Running for my Father

Post IM 13.1s

2011-12-20T08:14:00.000-08:00

About 6 weeks ago I had the privilege to run with my dear friend Rodney and his wife Joelle as she took on her first 13.1 at the LA Rock n' Roll. Rodney is the guy who saved me from the top of Mount San Gorgonio 3 years back - great guy to say the least!

http://runningformyfather.blogspot.com/2008/11/gut-check-and-news.html

Anyway, I've got a free entry to this year's LA 13.1 - get in touch if you want it! I'll be there too, going nice and slow...

The Ironman World Championships: Best Day Ever

2011-10-11T21:09:00.000-07:00

First off – if you want to read and see pics, continue. If you have 8 minutes, check out this video I shot on race day. I carried my GoPro along with me and cut it into a pretty neat little piece. Watch it in HD with the sound up if you can.

THE SHORT VERSION

This is a bit of a novella….so in short I had an amazinglyepic day! It was wonderful not caringabout time and just taking in the day and celebrating the unthinkable distance completedat the finish. I feel as though I’vecome full circle in honoring my father through endurance sports and I couldn’tbe more grateful for the opportunity to complete the most famous race intriathlon. Thank you, Ironman Lottery. Hawaii was a special place for my dad and I –I really felt his presence the whole trip, and especially on race day (and racenight!)

My Dad and I having fun in one of ourmany Hawaii trips together.

THE ROAD TO KONA

The journey that was Ironman Kona really wraps up my 4 yearjourney that started when my father passed away in 2007. That year, just a month before my firstmarathon in early 2008, I somehow found the NBC special on Ironman Hawaii. In particular, during the 2007 special a mannamed Scott Rigsby and his determination, not to mention his carbon fiber legs,made an enormous impression on me. Thatspirit that lies in each of the athletes is indeed infectious. The seed was planted then, and would slowlygrow over the course of a few years. Ironmanwas insane to me at that time (it actually still is when I think aboutit!) Running a marathon was my Everest then– then the bar got raised to the Ironman.

I had the privilege of meeting Scott inKona.

Kona was always my “it” race. The famed finish of Ali’i Drive, my family’shistory in Hawaii, the list goes on. Knowinghow difficult to get in though, I quickly made the decision to realize myIronman dreams last year in France. Andwhat a day that was. I was basicallyfulfilled. I made a deal with Julia thatI would start entering the Kona lottery, and if and when I ever got in, thatwould be my next Ironman for awhile.

My journey to this point is actually summarized quite nicelyin an article written by Don Norcross on Ironman.com:

http://ironman.com/events/ironman/worldchampionship/kona2011/kona-preview-doing-kona-for-dadclass

Enough of the backstory – onto the juicy race details!

THE WEEK

I arrived last Sunday and was busy with the normal pre-raceweek tasks, as well as some unusual ones, such as an interview with NBC! I tried to lay low as much as possible, butit’s very tough as the excitement in town basically builds to a chorusthroughout the week. I swam most days, evenseeing my first ever Manta Ray on Thursday! I also made several trips to the famous coffee boat. And Julia and I enjoyed taking part in the“Underpants Run.” Don’t worry, no picsof that! After the bike check in onFriday, I retired to the room with some takeout pasta and basically rested upas much as possible.

I somehow managed to be right behindChrissie Wellington at check in!

My ride was ready to go!

RACE DAY

I woke up Saturday at 4:00 AM and tried to consume as muchfood as I possibly could. I then walkedover alone to body marking and to load up my bike with the necessarynutrition. As I made the walk past thefinish line around the host hotel there was music gently coming through thePA. Enya. It was such an interesting and amazingchoice. I remember being introduced toEnya by my dad when I was a kid and sick with viral meningitis as a kid. Love her or hate her, there’s a very calmingeffect to her music. In this context itactually felt “anticipatory.” Amazing.

All marked up.

After I was finished pumping up my bike tires and loading itwith fluids I headed back to the hotel (just a short walk away) and hung outwith Julia and my mom for a bit. At 6 AMI headed back to the start and got ready to go into the water. The pros had just headed out and it was ourturn to fill the bay with a mass of people. Getting into that water was so exciting. The nerves were amazing – there was electricity in the air. As I ventured in I was pulled aside by NBCwhere they asked me to describe what I was feeling. I can honestly say I have no recollection ofwhat I told them - I was so freaked out and so excited at the same time.

I was most definitely nervous but couldn't ask for a more supportive wife!

Kissing mama goodbye for now.

THE SWIM

I lined up in the middle of the pack – I wanted that massstart experience!

A shot from my GoPro before the canon.

Treading water for 15 minutes was a good warm up!

The canon went off andthe nerves turned into energy….we were off.

The mass swim start was somehow anti-climactic. At my previous Ironman in France last year Ihad people grabbing me, trying to swim over me…here it was a much bigger areaand therefore more spread out. And usuallyI’m a middle of the pack swimmer, but here, the World Championships, the fieldis balanced differently – there are fewer average swimmers – so I had plenty ofroom. I got myself into a rhythm, takingmy time.

That's me swimming from the chest mount!

I indeed carried my GoPro Video Camera on all three legs andthoroughly enjoyed taking some video along the way. It definitely slowed me down, but since Iwasn’t here for time I didn’t care! Ieven stopped and treaded water several times to try and get some above watershots as well as shots of me swimming using the “GoPro Chesty Strap.”

I was literally smiling the entire swim and even shouted outat random times under the water “I’m doing Ironman Kona!” I was so pumped and thrilled. Shortly after the turn around I was mindingmy own business and a pair of dolphins and a baby swam underneath me! It was incredible. I was screaming! I stopped and watched them swim by. They were clearly on a mission going theopposite direction. About 3 minuteslater I found my own swimming rhythm back. Then the cavalry rocketed by! Atleast a dozen spinner (dolphins) or more! It was epic! I was goingape-sh*t. What a dream. I had seen a manta ray earlier in the week ona swim and am marveled that I could be in a race and be able to seeDOLPHINS! My day was already awesome andI was only an hour into it!

You can barely make them out on the upper left.

They were much more exciting and clear in person!

As I approached the Kona Pier I reflected back on myswim. In training, I can’t tell you whata bear getting to my swim workouts are. Since it’s the one “gimme” out of the three sports I tend to miss a lotof swims and my races seldom suffer somehow. But this swim was special. Itmight as well have been snorkeling! Ihopped out of the water and got under the hoses, rinsed off, took a few gulps,and got into my bike shoes. Before Iknew it, bike in hand, I headed for the bike mount line.

The swim exit.

THE BIKE

I hopped on and headed up Palani. An uphill right out of transition, it waseasy to spot Julia, wearing her “Ironmate” shirt and my mom with her “Ironmom”shirt – my own personal cheering section. They were as excited as I was! Iscreamed at them, gave them the “hang loose” sign and carried on. Through the two loops through town (one outand back that included a nice little climb) it was tough to get my heart ratedown – and I’m pretty sure it was mostly raw emotion, as I was not (yet!)working hard. As I turned onto thefamous Queen K I took some deep breaths and tried to settle in.

Flashin' the "hang loose" to my wife and mom.

The Queen K is the long section of the course that goes allthe way out to the small town of Hawi, some 55 miles away. It’s by no means flat as it undulates its waythere with several fairly substantial rolling hills. My plan was to take it easy, and enjoy theday. I seldom looked down at my Garmin,and when I did I would try and mostly eye my heart rate and cadence, butdefinitely snuck a peak at speed too. Iwas going a little slower than I did in training, but it felt right so I stuckto that same effort. I also really triedto focus on hydration, downing the sports drink like crazy. That along with the salt tablets was reallyworking for me.

I was in an interesting place in the pack. Being a lottery winner I was with some menwho were a much older than me and also some women my mom’s age! It was amazing riding with the best of theworld – despite the fact they had like 30 years on me!

Long stretches of nothin' but lava.

Somewhere between 30 and 40 miles a convertible pulled upbeside me – the NBC crew! So bizarrebeing the focus like that. Theybasically interviewed me while on the bike and I did my best to give them whatthey wanted. It was a trip! During the interview I got a glimpse of thefirst pros on their way back to town. Amazingto see the race develop in front of me! It was hard to make out their faces, but it was amazing to see theirconcentration as they battled each other through the cross winds.

I barely got out of the saddle. This was for the lens!

It was starting to get hot. And windy. From what I hear thewind was less this year than normal….but man it was tough! Climbing into Hawi the wind was completely inyour face with the occasional side gust. It was impossible to hydrate during this time for fear of being blownover. It was also a hot wind….so itdidn’t even cool me down! I was reallystarting to be effected by the Kona sun. The climb went on forever but I finally made the turn around. Shortly after I got more salt tablets andgels out of my “special needs bag.” Ialso peed – which was a good sign for hydration. I spent some time switching my GoPro cameraaround for different angles and was on my way.

The decent out of Hawi was intense and exhilarating. I probably averaged about 35mph for thatsection, although it was a bit scary with the crosswind. Sometimes it would really come out ofnowhere! There was obviously no way totake in nutrition under these circumstances so I pulled over a few times tochange the camera, eat and drink.

Still happy despite the pain.

Finally making it back to the coast the wind was reallypicking up. I had heard about thissection being particularly grueling. Bythe time I hit mile 85 I was pretty cooked. Hot. I would grab water from astation and basically pour it all over myself. I even tried stopping and having the volunteers shower me down but therelief was short lived. One thing helpeda little more than others though: Coke. I’m a big Dr Pepper fan, but nothing beats Coke on a bike or run. It’s AMAZING. I didn’t have much on the bike, but just enough to get that twinkle inmy eyes back.

As far as I came to being unhappy the whole day.

