Austin, 3:05, 1st, and David Beckham

It has been a while since my last training update. It has been a mixture of business and laziness, and probably more the latter. Quite a lot has happened in the last few weeks. The last weekend in Feb. I went down to Austin to catch the Big12 Swimming and Diving Championships. I was at the end of my recovery week and the perfect time for a little weekend diversion. First off, Austin is amazing. It is such an awesome city to train in and also a great place to hang out. Definitely could see myself ending up there. I did three wrokouts while i was there and managed to see Michael Lovato (actually ran him down on the trail, but for fear of being perceived a stalker I cut off after a few miles), i rode into Andrea Fisher and rode with her group for a few hours, James Bonney, and someone else whose name is slipping my mind right now. I also ate at Chuy's which is one of the best Tex-Mex joints around. All in all it was a great weekend. Can't wait to get back!

In other news had my best track workout ever 2 weeks ago, and quite suprisingly it was my first one of the year. I did 5x1k w/ 90s rest. I went 3:07, 3:03, 3:06, 3:06, 3:03. It was super windy and I did it on my own, which gave me a lot of confidence going into this season. To average 3:05 k's for my first ringer of the year is a good sign. All the hard work seems to be paying off.....

Here is my weekly totals since last post:
2/25-3/2: Recovery
Swim: 15,700m
Bike: 6.25 Hrs
Run: 20 miles--too much travel, and nursing my sore calf
Hrs: 14hrs

3/3-3/9: Increase intensity
Swim: 14,400yds
Bike: 7:45 hrs w/ hard trainer ride 6x2min w/1 min recov. Ave HR= 160, Max 171
Run: 48miles w/ 5x1k w/90s (3:05ave) and 6x400 w/60s jog recov @75 as main workouts
Hrs: 17.75hrs

3/10-3/16
Swim: 14,100 yds
Bike: 7 hrs w/ 6x2min hard/2 Ez
Run: 56 miles w/ 2x(2x90hard/90easy, 60/60, 30/30, 15/15)
Hrs: 18 hrs--Sat Race St. Patrick's Triathlon!
No track wkout, but did do a sprint race, and won! I did the St Patricks Day Triathlon for a nice little hitout and to bust out the cobwebs. I did a 4.5 hour hard day the day before so my legs were shattered for the race. I still managed to race ok....My run felt smooth and solid. I neg split it for the 5k so around 8:30 for first 2.5k and 8:18 for second 2.5k for a 16:48 split by my watch.

Super Chuffed! No, I am not becoming British it is just that after the triathlon, I went to the FC Dallas v. LA Galaxy to see David Beckham play. The game was great, and we had awesome seats (15 bucks for 20th row, gotta love soccer in the states). Afterward we randomly ran into their team bus going to their "secret" hotel. As we followed the police escort, parked in a ditch, and then sprinted over to the hotel, we were able to catch Becks himself climbing off. There I stood, next to arguably the most famous sports celebrity in the world w/ no camera or anything to sign. I found my ticket stub, and did manage to snap a pic on the trusty camera phone. It was pretty crazy though. The girl next to me actually fainted when he took his pic with her. funny stuff.
Well sweet dreams ladies! This post is getting way too long so Im out!

cheers,

B

where's the fork...

If you can find it you can stick it in me, because I am done. Completely wasted. This week was my first big week so far this year, and it lived up to all the pain and agony that I anticipated. The plan was to do 30 hours to finish my "base" pahse and get a solid week of strength in. It ended up 28.5 hrs due to a missed swim. Actually this time it was not my fault as both Saturday and Sunday evenings the pool was closed before I could make it there. Otherwise it was a really good week. I decided to load the back half of the week again and ended up with 17 hours on Fri-Sun.

Totals:

swim: 22,500 w/ a 7000yd practice and because all my swims are with a swim team there is way, way, to much intensity for my liking!

bike: 14 hours w/ group ride on Tues where for 25 miles my HR never dipped below 155 and got up to 180. Sat/Sun were 4hrs/3.75hrs of solid group rides. Hard week of cycling for me.

run: 58 miles. Didnt quite get over 60 like I hoped but it was solid. 16 miler on Sat. after 4 hour ride hurt (especially when I forgot socks....at least 5 bleeding blisters). On Sunday after ride did a really solid 6 mile run right off the bike and felt really good. It was really encouraging to nail the very last workout of the week.

hrs: 28.5 --On Sunday I had three coffees throughout the day, which is a sure sign I am tired.

