25 Miles, The Blue Angels, and Graphic Design

This is going to be a media heavy post, enjoy! Today I went for a little ride around SF. First I went to school because i needed to print out some files for class tomorrow. These are them:

With these rolled up and put in my back jersey pocket, i set off in search of the Golden Gate Bridge. I knew which direction to go, north, so i did, eventually found the path to Crissy Field, and made my way up and over the bridge. As seen in the video. As I'm going across, the Blue Angels just happened to be flying over head, doing a training run. Good timing.

Over all i did the ride in 2:00'28" for a distance of 25.13 miles, at a pace of 4'47" per mile. The best part? Not once did i drop all the way into my granny gear. when it got tough i got out of the saddle, and pushed up the hills. I did drop into my compact gear on one hill leading up to the Legion of Honor, but i stayed well away from the top gear on the rear. I pushed my legs, and it felt great! At the end i did a quick 3 loops of the block to get to 25 miles and brought my gearing almost all the way down to give it a little boost of work at the end.

Here's the route, can we say i killed this ride? Because when i look

at it, it's totally a hand holding a revolver:

Tomorrow is trail running, and the last day to donate! i only need a little over $200, you could help push me over the edge! Thank you to those who have gotten me this far, i could be here without you! Here's some more pictures for you to enjoy!

SF Brick

Great ~23 mile ride today in 1'30" to the Panhandle, through Golden Gate Park, along the beach, two loops around Lake Merced, then up Vicente, never dropping in to my granny gear.  I remember my first ride up Vicente, granted, i hadn't been warmed up, but it was tough, and today when it was at mile 20, it was a piece of cake, just kept the legs moving.

Then i got off the bike and ran.  Down hill to the beach, then uphill back home.  Downhill = Fun, uphill = work.  I did a little under 4 miles in 38 minutes, which walking, and stopping for stoplights, which made my time 10'04" per mile.  Not where i wanted it, but it was a tough brick.  I need to get a few more distance running trainings in this week and next.  Then a good taper before the race.

30 Miles! Then a (failed) fundraiser.

I did my first 30 miler Saturday.  Felt great, except for when my left hip flexor decided to send shooting pain up and down my left side at about mile 25.  Ugh.  I pushed through though and finished in under 2 hours.  That felt great.  I feel myself getting stronger, and it doesn't hurt to see that i'm using lower gears than when i started 2 and a half months ago.

It was a beautiful ride through Marin County, around a reservoir, and through beautiful trees.  It's a popular ride, there were well over 100 riders.  There were gentle rollers and not to much wind, it's tough to slice through the gusts, but it just makes the training better!

I hosted a fundraiser that night from 7 to 11 at a bar downtown.  I advertised drink specials, flip cup, and a silent auction, but only 7 people showed up.  1 was a professor and his girlfriend, 2 teammates (thanks Erin and Mike!) and 3 buddies outside of TNT.  I made a little over $100, a far cry from the $500 i was hoping for.  I learned for next time: have it earlier in the season, be more creative, and don't have it after a long day on a bike!

With that being said, I'm only a couple hundred dollars away from my goal!  ONLY 4 DAYS LEFT!  Please help out by donating what you can, RIGHT NOW!  Don't wait! April 15th is the deadline!  Thank you from the bottom of my heart, all of those who have and WILL donate!

GO TEAM!

Gotta Love AP

My first Perimeter!  For those who don't know, AP looks like this from above:

You start at the beach at the bottom, and you can either do laps along the beach, (3 laps = 1 Mile) or you can do the perimeter, which is just what it sounds like and 1 lap = .9 miles.

So as a newbie to the perimeter swim i was told by my teammates i had to swim out into the bay through the opening at the top and get a view of the golden gate bridge from the fish persepctive.  The bridge is a few miles away, but it's still a view that is pretty special.

I don't know how long it took because i forgot to hit my watch, and we stopped a bunch of times to chat along the way, but it was much better than doing the laps.  You feel like you're getting somewhere, which is nice!

My First Brick.

It's called a brick because you're legs feel like bricks.  And they do.  It's not a lie.  It's biking, then running. I did it on my own this weekend in Napa, while i was there for Easter Weekend.  I asked the wonderful lady at the front desk of the motel what is a good ride with hills that i could take that would be 30 mile, (30 miles was my original plan).  She said to go to Pope Valley and back.  Sounded good.  Little did i know that meant going OVER A MOUNTAIN.  So, i took that route, and went to the top of the mountain, which is just a mere 1,444' of climb! With a max 8% grade, it's pretty much a constant climb until i turned around at the top. It took me 1:18'36" but that was because it was all downhill on the way back! Plus, it was only 16 miles, which is OK with me.

