in plastic bags, with various other trophies, in a box in our garage.  I wanted to get them out to see what my first times were in the same events.  Ironically, my first two events ever were the same as his.  I was hoping to compare them, but then realized that I didn't start competing until I was 8.  I did show them to him and told him that he now has a time goal to set his sights on when he turns 8.  

• My first ever freestyle = 06/13/1981 (25 yards in 18.60) = 2nd place
• My first ever backstroke = 06/13/1981 (25 yards in 21.61) = 1st place

At any rate, I went through each one (they are all in chronological order) and found my fastest times in each event.  What surprised me the most is that I actually had breaststroke ribbons and, for the life of me, can't recall ever swimming that stroke!  I considered myself a backstroke, butterfly, and freestyle only guy (and in that order).  In any medley relay, I pretty much always did the backstroke or butterfly (or at least that's how I remember it!).  I can remember actually taking private lessons for breaststroke even in my advanced years because my coach, and grandmother, wanted me to be an IMer (Individual Medley).  I can't remember that ever amounting to much.  OK, OK, back to why I pulled out my fastest times....I wanted to compare them to my most recent PRs:

• My fastest age group butterfly = 06/13/1989 (50 yards in 25.74)
• My current PR = 04/05/2013 (50 yards in 25.54)

• My fastest age group backstroke = 07/11/1991 (50 yards in 27.10)
• My current "PR" = 04/05/2013 (50 yards in 27.62)

• My fastest age group breaststroke = 06/13/1991 (50 yards in 32.34)
• Haven't competed in this event

• My fastest age group freestyle = 07/02/1991 (50 yards in 23.36)
• My current "PR" = 05/09/2013 (50 yards in 23.62)

Aside from the revelation that I actually competed in breaststroke, the other surprising thing that stands out to me is that my butterfly PR occured when I was just 16!  All of the other fastest times were right after I graduated high school and had one summer of age group eligibility left.  That doesn't seem right.  Maybe I missed a ribbon somewhere, so maybe I'll go back and recheck.  If I do, I'll make the necessary changes to this post.  Until then, however, this is how I'll leave it.

My two very first ribbons are on the left.  The ones on the right are for my fastest times (above) as an age grouper:

SNAKE!

I really must not have anything going on if I'm posting pics of snakes.  I saw this monster bull snake sprawled across the trail on my ride this morning. 

 

4th of July MTBing in Alpine, AZ

Headed up to the family cabin for our annual 4th of July weekend trip.  If you recall, last year, I was in full-on IMAZ training and brought my tri bike and running gear.  This time, however, it was MTB time!  Before we left, I downloaded a trail map of the area and found out that there were a few great trails near our cabin.  I won't bore you with any of the minutia, rather I'll give an overview of each ride (there were 3).

First up was the Luna Lake trail.  It has a big loop (8 miles) and a small loop (2.5 miles).  Luna Lake is about 5-6 miles from the cabin and the trail head may be another mile further in.  The MTB trails in this area are designated with a blue diamond and are marked fairly well.  I decided to ride from the cabin to the trail head, do the long loop, and head back.  Once in the thick of it, I ended up getting turned around and when I turned to the trail markers, I saw two arrows pointing in opposite directions on the same trail.  Which way should I go?!?  I ran into a few rangers and made some small talk too.  They told me that there was a big mountain lion roaming in the area so I should be careful.  Awesome.  Ultimately, I found my way back to the trail head and headed home.  This would end up being my longest MTB ride yet and it was great.

Link to the ride: Luna Lake Loop

I guess this is the trail head!

The trails were marked fairly well:

Or were they?

The scenery was much different than what I've been used to MTBing in:

Two days later, on the 5th, I racked my bike and headed over to Williams Valley to hit the trails there.  It's not far, but I just didn't feel like riding to the trails like I did with Luna.  The VERY short version of this ride is that I saw some Elk, was completely isolated in the middle of the forest, saw/heard and eagle screeching, fell over while still clipped in at a complete stop on the trail, and cut it short due to an incoming thunder storm.  Finally, the feeling of being completely isolated, in the middle of a valley, in the middle of the forest, with elk close by, was completely, and totally, out of this world, cool.

Link to the ride: Williams Valley Trails

More gratuitous pics of my bike:

The last ride was sometime after the Williams Valley ride.  After the storm passed, I headed back out.  I left my bike on the rack and made a quick 2 mile drive to the Georges Lake trail head.  I suppose I could have ridden there, but you know what?  I didn't.  The trail is a 9 mile OAB with a pretty good climb thrown in the middle.  I didn't actually see a lake, so I'm bummed about that, but I did do some exploring and had a great ride.  No pics though!

Link to the ride: Georges Lake Trail