Confidence Boost

Tonight's Fortius swim was a good reminder that I'm a pretty competitive dude.  After placing me one lane over for warm-up and drills, Coach Gerardo moved me to the "fast" lane where there was a higher contingent of swift swimmers than usual. Then, we paired up into two's and raced 25 yards all-out with 20 seconds of rest between sets.  The winner of each set faced a faster swimmer until that person lost. Personally, I felt like I had no business beating anybody in that lane.  But I'm so paranoid about making a fool of myself or embarrassing myself that it propels me even faster.  I don't want anybody in the fast lane thinking I don't belong there, so I push harder to sort of justify my existence in that space.

I suppose it paid off tonight, as I beat two of the three people I faced in our sprint heats.  Now that's not saying much, as it's entirely possible they weren't pushing as hard, were recovering from weekend races or are better long-distance swimmers than sprinters.  But for me, it was still validation.

I belong in the fast lane.  I earned it.  And while I know that in the grand scheme of "fast" swimmers I'm really glacial, on our team filled with people who have become true friends, I know I can hang.  I remember when I first started training for my first triathlon with Fortius and was beyond intimidated by everyone's skills.

I feel like I've come a long way.   Through a lot of hard work, that is.  And a lot more hard work to go.

77 days and counting.

Humble Pie

Boy, was I cocky today. I had one of those "strength/yoga" one-hour sessions on the calendar so I figured I'd saunter into the gym at lunch and knock it out.  Then, I noticed there was a "body-sculpting" workout during the same time frame.  "Why not?" I thought.  I'll just go easy for 30 minutes and not work out too hard.

Plus, how hard could it be?  After all, a few co-workers of mine who are in decidedly less good shape participate in the class and seem to do just fine.

With that, I walked into of my biggest training traps yet.

Once I got the step-up board and two sets of two planks, followed by 15, 8 and 5-pound weights, class was ready to begin.  But not before my colleague, Johnny, wandered over in my direction to warn me that I should "get the light weights" because this class is tough and I should take it easy for my first time in here.

Seriously?  Did you just say that to me?  The guy looks and talks like the character Nigel from The Replacements -- that Keanu Reeves football flick featuring among other quirky characters that tall, lanky Welsh field goal kicker.  Seriously, you're telling me to take it easy?

Now it's on!

And then class started.

Kyla, a bouncy blond whom the term "California Girl" was invented for, kicked things off with a series of squats with weights and using the step-up board.  Three hard-sets with plyometric exercises and weights.  No problem, I though.  A strong opening salvo, but I've been through much worse.

Then, we got into a series of balancing poses with weights on the step-up board, followed by intervals with "burpies", mountain climbers, push-ups and back to the balance-board.  We were 10 minutes in and I was sweating.

By the 15-minute mark, I was gazing at the clock the way Butler looked tonight against UCONN in the second half.  "Is this over with yet?  I didn't sign up for this crap!"

The next 15 minutes whirled by so fast I can't even remember the exercises because they happened so fast. There was lots of bending, holding, pulsing, squatting, jumping, balancing, and more lifting.  I started with the 15-pound weights, dropped to the 8-pound weights, and ultimately finished with the 5's.

We took a water break at the 30-minute mark.  This class was just warming up, but it was time for me to go and change for a work meeting.  I was drenched in sweat, and in desperate need of a shower.  I tried to look nonchalant about cleaning up my gear, but I couldn't wait to get out of the class. Kyla cheerfully said goodbye and thanks for coming on my way out.  I wonder if she was thinking, "Chump!" as I left.

I sure felt like one.  I had underestimated the class and pretty much disrespected everybody in it when I got into the room, and felt exactly the opposite when I left.  One form of fitness doesn't necessarily translate to the other.  And I'm pretty sure I pulled something in my lower back trying to keep up and not look like a sissy.  Except at one point I was being out-lifted by the girl next to me, though she was ripped to be fair!

Lesson learned.  Humble pie eaten.

I can't wait to go back to that class though.  I love a good challenge!

78 days and counting.

Deeper Calling

Tonight I progressed towards a promise I made at the beginning of the year that I would volunteer more often.  It took discipline to break away from the office around 5 to do it, but I'm really glad I did.  The shelter was busier than the last time Steph and I served meals, which was in December.  I must have personally served at least 500 meals in about two hours. Think about that for a second.