Then i got my running shoes on and went for a 4 mile run. My goal here was to stay under 10' miles.  Which i successfully did.  My pace was 9'42" which isn't that amazing, but i had very little nutrition and hydration, both on the bike and the run.  I'm happy with both times while running on fumes.

BIKE!


RUN!

AP Swim

Met some teammates at Aquatic Park (AP) to do a little cold water SF Bay swimming.  Did a mile in 42'  There was a pretty strong current for it being a protected area, so i definitely Zig Zag'd which is something i have to work on so i don't swim further then i have to!

I'm holding a fundraiser this weekend to hopefully meet my goal of $3,000.  I've been almost halfway there for a month and i only have a week left.  HELP!  Please keep me out of the poorhouse (i have to pay what i don't fundraise) and donate what you can, as soon as you can!  THANK YOU!!!

Go Team!

Hill Repeats AGAIN

Nothing like a good hill repeat in the Presidio.  Thursday the April 1st was a coached bike bill repeat workout.  We went out for an hour, i did 7 repeats.  Then i raced a teammate on a flat straightaway.  I won, sorry Claire!

Wildflower Training Weekend

This past weekend was training weekend for my triathlon. IT WAS AWESOME. We went to Lake San Antonio, camped in the site we'll be camping at, swam the distance we'll be swimming, then biked the actual course.  That night we had a catered pasta dinner, heard stories from honorees, and had some entertainment in the form of two skits from my team Captains and Mentors, and the East Bay team. Ours was obviously better. Sunday was an optional swim, at 7:30am, which i didn't do, and then the actual run course.

So Saturday: Swim 1.5km.  The water was beautiful, especially in a wetsuit.  I finished that in 29'42".  Sweet. My goal for race day was sub 30' so it'll only get better in the next 5 weeks.

We then went directly into the bike like we will do for the race, and i finished the 40km in 1:48'24". Sweet. My goal was sub 2 hours for the race, which means if i get some good hill workouts in in the next 5 weeks that will drop too.

The run on Sunday was a little tougher than i expected, but we did have one hell of a party saturday night, and i was on the championship flip cup team, so i wasn't exactly fully hydrated, but i finished the 10km in 57'34" which is 9:16 pace with walking and water stops.  SWEET. so my goal of sub 3:30 for the entire race has already been beaten! Even taking into account a 10' combined transition time, i'm still under 3:30.  So my new goal is sub 3:15.  And I'm going to do it.

I'm hooked on triathlon.  I can't wait to keep training, push myself hard these next few weeks, have a good taper before the race, and surpass my goal.

Speaking of goal surpassing, you can help me surpass my fundraising goal!  Only 16 more days to raise $1500.  Please Please Please help out by donating as much as you can, if you don't know, I'm on the hook for the balance of what i don't raise by April 15th!  Do it to beat cancer, do it to keep me out of the poor house, do it for a tax break, do it because it will save lives, do it now!  Thank you in advance, and thank you to those who have donated so far!

WETSUIT!

Check it out. My own wetsuit.  Sweet.  I couldn't have gotten it without your help. Please keep the donations coming!  Only a few weeks left to get it all in, please help me out!

Open Water!

Today we got our wetsuits and got our first taste of the SF Bay. In case you were wondering it was not delicious.  It was gross and a little slimy, not as salty as the ocean, and you can only see about 6 inches in front of your face.  We were at aquatic park near fisherman's wharf.  There is a line of buoy's that one length is 1/6 of a mile.  I did 4 lengths for a total of 2/3 of a mile in 30 minutes.

The Bay is cold.  55 degrees.  THe wetsuit is great for keeping everything warm, except for my face.  As many of you know you keep your face in the water when you swim, except for when you breathe, therefore my face was super cold for eh first length, so cold it was hard to keep it in the water.  Hopefully the lake we'll be swimming the race in will be warmer and all this cold water training will be helpful, and i'm sure it will be.

So it's 4 weeks till my deadline to get all my donations in.  I'm almost halfway to my goal.  Lets keep up the momentum and reach that goal!  Thank you to everyone who has donated, and thank you in advance for those who will!  There's no time like the present.  It's easy, it's a tax exemption, you're helping save lives, and you're keeping me out of debt (whatever i don't fundraise, i'm responsible for, eek!)  Please donate however much you can, every amount helps!

Here's a pic a snapped on the iPhone before we got in the water.  Yep, that's Alcatraz in the back!