Shortly before mile 90 I had something special to stopfor. Earlier in the week my mom and Ihad driven the bike course. When we sawthe word “Ironman” spelled out in corral on the lava rock with a huge spacebelow and more corral in a pile nearby we went to work. It now read “Ironman 4 Eric.” I stopped, paid tribute to my dad and was onmy way back to town.

A little timelapse of my mom and I with the lavarock.

As I passed the airport I was a bit out of my mind. I saw two goats on the site of the road andhad to ask a cop at the next intersection if they had goats on the islands – Ithought I was hallucinating! Luckily henodded his head, “yes, they do have goats.”

Before I knew it I was turned back onto Palani and was againgreeted by my Ironmate and Ironmom. Iheaded into transition hot, but so ready to get off that bike! I sure love the bike in general, but 112miles in and out of the “aero position” and through wind, heat and hills is noeasy task – going for a nice little jog in paradise sounded like a good idea.

Julia about to cheer me in off the bike.

THE RUN

I took my time in T2. A volunteer got me a cold towel to wipe my salty face down as he had thethrill of applying more sunblock to my shoulders. Before long I was up out of the comfy chairand off to tackle a marathon run. This iscrazy. Just 3 and a half years ago amarathon was my Everest and now I was starting the 26.2 mile run after over 8hours of swimming and cycling.

Excited to see the family after a 7 hour hiatus.

As I made my way up back up Palani I had my GoPro on atelescoping pole. I saw Julia and my momand even stopped for a hug. Julia evenended up running with me for a short bit. As I turned down Ali’i Drive for the first long loop through town Ibegan to realize how tired I was. Butthis is Ironman. Ironman Kona! Of course I was tired, the key for me was tokeep moving. And that I did. I tried to just walk the aid stations, whichis something I more or less kept to. Iate some pretzels, coke and banana – but that was about all I couldhandle. I talked to people, tried toencourage those around me and tried to feed off the crowd. (Obviously) I’m a chatter box. I love interaction, especially in thisatmosphere. The spectators wereamazing. I loved egging them on andseeing their reaction to my little GoPro camera. People loved it! Especially the other athletes – people couldnot believe I brought it along….but why not?!

Yes it looked strange, but the video is gonna be sweet!

Shortly after the turnaround at about 6 miles I had my firstmajor problem of the race. It must havebeen the heat, but my stomach turned. I’llspare any details, but for a short time I was worried I might be reduced towalking the rest of the race. Fortunately I was still able to maintain my slow jog but had to makeseveral more “stops” throughout the race. Certainly not ideal, but I managed to remain positive the whole time,and was partially excited and intrigued by the idea of running into the night.(In France my race ended right as the sun was going down, so I didn’t get thefull nighttime experience!)

Yup, still happy even though my stomach wasn't.

As I passed Julia and my mom again at mile 10 or so I wasboth excited and sad to have just 16 miles to go. This was the ultimate for me, to take part inthis race. And I was only three or sohours from completion – in the blink of an eye it would be over! As I said goodbye to them for the last timebefore the finish I ran up Palani – the steepest section of the course. The athletes going the opposite way instantlyexcited me – they were about to finish! I went pretty crazy screaming and high fiving them – trying to egg themon. I think I was more excited than theywere about their finish! This was areally nice moment for me, but I quickly realized how fast I was tearing upthis hill! My hip started to tightenup…big mistake! I got way too emotionalway too early and thus pushed it way too hard. I didn’t panic – I just gave myself a nice little walk break so I couldrecover and started to jog again once the terrain leveled out.

High fiving a dude less than 1 mile out!

As I jogged on the Queen K the sun was setting over theocean. It was beautiful. The next aid station had chicken broth. I thought given my stomach trouble that thatwould be a very good idea. I also hadsome pretzels, coke and water. As sunwent down quickly it was dark before I knew it. I now had a glow stick thing around my neck. The darkness was eerie at first, but quicklybecame dreamy. A long line of drivenpeople were making their way back into town to finish their race. Meanwhile, those of us slower ones wererunning out of town so we could loopback and finish ours. All so we couldexperience the Kona Ironman by being in it.

The sun went down quick!

It was pretty quiet out on there on the Queen K. There were some street lights, but a lot ofsilence between the aid stations. Oneaid station in particular was really rocking it out. Awesome music, dancing, basicallyhilarious. The volunteers of this racemade the race. They were incredible –the best! It definitely helped. But it seemed like a really slow grind for me. I was oddly ok with this. I was not even eager to finish – it was allpart of the experience. I can honestlysay this was the first time in a long distance race where I was content to beout there experiencing the pain and fatigue of racing – I was not eager to endit. Part of me wanted it to lastforever. I made the left turn for theenergy lab –it looked pitch black.

Turning into the energy lab.

As I ran into the darkness it seemed to get quieter andtranquil. It was so spiritual! It was easy to gate out the pain andstiffness in my legs and focus on my breath, the crickets. There were long stretches of darkness andthere would be a bright event light at the end of the road – a sort of beaconthat I’d run towards. It would castshadows of the runners just ahead of me and the ones running towards me - ontheir way home. Once I’d pass the lightmy shadow would be cast in front of me. It was exceptional. The state ofmind after 125 miles sure makes you appreciate the little things in life. I made the turnaround and high fived a fewlocals – I was on my way back home.

My eyes saw just slightly more detail than this.

And it was blinding when you got there!

I visited the second “special needs” stop where I picked upthe last of my salt tabs and somehow managed to down a gel. Still feeling ok I kept jogging until I hitthe “Ford Motivational Mile” somewhere around mile 18 or 19. As I passed over the mat the big screen read“C. Westheimer You Are Great.” I smiled,high fived the two volunteers who were dancing feverishly and carried on.

Back on the Queen K I tried to settle into a rhythm. It was a funny duality. I was within striking distance, but still hada ways to go, and much of it was a false flat going uphill into town before thefinal decent on Palani. I maintained aslow run, allowing myself to walk at the aid station and continue walking untilI had finished eating and drinking. Thisworked out well, despite yet another bathroom stop at around mile 21.

Julia and mom patiently waiting.

These last miles were something else. Here I was, having covered 135 miles sincedawn, running into the night. Thiscertainly did not happen in my first Ironman! Night on Queen K was perhaps the best and most unique part of therace. As I made my way closer to town Istarted to allow myself to celebrate. Iwas within 3 miles and I knew the last mile would basically not even count, soI really wanted to savor those last two.

As I was running that last bit I wanted to pay specialtribute to my inspiration – the man who I model myself after. He’s inside me and will always be withme. My dad was the best father I couldhave ever asked for. We had plans thatwould never be realized. We had dozens ofmore trips to Hawaii where we’d snorkel, boogie board and argue about where topark the car (long story.) He was mybest friend and I could feel him with me. This is why I keep doing this. When you peel the layers of the onion away – me in my rawest place –he’s so deeply a part of me I feel like he might as well be running right nextto me – egging me on, cheering for me. Iwas getting so excited to finish soon, but I also a bit sad that this day – theday I had dreamed of since 2007 was now coming to a close.

As my heart was filled with emotion and my eyes a bit teary,at about mile 24, I saw a bird fly by the street lamp – it was perfectlyilluminated. I quickly remembered thatthere were Owls on the island. I’m quite“raptor obsessed,” largely due to the many connections with my dad and birds ofprey. I scream out “OWL!”uncontrollably. Unbelievable. I’ve never been able to make one out soclearly. As if to cheer me on the Owlcircled back towards me for one broad loop, not quite over my head beforedisappearing into the darkness. “Thanks,Dad.”

With that lift I proceeded towards town. I could hear the announcer, the “Voice ofIronman,” Mike Riley, in the distance now.

As I turned down Palani towards the mile 25 marker I allowedmyself to rejoice. I was basically goingnuts already. I was high fivingeverybody in site – especially the kids. I took the downhill way too fast, letting my emotions get the best of meonce again. I was screaming out “THIS ISAMAZING…” “I CAN’T BELIEVE THIS!” It wasa rush. By the time I hit the bottom ofthe hill I had just a few blocks to go before I made the final turn down Ali’IDrive. I quickly realized how exhaustedI was from the downhill celebration! Opps! Since the street was not socrowded with spectators that I could celebrate with I decided to walk a fewsteps so I could recuperate before the REAL celebration!

THE FINISH

As I made the final turn down Ali’i I was smiling andrejoicing uncontrollably. I was yellingto the crowds, “Can I get a Hell Ya?!” And they’d give me one! I made myway through the sea of people, high fiving and screaming. A quarter mile later (which felt like thequickest 400 meters ever) I was in the finish chute. 100 yards of pure bliss. I had it all to myself. I was running back and forth, spinning around,jumping up and down, basically going nuts. The crowd was also going crazy, smiling, cheering - it was amazing. Towards the end of the chute I saw myIronmate and Ironmom. I ran over to themand basically gave them the biggest hug ever. They were screaming in my ears so loud that they distorted in stereo – thatprobably took a year out of my hearing! But all for good! Mike Riley wasannouncing my name and exclaimed, “Some are just happier than others!”

As I made my way up the ramp, I was still going nuts – Icouldn’t believe it! And then I realizedthat there were no fewer than 3 video cameras pointed at me, just feet away. Wow. This was crazy. I was stillscreaming uncontrollably. I certainlywas happy! I pointed at the icon of mydad on my jersey for the camera and exclaimed, “It’s all for this guy!” I calmed a bit. Then as if to continue the celebration afterthe brief lull a volunteer and I started randomly high fiving, one hand afterthe other. Hilarious. Finally, after what must have been a fiveminute celebration (but felt like 5 seconds!) the NBC producer took me backover to the pier for my “post race interview.” He basically said “go” and I dished out my raw emotion.