That's 500 people who were lucky enough to get a hot meal from the Union Rescue Mission (ham, corn, salad, potatoes, bread, pie) and presumably a cot to sleep in.  Men, women, children.  What about the rest of LA's homeless?  Where are they tonight?  While we're home, while I'm typing this very blog, where are they?  How are they keeping dry?  Warm?  Safe?

I wish there was a way I could make my training pay off for the homeless somehow.  I wish I could raise a couple bucks for every hour I put in the pool, on the bike or the trails.  Tie dollar amounts to what I'm doing for fun, and help put more food on people's plates, or more clothes on their back.

I'm going to think about this more in the coming days and see what I come up with for next year. My good buddy Rusty is doing some special work through Season 1 Racing now.  Maybe I'm next.  Perhaps a deeper calling to all this training is exactly what I need to stay motivated.

***

My new-and-improved running technique -- focusing on higher cadence and more elbow torque -- seems to be paying off.  I ran for 5.25 miles this morning (in my Newtons, no less!) as part of my brick workout in just over 40 minutes.  As you might recall, I was running 4.5 miles in 45 minutes not too long ago.  The best part of today's chilly jaunt: My heart-rate was consistently in the low 150s and my pace was a consistent 8:15-8:20. This is especially uplifting given the Cheseboro Half Marathon this Saturday.  A week ago I thought the sky was falling and I lacked motivation to train at all.  This caused Coach Gerardo to mention I was a little behind overall in my Wildflower Long Course training.  But now I feel re-energized.  And eager for competition.  My goal is to break two hours since I've never run a trail race before.  But the way I'm running since Sunday causes me to wonder if I can do even better.  Cheseboro is supposed to be a training run, but I know myself -- and you probably know me by now too.

1:50 or bust!

OK, that's all the energy I've got tonight.  Steph is watching Glee in the other room.  I can feel the gravitational pull through the wall.  Help me.  Please.

90 days and counting.

Rough-Fit Running Lesson

Today I met with a high school friend of Stephanie's, Greg Moe.  He and a partner run a fitness performance training company in Tustin called Rough-Fit.  Greg has qualified for the US triathlon team in his age group for the Olympic distance and considers running one of his specialties.

I recently did some website copywriting for Rough-Fit, which you can check out here: http://roughfit.com/

In exchange, Greg was kind enough to offer me a coached running workout.  Since Steph and I were in the OC to visit some family friends, today was the day to take him up on it.  And I am so glad I did!

Riding alongside me in his Trek mountain bike, Greg counted my cadence, observed my foot striking, arm movement and body positioning.  It turns out I'm doing a lot more right than wrong.  My biggest accomplishment is that I've successfully transitioned to forefoot/mid-foot striking.  Greg mentioned that my feet are under my hips and that he even didn't notice the fact that my left leg is longer than my right.  In other words, my running is pretty balanced even though my right leg swings outward a bit (a structural problem, not necessarily technique).

Where I needed the most work was increasing my cadence, going from 84-85 steps a minute to 92 -- where Greg says most elite runners maintain their stride count.  I picked up the tip quickly without trying to raise my speed, which is a common mistake among runners playing with cadence.

Then, Greg worked with me on using my arms more to help drive movement.  He said that most runners think that swinging your arms forward makes you go forward faster.  But Greg argued that driving your elbows back, so your fingertips almost brush past your hips, is more effective.  The backwards drive of your elbows can help increase power and speed.  A great analogy he offered was that I could try to picture filing my fingernails on my hips to get my elbows back more.  I felt a difference most notably on some uphill drills we did in the Newport Beach back bay neighborhood.  Fortunately, Greg said my body positioning during these drills was upright, which further helped.

Finally, Greg gave me some pointers on how to run downhill more effectively.  In short, it's good to give in to the downward slope of the hill.  Let the hill and gravity do the work, and do not use your legs as brakes if possible.  Greg said he can gain up to 20 seconds on his mph-pace going down hill by letting his cadence and strides increase while keeping his heart rate the same or decreasing.  I tried this on a few hills and went noticeably much faster than I ever have on downhills. Granted, my heart-rate didn't subside during those intervals, but Greg said that would come in time with practice.

Despite some heavy winds, I ran at a low 7:00-7:15 pace for a few miles on the way back to my car, Greg pedaling casually beside me and both of us doing our best to beat the imminent rainstorm.  Today's lesson was a huge confidence booster.  Greg validated that my running form is largely on track, and with some tweaks and practice, I'll get faster.

I may not be the world's fastest runner, but my form is improving, just like in the pool.  And despite the workouts I've missed lately that may be key to preparing for Wildflower, Greg thinks I can definitely run in this weekend's Cheseboro Half Marathon trail run.