Hill Repeats & Nutrition

Because of daylight savings we can bike on our thursday night practices.  So we went to the Presidio Sports Basement and did hill repeats through the presidio in about a mile and half loop.  I did the loop 5 times.  Had to stop at one point and adjust my rear derailleur.  That was annoying but i think i've gotten it close, i'm going to take it in to double check.

I need to figure out a way to warm up, because the first loop was ROUGH, and the rest were fine, i was in lower gears, not breathing as hard and getting the look done in good time, around 6-7 minutes.  Maybe i'll start biking to practice, and that'll act as my warm up.  What do you think?

After the hills we had a nutrition clinic.  We got a quick and jam packed presentation by Dr. Clyde Wilson, you can check out his website @ www.drclydewilson.com The main message was about how to get more nutrition into your muscles and less into fat.  What i learned.  I need to drink more water because just the act of eating is a dehydrator.  Stop drinking gatorade unless its during a workout, because gatorade is sucrose, and i need some other type of "-cose" that starts with an M.  and to each more vegetables because they slow down the digestion of carbs over 100cal, which is what you want for recovery slow calorie absorption.

I want to find out more, and get on the nutrition band wagon so i can lose fat while retaining and building muscles while training.  He assures me it's possible!
 

My first flat.

I got my first flat tire on a training ride on Sunday. It was so aggravating! So first we swam:

100m warm up
5 x 50m drills
5 x 200m free
3 x 50m drill
50m cool down

Then we got on the bikes and went for a 14 mile ride. I was in the first pack, finally! On the way back at about mile 11 i got a flat, going 27mph while i was trying to catch back up with the front 4 people (I lost them on a hill).  The best part?  it was my back tire. So i stopped, changed it, had the peloton pass me, and ended up coming in 2nd or 3rd to last.  I guess i can take away that i would have come in the top 5 if i didn't get the flat.  Oh well.

Running is hard on sore legs

Even though i took yesterday off to rest my legs, and i took an ice bath, which i was told would prevent me for being sore at all, my legs were tired today.  Tired and sore.  On the bright side my knee didn't hurt, so obviously i'm doing something right in that department.

We ran the Land's End trail today (the picture on the left) to the Legion of Honor and back to the beach.  Tough run.  Lots of hills, some quite long and steep.  The way back was good though, mostly down hill with a few little kickers.  It was supposed to be a 3 mile jaunt along the water headed toward the Golden Gate, but i got lost, and didn't follow directions so it ended being about 4.5 miles.  Which is fine.  I took a couple walking breaks, mostly when a steep hill was involved and my legs felt like they weighed 1000lbs about halfway up, but the tough runs tend to be the best runs for you, so maybe i'll do that one again on my own.

Tomorrow is a two sport day.  Swimming 1200m then a 14 mile bike.  I like those days.  They prove the training is working.

Go Team!

Kezar Stairs....

So the track was closed because of a soccer game last night. Instead we ran stairs and laps around the top loop.

2 lap warm up about 1000m
3 laps total doing 3 pairs of stairs per straight-away
1 lap cool down.

So that's 6 sets of stairs up, and 6 sets down per lap. For a total of 576 stairs up, and 544 down, because we started on the up.

I was the the 2nd one out and the 3rd one in. Really great feeling to only be passed by one person, and push myself through the workout. Resting today because this weekend will be a good workout. 4 mile beach run, mile swim, 14 mile bike in two days. Good times.

Thank you to those who have donated! ALMOST halfway there. Lets get it over that hump and it's all down hill from there!

By the way, that's not me.

Longest Bike To Date

Today was a great long bike ride.  Went all around the west side of the city, up and down some good hills, and through some beautiful scenery.  Got to try out the MapMyRun iPhone app, which follows me using GPS and every mile tells me my total time, total distance, and pace.  I pitted it against my bike computer, and there was a slight discrepancy, but that might be due to me messing with my phone during the ride. Why did i mess with my phone?  So i could take pictures for you!

View at mile 11 of the pacific ocean.  Luck for me the great highway was closed to cars!

Me!

What i look at.


















So MapMyRun said it was 20.84 miles and the bike computer said it was 21.49 miles, at a pace of 4'36".  I'm going to trust the bike computer.  Once i got home attacked the foam roller, and then, with the encouragement of John Weselcouch took an ice bath for 20'.  That was harder than the bike ride! John says i will not be sore tomorrow.  Lets hope he's right, because tomorrow i'll be on the track for a coached run.  Sore legs will probably not help.

Thank you for those who read this, and those who have donated.  Let's keep them coming in.

Best Workout Yet.

