Feeling Better

There's a lot to be said for some good quality recovery. (And I've been hearing it a lot lately) Either sickness, injury or both in my case gives you time to rest, reflect and relax. I was stoked to get in a couple of decent trainer rides this past week and also some good hammock time up in the mountains for Memorial Day. My cold is gone and my ribs are feeling about 75% of normal, which is a huge improvement over like 50% 2 days ago. I've been getting some bodywork done but nothing has felt so right(timing wise) as getting on the table for a good hour massage this morning. The ribs are in place but it's just the small little muscles that need to heal before I'll be feeling 100%.

As for the legs. They're poppin'. I missed the workout on Monday, which was a three hour group ride, but I figured I could still get it in today which is a rest day on the schedule. I've had plenty of that this last week. I took off up the coast with my friend Matt and we both agreed to keep it mellow. I had a hard time holding back. My legs were so fresh I wanted to eat em. If I could only feel like that on race day. I did manage to keep it in check averaging like 200-225W until we hit torrey grade on the way back. I was riding really comfortably at 275 W until a couple of riders passed by me 1/4 of the way up. One was either a Kodak Gallery rider or a really good imposter (even riding the KUOTA). I was feeling really good so I took the bait and bridged about a 100m gap and felt great riding at 400W! (I rarely see that number). I easily caught his wheel and stayed on at 14mph and 340 W for the rest of the climb, about 4 minutes. THAT was fun. We took it easy the rest of the way home for a total of 2 hours 50 minutes. It feels good to get the lungs expanding again.

I'll check in with Jim later today and go over the schedule for the rest of the month. There are some aggressive swims and runs this week and I'm not sure how that'll feel. The movement of the pec's are very closely tied to the ribs and any bouncing of the muscle or pushing and pulling still reminds me of the injury. I think I'll try a compression top on the run and just give the swimming a go. There is still plenty of time to get in top form for San Diego International. I'm looking forward to this home town race and having my family there.

I did have a chance to recon some sick mountain bike routes this weekend. This time in the 4x golf cart next time on the epic.

plenty of options, rideable single track climb/ fire road climb to los pinos

some fast fire roads/ portion of 15 mile loop

Lake Morena Valley. ST trail head. nobody around.

Time for healing.

I've been taking it really easy for the last four days. I injured myself more than I initially suspected. Turns out I bruised my ribs pretty bad. Unfortunately this is a slow healing injury that reminds you it's there with every sneeze, cough, or deep breath. At the same time, I ended up coming down with that cold that was coming on during the race. Guess what, lots of sneezing and coughing, what a bitch. The perfect storm of injury and sickness. Luckily, I'm turning the corner on the cold so there is a lot less suffering.

I talked to Jim on Tuesday about my race and we discussed everything from transitions to nutrition especially the cramping issue. We know that cramps can be caused by dehydration and electrolyte depletion primarily sodium. I took some time to analyze my sodium needs. I need about 250 mg sodium for every 8 ounces of fluid intake. I had taken in 950 mg in 70 ounces on the bike. If I do the calculation that's 1237mg deficient of the 2187 mg that would be required. Wow! I took in less than half my needs on a relatively hot day. I'm pretty sure that's what caused my problems on the run. Jim had mentioned that fatigue can play a significant role in cramping but I think both are the case in that premature fatigue can be brought on by even slight dehydration and electrolyte depletion. Even though this was the longest race I've done, I wasn't really feeling the fatigue or loss of strength as much as just being debilitated by cramps. This will be a huge lesson learned for my personal nutrition plan going forward. Why I didn't figure out my exact needs before race day is just a mistake and plain stupid. The information is out there!

This week in training had been mostly elective workouts. I did get on the trainer for 45 minutes on Tuesday just to get a good blood exchange going in the legs but mostly I've just been staying loose, stretching. Running and swimming are still out of the question, but I'm gonna try to get out on the road bike today for an easy 90 minutes. Other than that I'm hitting up the Arnica and eating well.

Xterra West Championships

Well I'm writing this race report trying not to cough because it hurts. I took one hell of a crash and a handlebar to the chest and bruised a rib/intercostal muscle or both. Badge of courage for sure. I wasn't even sure I'd make it to the starting line let alone the finish line which I did in 3:40:33. This is the longest race I've ever done as well as the most fun by far. Just flat out gnarly racing. Nothing too ridiculous but just unrelenting.