When I showed up to visit Greg I was on the fence. Coach Gerardo said I could do it but to see how I feel.  Now that I know I'm not a "running reject," I think I'm ready to give it a shot. It only took two failed running events (LA 13.1 and Surf City Full Marathon) for me to participate in a half marathon this year.

It's about time.

93 days and counting.

Answering the Call

I heard the bell tonight in my head.  Round 1: Fight! Really, it's round 12 of a 15 round slugfest.  The prize is my second Ironman.  As far as I'm concerned, Ironman CDA training "officially" began today.  It began in the pool, when in the final 100 of the night, two swimmers I had swam as fast as in speed drills all evening passed me in our time trial.  That made me think of my friend Chris, who the other night told me his only goal at IM CDA is to beat my IMAZ time, "a little friendly competition" he told me.

My friends are gunning for me.  They're training to beat their best aspirational times, and me in the process.

There is no more room for moping, or bitching.  Now is the time to work.

Coach Gerardo reminded me of that tonight when he said it's time to stop taking Sundays off.  Wildflower is essentially six weeks away. I haven't done enough brick workouts.  My conditioning is good but not great.

Like the Lakers, if there's some magical "switch" that I can turn on, now is the time to flip it.  Now is the time to drop the negativity.  Now is the time to put on the proverbial hard hat and go to work.  To answer the call.  Perhaps my three-day slide isn't unlike the Lakers' pre-All-Star skid where they lost to fairly miserable teams Charlotte and Cleveland.  Perhaps the champs were looking for motivation, and found it after taking some time to rest and recover.

That's how I'm feeling right now.  Re-focused, if not re-energized. I'm still working on that latter part, but I can sense the urgency in Wildflower approaching. I've honestly overlooked it, with nearly all my focus placed on IM CDA.

And today, Wildflower and IM CDA training officially began.  In the pool, losing badly to my buddies.

But to my friends who think they're beating me in Coeur d'Alene this year, I will say this:  Step your game up.  I'll be waiting.

Switch = flipped.

96 days and counting.

Mind and Body Re-Unite!

It took me two days, but I think my head finally made it home from Texas, along with the rest of my body.  But it cost me a day of work to do it.  I stayed home today as I was utter trash when I awoke this morning. In fact, I slept straight through 10:15 a.m. and could have kept sleeping had it not been for the massive rumbling in my stomach.  After all, I dropped three pounds of water weight overnight!  I went to sleep at 137 pounds and awoke at 134.  No joke. Most of my day was spent in a hazy, exhausted fog. All I wanted to do was sleep. I felt like Ryan in Wonderland. Up was down, right was left.  I just didn't feel like my normal self.  Lethargic, to say the least.  And, for the third day in a row, I didn't train.  I just couldn't do it.  No energy.  No desire.

Tonight though, I had to drop my monthly coaching fee check off to Coach Gerardo. Normally, I'd give it to him right before jumping in the water for my Tuesday swim.  Instead, I was observing the team from above the deck.  At first, I was afraid that I had ZERO desire to be in the water with them.  But, in talking with Gerardo, he said what I was going through is normal -- especially for someone training for his second Ironman within a year.  "This is why I told you not to do two Ironmans in one year!" he said.

Hindsight is a bitch.

Gerardo added that I haven't lost any speed or fitness in the past couple days and to simply reset mentally.  Don't dwell on the lost workouts, or trying to make them up.  They're gone.  And it's not a big deal.  Focus on the workouts at hand.  Start from zero mentally.

I can do that.

By the time I was done chatting with Gerardo, I was smiling and starting to feel like my old self again.  By the time I got home, I was listening to the Rocky soundtrack, "Going the Distance," and ready to jump back into the ring again.

Tonight was one of those moments where having a coach really paid off.  Yes, it may cost a lot less to train on your own.  But when you run into mental obstacles like the one I faced the past few days, it's invaluable to have someone you trust tell you it's gonna be OK and adjust your workout schedule accordingly.

Thanks Coach.  I needed that.

Back on the bike tomorrow.  I'm back.

Let's do this!

98 days and counting.