POST RACE

After my interview I met up with Julia and my mom and wasstill absolutely ecstatic. We walkedover to the tent where I picked up my medal and shirt. Before long I was downing slices ofpizza. Mediocre pizza never tasted sogood! After a bit I picked up my bikeand transition bags and went back to our humble hotel room. I took a brief shower before making my wayback to the finish line – I wanted to experience Ali’i Drive on the other side.

The vibe was electric. The chute was lined to the teeth with rabid spectators beating theirthunder sticks to the music. There wassuch an anticipatory feeling the later the evening got. I stuck my hand out trying to remindfinishers to celebrate in the chute. Itworked on some, but others were just too focused on that line.

One person that was particularly amazing to see finish andcheer for was none other than Scott Rigsby - perhaps the first initial seedthat got my mind thinking “Ironman” years ago. Now I got to cheer him in.

It got more and more exciting the closer it got tomidnight. Mike Riley is a master of themicrophone and I can only say that the only thing that tops cheering for peopleon Ali’i Drive is being cheered in bythe people on Ali’i Drive. I’m so happyI got to experience both in one night.

Can you say "bling?"

The next day I got to see the message my mom and wife wrote on Ali'i.

EPILOGUE

From a training standpoint I had anything but a perfect race,every one of my three splits being significantly slower than what my trainingtold me I could do. Yet I could notimagine a more perfect race! I operatedperfectly within my means on that day and pushed myself by going the distance,not by driving myself into the ground. Theconscious decision to take this race as it was – a gift – was perhaps the bestdecision I’ve made since being involved in running and triathlons. I smiled nearly the whole day and filmed over3 hours of footage (video coming soon.) I stayed positive and enjoyed the experience 95% of the time. And with that finish – that makes up that 5%and more! This was a race that truly wasnot about time – it was about heart. Forthat, my dad would be proud.

Visit my new social networking site for endurance athletes, ironcure.org - and tweet with #ironcure if you're training or racing for somebody (or yourself) with an incurable disease.

SB Tri RR & Thoughts 4 Kona

2011-08-29T23:01:00.000-07:00

My last race before my biggest event ever was the Santa Barbara Long Course Tri. Instead of my typical race report, this will be a more pep-talky journal entry for me to look back to whenever I slip these final 6 weeks before October 8th - Kona. This will be as honest I can, and generally would be a private text doc I might write for myself to refer to, but since I've got this blog set up, why not?

In short, SB did not go as I planned - after a very aggressive swim and bike (which I should mention I didn't even post "good" times) I suffered through the run so badly that 10 miles felt like an Ironman marathon. This made me go haywire mentally during the race, and for a bit after, but then the very valuable (and some quite obvious) epiphanies hit me.

Here we go, in 3rd person no less.

• Remember how/why you got involved in the sport. You do this to honor your father. Honoring him is not necessarily going fast. It's not even just doing your best, it's enjoying the journey. Efforts should be judged by the whole, not just the finish time.

• Even though you look "the part" with your sexy tri-bike, race wheels and aero helmet you're a little different a lot of the typical "tri people." While you train hard and work hard, you are out there to have fun and self fulfillment. While chasing PR's and time is ok sometimes, the motivation for Kona needs to be to take in as much of this once in a lifetime experience as possible. The worst case scenario would be to be disappointed in your performance in Kona or not even finish trying to be too bold and go fast.

• Relating to the above...take it all in. If you REALLY want to do another Ironman someday for time you'll have any number of races to choose from...except Kona. This is the race to go slow and try to milk every second. It's an Ironman - there's no way to not "push" yourself like mad. 140.6 is a long way to go - slow or fast. Going slow will enable you to take it in and avoid disappointment.

• Also similar, throw those time goals away! Sub 12 = Magic Day, Sub 13 = Great Day, etc. As long as you finish in under 17 hours it's an A+ effort, a magic day - it's KONA! The cutoff is your new time goal. It's just too long a long day to have a "ticking clock," and you know you're trained to not even be near the cutoff time barring anything crazy, so enjoy the once in a lifetime opportunity without worrying about a PR, etc.

There's of course more to all of this, but I thought I'd get the most important stuff out. In all of this endurance sports stuff it's very easy to get caught up in numbers - and I love that part of it. I will probably continue to train with my Garmin but the numbers are not going to relate as much to my Kona performance now. It will be what it will be.

In the spirit of all of this I just order a GoPro HD Hero to document the race. I have no bad memories carrying a camera in my first marathon, just the great memories, so that should add a great dimension to the race. Just a few weeks to go...I'm scared, but quite excited with my new lease on life!

Vineman Full Aquabike RR

2011-08-16T11:16:00.000-07:00

What was going to be my "big race" of the season became a "tune up" or "test" race once I got into Kona. I would be swimming 2.4 miles in the Russian River in Sonoma County, followed by a 112 bike ride through California Wine Country. Basically an Ironman without the run.

It was an early wakeup call (4:20 AM) as we were staying an hour (!) from the start. As we finally arrived I thanked Julia for putting up with these races and she promptly went back to bed (in the parked car.) I made my way to the transition area. It was strange not bringing my running gear!

I decided to swim sans wetsuit since the water was a pleasant 72 degrees - warmer than the air! Even though this would be a bit slower since the wetsuit makes you much faster with the added buoyancy, I wanted the experience of swimming this far in open water without one. The swim start was hectic as always - people spend way too much energy fighting. I was relaxed and let the field sort itself out a bit and tried my best to get into a groove. About halfway to the turnaround it was bizarre - the water level went down to about three feet - so people decided to start walking! Here I am swimming and there are people towering over walking at around the same speed. I decided against this tactic, as it was clearly swimmable and I wanted the full experience - and the training. After another loop I got out of the water to a 1:18 swim split - which I felt very happy about.

I got on my bike and set out on the bike course - which started off with a few technical turns. This was tough as there was almost no opportunity to pass other riders at this point. When I finally hit open road I was eager to put the hammer down. I really wanted to break 6 hours on the bike - which is holding an average speed of around 18.7 mph for 112 miles. The course was undulating with some rollers - a totally "aero" course. I had my crazy aero helmet on and was cruising at 20+. It was a little tough deciding who to pass since all of us age groupers "pulse" our speed - we go a little hard then back off, etc. But I felt pretty good overall about my pacing.

I've gotta say I had a bit of trouble getting comfortable after the first loop. 56 miles is a long way, and to ride right by the finish to do it again is not easy! By mile 80 or so I was feeling real miserable. My nutrition and hydration were good - as was my heart rate....but my back especially was really seizing up! I've been trying a new saddle to address some other problems, and I'm not sure if that was the issue. The last 20 miles I pretty much gave up. I just couldn't do aero anymore. It was really frustrating seeing my average speed drop from 19.4 to 19.3 to 19.2 and so forth. And my legs still had energy to burn! But my back really felt bad. I also didn't want to "bury" myself for a relatively unimportant race. Julia and I were on vacation - I couldn't be bed ridden! So I really pulled back, and finally finished at around 6:02. Oh well!

As I got off my bike I could feel how bad my back really was. I could barely walk! I basically collapsed in the first piece of shade I could find. Julia came and met me, and after a bit of rest I got a massage and was able to get it loose enough to start stretching. It's still tight and sore, but I think I averted a major crisis by not pushing through it another 30 miles. I'm glad a sat up, got out of aero and put my goal on the shelf.

I still came in at sub 7:30 (7:26 was my time) and that's what I was hoping to do. And barely having sore legs the next day...well that's a good sign! I'm in great shape for Kona. If it weren't for the spasms it woulda been a perfect day!

Tour de France 2011

2011-07-27T09:06:00.000-07:00

I was thrilled to compose a new theme for this year's Tour de France on Versus. It was an extremely exciting Tour that came down to the wire. Without further adieu, the links! Please "like" my website...thanks much!

The Playlist for my "Tour Toolbox"

http://codywestheimer.com/?play=tour

The Main Titles on Versus/NBC

The Recap/End Credits on Versus/NBC

A Cool Collection of Tour Inspired Art by Rob Ijbema set to my Tour Theme.

2 Big Announcements, 1 Race Report

2011-06-30T21:31:00.000-07:00

Training has been going well. But first, some killer news...earlier this week I finished writing the theme music for the Tour de France! That's right, my tunes will be featured daily on Versus starting this Saturday. Check out my "real" website to find out more. www.codywestheimer.com

Pretty excited about this gig!

Secondly, I think I eluded in my short Wildflower Race Report, but I got in the Kona lottery! This means on October 8th I'll be going for my second Ironman on sacred ground. I'll write more about this later, but this one is VERY personal as Hawaii was very much THE SPOT for my dad and I. And we were in Kona about 2 months before his stroke - our last vacation together. I haven't been back since. Should be amazing.

Finally, I raced this last weekend, the "Breath of Life" Olympic distance in Ventura. I had a crazy swim - 23 minutes! (Pretty sure the course was short...) The bike was rocking it at 22 mph or so until I flatted! No! Then to realize I had the wrong size valve stem for my race wheels...yada yada. 14 minutes later I rode back at speed and put down a solid 51 minute run - by far my strongest run off the bike in shorter course racing (I still consider my Ironman - which was over a year ago my best.) All in all a good race, would have been a sub 2:35 effort but instead I settled for a 2:47 or so. Oh well!

Next up is the Vineman Full Aquabike at the end of July. It's basically an Ironman without the run. I'll be testing things like what it's like to ride 112 miles in an aero helmet in hear, nutrition, etc. Just about 3 months out! I should also mention I'm working with a great dude from Carmichael Training Systems - David Forkner. Super nice guy - thanks Jason Koop (my friend from the UltraMarathon Man movie I scored) for the hookup. More soon!

Oh, and some pics from last Sunday's race...

Wildflower Long Course Race Report

2011-05-01T19:42:00.000-07:00

I'll make this one somewhat short. Don't race when you're sick. That's right after 3 months of decent training I was set to fly through the bike course, but unfortunately got sick early in the week.