Today was the best workout yet.  Why would i say that as my knee and hip flexor on my left leg are currently being iced, with frozen blueberries?  I say that because it was a self imposed two sport day.  Swimming and running.  Why did i do this to myself?  Well, I took last week off due to laziness, busyness, business, and pleasureness.  So i forced myself to get back on the train, and get in a long, good workout.  So it started like this.

Swim:
10min warmup
4 x 100m with negative splits
4 x 100m with negative splits
5 minute cool down

The splits for the 100m were:

First Set:
1st: 2'15"
2nd: 2'00"
3rd: 1'58"
4th: 1'55"

Second Set:
1st: 2'28"
2nd: 2'12"
3rd: 2'03"
4th: 1'55"

Overall it was about 1200m i'm guessing because i always lose count of how many laps i do for the warmup and cool down.

Then i drank some gatorade, ate a powerbar, and hopped on the treadmill.  I ran over 4 miles, in a little under 40'.  I don't know exactly because i screwed up the readout by pressing buttons on the treadmill, so it had to start over, but before that i saw that i had run over a mile, in a little over 12' so i just added that to the second readout.

So why was this the best workout yet?  Because even though i got a right big toe cramp halfway through the second set in the pool, and i got a right calf cramp in the first .25 mile i swam and ran through both, refused to give up and throw in the towel, and i pushed myself through.  No one said triathlon was easy. Not giving into the pain was an amazing feeling, and personal achievement.  The previous athlete in me would have sidelined himself, however, this new triathlete is doing this for more than himself.  He has the support of donors, friends, family, survivors, and casualties.

I'm not doing this for me anymore.  Today proved that.  Today was the best workout because today i broke through a wall.  On the other side is optimism, a cure, and a lifetime of hard work and dedication to breaking through the next one.

Please help with a part of that and donate today.  Right now.  Ask your company if they match charitable donations, because then anything you give doubles.  Tell me what company you work for, and i'll find out!  I'm almost halfway there, and with your help, and your family's help, and your friend's help we can surpass that goal!

Thank you for your support.  GO TEAM!

Swim/Bike in Marin

Today was our first coached Swim/Bike. We started at Redwood High School in Marin and did a swim practice:

100m warm up
3 x 75m Drill (free 25m drill 25m free 25m)
4 x 100m free with negative splits per 100
4 x 100m free with negative splits hydration 100
4 x 50m @ Level 3
100m anything but free warm down.

I got an inner thigh cramp on my warm down, which is telling me i need to get some hydration during the swim, as well as each more bananas. I have to figure this out because i hate cramping in the water!

Then a quick change, and onto a tire changing clinic. I know how to change a tire and have done it many times, so i helped out fellow teammates. The whole thing took way to long, but we eventually got out on the road. We went a total of 16.19 miles, and it took 1:24'33" longest i've been on the bike in a while, but it felt fine. I got to try out my new bike computer, which is great because it has automatic start/stop so when we go through about 1,000,000 stop signs today, it records only when i'm moving and not total time. The ride was mostly flat with a long climb at the midway point. I would map it, but we took about 25 turns, so i'll have to put it up later. Erin, our web captain was out on the course taking pictures today, and video it think, so i'll be sure to post them as soon as they're uploaded.

Please, please, please donate!  I just handed in my recommitment form which means i gave them my CC number and they will charge whatever i don't fundraise of my goal!  I know that we can get to that $3000!  Tell your friends, family, co-workers, anyone!  Just point them here, to the blog, and hopefully it'll do it's job and convince them to help out!

Go Team!

Thursday @ Kezar

So as usual we were at Kezar Stadium on thursday for our coached track practice. After a 10 Minute warm up and some drills we did this:

3 x 800m at Level 3
30" rest between each
1200m at Level 2
2' rest
100m accels 100m recovery for 1600m
1200m Warm Down

An accel is when you start at a jog then accelerate to sprinting speed by the end of the 100m, then jog for 100m, then accel 100m, until you've done 4 laps around the track. I felt much better because i had made sure i had enough calories and hydration before practice. Total time was about 22.5' Then we headed over to Kezar Pub for another fundraiser. Always with the fundraisers as Kezar!

Keep those donations coming, and thank you for those who already have donated!

St Francis Hill Ride

Went for a bike ride today, after i got a great tune up and some new (half price!) parts from the cycle shop. I wanted to attack some hills so i went into St. Francis Wood, the ritzy detached houses a la the beverly hills of SF. It took 25'52" but was a pretty short ride, only 3.89 miles. BUt the hills were good, i'll have to do a few loops next time. It's a beautiful virtually traffic free ride. Now onto the presidio sports basement for some safety gear, i need a new tube and some CO2 bottles for when i get a flat.