Falling Off the Fitness Wagon

(Note: Photos will be added tomorrow. I'm still on a plane on the way back from Austin!) I fell off the fitness wagon this weekend.  This doesn’t happen often, but when it does, my demise is rather spectacular.  In this case it meant lots of Texas barbecue (Salt Lick OMG!), lots of Amy’s ice cream (Oreo Speedwagon!), Shiner Bock beer (among my favorites!) and good wine.  It also meant very little training, to the tune of one hour, 15 minutes over the entire weekend.  The odd part is, my travel-driven fitness blunders usually happen when I have everything planned in advance.  Pool to swim in at hotel confirmed in advance.  Fitness center with all the good equipment confirmed in advance.  Gear packed.  Cycling class scheduled, shorts packed.  Even my Garmin watch was charged.

But my intentions were outweighed by reality.  Standing on my feet for hours on end at events and the show floor, being “on” for press and fans of our games, simply wreaks havoc on my back and legs.  I can run all day but can’t stand still!  I’d rather run 15 miles and be sore than deal with the stiffness of waking up after hours standing in one place.  Combine that with being in Austin for the annual music, film and games festival, South by Southwest, and combine that with daylight savings time…and boom goes the training dynamite.

What the heck was I thinking to even try fitting training in this weekend???

Now I know what is meant by the term “Triathlete Zombies.”  We don’t think practically sometimes.  We just have tunnel vision to find a way to complete the next workout.  Stay on schedule, at all costs. Even at the coolest gathering of live, authentic entertainment and kick-ass food in the country.  Meanwhile, life marches on, by and through our somewhat self-absorbed plans.

I should have known it was going to be a long weekend from the very beginning.

I had booked a bike at Mellow Johnny’s (Lance Armstrong’s cycling shop) in their Pedal Hard Training Center, where I was supposed to preview the Ironman Coeur d’Alene course via CompuTrainer.  There was only one problem – Mellow Johnny’s forgot to reserve a bike for me.  My original plan was to cycle for two hours, maybe more, run back to the hotel a few blocks away and then head to the show floor to report for duty.  That blew up in smoke, and in fact Pedal Hard training master Chrissie had to apologetically send me back to the hotel.  I was devastated, like going to the toy store and being told you brought a dollar too little to pay for that favorite action figure you’ve coveted all year.

But then, Cycling Karma smiled.

I had chatted casually with a few of the cyclists using the CompuTrainer equipment on their own bikes as they prepared for their workouts.  Two of them, Casey and an unknown but very kind cyclist on a sweet Felt/SRAM roadie, heard about my plight from Chrissie after I had left.  They both offered to let me borrow their bike for an hour.  So, as I was talking to Steph back at the hotel, dejectedly preparing to swim, Chrissie texted me back and told me to hurry on to the shop again.

That was probably my fastest mile all week!

Chrissie single-handedly saved my morning.  I was so grumpy and dejected at first that I was afraid it would affect my performance at the panel I was leading later in the day.  Missing workouts through no fault of mine is the worst!  But Chrissie doted over me for the hour at Pedal Hard, devising an intervals workout for me, instructing me carefully on how to balance my cadence, and gently urging me to, well, pedal hard, when it counted.  By the end I was spent.  She also advised me to look into a 25/27 cassette for the hilly Coeur d’Alene course as it might save my legs on the run.  Further, she had completed Ironman Coeur d’Alene and gave me all sorts of great advice on how to handle the bigger hills at roughly miles 18 and 72 (“just keep spinning,”)

I was preparing to pay for my session when Chrissie said it was on the house, for the “inconvenience.”  I told her it all worked out fine and I was more than satisfied but she insisted my workout was free.

My faith in all things Cycling Karma had been restored, Mellow Johnny’s remains the Mecca it had always been, and I can’t wait to plan my next trip there.

Thank you, Chrissie.  Thank you, Lance.

That would be the last bit of training I’d do the entire weekend.  An entire day of booth duty, a panel, press interviews and a dinner that lasted until midnight (at Driskills, DO recommend!) crushed me Sunday morning. I simply couldn’t get out of bed.  I knew it was a combination of daylight savings time, fatigue and really the heart of the matter, a quiet room with no Bam-Bam upstairs banging on the ceiling, no snoring next to me (sorry honey!), and the quiet hum of the air conditioning set at the temperature I love.  And the room was dark.  The trifecta was complete, Quiet, Dark, and Cold.  The perfect sleep cave.

Ain’t.  Gonna.  Move!