I went up Saturday morning not feeling too hot. Feeling sick but not dying. There was no way I was going to be at my house, at race time, wondering if I could have raced. I got to the race site and hooked up with James, picked up the race packet and checked out the scene, where there was duathlon already in progress. It was a much smaller setup than I was anticipating. It was plenty warm so I didn't hang out for too long and went back to James' campsite where he let me park it for the night. Killer spot with lots of shade. I had some light workouts (swim and run) but I took it easy and went for a 20 min spin on the bike at sunset. I wanted to give my lungs a chance to get me through the next day. Dinner was chicken bean and rice burritos. I really worked hard to stay hydrated and alternated water and motortabs. I also was eating plenty at intervals throughout the day. Still feeling questionable I went to bed early and hoped to feel better in the morning.

RACE DAY

I woke up late after a restless sleep. In the back of my mind wondering am I feeling good to race? If I even had to ask myself, I was. I was there to race and even if I had to pull out at some point I would have learned something to prepare for my next Xterra. I got rolling with my pre-race routine. Hydration, hydration, hydration. We headed off to the race site around 8:30 with a 10:00 start. It was still cool and cloudy when I arrived but as soon as the sun broke through, bam! a little taste of the days weather ahead. Warm up was a little lighter and included the 10 minute ride to transition 10 minutes jogging and a 5 minute swim. I felt okay and at least the lungs were clear.

Swim.

The swim was a mass start 2 lap swim totalling 1500 yards, just short of a mile. My intention was to start conservative and feel my way through the race. The turns were left hand, so I started outside right second row. I breathe to the right so I had to rely a little more on sighting to check my position in the pack and find a cleaner draft. It was still mayhem, but since I was a little dialed back I was able to think more clearly and use some power to get out of trouble when I needed to. I wasn't feeling very strong but did the best job of drafting in any race, really thinking more clearly. Once I started lap two I was "all in" and finishing this thing. The crowd cheering on the short beach run was a definite boost. I was in a solid groove going back out. Not swimming fast but trying to conserve energy. By this time I had lots of opportunities to draft. The challenge was to find those who were surging not fading. I came out of the water about where I thought around 26:30. My transition was horrible. Like 3 minutes plus. I don't have a lot of practice putting socks, gloves and MTB shoes on in a hurry. Pulling my socks on, my hamstring cramped up. Knowing how difficult and hot the rest of the race would be, I took a second to stretch it and went for the extra Thermolytes in my bag. I had some for the start of the run but no extra laid out. Stupid for this kind of race. I went out on the bike reminding myself how long the race is and to pace myself.

Bike.

Out of transition there was about 1 mile of "paved" access road until the offroad began. I was feeling surprisingly good and jumped on some wheels to draft and started drinking. 50 oz. with 4 scoop carbopro and 2 motortabs, about 600 calories in the camelback. I drank all over the course and was glad to have my hands free. My plan was to moderate pace the first lap and go on the second. I was thinking well, drafted and bridged some gaps on the flatter sections. I passed most people on the descents and "flats". My climbing was solid and made sure I could stay on the bike by knowing who was in front of me and encouraging them through the tough sections. After the final descent there is a rolling section that they added. Tunnel of love or something like that. More like "Oh Shit alley". On one section there was three high rollers in a row. I was flying in the big ring and on the last one it's an off camber sharp right to stay on the trail. I had no idea and flew straight into the ditch the trail goes around. I hammered my chest straight into the bars and ended up like 5 feet from my bike. I jumped back on and assessed damage. I was rolling and no major blood. Lucky as hell. Funny thing is my coach Jim and James both prerode this section like twice and didn't mention anything except how fun it was. It's critical to know the WHOLE course yourself. Lap two was a little more aggressive. Going for more passes on the climbs and descents. The epic was charging at times, but I was still conservative not to go down again. I was struggling with some low back problems throughout the bike but nothing like Wildflower. I was at least able to move around and change my position and stand on the bike which helped alot. The whole bike leg felt like a good training ride and less like a race, intensity wise. That was my plan and I played it right because the run was a BIOTCH! Transition was slow again as I wanted to get my stuff right for the long run. Three more thermolytes and some water in and over me.

Run.