After a sleepless night camping at Lake San Antonio coughing and blowing my nose (in my tent with the air bed that flatted) I woke up and took to the water for a shockingly decent swim (considering I've barely swam the last month.) I mounted the bike and as soon as I hit the first little climb knew this was gonna be one long day. Sheesh. The moment I started to work the pedals I would start coughing uncontrollably. The only way I was going to be able to continue was to go easy the whole way --- REALLY EASY. It was endless, the wind was terrible and I got hot in my Aero helmet on my flashy bike watching people on cheap road bikes go by me. Very humbling. The only really happy moment on the bike was when I saw a bald eagle (yes!) perched in a tree right before the infamous climb, Nasty Grade.

I finally got of the bike and as if being sick wasn't enough my back seized up. I was reduced to a measly shuffle, then walking, then coughing. I ended up walking 80% of the run and it took forever. I ended up crossing in about 90 minutes past my time goal, but alas it was not my day. I am proud I finished as this one was likely the hardest race I've ever done given how I felt. The big news is that with the finish under my belt I officially "validated" my entry into Kona! Yes, if you haven't heard, I got in the Ironman Lottery and will be doing the World Championships in October! The road to Kona begins in a week after several days of much needed rest! For you, dad. We're going back to the big island. That was really the only thing that kept me from dropping out yesterday.

LA Marathon (LATE) Race Report

2011-04-18T21:54:00.000-07:00

Well it was already like 20 days ago, but I like to make sure I log these events in some (shoddy) way! So long story short, I registered for the LA Marathon about 15 hours before the start. Totally impulsive. I had participated in an intense training camp at Wildflower the previous weekend and logged nearly an Ironman distance of bike and run in 4 days. I had several friends running so I thought "why not?" After talking to a several friends I decided to go for it. Crazy, indeed.

Got to the start at about 5:15 and it literally started raining as I got out of the cab with my friends Richard and Ann.

Oy. 2+ hours later I was crossing the start line about 10 minutes after the gun. I forgot my Garmin, which I had been debating anyway. So the first few miles were fun and relatively dry. I was going nice and easy and my usual talking to anybody around me who would participate. Going through downtown the rain REALLY started coming down. It was awesome. Totally crazy.

I was clicking off the miles and really enjoying this one - more so than my other marathons/races where I'm going against the clock. With no Garmin and many of the mile markers unclear I was really going completely by feel. The route was awesome - a little bit of everything. WAY better than the 2 different routes I've done in the previous 2 times I've ran LA.

I had fans in Julia and Henry braving the rain and meeting me at mile 18. It was great to see them. Julia was very surprised how calm I was and how I was pretty sure I might even PR! From mile 20 on it was basically downhill, and with my 2+ year old PR of 4:28 I was just ahead of the 4:30 pace group, and I had seen them cross the start way before me - so I had time on them! We said our goodbyes and I was on my way.

I've gotta say with those conditions I was extremely grateful to the volunteers and spectators. They had easily as hard a job as we (the runners) did! At mile 20 I picked up my good friend Jessica as she wanted to run the last 6 with me. She even told me she was "somewhat disappointed" to see how well I was doing! I kinda agree - you shouldn't be able to register the day before a marathon with no long runs in your legs and trot to the finish?! She wanted me to learn my lesson I guess! But I was going strong, and with just a few miles left I was excited to make the descent into Santa Monica. I also saw my friends Eric and his wife Paige. We all trained for our Ironmans together and they're great people. Picking up the pace, we finally rounded the final corner at mile 25 and it was like a monsoon hit us. I swear the wind was blowing 30 mph. Crazy. I crossed the line, being out kicked by some big hulky guy at the pointless sprint. I'd later find out that I did a 4:20! 8 minutes off my PR!

What happened after was a 3 hour affair trying to get a ride out of the chilly Santa Monica back home. It was actually pretty horrible, but that's how things go sometimes. I was so cold it took hours to warm up.

But in the end I'll remember an incredibly fun, cool and impulsive day!

New Year, New Races

2011-01-18T00:00:00.000-08:00

So I've started 2011 well, working hard professionally and physically. Last week I had my first week of structured training since last June (pre-Ironman.)

It was my first trip back to the pool and surprisingly felt pretty good! Anyway...

1) I did a 20k time trial on my new bike last weekend out in Piru. I did a 34 or so minute ride --- and I was hoping for 30! Oh well. It was windy...but I still got first in my age group! (Out of......three.....) I look forward to improving on this soon.

2) Last Sunday I ran the LA 13.1 for fun. It was actually a blast having zero pressure. I basically just chilled out and ran with my friend Jess. She wasn't feeling so hot, so during one of our breaks I decided to jump in and volunteer at an aid station. I yelled "water, water, water" as fast as I could. It was pretty goofy and included skipping (as in the gait, or style of moving, not bypassing) the finish. I want to carry a penny whistle next time so I can play a jig at the same time. Scary thing is that I'm serious!

Anyway, I've got tunnel vision to Wildflower Long Course (70.3) on May 1. Why do I always pick the hard races? There are many easier courses for my first 70.3. Oh well!

SB Ride and 13.1 Los Angeles

2010-12-06T21:08:00.000-08:00

So I did my 2nd longest ride on T-day. From LA at dawn to mom's house North of Santa Barbara at about 3pm. The windiest ride of my life! I almost got blown off the bike at one point! It was in my face for about 50% of the time - at my side for about 40% and at my back (which was awesome) for maybe 10%. But it was a great day, and I even had time (and energy!) to hike to Ellwood (where my dad is) at sunset. Then I ate probably 2000 calories worth of food. A good day.

I took this pic at the start:

And this pic about halfway up:

And this pic (with the good camera, multiple exposures fused together) at Ellwood:

Just like last year, I'll be running in the 13.1 Los Angeles.

http://www.131marathon.com/

I probably won't be going fast, as I've been recovering from some minor knee issues. I'm much better now and am starting to run regularly again. And just like last year, I've got a free entry to give away! So first person who responds here and wants it....it's all yours. Good luck and see you there!

Long Time? I'm back to blogging. Oh goody.

2010-11-18T22:09:00.000-08:00

Wow it's been a long time...

I guess I've taken a hiatus on structured training, structured goals and blogging. It sure is nice to have my life back after 9 months of hard training and a long European vacation! But I can't complain.

I've done no racing since the big day and have started to plan my 2011 season. I'm already contemplating another Ironman for 2012, but next year is all about one main goal and two main races.

The Goal:

I want to fly on the bike. I feel like I have some untapped potential riding and I really love it. I hesitate to say I enjoy parts of it more than running, but it's a close one. I think with some hard work (I've learned to be pretty good at working hard!) I can make huge improvements on the bike. I'm hoping my run doesn't suffer too much as a result, but I've been taking time off that anyway due to some knee issues. (No big deal, just playing it safe for now...)

The Races:

Wildflower Half Ironman on May 1. I've never done a half (ironically) and this one is tough. I guess I like it tough...I'm not sure on time yet, but I'd love to break 2 hours on the run (pretty ambitious for me - it's hilly, as is the bike) and MAYBE, just MAYBE sub 6 hour finish.

Vineman Full Aquabike on July 30. This is an intriguing idea....an Ironman...but without the run! This will allow me to go all out on the bike. I gotta say I'm pretty excited about this idea.

The Bikes:

So...I now have 3 bikes. You can definitely say I'm addicted. I have my road bike, my commuter bike (a single speed I use around town on errands and stuff) and the newest addition, my Look 576 Tri-Bike. It's AMAZING! I love this thing. Fun stuff.

The Plan:

I'm cycling from my house in LA to mom's house in Northern SB on Thanksgiving, in part to avoid the car ride with the inlaws. It's 115 miles and I plan on starting at about 6am. Should be epic and I'll sure earn my Turkey! I start training for Wildflower in December and I'm excited to have a bit more structure then. I'll have some other races along the way, including the LA 13.1 (more on that on the next post) in January and a reverse sprint triathlon in February.

I'm also toying with the idea of doing a road race or two on the bike but must say I'm a little scared of crashing. (gulp)

We'll see!

Ironman France - In Photos

2010-07-05T11:58:00.000-07:00

happy but nervous

just nervous!

finished the swim!

hell ya! 1:17+

my first trip through the finish line

Heading out on the bike.

the middle of the 12 mile climb

but still smiling

steep!

but still smiling

finishing the bike...

happy to give my ass a rest after 7:30...

happy to see julia (who is taking the pic)

finishing the 1st of 4 loops

cooling off. it was worth the silver...

halfway through the run (2 laps down, 2 to go!)

elated.

can't believe it...

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!...

IS THIS HAPPENING?!?!?!?!?!

can i get a HELL YA?!?!?!?!?!

BAM!

yay.

it was worth EVERY second of pain. :)

disbelief

exhaustion ensues.

ew.

proof.

pride.

Ironman France - An Amazing Race

2010-06-29T14:07:00.000-07:00

The Short Story...

It was an incredible day. Everything went near perfect, and I finished about as strong as I could have ever wanted. The swim was incredible and crazy. The bike course was as challenging (and epic) a ride as I've ever done. My run especially surprised me, and although I had to really push, I was able to hang on for a sub 14 hour finish. I'm elated and feel oh so happy and satisfied. I just can't wait to see the finish photos. I went ape sh*t! :)

The (VERY) Long Story....

The Prologue:

We arrived in Nice last Monday after a long, arduous flight on Luftansa. The 747 is clearly not designed for a 6'4" guy who flies coach. Oh well, we made it through and took a taxi to the small town Villa Franche. It's only about 5 miles from Nice, but it's very different. Our friend Ted recommended we stay there as it's much quieter and quant than Nice, which strangely reminds me of San Francisco. After a 15 minute stroll into town we quickly realized that nearly all of the restaurants serve pizza and pasta....PERFCT! After assembling my bike on Tuesday I took an easy ride through Saint Jean Cap Farret, where I later learned that Lance Armstrong has a home. Legs felt heavy, but it was cool riding in France - the drivers seem quite aggressive, so I was very nervous, but they were surprisingly respectful once I was riding. Way better than in LA!