It's almost March! Almost a month into training, and i'm going strong. Please help me out by donating! Almost half way to my fundraising goal, let's try to get there before the 4th!

Two Sport Day — Swim/Run

Today was my first two sport workout. REALLY early at the College of Marin. We started with an injury prevention clinic, which took to long and i should have brought some food, because by the time i got in the pool i hadn't eaten in about 2 hours. The pool workout was as follows:

200m warm up
5 x 50m drills — kick drills for 25m free for 25m
2 x 75m drills — pull drills for 50m free for 25m
4 x 75m free
25m 20" rest
50m 20" rest
75m 20" rest
100m 20" rest
125m 20" rest
100m 20" rest
75m 20" rest
50m 20" rest
25m
25m cool down

for a grand total of...1550m NICE! I didn't do the math until just then. So i swan more than the distance i'm going to swim in the race, and it felt great! Granted it wasn't at race pace, or continuous, but that will come in time, for now i'm stoked.

Then we got out of the pool and went for a trail run, with about a 10 minute transfer time. It was raining, and the trails were muddy for the first half mile, which was oh so much fun for tired legs, but then it went into the words and was beautiful. It really took me back to some of the course i ran in college for cross country. We ran for about 2.3 miles and it took me 23'39" which is a pace of 10'01' Which is right on track for where i am in training. Two great training days in a row. Tomorrow is a (much needed) rest day.

Thank you for keeping the donations coming! Please send and email out to everyone you can with a quick note about what I'm doing, and point them to the blog! The more people who know, the better!

Honoree Potluck

Today after practice was the honoree potluck.  Three of our honoree's were there, two of which are training with us.  Our training staff made and brought food and drink, and we hung out as a team getting to know each other better.  Then each honoree spoke a little about their cancers.  The first who spoke was Gabri.

This is Gabri:


Gabri was diagnosed with Leukemia when she was 13.  She is now in full remission and getting her degree from USF in Business Administration with a minor in Theatre.  She wants to go into corporate cosmetics.  The day after she was diagnosed she started Chemo, and is here today because of the LLS.

Matt was the next to speak.  He also has Leukemia, and is in remission.  He talked about the specific chemo he had, that was funded in part due to the donations from Team in Training.  He gets routine scan's every 6 months, and just had one on wednesday, and is still awaiting his results, but it looks good because right after he said that a seagull pooped on him (it's good luck!).  All in a days training.

The last to talk was Mark, he has an incredibly rare leukemia, Hairy Cell Leukemia.  There are 400 cases in the US, and only 10% of the worlds cases are in his age bracket.  He has no history of cancer in his family, and prior to his diagnosis had run multiple marathons.  It just goes to prove that blood cancers will and do affect everyone.  Within hours of his diagnosis, he was started on an intensive Chemo that was administered 24 hours a day, for 7 days.  That Chemo was again funded in part by Team in Training.  He was adamant that he would not be alive today if it wasn't for all of the effort that people like me put in to train and fundraise to find new treatments, drugs, and cures for blood cancer.

From left to right, Matt, Mark, Me, Gabri.  Their stories and many more, like the man I'm training and running for, Jon, are my inspiration.  Please let them be yours to donate.  You now have faces and stories to put towards the cause, and show you that what i'm doing does and will continue to save lives.  No longer is it good enough for me to reach my goal, let's surpass it!  Please, make a donation today.

Captain's Bike

Today was a Captain's Bike ride starting in Blackies Pasture in Marin.  Now when i say this ride was beautiful, i'm not kidding.  Along the route we went through tiburon, along the cost, saw all three bridges, the golden gate, the bay, and the richmond/san rafael.  Huge gorgeous house, and stunning green flora along a twisty hilly, 9 mile route.  I got to the end, was not the last one in, and wanted to go for more.  It was a great ride especially after such a tough practice on Thursday.  I also took a few pictures for your viewing enjoyment!

The view from Blackies Pasture.  Belvedere right in front, San Francisco to the back right, the bay bridge to the back left.

My mentor, Elaine and I after the ride.

The good ol' prius after the ride, being a good friend to the bike, i'm going to start looking into a rack for it, saw a couple on some teammates prius' today.  Just have to figure out if I go for the roof, the trailer hitch, or the strap on the trunk lid kind.

Hills are my friends

Today was a bike day.  I need to get more hills in my workout, so i started out today biking one long hill, about 2.2 miles long.  Up hill the whole way, then downhill the way back.  In total it took me 23'43" and ascended 308'.  Not good enough for my goal, which i found out was a pretty lofty goal when i told my coach, which makes me want to try even harder.  So, hills are my friends, i need to keep telling myself that.  Hills are my friends, hills are my friends, hills are my friends.

