Cali - Here we come!

Heading to CA this morning for a long weekend. We'll spend most of our time in Santa Barbara for a friend's wedding. The end of our trip will be in LA to visit family. LA is on fire right now - literally and figuretively - there are forest fires all over the place and the temp is over 100 in the valley, where we'll be visiting.
Oh well, Conor has never been, so it will be fun to show him around and see what he thinks of the place. I tend to think its pretty incredible - if it just weren't so expensive and crowded!
Training while there will likely consist of running and swimming - MAYBE a ride on a rented road bike, but that's still up for debate.
Looking forward to the time off and to warm, sunny weather!

Oh No

So we have a race coming up in less than 2 weeks. I haven't spent much time preparing. I'm just hoping I make it through the run.

Since we returned from CO, I've done:

2 x 1:30 - 1:45 bike rides in BC with Stacey on my tri bike.
2 x 45 minute swims in the pool in BC
4.5 mile run last weekend with Duke at the lake
6 mile run with Stacey in BC yesterday

Swimming is fine. Biking feels good - I described myself as feeling like I was "flying" the other day - the new bike is a huge improvement - it just FEELS better. The run is ok, not sure how my legs are going to feel once I get done with 40 miles on the bike, but I figure I will get it done one way or another.

Once this race is done, I need to get my shit together and get back to training for Oceanside. Evan says he will help coach me by setting up a plan and helping me understand HR training, etc. I guess I should figure out how to work my new Garmin Forerunner! And then I need to get my head in the right place and focused on preparing for Oceanside. Clearly, I am not there for this race in early October, but need to get there for the half!

Heading to Santa Barbara, CA tomorrow. Hope to get some swimming in and to run with my friend Katie. She's a great running partner and it will be nice to have some time to catch up!

Colorado = Heaven

Spent the last 5 days in Colorado for Conor's cousin, Kevin's wedding. Before I get into the specifics of training, let me just say that Colorado is about as close to heaven as it gets for me (so far). We've been to CO many times to ski and have spent some time in Denver as well. But the mountains in the fall were absolutely incredible. A couple more weeks and I think everything would have been yellow - breathtaking I'm sure.

While in CO, we spent our time in Avon near Beaver Creek ski resort. Our hotel had a great outdoor lap pool - overlooking the mountains. That sure does beat the YMCA!

Training:

Thursday:
Swim: ~1000 yards - this was TOUGH - the breathing is very difficult at that altitude and I noticed it most in the water. Basically broke this up into 4 X 250 with some rests in the middle to regain my breath. But check out the views - for real?
Hike: ~7 miles - Kevin lead Conor, Evan, Stacey and I on a trail through Beaver Creek to Beaver Lake. The hike was challenging, with quite a bit of steep uphill walking. It was a nice alternative to a run though.




Friday:
Run: ~5.5 miles, 60 minutes. Conor and I ran through Avon, East towards Vail. The run seemed pretty challenging - I was having a hard time breathing even though we were going pretty slow. Once we got to the half way point and turned around I saw that we had been running up a slight hill the entire 1st half - no wonder I was winded. The altitude didn't help either.
We spent the rest of Friday afternoon on a funyaking trip on the Colorado river. We had a group of 18 people - lots of fun and beautiful scenery!

Saturday:
Rest day - easy cruiser ride with Stacey, Katie, Cathy and Kristen. We rode about 8 miles total - from Avon to Edwards and back. It was relaxing and nice way to spend some time with the girls. Plus I was nursing a hangover from the night before - rehearsal dinner and karoke at Paddy's post dinner were lots of fun! Maybe too much fun! Thank god for Advil and big glasses of water!

Sunday:
Run - I got up early and went out for a jog on my own. This time I went West from Avon towards Edwards on the trail we rode the cruisers on Saturday. It was challenging - rolling hills on the trail, and again, I was winded the entire way. But I ended up running 48 minutes total and felt good at the end. The trail is incredible - it follows a gorgeous river the entire way and is shaded by lots of trees. I am envious of the folks who live in these small mountain towns with access to this kind of recreation right out their back doors! It's visits like this one that make both Conor and I want to move West.

Head back to work tomorrow and hope this nice weather will stick around for some riding in BC this week.

Finally!

I got my new bike over the long weekend. Perfect timing for getting out and doing a couple of rides.
This weekend:
Saturday: 38 mile ride - first time in the aero position - sore neck and shoulders.

Sunday: 1 mile swim, 30 minutes on trainer - practiced staying in aero position and relaxing neck and shoulders. Also switched out saddle for one with a hole in the middle - much more comfortable!

Monday: 38 mile ride - spent majority of the ride in aero and felt much less stress on my neck. Ride felt really good - smooth and fast. I still don't have a computer yet, so not sure of my speed, but certainly am finding the new bike faster and easier.

Tuesday: Rest day - travel to BC

Wednesday: 30 minutes on elyptical machine at 5:30am. Felt really good to get up and get something in before a very busy day at work starting with 7am meeting!

Looking forward to a couple of days in CO complete with swimming in an outdoor lap pool :), hiking and trail runs - assuming I can breathe at that altitude!

Still Waiting ....

Spent last weekend in Louisville keeping Evan company until the Ironman race on Sunday morning. The weather in Louisville was miraclously PERFECT and allowed Conor and I to get in some time on the road and in the water.

Friday, August 28: Ride: 1 hour (1st part of bike course) avg 17.2 mph; followed by 15 min run
The bike was ok - we got buzzed A LOT since it was a high traffic road and rush hour on Friday. Plus I don't think the folks in Louisville have a grasp on how to handle bikes on the roads yet. Too much buzzing when there was plenty of room to slow down and move over to the other lane! It scares the heck out of me to ride on roads like this and I was actually thankful that I was on Blue Steel and not my new bike where I would still be learning the handling!
The short run was ok as well - my legs were pretty tired for the first 12 minutes, then in the last few I really started to loosen up and settle down. Conor actually mentioned I picked up the pace a bit once I felt more in control. I need to remember that its going to take a bit for the breathing to settle, but that it will and at that point I will feel strong again.

Saturday, August 29: Swim in the BEAUTIFULLY BROWN Ohio River - 30 minutes (ish). Again, part of the swim course with other athletes - this was nice practice swimming without wetsuit and having to sight for my line. I love the swim. Spent the afternoon reading more of "Born to Run" - which is becoming more and more addictive.

Sunday, August 30: Race day - no activity except walking and driving and running around to catch a glimpse of Evan on the race!

Monday, August 31: Ride 1 hour same road - avg 17.1 mph - did the same route. Then head out on the drive back home.

Tuesday, September 1: Ride 15 minutes on Blue Steel to John & Nancy's to have Evan help me take my pedals off in prep for getting my new bike on Friday afternoon! Then spending most of the evening helping my mom with Grandma deal with car wreck aftermath.

I'm looking forward to getting the new bike on Friday and am hoping for kind weather this weekend so we can do some riding outside! Also need to get in a long run - happy its a long weekend!