After a few more low keyish days (that all involved much walking...which made me nervous) we decided to rent a car and drive in the mountains. It was epic, but also stressful as I'm not used to driving on such small roads, and it's been awhile since I drove stick! On Thursday we met up with our friend Pam at registration. It was so exciting getting my bibs, bags and complimentary backpack. They even gave us a bracelet that we would wear all weekend. (And Julia got a VIP bracelet!) I also bought some apparel, but quickly decided to lock it up in the backpack until after the race....I didn't want to jinx it! It was a little strange for me to see all these other athletes. Intimidating really. There's a certain intensity that goes along with this sort of thing and these dudes looked so fit and ripped. I'm not competing with anybody but myself, but I don't really know many people back home who look the part like this. And I had a strong feeling they all had the goods to back it up.

Pam introduced us to her friend Marc, a Scotsman, who is about as hardcore as they come. This 20 year old dude has a marathon PR of 3:11, and that's the first 26 in a 56 mile run! He's planning on doing a TRIPLE Ironman next year. Insane. Very funny, humble and cool guy. We jaunted back up into the Alps with the car and began driving the bike course.

Unfortunately we missed seeing the very first climb. I was told it was short, but VERY steep (like 15% for about 500 meters.) Continuing up, I realized that many of the sections marked "flat" on the map were in fact gentle up hills....great! We stopped at many small towns en route. It was delightful.

About 30 miles in we approached the major climb everybody talks about the "Col de l'Ecre," it was very long, but manageable.

The car ride seemed to go on forever, the descents seeming harder than anything I could have imagined. So many turns! Probably hundreds, including several hairpins.

Not like SoCal... Making our way back into Nice I was having trouble imagining how I would make it through the course unscathed. It was going to be an interesting day.

We'd go back to Nice each day - and it proved to be quite a hike whether via train or bus, 5 miles isn't far but it turned out to be difficult being that far away. On Saturday we took the train with my bike to check it in.

I was so nervous giving the staff all of my items, my bike, my bike bag (which contained all my bike items) and my run bag.

That night, upon our return to Villa Franche we had pasta at what would turn out to be our favorite place. I was SO nervous in the few days leading up. Each time I'd think about it my stomach would go through my throat. I think I was way more nervous for the Ironamn than I was the night before my first marathon two years ago. I was able to get a little sleep thankfully, which was a nice escape from the anxiety and nervousness.

The Morning:

The alarm woke me up at 3:20 AM. Here I was, just a few hours before the start of what has been 9 months coming. I ate my TJ's Pop Tarts that I packed over, had some Dr Pepper (in the absence of coffee) and got my things ready. By 4:30 we were in a taxi headed for Nice. We got there pretty early, I loaded up my bike then realized I had a bit of time on my hands. I chatted with Julia about my nerves, my excitement. I decided I was more nervous about the swim than I realized! I had never done a mass start, all of my previous races have been wave starts - this was going to be epic! By 6:00 I Julia one last hug and kiss and headed down to the beach. I was so excited. Here I was. I'd been waiting months for this morning to arrive!!!

The Swim:

The shore was rocky, so I decided to sit down and wait until a few minutes before. I couldn't get in the water to warm up, so I figured I might as well just conserve energy. I even peed in my wetsuit while I was sitting there, I know, gross. With 2 minutes to go I stood up, wished others luck and started to focus on the day I was about to embark on.

The gun startled me when it went off, I might have even been in mid conversation with a British man! I made my way in to the water, careful to to hurt my feet on the rocks. By the time I was up to my knees I dove in and started swimming. It was a madhouse. There were bodies everywhere. No escaping. I couldn't even put my head in it was so crowded. Funny thing was - with my head out of the water - I had a full on grin! I was delighted to be in this insane environment. I got kicked, somebody kept on grabbing my toes -- it was everyone for themselves out there! About 10-15 minutes into the swim it calmed down just a bit and I got into a groove. It was impossible to draft, the second you would get lined up somebody else would cut you off. By the first buoy, which was 1 km off shore it became a giant clusterf*ck once again. Mayhem.

As we round the next buoy and turned into shore I saw a very errie sight - there were 3 or 4 swim caps floating around in the water about 10 feet down. Of course they were just ripped off, but it was strange how they just floated all together....and it was there that the pack seemed to split - and by that I mean going somewhat different directions - but I didn't realize that until it was too late. It was so hard to spot the buoys or the shore with all of the turbulence. Soon I realized that we were indeed headed for the wrong beach! I had to essentially fight with everybody and switch my direction. I got back on track and spotted the beach where we'd get out for the first loop. Approaching the correct beach it became quite frenetic. The battle for position never ended and while it was amusing at first I quickly wanted to just find a lane where I could get into a groove. Exiting the water was cool - they had volunteers literally pulling us out. After a few feet of jogging we were back in for the second (and shorter) loop.

This loop went by very quickly. I was able to pickup my pace a bit, which felt great. I finally found my groove. At the last buoy there was some dope frog kicking quite aggressively - as if to say "give me room!" After a near miss to the front of my face I grabbed his leg and out of frustration squeezed a bit. Possibly unsportsmanlike, but he did go back to a regular kick after that.

Approaching the swim exit was awesome. I had made it through the 2.4 mile washing machine. I ran under the showers and up the hill towards transition. The jog to the changing area took us under the finish line and Julia was right there cheering like crazy. It was so great seeing her looking so happy and proud. Upon seeing the clock, I was right on track with my swim time.

I grabbed my bike bag and headed for the changing tent. I did a full change of clothing, put on my sunscreen as fast as possible, etc. After that it was a long jog with my cleated bike shoes to retrieve my bike. I got it and hopped on. I saw Julia again, smiled and was off to start my 112 mile ride.

The Bike:

The bike course took us along the main promenade where I quickly focused on drinking my energy drink of choice, Perpetuam Cafe Latte. (Yes, it has caffeine!) I was shocked to see on my Garmin Watch that my heart rate was in the mid 150s - a bit too high! Excitement? The swim? After seeing that I became quite cautious and decided to go out even easier than I had planned. (The plan was to take EVERYTHING easy!)

About 20 minutes later the heart showed signed of slowing and I started to relax. I took on some Hammer Gel and more drink. About 10 miles in I reached for my water bottle, and my race bracelet caught on my rear brake cable that runs along the frame! My rear wheel completely locked up and my bike began to fishtail! Thankfully I was able to stay upright and there was nobody beside me, but this could have been disastrous. People cautiously passed me after this, as it most of looked like I randomly lost control from behind me. Speaking of, since I'm a halfway decent swimmer, I'm used to getting passed on the bike and run like crazy. I just had to focus on my own race.

Soon we turned a corner and there was that bitch of a climb - the steep one. It was funny hearing all the bikes around me shift in unison. I stayed seated, reminding myself not to start the climb too quickly. The whole town had come out to cheer us on and it was so great to hear "Allez Cody!" It truly helped me get to the top. A few minutes of pain later I was at the top and relieved. My heart rate sure spiked, although that was unavoidable. I concentrated on recovering and taking it easy - I knew the toughest climb was yet to come!

During the flat section a media motorcycle was closely following a slower cyclist. Unfortunately the road was narrow and they were nearly blocking all of it. I somehow made it in front, but these two incredibly fit German guys came up fast behind them and were screaming something at the top of their lungs at the motorcycle. It sounded just like that generic angry German voice I so often imitate! I was cracking up inside. To top things off, as they passed me, one of them looks over to me with a slight grin and yells "Fack!" - with a slight bit of humor, embarrassment and camaraderie. Hilarious. I had tiny photos taped onto my aerobars (My dad, Julia, Henry, Mom and Michael) and I couldn't help to look at my dad's face and have a giggle with him.

The next several miles were largely uneventful. Some false flat uphills, some gentle descents. The race was wonderfully organized, as there was police at every intersection. The aid stations were great - I continued taking on fluids and nutrition.

Before I knew it I was starting up the big climb...the "Col d'Acre." This was the big one I've trained so had for. After driving it I wasn't as scared as I thought I'd be. It's about 21k (13 miles) and 1k of elevation gain - somewhat gentle grades, but HOT. No shade and unrelenting. I got into a great rhythm and even had some quick conversations with others. It was so cool being here in the French Alps doing my Ironman. All the names that passed by! (Yes, I was largely being passed by everybody it seemed!) "Laurent" "Jean Michel" "Benoit" "Gilla" I could go on and on!

About 2/3 of the way to the top I was really feeling it. One thing that worried me throughout the week prior to the race was the fact that going up the two flights of stairs at our hotel made me slightly out of breath....Was it jetlag? Did I taper correctly? The normal doubts I supposed. I was debating stopping for a few minutes to collect myself. As I did on nearly all of my training rides, I decided to try and press through. And press through I did! There was a traffic jam at the aid station that forced me to momentarily unclip, but other than that I just kept on chugging along. I summited and there was the "special needs" station, where my supplies were stored. I switched out my water bottles, got some more nutrition and was on my way in under a minute. A nice gentle decent ensued and I was in one of the most beautiful parts of the course, surrounded by meadows. Despite the beauty around me I had a very unpleasant feeling in my stomach. I've had acid reflux on and off for years now, and sometimes can get a bit nauseous from it. It's usually nothing to worry about, but the last thing I felt like doing was eating - and I sure needed to if I wanted to have a strong day. Calorie intake is key! I grabbed a bottle of water at the next station and poured it over me and took a few sips. I decided I might be better off trying to chase a gel shot with water and see if I could stomach it. I could - in small amounts. I even took a bit of my oat bar, squeezed a bit of gel and followed with water. Improvisation. It seemed to be working. I was diligent about my salt, taking tablets whenever I felt my stomach would accept it. Instead of going by time I went strictly by feel, giving my body what I thought it wanted and would take.