I’m torn about ditching my weekend training.  On one hand, I know I needed the rest.  I worked hard this week and through the weekend, on top of all the recent business travel.  I know the incremental gains made by training through the fatigue could have worn me down enough to be susceptible to illness considering all the dirty hands I shook (I set a world record for hand sanitizer used in a six-hour period), sweaty console controllers I held, and how much air travel I’ve done the past several weeks.  I feel like rest now will pay larger dividends later than trying to be a tri-zombie and cram in one or two more mindless workouts just because they’re on the schedule.  I also know that I’m not quite in the final critical three months stage just yet, and if ever there was a time to relax a bit, eat a bit more, enjoy a city I love just a bit longer and have a bit more fun, this was the moment. I just wished I had come to terms with that sooner, as in Saturday night when the streets were bustling with activity, rather than Sunday morning alone in my hotel room staring at my suitcase with the goggles and swim cap inside.

Will training a grand total of seven hours this week hurt me at Coeur d’Alene?  Maybe. How much?  I have no idea.  Do I care?  Kinda.  But right now I don’t regret it.  I made the choice.  I did what I had to do to listen to my body and my brain.  My heart didn’t object.  Everything said, “take it easy.”

Whether that’s experience or laziness talking, I’m not so sure yet. Though I can tell you that I’m ready to attack training as best I can in the coming days.  Maybe it’s guilty nervous energy.  However, I may ease back into it just a bit so it’s not such a shock to the system.  I’ve been in this place before, trying to overtrain to compensate for lack of activity (and stretching).  That’s how problems really start.

So while I’m eager to train hard, I know it can’t come all at once.  I’ll have to train smarter.

Maybe my Tri-Zombie days are finished.  Maybe I’m getting a little wiser, a little more relaxed  and gaining better perspective about this crazy sport.

Or maybe it’s time to just have a little more fun when I go on these trips.

Maybe falling off the wagon is a good thing.  After all, once you fall, you have to stop, dust yourself off, and take a look around before getting back on again.

100 days and counting.  Bye-bye triple-digits.

Dark Abyss Up Ahead

Another quickie post.  I'm in the pitch black of my bedroom before conking out for the night.  My laptop power is down to next to nothing. Sort of like me at the moment. My coach told me we're going to ramp up the training in the next few weeks.  I'm wondering where that extra time is going to come from.  I like my schedule the way it is at the moment, to be honest.  It fits in my life for the most part.  During the week it's, get up, train, go to work, train some more, come home, spend time with Steph, blog, prepare bag for next day, go to bed.  Rinse, wash (get the chlorine out), repeat.

I'm sure I'll find a way to fit more training in.  I know I'm close to the final three months of IM training, the dreaded time where every workout matters, can't be skipped, and the days just get longer and harder.  Fortunately, this weekend will be my last business trip (South by Southwest in Austin) until Ironman Coeur d'Alene.

Before I head back into the dark abyss of full IM training, I emailed Gerardo tonight to ask him how I'm doing.  I want a progress report.  Is my breaking 12:00:00 goal at IM CDA still realistic, with an extended recovery period from IMAZ?  Am I improving?  I know the answer is yes in the pool, but what about on the bike?  On the run, am I getting my strength back?  Stamina?

Why is all this important? I'm not really sure. I guess I want to know -- need to know -- how to motivate myself in the coming months.  What am I shooting towards?  What can I achieve?  What's in my way?  What can I change, and what's just gonna be the way it is no matter what?

I'll be honest (when am I not here!?), I'm not really looking forward to what's in front of me.  What's worse, the "evil" you know or the evil you don't know?  In this case, I know the hard work hasn't even started, and yet I feel like my time is maxed out in my current training and life schedule.  And I'm not complaining about that at all. I like spending my Sundays with Steph! I'd like to spend more time with her, my friends and the rest of my family.  But soon, for one last time before I take a long break, it's time to enter the dark abyss of full Ironman training.  Coming up next, sacrifice, soreness, and stress.

I hope I get through injury and illness free.  And of course, having my sanity intact at the end would be a bonus.

105 days and counting.

Jack of All Trades...

My Garmin watch only shows 12 hours and 27 minutes of actual training this week, but I don't care.  This week was about quality, not quantity.  Like today, for instance.  I struck out on my own this morning for a long day on the bike and in the pool.  All my teammates were at the Desert Tri event, which I mentioned was difficult for me not to attend.  I badly wanted to race, but I know I need to be disciplined right now both with my schedule and with wedding planning. Today's ride called for 4.5 hours in the saddle and 2,400 yards in the pool with 10 x 100s at an all-out pace.  For the latter, I knew I'd need to pace myself to even finish the workout, so I went "all-out" with "no cramps, no bonks" as my mantra.  I pulled through with an average pace of 1:44 on the 100s, ironically close to my T-pace.  That's not bad considering my Garmin data transferred to Training Peaks conveyed I climbed 5,500 feet in my 64-mile ride.  (By the way, what's the deal with Training Peaks adding elevation to each upload when the Garmin data is usually less?)