I took a fresh pair of shades on the run and was glad I did so I could see where I was HIKING up the first climb right out of T2. I started running when I saw the photographer at the top. I ran it out and hit the second part of the climb. At this point my VMO was starting to lock up and knew I better watch it and get some stuff in at the next aid station. I hit every aid station for what it was worth. two gatorades, one water over and one water in. I would come around and then boom, another cramp. The second half of the loop was the most fun with ridiculous steeps both up and down. I did much better to keep running but it didn't matter what I did as soon as I would get going in a groove it was only a matter of time as one powerful stride would trigger another cramp. I would spend the rest of the run "babysitting" my legs, downing the fluids and rubbing my legs with ice water. I felt the best on the second lap where I only really cramped up bad in two spots. On this section.

And then on a down hill goat trail with a bunch of jump downs where I was loading the muscles eccentrically. I hammered the last few downhills to the finish where the line snuck up on me. I could have passed a girl right in front of me if I hadn't been so happy just to see the finish. I did manage the people well that I'd passed on the way. I felt great at the finish except for the feeling like somebody shot me with a bean bag in the chest. It hurt to take a deep breath and even more to get out a dry cough. That was the most fun I'd had in a race EVER. Xterra is a beast.

I hung out to eat and then jumped in the lake, perfect weather for boating. Some reggae and Hawaiian music playing on the PA. A special Xterra flavor.

Analysis.

I'm super stoked to finish this race. If I had been feeling better I'd probably be disappointed in my time. My training got me through this. At no time was my Heart Rate out of control. That's a mystery to me. If I had pushed myself to red line at all, I can't imagine the carnage on the run. My nutrition was what I had planned plus 3 more thermolytes. Still I was cramping beyond my ability to really race. I pee'd plenty before the race. Took three thermolytes with water and one motortab pre race. That's nine total for the day plus the sodium in the 2 motortabs in the Camelback. Do I need like 3 Thermolytes every 15 minutes or what? I'm still not sure what's causing the cramps. I felt strong, not bonking, but would just cramp. I am on a mission to figure this out before I race again. I have a feeling this is all nutrition based. My legs are strong, I've trained the hills both on the bike and run. WTF? Oh yeah here's the splits:

Swim: 30:46 (including transition) yikes! probably too easy on the swim!

Bike: 2:07:10 (transition again)

Run:1:02:37

In the balance.

I'm just about out the door to drive up to Temecula for the race on sunday. As fate would have it I feel like I'm getting sick. Yesterday I started getting a scratchy cough and this morning some congestion. I have been taking really good care of myself but have been exposed to a lot of people who are sick. Nonetheless, as of now my intention is to race. I will continue with my routine and make the final evaluation on race morning. If this was going to be my last race for a while I would definitely charge it regardless, but I just signed up for San Diego International in exactly one month and would be a chance for a solid PR if I'm able to hold this at bay. One thing I have to be really careful of is getting this thing too far in my lungs. Ever since the chemo, my lungs have been really susceptible to increased distress like bronchitis. This is going to be a tough decision for race day. I'm hoping I am feeling better to make it a no brainer. I'm trying not to get to far ahead of myself and get pissed off, but it's tough. Think positive.

countdown to Temecula.

The last four days have been going really well. except for Monday which seemed like the longest hardest day off in a while. I've been switching gear(s) lately and trying to really prepare myself mentally and physically for Xterra. Everything from figuring out how to best get my calories on the bike to figuring out what shoes to take out on the run. I have also been trying to eat a little more lately. I was pretty focused on leaning out for Wildflower. I raced at 160 pounds. I was at that weight a week before and held it until race day. In retrospect this may have been a mistake. I am currently 164 and feeling stronger and more powerful. The proof is in the numbers especially on the bike.

Tuesday.

This is what I'm talking about. I had an aerobic swim and another 6 minute time trial on the trainer. In the morning I got on the table and had a 60 min massage. This was key as my left shoulder was really tight. The infra-spinaetus and rhomboids were the culprits. This can develop into an overuse injury if not careful. I was supposed to do a 60 minute aerobic swim but kept it to 30 minutes just to give the shoulder a break. My swimming has been pretty strong lately and I figure better to keep it healthy. Later I hit the trainer for my 45 minute session. Five minutes into the warm-up I knew it was on. At 25 minutes I hit it and boosted to 320 Watts. No time to ease into this interval and I just held on trying to stay steady at 100 rpm. Here's the data:

Avg Watts: 312
Avg HR: 158

Avg HR last 3 minutes: 168

Max:174

This is a huge improvement and a PR for Peak average power. Here is a comparison of workout graphs from a week ago.