Just over halfway on the bike we had been decending on the bike for sometime. It would have been great fun, but I just could not get comfortable. My shoulders were so tight and I felt like my neck was spasming. This was present at the start of the bike as well, but I had no hard work (ie climbing) to take my mind off it now. I'm sure it was due to the swim - they were the same muscles. I tried to endure the discomfort, tried shifting my position repeatedly. Somehow I just zoned out to it, accepting it. The next aid station had a nice surprise. It wasn't a Dr Pepper, but it was the next best thing: Coke! I grabbed a bottle and it was the best sip all day! Pure bliss. That would set up the rest of my race in a way.

More beautiful country side would pass and we'd go through small villages with the residents cheering us on, some more enthusiastic than others. From time to time I would ham it up and wave, or put my hands up as if to say "cheer for me!" It sometimes worked - and it was exciting when it did.

We reached another climb. I must admit outside of that really steep 500 meters and the famous "Col D'Acre" I didn't really take any of the climbs very seriously in my mental preparation. Not that I could've done anything differently had I, this next climb thoroughly bit me in the ass. It started off as I remembered it - a little steep....fine. It kept going until this little picnic area....fine. I drove the course, I knew it. Then it kept going and kept going. When the f*ck would I reach the top? One thing that kept me going was in this forested area there was a long haired guy with a horn. He would go "toot toot toot." Approaching him, I noticed that everybody ahead of me was basically ignoring him - and I could tell he was getting discouraged by the fact the the "toots" were getting further and further apart. I needed a distraction. He "tooted" and I went "toot." He went "toot toot," I did the same. This went on for a few minuted, as even though I was long gone, the switchback took me right over him again - and at least it was shady!

After reaching the top we had a bit of downhill. There were a few hairpin turns that were more exciting than scary, then we would take a right for a quick out and back loop. It was undulating terrain, but this part felt effortless. Hands down the best I felt on the bike the whole ride. On my way back to the main road I hit a small pothole, and a few seconds later realized that my back wheel had gone flat!!!! Damn it! Just as I got in the groove. I pulled over and quickly went to work. The tire was hot and thus easy to take off. I checked it, replaced the tube, filled it with my C02 cartridge (which they strangely called "oxygen" over here) and was on my way. I was cautious for the first bit, as I've had issues with multiple flats before. Thankfully it did seem to be just a pinch flat and I was ready to decent carefully and efficiently.

There was one more little climb that didn't phase me and I continued to take in as much nutrition as I felt I could handle - but I was careful not to overdue it knowing how fussy my stomach felt. I was essentially force feeding myself the gel, chasing with water, then taking a salt tab and a big sip of soda as often as possible. I knew I would need the energy for the run.

The decent was fantastic. I must admit I was nervous, and somehow my rear brake was squelling every time I engaged it - so that added an element of caution - a good thing. My goal was to make it not go as fast as possible. Halfway down the downhill this dude comes screaming past a bunch of us. Reckless. It wasn't 10-15 seconds later that his bike skidded out on a turn and he toppled down about 30 feet in front of my. We were probably going over 25mph and I overreacted. I squeezed too hard on the brakes and began to loose it. Somehow I managed to stay upright. Another cyclist pulled over to help the man who crashed and I pulled over for a second just to regain my composure. A few seconds later I carried on and as I passed the next intersection I told the police officer to get help - I think he understood.

That crash was in my head the rest of the ride down - I wanted to make up a bit of time, but I wanted to finish in one piece more. I was careful took my time - but most of all enjoyed the twisting and turning decent. About 7 hours into the ride I had had it. My ass was sore, I was irritable and ready to get off. It was a long 10 or so miles of flat before we'd transition to the run - and it was windy! And of course it was the wind in the face. I tried to relax, but it was impossible to find a groove. I finally felt like I might have to pee, so I got off and found a bush. It was bright yellow and painful. Not good. I had went before the race in the wetsuit, and in transition to the bike, but not for the last 7 hours. And I had been drinking tons! I decided to drink as much Coke and water as I could in the next 15 minutes, as I didn't want to arrive to the run with a full stomach (in my experience that leads to big time stomach issues for me.)

As I made the turn at the airport I became very excited and petrified at the same time. I had completed the first two legs of the race in one piece....but now I was going to run a marathon?! This just seemed insane! I quickly pushed those thoughts away and focused on how excited I was to get off my bike. The last 3 miles paralleled the run course, it was exciting to see where I'd soon be.

I handed my bike off to the volunteer, careful to grab my Garmin as I'd need it's feedback on the marathon. I grabbed my run bag and headed to the changing tent. Soon I was off, jogging out of transition.

The Run:

I started the run, and just like so many of my long bike rides (which I'd follow with a 15-30 minute run) felt pretty good! I knew I've had a tendency to embrace that good feeling and go out hard. Not here. I immediately slowed and watched my heart rate carefully. I had stopped monitoring it on the bike - the climb was what it was and I went strictly by "perceived exertion." On the run though, it's easy to talk yourself out of running and into walking - I wanted the direct feedback from my body. About 5 minutes into the first loop I heard "CODY!!!!!" Julia. She was SO excited. I got chills. I hadn't seen her for nearly 8 hours! What a trooper she'd been. While she was curious how I was, I was curious how she was! Was she bored to pieces? Did she go to the beach? Did she have a good tour of Nice? She was delighted to see me, and for me it was just a huge lift knowing I'd see her quite frequently from now on.

As I headed West towards the airport I approached my first aid station. The plan was to walk each station, which spanned 50 meters or so. They had showers and I couldn't resist cooling off and walking through. I tried to stratal the puddle as soaking my shoes would mean trouble this early in the run. I grabbed a cup of water, a cup of Coke and a piece of banana. This would prove to be my ritual (with Salt Tabs added whenever I felt I could keep them down.) At the turnaround I realized I was 1/8 through the final leg, and every time I passed over one of those timing mats I was "phoning home" to my friends and family back home - most of who would be enjoying their morning coffee.

Heading back towards the start I realized how huge this bay in Nice really is. 3.25 miles is a long way! But thinking about 4 loops of 6.5 is sure easier than one 26.2! For the first half mile after the turnaround you can't see much - the runners going the other way are divided by trees and there is no line of site to the bay, but after the aid station you'd get a glimpse of the finish area way off in the distance. I'd be staring at it for the final 3 laps, my mouth watering.

It was interesting being on the course with so many athletes of different levels. It wasn't as obvious as you'd think, people were constantly being passed, taking walking breaks. The only way to tell where somebody was in their race was by the number of bracelets they had on. As I completed my first loop I got a black hair band to put around my wrist. I noticed other athletes with blue and white ones as well - they were closer to finishing than I was, but I'd soon be there as well.

I saw Julia again and was so excited! Her cheer was energizing and I naturally (and dangerously) picked up my pace. The excitement of passing by the finish line (it was actually somewhat screened off from the course) surged my adrenaline as well. Going out for my second loop I started strategizing. Time has never "officially" been a goal for me. Finishing was. But in the back of my mind breaking 14 hours would be an A+ day. I would keep my mind busy by running the numbers. I knew that if I could average an 11/mile overall I could do it - with even a little time to spare. I let my heart rate creep up into the mid 150s, keeping 160 as a barrier I would not cross. The only calories I was taking in was Coke and a bite of banana here and there - to go above 160 would be suicide. I also knew the results of this race were somewhat predetermined by the hard work I put into my training....Coach Rom would say "trust your training" and he was right. My best move was to keep it slow and steady and hope it would all work out (hopefully no cramps or bonking.)

One thing I did in these long laps of 6.5 miles (well, 3.25 each way) was think of a special person each direction - fond memories of those people (and one dog) who would inspire me to keep going. I thought about May, my grandmother who recently passed, George, my good friend who passed 3 years ago and of course my father - who this is really all about. I also thought about the living. Julia. My Mom. And Henry! I even thought about myself - what I've put myself through to get here and why it was so important to me to keep moving - and how proud I would be if I could hang on. This was a truly helpful tool.

Finishing the second loop I saw my own personal cheerleader again. Awesome. I told her I'd see her just once more before the finish.

I convinced myself that this, the 3rd loop was really the last loop. Heading back out I felt ok despite a little "side stich," but halfway to the airport (the turnaround) I started to become extremely fatigued. There was a big traffic jam on the street due to the event, and I distracted myself by trying to get the drivers to honk for us. After a dozen failed attempts I finally gave up. I guess they were too pissed that we were hogging their roads. I did wave at some German tourists in a bus - and they waved back!

At the turnaround I had a decision to make. I had lost my salt tablets. They were all stuck together and I couldn't get them out of the bottle. With about 10 miles to go, should I risk not taking in any more salt, or should I spend valuable time going to the "special needs" aid station - my prepacked bag of personal items. (Which included salt tablets and advil among other things.) As I approached the aid station I did the math and figured I had about 3 minutes of padding to break 14 hours if I could maintain the same 11 min/mile average. I decided it would be a quick decision. If it was streamlined and would take under a minute I would do it - a cramp due to lack of salt would be much more costly than the little time it took me to retrieve my bag. As I approached the station I yelled to the volunteer "644" "644!" He was a bit surprised, but got the message and found my bag immediately. He held it open for me and I grabbed the ziploc bag that was thankfully right at the top. My miracle mineral - salt - was back in play. Relieved, I continued back toward the start for my final loop.