Thank you for those of you who helped me reach $1000, and thank you for those who will help me raise the next $2000 to reach my goal!  Please spread the word!

ROUGH practice

It was bound to happen.  All of this training and not a rough day?  Impossible to keep that pace up.  So today was the day it hit the fan.  It was a coached track practice at Kezar Stadium, started with a warm up then a little coaching about Chi Running, which is a style of running combining Tai Chi and running, and then onto the track for our work out, which was as follows:

400m @ L3
400m @ L4
1' rest
800m @ L3
1' rest
1200m @ L2

I got through the 2 400m in 3'.  Which proved to be a little to fast because i got the most horrible headache combined with dizziness, and a bad cramp in my back on my left side.  Now, i know what this happened.  I was in a nutritional deficit.  I worked all day today to meet a deadline, and when i looked up at the clock it was 5:47pm, i hadn't eaten or drank anything since 11:00am, and practice starts at 6:30pm approximately 15 minutes away.  I had 15' to get changed eat something, down some water & gatorade, and make it to practice on time.  In case you're wondering, that's a bad idea.  I worked through it, finished all the distances, but with a little longer rest times.  Moving forward?  Keep better eating and drinking habits, but what are they?  I don't know, but you can help!  Do you have any nutritional advice, because i'd love to hear them.

As i struggle through, will you please help me by donating?  I'm almost to $1000, a third of the way there!  Help me reach my goal, only a few weeks left to get into the drawing for the iPod Touch.  Just use the button to the right!

Yet another marker set

Today was my swimming marker set.  10 minutes as fast as I can, and count my laps, where 1 lap = 1 length.  I warmed up for 10 minutes, which is actually fun.  Surprisingly fun.  I get to swim at a level 1, and could keep going indefinitely it seems like, which my coaches tell me is the point.  I focus on my form, try to kick as much as i can, and it gives me time to swim away the stresses of the day and the stresses of life.   After the warm up, i stretched a little and went into the marker set.  I swam 18 laps.  450m. Which if i can keep up that pace, which i couldn't for 1500m, the length of the swimming part of the race, it would be about 34'.  So far if you add up all of my times i would finish the race in about 3:20.  Which, in my world seems ok, in the greater world however, the record is 1:39:50.  Which i'm going to be nowhere near, but seeing the times added up my goal is to be under 3hrs.  Any of you who've done a triathlon before, let me know if this is a good goal.

As usual, i'd LOVE for you to donate!  Your donation is fully tax deductible, and goes to find a cure for blood cancers.  Let's fight together, i'll keep training and you keep reading and donating, just use the button to the right that says donate now!

Day 13 — It's called swimming etiquette people

My roommate and i went swimming today. First we went to a pool we thought had free swim, but it was recreation swim, which means that there was no lap swimming and the pool was sectioned off into 4 quadrants. So we left there and went to the 24hr Fitness on Ocean Ave and swan there. There are rules to swimming. You swim counter clockwise in a lane. There are rules at 24, it is posted on the wall, 2 people per lane, but nothing about looping counterclockwise in your lane, i thought that was just a given. Now, apparently not everyone knows this. So after running into 3 people head on, and yelling at them that you're supposed to loop, i'm never swimming at that pool again. I'll keep 24hr Fitness to a weights only place.

So here was the workout:

3' warm up

3' of 25m with 15" rest
3' of 50m with 15" rest
3' of 75m with 15" rest
4' of 50m with 15" rest
2' of 25m with 15" rest

3' warm down

couple that with running into people and having to teach them the ways of a pool, i was in the water for about 30'.  I didn't cramp up at all this time, which is an improvment.  I've always known this, but it is very apparent now, i need to kick more, i'm relying to much on my arms to get me through, i think i'll have an easier time when i can balance the arms and legs.

Tomorrow is a captains run in the Marina.  Wish me luck, and please donate!

Embarrassing Photos for Sale!

It was inevitable.  Embarrassing photos of me during training.  I'll keep uploading if you keep donating!  I'm positive there will be more to come, because i saw them being taken at the marker run yesterday.

For now, here's the first one...