This Week:

A far more steady effort and average power 24 watts higher. Sweet. Granted I was still a little beat last week but its nice to see those kind of numbers and feeling that good.

Monday.

Was the worlds longest day off. I was tired. Not exhausted but the kind of feeling that usually overcome with a solid workout. No workout so I had to suffer through the day feeling sluggish. It was hard to focus on work as I kept wondering how I would feel this week and race day.

Sunday.

Mothers Day. I snuck out with James for a 7:30am ocean swim at the shores. The conditions were ideal and we swam to the 1/4 mile buoy. I wanted to work on my drafting and James complied taking it a little easy not to drop me. We stopped a couple of times trying to navigate but on the way back I gave it a solid effort coming back 4 minutes faster. I hit my target (kayak launch buoy) perfectly and enjoyed a little body surf in. Total time around 40 mins. High tide made it a little further by 200m+/-.

Later that day we went to the mountains to spend some time and I snuck out for a little 45 minute cross country run. Mixed terrain including road, rocky jeep trail and single track cow trails. This was a nicely rolling course and I did some mellow surges on the hills working on cresting through and allowing the HR to fall on the backside. At 4000 feet and 76 degrees and dry, there was some acclimation benefit as well.

Saturday.

We pre-rode the course in Temecula. A lot of driving and only spent 1:30 on the bike, riding one loop stopping to ride a couple sections more than once, especially the first climb and dead man's corner. I took it easy on most of the climbs but hammered the downhills. This is a really fun course and the Epic was handling awesome through some burmed turns and rocky holes where I missed a couple lines. Really forgiving ride. I felt good on this ride and wanted to ride it again but everyone was itching to get on the road????. I rode with 28-30lbs and that pressure felt good. After the ride, Ryan was helping James dial in his suspension. I resisted temptation and left well enough alone.

Today I have a 60 minute aerobic swim and some 3 minute run intervals. Should be fun to check the legs out.

Shrugging it off. Back on the haas.

Today I have a rest day and time to finally finish all my unpacking, laundry and plan for the next race. Wildflower took a lot out of me. Not only the racing but the driving, planning and packing, driving, unpacking. On top of that I got a serious blowout on the drive home which puts my camper out of comission for however long it takes me to find the time to get my tire fixed. Check this out.

Damn lucky I didn't crash, or completely lose the tire.

The training this last week has been tough. More so mentally but also physically. I knew it would be hard doing back to back hard "A" races but especially hard getting psyched up after a slow race last weekend. I won't quit my day job.

Tuesday

was the first day back to training and included a good active recovery swim. I had a pool workout but couldn't make it before 2:00 when they close the pool for polo. I decided to get back into open water as I can always work on that based on my race performance. I still got in my main set of 4x300 (5.5 minutes) (15s) in the context of a 56 minute swim. The swim felt strong (since I didn't go hard enough in the race) and I focused on some heavy kicking intervals to get the legs moving. Water conditions were excellent and the air was better 75 and sunny.

Wednesday

I had a pool swim and did 2600m

MS 1x800 Tpace +5 (1:45's), 8x100 descending to T pace.

It was weird as I kind of was pushing to maintain 1:45's then when I did the 100's It was hard to swim slow enough to descend from 1:45. I felt strong throughout the second half and did my last 100 at 1:35 easy enough.

Later in the afternoon was a 45 minute trainer ride including a 6 minute TT at race effort. I considered this some sort of punishment for a bad bike leg and was all business as there is no patience for screwing around on the trainer. I had a good 20 min warm up that I use for Time Trialing and then slid up on the saddle and hammered. I was definitely feeling the weekend. My best avg. power on the road is 298 W for 6 min. Here's how this one went:

Avg Watts: 285

Avg HR (last 3 mins) : 169

Max HR: 174

Not bad but I know I can do better. You can see on the graph a little panic with 2 minutes to go. Steady man...relax! One note is that I haven't zeroed my torque since I changed the battery. I did this after the ride so we'll see when I do this workout next week if there is a discernable difference. My hunch is that it was reading low for power...I hope.