I rode a new road today, Yerba Buena, near Neptune's Net (famous biker hangout) off Pacific Coast Highway. A cyclist I met and rode with for about 10 miles in Hidden Valley said I should give it a go if I needed a steady, long climb. Which I did (Coach Gerardo's workout called for an hour climb or two 30-minute high-energy bursts).

Cycling companions made my ride enjoyable today.  It was all about meeting random people along the way.  The cyclist who recommended Yerba Buena has two kids and tries to juggle riding about 200 miles a week, five days a week.  He's been riding for 25 years, evidenced by an effortless climb up the hill leading to Lake Sherwood that left me panting just a bit.  We joined two other cyclists and formed a pace line before heading up the hill near Sly Stallone's house off Portrero Road. I gassed myself up front when it was my turn to lead, trying to keep the momentum of the ride going.  I hate being the guy that slows down the pack but I think I overdid it.  This cost me as I my new group of friends quickly became my old group of friends.  They sped away and I blew off the back.

I was on my own for the next 20-25 miles until mid-way up Yerba Buena -- which let me tell you is a steady, long climb that lasted about an hour and was pretty un-relenting. (But you get great views, like the one to my left!) At least Mulholland Drive and even Latigo Canyon have some downhills or flats interspersed. This was practically all uphill.  And just when you think you're done, you reach Decker Canyon Road and have more climbing to do before a monster drop back down into the Valley. But, once again, my ride became interesting when I met a cyclist from Morocco who rides more than a 100 miles a day several days a week. Cycling is this guy's life. He cycles to clients as a computer repair consultant.  He used to be a pro in his country years ago.  And he constantly tries to find new paths for each ride to keep things interesting -- the more mountains, the better.  I kept up with this guy for two miles of the uphill slog before he grew tired of me, took my picture for his blog (which I never caught the name of), and never saw him again.  He stayed behind on the hill as I passed him and I think he may have dropped back to the bottom and then done a repeat.  This guy was hard core!

Here's my Garmin watch data of the ride:

All this made me realize that we triathletes are truly like the "jack of all trades, master of none."  We're solid at any of the disciplines, if not good or maybe even great.  But there are specialists in each sport where cycling, swimming or running is all they do.  Andy they do it very well.  I realized this as I got passed all over the place today by many road cyclists, calves bulging, shiny bikes shimmering.  I'm proud of how I got through the day, but I know I've got a lot of work left to do if I ever want to be great at any one tri-sport.

107 days and counting.

Where Have I Been?

OK, I'm back from San Francisco, where the weather mostly cooperated and offered some beautiful views.  I went MIA for a couple days at the conference, but I managed to train a bit nonetheless.  I ran on the treadmill at the hotel gym on Wednesday, and yesterday I did some weights training even though I had no workout clothes.

Let me explain.  I looked like that creepy muscle head guy from the 80s, with ripped jeans and a "wife beater" tank top lifting weights.  Except without looking like a muscle head, since, let's face it I'm "lean" to put it affectionately.  A woman came in to workout out on her own and did a double-take.  I was so embarrassed that I explained it was either look like the Un-incredible Hulk or not get my strength training session in. C'mon, what would you do?

Overall, I've been able to balance conference attendance and training pretty well. I even fit in a late afternoon brick yesterday, heading straight to the park after the airport.  It's where I snapped this fun little pic as the sun was setting.

I'm not working out as much as I did at this time last year, but I'm also not tapering for the LA Marathon, nor am I competing at the Desert Tri this weekend in Palm Desert. Most of my team is though.  It's definitely difficult knowing the first triathlon of the season is happening this weekend and I'm not there to partake in the fun.  I was so concerned about getting sick or over-exerting myself.  But, I'm healthy, well-rested...and not at the event.  Hard to say whether I could have competed or if my health is the result of actually balancing my schedule effectively.  My approach is at least helping me focus on the larger goal of Wildflower and IM CDA.

Today, I'm home relaxing, mostly with Steph. She's at a brunch now, which means I'll sneak out to grab a swim.  Honestly, it's really nice to have a relaxing Saturday morning not on the bike or on the run -- literally.

How's your training going, my friendly readers?  How are your race seasons shaping up?  Did the off-season work out well for you?  Any regrets?  Feeling good heading into the new season?  Tell me! I want to know.

Back to the blogging tomorrow.

108 days and counting.