Day 12 — 2 Mile marker set

Last night i did my 2 mile market set at the Kezar Stadium track. This means that we are timed to run 2 miles to see our baseline and then we'll do it again later in the season to see how much we've improved. My goal for this go 'round was under 20'. In college, when i was running cross country that was slow for me by the end of my career, but since i haven't run for any distance since junior year i figured that would be a good place to start. Our coaches wanted us to keep splits for the 1 mile and the 2 mile and have them be relatively equal. I kept splits for every 400m. I was surprised as to how relatively equal they were:

400m - 2.25
800m - 2.32
1200m - 2.34
1 mile - 2.39 (10.12 I need to pick it up!)
1.25 miles - 2.35
1.5 miles - 2.35
1.75 miles - 2.32
2 miles - 2.03 (19.59 Whew, i made it! 1 second to spare)

I knew i needed to pick it up in the last 400 to make my goal, so that was why i ran 30 seconds faster. Then as we waited for the rest of the team to come in we did 400m intervals, 1 fast one slow. Luckily i only had to do one before we started to stretch.

After practice we went to Kezar Pub for one of our teammates fundraiser. Drink specials, good company, and all the proceeds went to the LLS. It was a great way to end a hard practice.

Please take moment to remember why i'm swimming, biking, and running, my fraternity brother, Jon Goss. His battle, and loss to Leukemia inspires me to keep going, please let it inspire you to donate. Let's find a cure, and you can help.

Thank you for those who have donated, and thank you for those who will.

Day 11 — Reverse Lake Bike

Today I went on the same bike ride I did around the Lake, but in the reverse direction. There's a pretty decent hill that way, not terribly steep, but its for a good stretch. I thought it was actually longer then it is, but maybe i wouldn't be saying that if i had done it before i did the presidio hill on sunday. The next ride i'll look into going to St. Francis Wood, there's some good hills up there, so it should give me a good challenge, plus there aren't to many cars once i get into the neighborhood.

Today went really well, my training schedule said go out for a 25' ride, and i did the loop in 25'48" I'll push it a little hard next time. 4:03 pace means i'd currently be on the bike for 1:40:50...yikes. Maybe i shouldn't be doing the math quite yet.

Thank you for supporting me by reading, and if you do read this, please leave a comment! I hope to see both a comment and a donation before my next post from at least one person! It's easy! There are buttons for each! Use them!

Day 10 — Ocean Run

Today was my first OMO (on my own) run. I decided today to go for time instead of distance. Went out for 20 minutes and tried out my new watch and sunglasses, purchased on discount from Sports Basement with an additional 20% off because SB loves Team in Training. So, thank you Sports Basement! The glasses worked well for 98% of the time, there was a few moments they got foggy, but overall it was a pleasant experience. I had to hustle a little at the end to make it back in 20 minutes, but I made it. Just a little over 2 miles equals a 9:05 pace. That needs to get down, but it was fine for having to pace myself and just starting my training.

Now only my chicken stir fry dinner, homemade of course, and then a shower. As always, thank you to those who have donated! Please, if you haven't already, donate as much as you can, you still can be entered in the drawing for the iPod! Just use the button on the right that says DONATE NOW!

GO TEAM!

The New Reason I'm Running

Recently, a fraternity brother lost his battle with Leukemia, Chronic Mylegenous Leukemia to be exact.

I never met Jon Goss, but i have heard many stories from brothers i have. He was a screenwriter in LA, and loved to write. Please visit his blog to read about his fight, in his own words.

I'm now running this triathlon for Jon, and even though we never met, we share a bond. I know he'll get me through the hills, and be there to pat me on the back at the finish line.

Phi Alpha, Jon.

Day 8 — Team Bike

Today was my first team bike ride. And it was tough, for me at least. I was the last one back, which I'm ok with at this point. The hills killed me. Over 650' of ascent, which luckily also means it was over 650' of descent, because it was a loop. But it shows me that i definitely have to work on my climbs, and that i have the endurance to push through the pain. I was definitely cursing myself up those hills, but i never stopped, never walked, and kept pushing.

It will get better, and i'll get stronger. But for now, i have to go foam roll. Thank you all for those who read this, and especially those who have donated! Please spread the word, tell your friends you've donated, and get them to as well. Lets cure cancer, while i muscle up more hills!

Day 7 — First Run. First Week.

Week one is done. It was great! Got 4 workouts in. Today was my first team run. It was a captain's run in Golden Gate Park. They split us up into our distances, mine being the olympic distance, which meant we ran for 20 minutes. It started to rain a little, but tapered off quickly. Things i need: better socks, a watch (still), and my better running shoes that i left at Erin's house.

I also wore to many layers today. Which was nice while we were stretching but it got super annoying at about the 15 minute mark. All told though, it was a great first day back in running shoes. And the foam roller has now, once again, become my best friend and my worst enemy.

Please don't forget to donate and comment! Help me cure cancer! Use the button to the right!