Thursday

I went to the track for some intervals. On tap was 6x800m. I was both looking forward to this and dreading it as my legs were still a little sore and tight. I did a mile warmup, stretched did 4x50m strides and hit it. Here's how it went:

1 2:52 HR150/167 max R3:03 HR135/133

2 3:04 HR162/176 max R3:10 HR127/139

3 3:01 HR166/177 max R3:14 HR135/142

4 3:02 HR168/181 max R3:20 HR124/142

5 2:59 HR 167/182 max R3:10 HR 136/145

6 2:58 HR 168/183 max

These were fricking tough, but I loved it by the time I got home. I did a good job keeping the first 3 steady once I figured out the pacing. My plan was to let it out on the last three. Look what happened HR max jumped but times couldn't get back to number one. 4 had a slow 400 so I made it up but the last two were all out.. positive splits to prove it. At least I didn't leave much out there. Still pretty slow stuff TURTLE. I'd be dreaming to run a 5:45 1600 this year.

Came home to grab my Zenith and head out for an open water workout with Jim's crew. I was up for this and going to work my ass off. We did several entry/exits then intervals around the buoys. 2x250m with a 10s beach run and then one 175. I needed to work on my drafting and turns but I ended up leading every interval only to get passed at the finish on the last two. I could feel the guy on my feet but there was not enough time to let him by then surge again past him. He swam smarter. picked me out to draft and capitalized. I had some good roundings going under the buoy but some pretty sloppy dolfining to finish the intervals. BELLY FLOP. I also am still sighting right on top of the buoys. Note to self. sight outside dummy.

Looking forward to preriding Temecula on Saturday. I should be feeling strong again by then and hopefully won't get dropped too hard. I just got the Epic tuned so I should be ready to go. I'm going to bring a camera to jog the memory but also should be fun to post.

Wildflower... weak... end

I had a pretty fun weekend up at Wildflower but any fun is quickly overshadowed by a really weak result in the Oly race on sunday. Wildflower is a perfect training race to not care how you do because there is so much distraction, so much time to kill and trips up and down Lynch Hill that you could easily blow your gig somewhere along the way. Even the whole camping gig can cause problems after the third night of sleeping on a 5 degree slope in two directions. Unfortunately, this was my A race and I came to kick some ass and I was ready, so I thought.

My finish time was 2:37:45. 35th place. This is SEVEN minutes slower than my goal. That's a big discrepancy that I have to reconcile. Last year was 2:39:56 for 44th which is a marked improvement for 07 but not nearly the BT that I had trained for and consequently expecting.
It's time for a little Thursday morning quarterback so sit back and enjoy the excuses.

Here's the splits:

26:45 S 1:39 T1 1:19:16 B 1:38 T2 48:27 R

Sunday Race Day

I woke up race morning around 6:00 (hungry) with my back actually feeling pretty good compared to the last few days. My bike and gear was ready so all I had to do was get it together
eat breakfast and head down the hill. I stretched a little, ate my meager 450 calorie breakfast
and tried to hydrate as much as possible. Breakfast included 1 pure fit bar, 1 banana, 1 small box choco-soymilk, 20 oz w/ 1 motor tab, and 1 liter H20. I headed down the hill to arrive at transition 1 hour before my wave. I also took 1 scoop Carbopro 1 motortab in 20 oz bottle to finish before the race. I really wanted to concentrate on hydration and salt as I cramped up bad last year. I had a good transition spot next to the bike out. I took 5 Vantage tabs (45 minutes prior) and continued to sip water as I headed out for warm up. 10 mins of light jogging with some 20 second surges to race pace. I also got in about 10 mins of swim warmup including 4-5 1 minute surges to race start pace. I was happy to sneak in this swim away from the staging area as there is only about 3 minutes to get in before each wave. I felt this was a pretty complete warm-up and was ready to go.