The last half of the third loop going into the first half of the fourth was by far the most challenging for me. I was exhausted. My legs were still moving though, despite a mild cramp below my right hip. I was also sleepy. By that, I mean SLEEPY! I couldn't wake up, despite the gallons of Coke I must have been drinking! I went under one of those showers and doused my face in water - that helped. I was hurting though, and even though my final loop was upon me, I wondered if I could hang on to finish in under 14 hours. I had seen multiple bodies (carnage) along the course. Guys who had clearly pushed it too hard. One dude was really scary, completely passed out, eyes rolled back, and the medic couldn't even get him to wake up. It was eerie hearing the ambulance a few minutes later. Being in position for an A+ day was great, but I wondered if I push it too much if I might end up in the hospital instead of the finish line. I decided I had no choice but to just keep running and carefully watch my heart rate - NOT my pace. From time to time I would check my pace (I had my Garmin set up with different screens, so I could toggle various views) and would be relieved to see 10:45, 10:58, etc. I was on track. I retrieved my final bracelet, which was white, and headed out for the last loop!

At the final turn around I overheard some spectator tell his friend "You've got to enjoy that finish - that's what it's all about." That couldn't be more true. I've thought long and hard about the magic of that last 100 meters. Once I passed the airport I could see the finish wayyyy off in the distance - about 3 miles. I could see the flash of cameras going off. It was still light, but getting to be magic hour. Beautiful. My pace picked up a bit. It took all of my discipline to walk the next aid station, as the magnetic pull of the line was very strong. The second to last mile lingered --- I hurt. I replayed my song "Letting Go," which I wrote for my dad in my film in my head. It powered me through.

Before I knew it I was about a mile out. This is where it got really fun. I started waving to the spectators, some of them were quite enthusiatic, some were not so much, but I had not a care in the world. I knew this was in the bag - and I was pretty sure I made up time and had 14 hours in the bag.

Closer and closer I got. Tears of joy flowed down my cheek...I began high fiving the spectators lining the route. I approached the finish chute. Here I was. 9 months in the making. I rocketed passed the volunteer checking the bracelets and she was yelling "bib number?" I was too distracted, but quickly realized that she needed to tell the announcer. Oh well! I was too busy screaming at the top of my lungs! I was high fiving people, doing 180s - even a little dance pumping my fists in the air. I yelled "wee wee wee!" (Yes, Yes, Yes!) I was lucky to seemingly have the last 100 meters to myself - I thought I saw somebody approaching, but they must have wisely waited patiently. The announcer was yelling "Cody Cody Cody!" Since he didn't know my last name or where I was from he held the mic up to my mouth - I yelled "I'M AN IRONMAN!" He took it back, then I realized I had momentarily forgetten what I really wanted to say....I grabbed it back and yelled "JUE SUIS IRONMAN!" The crowd erupted! I walked across that line and there was Julia waiting for me.

The Epilogue:

I'm truly the happiest man in the world as I write this. All the blood, sweat and tears were worth it for that 2 minutes of absolute bliss. This finish was absoluletly more insane than my first marathon - which I guess is what I've been seeking. In the minutes following the race I laid down just passed the line with an enormous grin. Incredible. I did it. I still don't know how. I'm SO elated. Not only a finish - but a strong one, shattering my unofficial goal time.

My nutrition sure doesn't look good on paper, but it sure seemed to work! And I refused to let that flat tire be the obstacle that got in my way from breaking 14. I made the expensive call to my mom, talked to her for 59 seconds and decided to try and get myself up.

I was dizzy. Julia and I had already discussed months ago that I might have an IV post race to help recovery and to rehydrate. After informing the oh so cheering French doc that I had barely peed all day, he gladly gave me what he called an "infusion." Julia was asked to leave the medical tent and I began to chat it up with my neighbors. Some were happy, some not so much. A man a few beds down was puking violently, another was trembling beyond belief. I felt awful for them. Somehow I made it through unscathed - except for a very painful blister on my right foot.

After the IV I got a short massage, some food (including delicious vegatable soup) and then Julia and I watched the fireworks after the last official finisher. It was too amazing. I retrieved my bike and bags and limped around Nice with Julia trying to catch a taxi home. It wouldn't be for another 2 hours that we'd be in bed - it was that much of an ordeal. We thought we might be stuck in Nice for the evening - or worse walking the 5 miles home! Thankfully Julia pleaded with an off duty cab driver and we got home.

The experience couldn't have been greater and I'm so happy that it all played out this way. I'm not thinking ahead about what's next - I want to enjoy the achievement for now - and enjoy Europe! I encourage anybody who has the intrigue about this type of event to go for it. It's worth all of the hard work and you'll come out the other side mentally and physically stronger.

Lastly I wanted to thank my training partners/friends Jessica (who served as my IronMentor) Eric (who shares the same name as my dad) and Ryan (who always climbs in his big chainring.) Also Pam, Sam, Semira, Roxanne, Rom, Marci, Marvin, Willis and all of the other great friends in the LA Triclub. But most of all my cheerleaders - Julia, Mom, Henry and of course my dad - who is forever my inspiration.

P.S.

I'll post the official race photos as soon as I get them....and hopefully there will be a video of my finish as well!

Lastly, here are my splits:

T-Minus 2 Months

2010-04-24T19:10:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since I updated the blog, and in a few days it'll be 2 months to my Ironman! But honestly....I'm so fried.

This training has been intense and unrelenting. I've been improving steadily though --- but at this point I just want to cross that finish line!

Without going into too many details my current "build" weeks have around 20 hours of training. It's been quite the balancing act with my wife, work and friends. But it has been going well and I'm sure I can endure a few more months of this mayhem.

I have a few events coming up.

5/1 Piru 40k Time Trial
5/8 Cruisin the Conejo Century
5/16 Bonelli Triathlon (kinda Oly Dist.)
6/1 Piru 40k Time Trial

Excited about all these in addition to the epic rides that I usually do on Saturdays. Today I climbed Latigo, Piuma, Sheryn and Old Topanga. Ugh! Total ride time was 6 hr, 82 miles and about 6,300 feet of gain. Then a quick transition run with Henry.

I've been soooo drowsy since and there's no way I'm doing any work today!

I should also mention I've started to work on my debut solo album. I've got about 4 of the tracks with rough drafts and I hope to do more tracks in the coming months as long as the "real work" gives me time to!

More soon....we'll see if I can type after the Time Trial next weekend.

Lake Lopez Triathlon Race Report (And Cool Camping Pics)

2010-03-28T21:12:00.000-07:00

Lake Lopez is near San Luis Obispo, and for a few summers when I was a kid we were up there all the time for my dad to go windsurfing and for us kids to enjoy the lake. Very sentimental place. I camped with my good buddy Alex and my mom and her boyfriend, Michael. Julia, sadly was on a show - next time! Anyway, I'll keep this brief.

My goal was to (hopefully) PR and possibly go sub 2:40. But I did not do my homework on the course and decided to "do well" in the field (like top 5 age group?) would be great. Since it's a small race I knew that might be possible.

Woke up early - freezing. Air was in the 40s. Let's swim in a lake? WTF am I doing here? Shockingly the water was warmer than the air.

Swim: Good clip. Towards the front of my wave start. Could not spot the buoys or beach in the last quarter due to sun glare. Lost at least 30 seconds getting in line.

T1: Not feeling your feet makes getting into the bike shoes tough.

Bike: Tail wind. HEAD WIND + HILLS. Long long rollers and false flats with the course culminating at mile 19 with a CRAZY hill. We're talking 16% grade I'm told. Dudes in $5000 bikes WALKING their bikes up. It took all I had to make it to the top, then it was mostly downhill back. I flew, but still only averaged about 18mph on this tough windy course.

T2: Problem with my shoe, but oh well - only lost 15-20 sec.

Run: A chore. Man it was tough getting into a groove. Rolling hills again and a long false flat until the turnaround. Paced it well and tried to push the pace the last few. But it was tough work!

Final time: 2:47...bummer! BUT....good for 5th in my division! (Although I think there were only about 10+ in the division!!!)

It sure felt great to soak in the lake afterwards. Did another brick (bike/run) today (Sunday) and had TWO blowouts. My tire is totally gashed and I'm lucky I didn't have to walk back! After I patched the tube I ended up literally putting a few dollar bills in between the tube and the tire! Can't remember where I heard that trick, but it worked for me!

Camping at this cool spot was a blast. Great weekend.

Here are some cool pics I took last night:

The LA Marathon Experience

2010-03-22T23:05:00.000-07:00

What a day! (Well, yesterday...)

I woke up at about 4 AM to ride with a few friends from the Westside to the start at Dodger Stadium on the dark streets of LA. The sunrise once we arrived was stunning.

I went out with the LA TriClub as a "pace timer." On our bikes we basically leap-frogged the elite athletes and called their times into the media.

Talk about a bird's eye view. For several miles we would tail the field of elite men by mere feet! It was amazing.

We were caught on TV quite a bit! (This newscaster got a lot of sun...)

After the race I did a sequence of timelapses. I got some killer vantage points with my Media Pass (long story!)

All in all an incredible day and I'm proud of my friends who all had a killer time on such a great course. (LA FINALLY got it right!) Great job runners!

Solvang Century Race (Ride) Report

2010-03-14T12:18:00.000-07:00

It's been a crazy week of training....a peak week, and since my injured IT Band has been recovery nicely a lot more intensity has been thrown in. The highlight was my first 100 mile ride --- the Solvang Century. I stayed up at my mom's house, about 30 minutes from the small Danish town of Solvang. After waking up at 5:15 I suited up and headed Northeast. I saw a small red fox run across the road as I neared the start, that definitely woke this nature lover up! The first thing I noticed was the insane wind. It's not often that you look at a forecast and it has ARROWS (representing wind) as the icon (usually sun, clouds, etc...) They had predicted 20-30 mph winds all day....Yikes.