Day 4 - Finally in the pool

Today was my first day in the pool. It has been 6 years since I've swam laps with goggles on. It was...interesting. So here's the breakdown:

50m Freestyle in 1 min 5 times
100m Freestyle in 2 minutes 2 times
25m Kick in 30 seconds 6 times
25m Pull in 30 seconds 6 times
100m Freestyle in however long it would take me.

So i got through the first 4 with little issues. Sometimes i stuck to the break times, other times i rested a little longer. Then came the last 100m. I got, oh i'd say 40m into it and i got the WORST cramp in my right calf. So i stopped, tried to stretch and rub it out so that i could finish the 60m i have left to go. That proved to be a little more difficult then expected. So i called it a night.

Overall it was a great workout, and a good way to ease back into swim training. I know that i can only go up from here!

Thank you for those who have donated already, and thank you for those who will donate in the NEAR future ;) Remember it's easy, (button on the right) it goes to help fight blood cancers, and you could win an iPod Touch! (The next incentive is in the works, check back soon!)

Thank you for your continued support. GO TEAM!

The Pool was closed...

So. the pool was closed yesterday. Which i didn't find out until i was in my trunks, with a towel over my shoulder walking through the gym barefoot. Swimming will have to be today. More to come after the workout.

Don't forget to donate! It's easy using the button to the right!

Win an iPod Touch!

Do you want to win and iPod Touch and help find a cure for cancer? You're in luck, for every $20 you donate to my fundraising efforts your name will be put into a drawing for a brand new iPod Touch.



You can donate as much and as often as you'd like, and doing so is strongly encouraged, especially because it increases your chances of winning!

So if you donate $20 you get one entry, if you donate $100 you get 5 entries, if you donate $40 twice you get 4 entries, etc. The drawing will be on March 4th, so donate now, and donate often!

Thank you for your support and generosity!

Good luck, and GO TEAM!

Donate!

DONATE! please.

My fundraising site is now set up. Please give as much as you can, as often as you can. Together we can cure blood cancers.

I'm enjoying my rest day, but boy is my sit bone sore!

UPDATE: To appease a future donor, boy are my ischial tuberosities sore!

Donate here!

Monday = rest day :). Swimming tomorrow.

I forget to mention, on day 1 of training I got my first "Go Team". It's going to be a great season.

GO TEAM!

Day 1 — Route Map

Day 1 Route & elevation. 11.31 Miles, 385' overall climb.

Day 1 — Things I knew...

Ok. It's day 1 of training. Day 1 came after my roommates college graduation party, last night. So lets say that Day 1 started out slowly. That being said, I was determined to start today, and i knew i wanted to bike. So after hydrating, eating, and digesting i laced up my shoes, donned my bike shorts and helmet, and set out to bike to Kezar Stadium and back. Kezar is where we will be doing our coached track training, and it's about 6 miles from my house, so i figured that would be a good distance to start.

The things i knew before i started: I have no clue where Kezar Stadium actually is. I'm going to need to hydrate so put some gatorade in my water bottle. Stay to the right when i get to Golden Gate Park and follow that road and it should take you to the stadium. SF roads tend to suck so watch for cracks and potholes so i don't injure myself on the first day.

Things i know now: I STILL have no clue where Kezar Stadium actually is. I went to where i thought it was, and i found tennis courts, a big open field where there was a drum circle, a playground, and a carousel. So I circled around for a little, and figured i'd find it another day. So, now that i'm home, stretched (with the foam roller, amazing) and showered, i now know that it's across Kezar Street. I also know know that making sure your water bottle is secure in its cage is important, because I am now sans one water bottle, luckily i have more. It was confirmed that, yes, SF roads do, in fact, suck for skinny road bike tires. I also now know that a pair of sunglasses is of somewhat high importance, not only for the wonderful UV and sun protection, but also wind protection, especially as i bike along the Great Highway and sand loves to blow everywhere, especially in and around my eyes. Also, a watch that i can do lap times, or just a simple chronograph feature would be helpful, because i can only guess how long i was actually biking (my guess is about 45 minutes). One last thing. And i should have known this before, because it wasn't my first rodeo on my bike, and even though the nice guys who sold me my bike said to give the saddle a chance because Specialized spent over $100,000 on R&D for the saddle alone, i am going to have horrible pain in the saddle region for at least 2-3 days.

With all that i've learned on Day 1, i'm excited to for Day 2 — Race Day. So please follow my progress, DONATE as much as you can, as often as you can (i'll be putting a link at the beginning and end of every post to my donation page as soon as it's set up), leave me encouraging comments and training tips if you have any, and remember that I cannot do this without your help and support. There is a cure for blood cancers out there, and i'm glad to be a part of finding that cure.