SWIM

I joined my wave and negotiated my position at the start. I started second row on the left side. I wanted to keep most of the pack to my right side so I could limit my sighting and keep an eye on the pack while breathing. I took several calming breaths and the gun sounded. Two steps then dive. My plan was to stay pretty conservative but I had to power to maintain my postition and kick like hell to keep the zombies off my backside. It was going pretty well until my legs went dead and were burning for O2. That familiar feeling came on about 3/4 to the turn buoy which was about 250 meters out. Like being smothered by a pillow and desperate for an extra long breath. Don't stop, stay steady I repeated. I took the first buoy a little wide and edged back toward the pack to pick up some feet. I was comfortable with a pair as I recovered a little and then started hitting the pink caps from the previous wave. I bounced off several vertical bodies while I was trying to pick up the trail of bubbles. Sighting was difficult with the sun right in my face. The best I did was pick up some hips to my right and quickly realized I needed to move on. The water was a little choppy so I just focused on getting in a rhythm. still no solid draft. The first leg seemed like forever. Pile ups at each buoy so I stayed conservative and headed for home. The waves were really mixed now and I swam the shortest course where I was able to pick up some intermittent drafts. I was in the groove but not swimming as fast as I could. I decided to use any increase in my speed to moderate intensity (mistake) and came out of the water around 26 minutes. 2 minutes slower than planned. Damn. At least my HR was moderate and I wasn't dizzy. I took my wetsuit off immediately as my spot was on the other side of Transition (smart).

BIKE

The hill out of transition is about 1.5 mile 8-10% grade. I saw Jim before the start and I took his advice of not hammering this one. I averaged a steady 280W in the 27. Perceived effort was high still but I knew 310W was an upper limit so I was OK in terms of not going too anaerobic. I passed quite a few people struggling in 25's going in and out of the saddle. I was seated. I got to the top a little beat (It was clear my legs were not completely there) and started on my nutrition. One bottle with 1 MotorTab and one with 2 scoop carbopro and 1 motor tab. My plan was to take in H20 and electrolytes for the first half and calories on the way home. This would be a critical flaw in my plan. Since I was racing w/power meter I knew I could stay above 220W and count on some solid surges to 245-260 to get me to my bike goal. Wasn't happening. I struggled to stay above 200W. WTF? I was struggling to get power to the pedals even though my HR was moderate. I was constantly on the shifters to find a groove and deal with the constantly changing grades. I finally started to feel better when my back started to tighten up. I'd had some issues all week and was hoping to avoid too much sitting up. (I even dropped the seat about 7-8mm to see if it helped.) This was the beginning of the end. I was not comfortable and lost power all the way through the pedal stroke, especially through the bottom. I had some solid surges on the flats but the climbs killed my back. I was also slightly bonking. with every sip of calories I felt better then dead. My nutrition plan should have been either reversed or calories the whole way. At no time was I feeling full or over-fed. I only had 280 calories on the bike. This was so called "expert advice". Kim...YOUR FIRED! I was glad to get off the bike and see how the run would go. My back tightness usually doesn't bother me on the run so I could look forward to getting on my feet.

This is peak average power from the race.

Peak average power from 3/13/07 training ride:

Of note is the flatness of the graph from training vs. the huge drop from 5 min to 20 min on the race graph plus the power through 30 min to 60 min is much higher. Almost two months prior and non race situation. Something went wrong on race day!

RUN

I took some time to put socks on and headed out. Right out of T2 there is a flight of 20 stairs and then sharply rolling terrain for the first 2 miles. Once again my legs were toast. The slightest incline sent me into sharp burning pain in my quads with no pop. No cramping though...yet.
I was clearly starting to bonk even harder and made the decision to walk through the first two aid stations to get full cups of gatorade down and water. Mile three brought the big Hills and I just was not digging this at all. I felt like a snail. I shortened up the stride and focused on technique but I was still slow and starting to get some twitching in the quads. I continued to get in as much gatorade as I could take and started feeling better on the flats half way up the hill. I was lost on the course and was just focusing on pushing and trying to run hard...struggling. I trained harder on hills this season than ever. EVER. and still was not feeling the benefit at all. I made it up the second half of this 2 mile stepped hill by just latching on to someones feet. I'd battled with this guy on the bike so I didn't want to lose him even though he was 27. It was really hot by this point and was glad I had a white singlet and hat. At mile four I knew there was just one more mile till the big downhill and tried to increase my push off but the hamstrings were not having it. back to turnover. I was actually feeling better at this point and finally felt my HR starting to rise. I hit the top and hammered down hill. My legs were behaving at this point and I made up a lot of time passing everybody. I hit the chute at 2:36:30 and knew it was about 300m to finish. I felt great at the finish 2:37:45 but still shaking my head with disappointment. What happened. My training went so well 20-30W improvement in 30 min peak AvgPower and 12 minute 1/2 marathon PR and all I get is 2 minutes and change. Something went wrong.