As I sit here in the coffee shop after a monday morning swim that was a little harder than expected, my quads keep cramping up. It did the same thing last night as well. I am in need of an easy week and it is finally here. Time to let the body heal and recover. This week should be between 18-20 hours of maintenance training.

And in other news, I am excited to have Powerbar back for 2 more years. I just received my first shipment before this weekend. I really have missed my Powerbar stuff. It is great to have them back on board. They are a great company, provide me with great support, and I cant imagine training without Powerbars in my pocket

Until next time.....cheers!

B

motivation

This week was another solid week in the bank. I have been steady since the beginning of January and the fitness is beginning to show. I wanted to get in 26-27 hours this week but fell a little short. I skipped one swim and one bike, so the weekly total was a little lower. The run, however, which has been my focus, increased:

Le details:

Swim: 22,900 in 4 practices. Tues was 7200yds (felt like an age group swimmer again)

Bike: 7 hours-3 rides. Thurs was a really, really hard group ride again. Couldnt even pull through.

Run: 62 miles. This saved the week. I loaded the end of the week with mileage getting 39.5 miles in the last 3 days (12/15/12.5) w/6 tempo on the end of the 15 miler on Saturday, and 2 miles of 76s/100s 400's on the track on Sunday. Really tired from the running.

Total hours this week were 23.5. This next week WILL be 30 hours and then a much needed recovery week.

And finally here is some motivation. The ITU just launched there Olympic Games Page here. Nothing like pictures from Athens to get your butt out the door to keep training.

until next time, Cheers!

B

cette semaine...

This will be the first week of updates of my training schedule. Last week I got in a solid 24.25 hours of training in. It was the first of three large weeks that I will do before a recovery week. This week should be around 26-27 hours and next week around 30 hours. I am still primarily in the base phase still, so biking and running are primarily steady w/ 1 to 2 uptempo workouts per week. Swimming is always fairly intensive. I wont do anything on the track (running) until after the next recovery week.

Week specifics:
swimming: 26,800 yds -really solid with lots of intensity

biking: 8 hrs - 3 rides, with one really, really hard group ride

running: 58 miles - steady w/ one fartlek run 2x[2x90s w/90rest, 2x60s w/60rest, 2/30s w/30rest, and 2/15s w/15 rest]--yes i stole this workout from another training group, but I really like it. Legs feel good when they get up and go. Max HR got up to 181.

Hours: 24.25

Pretty solid week for me. Consistency is the key for me. Hopefully I can keep stringing solid week after week together, and get ready for the debut April 19th.

Cheers,
B

february is here

Well I decided to skip the entire month of January on the blogging front. I spent the new year in Bend, Oregon. It was a great refreshing change of pace for me. I got in some swims, runs, and a few cross country ski sessions. It was a blast and recharged the old batteries. Since, then training has been consistent, but not extraordinary. The last couple weeks have seen the weekly training rise above 2o hours, and I am slowly starting to feel strong again. I will be ramping things up to 25 hours this week and then close to 30 hours for the next 3-4 weeks. The #1 goal for me this early season is consistency. It is the major thing my training has lacked the last several years. I have decided that after my health issues at the end of last season, to start the build up slow this year and be completely fit before I race.

I have decided not to do the race in Mexico March 8th and St. Kitts on the 15th. Even writing that down makes me want to erase and decide to go race. Last year I started my season a little before I was ready, and this year I dont want to make the same mistake. As of right now, I will probably race 20 times or so this year, even without these two races added in. For once, I am going to use better judgement and not do every race just because it is there. It is now looking like April 19th will be my first race. This will be in Mazatlan, Mexico. It is the Pan-American Championships and an important race for me. It is also the selection race for the 2008 World University Games in Erdek, Turkey. I hope to qualify there for my 3rd consecutive World University Games.

New to the blog this year I will start to post more about my weekly training. I have simply used it in the past for travel and race updates, but want to start blogging more frequently. Well that is all for now. Have a great new year and safe travels!

Cheers,
B

NYC

I just got back from New York City. I was a quick trip, thursday to sunday, but fun nevertheless. It is a great time of year to visit New York. I was able to being along the misses, and we had a great time. It was my first mini vacation this year. In two weeks I will be heading out to Bend, Oregon for 14 days of vacation. It should be a great time, and aloow my body to continue to rejuvinate and get ready for next season.

As far as training and my race schedule, I have taken about 4 weeks completely off. I am currently starting to train a little more consistently, but it is really hard to get going again. The break has been good for the body and mind, and I am really excited about the upcoming season. As of right now, I will start my season March 8 in Mexico City. I will race in North Amercia (based in Fort Worth, TX) until mid-may, and then head to France for the summer. I am racing for St-Jean-De-Monts Triathlon team. It should be a great experience. I am really excited about it. After that, we will see what happens. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays....

Cheers,
B

Treasure Island Duathlon?

The 2007 season has finally come to a close, but it was not quite the ending that I was hoping for. For some reason two days before the race, some chinese captain of a container ship didn't realize that, "turn right or you will hit the Bay Bridge," actually meant, "turn right or you will hit the bay bridge," and plowed his huge conatiner ship into the side of the bridge. I am no Bay Area geography expert, but it is my impression that the Bay Bridge has not moved in quite a few years. Also, I believe that it is quite a large structure. Maybe I am wrong, but I will check on that for you.

So said ship hit said bridge and "up from the boat came a bubblin' crude" (insert music here). 150,000 gallons of eco-friendly oil spilled all over the bay. The city forced the cancellation of the swim portion, and thus the race became a duathlon. Great. Well thanks to the really, really, brillaint ITU officials, they decided that a 6.6kilo run/40kilo bike/10k run was the "fairest" format. In case you were wondering, these distances are completely arbitrary, not the standard format and a little bit ridiculous.

All other things aside, I had a terrible race. I had really bad legs and really struggled all day. I did hang on and actuallyu finish the race, so I netted a 6th place in the Tri-California Series. That is 6th for me for the last 3 years in a row. Well, dismal racing seems to be the theme lately so I know I need a rest. I am going to get some bloodwork done, just to make sure that all my levels are ok. But as of right now, I wont even run across the crosswalk until two weeks from now. Time to catch up on blogging, rest, TV, planning next year, and everything else I havent done for a while. I am currently planning out my season next year, which will be heavy on the ITU/draft-legal side of things, and I am still contemplating making a last-ditch run at 2008 Olympic Trials (read: lots of flying and money), but we shall see. The only news for next year to report is that I will be RACING IN FRANCE! I signed with the French Club St-Jean-Du-Monts in Div. 2. I am really excited and it should be a great opportunity. My first race is May 31st.

That is all for now. No pictures and lots of words = little blog reading (well less than the little traffic i get).

Cheers,
B

a month

It has been about a month since my last post. This is the time of year when things began to wind down, and all my energy is spent training instead of other things. Because it is so late in the season, it is hard to keep going. Since I wrote last I have raced once, Scott Tinley's adventures, but it did not go well. I have been struggling for the last couple months with my fitness. After returning form Asia, I think I trained too hard too quick and put myself in a big hole. I have since got things right (I think) and am back into the thick of training.

I have about a little less than 3 weeks untill I race next. I have been located down in Fort Worth, Texas for the last couple weeks and will finish out the year here. I have been smashing myself in the pool, biking, and running. I have a great group of swimmers, cyclists, and runners down here to train with. Hopefully the training will pay off on Nov. 10th. This is The Treasure Island Triathlon (ITU Olympic Distance) and it is the Tri-California Series Championship Race. Hopefully I can pull off a good race and finish top-3 in the series. After that it is either down-time or possibly one more race. If I am selected I will attend the Eliat Israel World Cup on Dec. 1st. That will really stretch out my season, but if I have any shot at the Olympic Trials in April, I need to do it.

I will update more soon......

Cheers,
B