ANALYSIS

I was a little overconfident. I was a little complacent on the swim and was relying on my training to get me the speed I needed. I also didn't eat enough carbs in the days leading up to the race and even went to bed a little hungry the night before. This was all the advice I was given. I was even feeling a little flat the days before. Over rested. I had three days of skeleton training leading up to the race. Maybe one day off or with easy 20 min jog would have done it. I think I could have done better to train right through this race. I should have had my back adjusted before I went. Even if this meant arriving a day late to the lake. That was a judgement call that only time could tell. Finally NOT ENOUGH CALORIES ON THE BIKE. My stomach was nowhere near backing up on me and could have easily taken in 200 more calories. Or at least reverse the protocol with calories first then fluids. I had a gel but was sticking to the plan. I did not want to risk cramping, like last year, at all costs. Fun race but definitely more questions now than answers

Time now to focus on Xterra West which will be a far more difficult race. I'm fearing it a little and definitely not over confident. I hope to fix the nutrition and taper issues as I will again trust Jim to get me through it. He has me carbo loading three days out and I think I'll see better energy levels because of it. I'll post my recent training later.

Ready to Race...almost.

Today is the last full workout before heading off to Lake San Antonio for wildflower Olympic. This is the moment I've been waiting for. The paradox is revealed when I think about it. Everything is at stake, but there is nothing at stake. No matter how the race goes, I have already done well. The reasons I'm on the course take away a lot of the pressure and allow me to enjoy the moment. All the sacrifice, the discipline, the endurance of pain and pleasure are all part of the success I can appreciate in the presence of participation. That is not to say my personal goals for the event are irrellevant, but merely a reflection of the effort I put in every day. I will race hard and race smart and have visualized my measurable success. I am really looking forward to putting my mind and body to the test. I am prepared.

As for the training.

Tuesday was a full day off. I went for a weekly massage and had some work done on my low back. It kind of flared up yesterday but it's feeling 95% after some good rest and additional PT last night. I was thinking about getting an adjustment but do not want to mess with it if its feeling better today. I did a lot of packing and am still not done. Last minute tweeking and buttoning up some work has put me a little behind schedule.

Monday I did an open water swim with the tri club. I had a really good swim. I went with a group that swam to the 1/4 mile buoy from the shores. I wanted to use this opportunity to swim in a pack and practice a few things like drafting in several positions. One problem. There was no pack. I waited for half the group to go and would chase down the leaders to get on some feet. I quickly made it through and saw three at the front swimming 5m apart. I got on one pair and it was apparent this person was swimming out to sea. I decided to go alone. Not even swimming hard I was 3rd at the buoy. While waiting to regroup I did some buoy turns while others chatted. I thought about organizing some group turns but for some reason I didn't. On the way back I wanted to heat it up. I started at the back. Same thing. I was sighting back to where we started but before I knew it everyone was inside. I hammered home feeling like I could go forever. Really felt strong with another two gears available. Definite confidence booster.
Total time: 50 minues

Sunday was a short 60 min run and a 30 min open swim. I was really tired. I didn't sleep that well so I don't know if it was fatigue from training or lack of sleep. I made it through the run and was excited to get in the water after. I swam at the cliffs from NOBES channel to garbage stairs and back. My shoulder was starting to flare up so I took it pretty easy on this one. It felt a little better on the way back but I'm glad it felt strong on Monday. There was some surf so I had some fun going through some witewash and swimming past some guys in the lineup. They look at me like I'm either crazy or crazy. I swam through a couple of kelp patties which is good to practice for crowds keeping the arms moving and utilizing some power. I'm beginning to realize this is a strong point for me. I tend to have a good bit of power when I need it. Sustaining that is a different question. total time 43 minutes. Home around sunset for some homemade Minestrone soup.

Saturday I did an easy 2 hour ride. It felt really good to ride in an easier gear for a change. I rode pretty much the whole time in the aero trying to keep the cadence up around 95-100 really focusing on my pedalling. I wasn't feeling all that tired and could easily have hammered but I managed some discipline and enjoyed the ride. I took the only flat route around out mission valley and turned around at Qualcomm stadium.

Today I have some speedwork in the pool and a quick 90 minute ride. I'm gonna go out on my race wheels to break in the bearings. I talked to matt about the stiffness in the rear hub and he double checked it telling me the seals are pretty tight and could use some breaking in. I'll check it this evening and go from there. Not what I was hoping for but I think it will work out. Off to the pool.