I started slightly after 7 AM and worked my way through the farm land. From time to time massive "pelotons" would streak by at 20 mph and then get promptly broken up at the sight of a roller. It was really fun spending some time in these large groups of 40+ cyclists. It certainly helped with the wind! I ended up meeting up with another LA Tri member, Chris Bird at around mile 30 --- we stuck together for 15 or so miles before I went off on my own. At times I was powering through the crazy wind by myself, at times I was leading pacelines. Rarely could I find a group that wasn't riding too fast or too slow. It's ok, all that wind certainly made the trek rougher, which was the point of the day!

Somewhere in all of the insane beauty the course offered we were halted as cattle crossed the road! So witty dude yelled "cow up!" I laughed.

My coach, Rom had told me to really push hard the last 30 miles, which included the hardest rollers on the course (and also the most tired legs.) I took this to heart, and despite hitting "mini walls" at miles 60 and 80 was able to push through, passing hordes of people who went out too hard. The last 10 miles I was finally on the right side of the wind and flew into town at 30+ mph. If it weren't for the crazy rough road this would have been the best part of the day. The last bit of the course was the same as the SB Wine Country Half Marathon - so I got to avenge the two hills that cost me those 2/10 of a second that had me go just over 1:50 last May! Cruising in I noticed that the finish was 1 miles short by my count. I wanted those triple digits! So I road up a half mile, turned around and called my first 100 miler complete in about 6:08. Very happy with a 16 mph average on the windiest day I've ever ridden in.

Although I was totally spent, I was oddly energized. Despite thinking on the course "and I'm planning on running a marathon after this?" I can actually begin to wrap my head around the idea. Training is working...but I'm still freaking bloody tired! But my spirits are definitely lifted by my most recent purchase at the expo....a Dr Pepper cycling jersey! I think I'll have to wear this in my big race...

4 Months to Go

2010-03-02T09:20:00.000-08:00

It's been awhile since my last blog update, and for good reason. I've been busy, but also injured! Thankfully I'm on the upside, but the IT Band issue never got better. Despite still swimming and cycling through it, my run has suffered. I've still been putting in light miles, but I started physical therapy, will get orthotics for my running shoes and will be back at 100% VERY soon.

The bike has improved drastically. Two weeks ago I was in Santa Barbara for the week premiering my piece "The Remarkable Farkle McBride" for over 3,000 school kids. It couldn't have gone better and we're looking at planning a family concert for the public in the fall. With any luck it'll also go to other orchestras. Exciting!

The Orchestra

The Kids

During my stay I went on an EPIC ride. I made it up the famed Gibraltar Road, despite having to catch my breath (and legs) 4 times. I netted about 4,600 feet of gain in just 45 miles. Killer. The climbs have continued, as this last weekend I set a Latigo PR of about 57 minutes without standing up out of the seat. Me and the crew added Piuma as well which was 5 miles of pure hell. STEEP. But I'm feeling more and more confident with my climbing - netted about 5,200 feet of gain in 75 miles. France has 5,900 in 112 miles - so I'm very close!

Top of Gibraltar Road, Santa Barbara

Top of Latigo Canyon, stretching and waiting for my friends.

The bike fit I just got from Nate Loyal is phenomenal. Great guy too - actually saw him randomly TWICE on my long ride. Descending Las Flores (very steep) a motorcycle pulls up beside me and the dude says "How ya doing buddy? It's Nate!" Too funny. He's asking me how the fit is, etc. Awesome.

So I'm in PT, stretching a TON and getting better and stronger. Can't complain. Less than 4 months out, except for the run (which is coming back!) I'm feeling right on track.

*** If you'd like to hear a highlight reel of the orchestra piece drop me a line and I'll forward you the link! ***

Bike Mileage PR and IT Issues

2010-01-30T23:04:00.000-08:00

Quick blog today. I've been dealing with some IT band issues ever since my big build two weeks ago. It's definitely getting better, but is definitely holding back my training a bit. A few random items of note:

• My mom turned 60 today. Yay Mom!
• My orchestra piece for the SB Symphony is complete. Phew.
• Only 147 Days Until IM France, but who's counting?

Other than that, I took a great ride up PCH with my great friend Eric. We made it all the way to Big Rock (about 40 miles North of Santa Monica) for a huge mileage PR - logging 83 miles in about 5 hours of riding. My big complaint about Eric (I can him Ewik) is he's way too serious:

And we managed to get dropped (no surprise there) by the BMC Pro Team! Eric and I both had the same idea of sprinting to try and keep up with them for a minute at what must be their recovery pace. We both redlined and descended back into reality very quickly. See how far away they are by the time I got the camera phone out?! (That's their van following.)

Then we saw this:

A great day with another ride (climb) tomorrow since I'm sidelined from any running for another day or so. But on the upside the swim is really coming along. I did a 50 meter sprint in sub :40 the other day. I'm told that's not too horrible. At least I have a trace of natural ability in one of the three disciplines! :)

Till next time!

Why.

2010-01-14T07:20:00.000-08:00

3 years ago today my hero and best friend, Dr. Eric Westheimer succumbed to his valiant fight with brain cancer. It was a battle, one which had started nearly a year prior with a sudden and severe stroke. That year I learned both more about my dad and more about myself than I ever thought possible. Even though the rolls seemed reversed at the time (as I was caring for him) - his determination, humor and joy for life through it all will forever inspire and guide me.

As I look back to the last 3 years since I lost him, I see a pattern at first glance, then I quickly realize how spontaneous and non-linear bereavement is. I was lucky enough to come upon running in 2007 - what I hope was the toughest year of my life. My father's determination inspired me to dig deep within myself, take something completely foreign to me (training) and (pun intended) run with it. Enough with the cheese. I'm grateful for this, as running and triathlon continue to expand my soul and remind me constantly to love and embrace life. In a way training has served to be a "surrogate father" of sorts. There's nothing like a solitary run to look within and remember dad.

This may sound strange to some, but hawks and other raptors have come to have a very special place for me. Shortly after my dad died my mom and I began seeing them (or noticing them!) all over. My dad always liked them (and pointed them out as obnoxiously as I do now!) but there's something incredibly spiritual about the graceful way they fly.

I've gotta admit the last few weeks have been a little hard emotionally. I made it through the holidays without much grief but then was quickly reminded a few days after the New Year of the looming anniversary. Today. And this is the first year I haven't been distracted by running in Houston! So on a recovery run last week I was so tired. It was hot. I had to climb Latigo Canyon on the bike the next day. I was so ready to quit 30 minutes in. It wouldn't have effected my finishing the Ironman. So I resorted to a special playlist entitled "Marathon Help." What comes on? "I'm on a Boat." My dad would have loved that song! (Our humors were essentially identical.) I was smiling, and that was the burst of emotion I need to run through the next hour. It turned out to be a great run and I really channeled my dad for the remainder.

The journey did not end two years ago when I ran my first ever marathon. It began. Knee deep into Ironman training I can tell you it's been tough! And I'm (obviously) dedicating that to the man who continues to inspire me from above. (My dad.)

LA 13.1 marks the end of my hardest training week.

2010-01-10T11:23:00.000-08:00

Wow. Ironman training is no joke. I'm in a build month, so hard work almost every day.

This week included run intervals, a short tempo run, two swims and two bike trainer workouts (intervals.) Not to mention a 90 minute "easy" run, two strength/core workouts and the biggy of the week - a 4.5 hour bike ride that included climbing Latigo Canyon. Damn I'm exhausted typing this out! And my "real" work has gone well on top of it - so I'm happy to say that the training is actually making me MORE productive (My concert piece for the SB Symphony is nearly complete!) I need to be busy this time of year as January is hard for me. (More on that later this week, it relates to the loss of my dad.)

Anyway, I woke up early to head out to the inaugural LA 13.1 race. The plan was to do about 20 minutes of warming up, run miles 1-3 in upper zone 2 (easyish) miles 4-11 zone 3 (medium) and miles 11-13.1 in zone (hard.) I stuck to the plan and while it was tough on tired legs I have to say it was -slightly- easier than I thought it would be.

I saw a lot of my friends as it was an out and back (most were ahead of me!) My friend Roxanne from the LA Tri Club caught me at mile 9 or so and we ran together for a bit. She wanted to walk the water station so we said goodbye, and I slogged on. She again caught me at about mile 11, when I was supposed to turn it up! Man I was dreading it. But it was just 2 miles, and I've gotta say I was pretty proud of myself for finding the rhythm.

We came through the finish line at around 1:59 - an effort I'm proud of. I made my dad's "gorilla face" at the line - can't wait to see the photos. About 13 months ago I ran the City of Angels Half and it took my absolute maximum to finish in 2:03. And that was with rest. Very happy with my progress.

After the race I ran into some more friends and then decided to go soak in the ocean for a bit. The water was pretty cold, but after about 5 minutes up to my knees I realized "oh sh*t." It was a tradition for my dad and I each winter to run into the ocean. And here I was. I didn't really have a choice, so I went for it. I played in the waves while yelling "Ba-fute-sai" (it's a silly game we invented.)

All in all a good day - I'm looking forward to tomorrow (Day Off - of training that is!)

2009 Wrap-up, LA 13.1

2009-12-21T09:18:00.001-08:00

As 2009 draws to a close it's time to take a (quick) look back at my second year in the crazy world of endurance sports.

It's been a great 2nd year with many PRs, and new accomplishments. From 2 10ks, to 2 half marathons, 3 full marathons, 4 olympic distance tris, a sprint relay (swim, run) and one long course tri I don't think I could ask for much more. (Exhausted just thinking about all this...!)

Next year will be VERY different - it's really all about Ironman France in June. So far all I've got going is LA 13.1 on January 10th (more on that in a sec) and the Solvang Century Ride on 3/13. Not sure what else at this point, but all I can think about is 6/27! (Ironman!)

I'm pretty sure I just completed my longest training week ever in prep for my big race next year. I'll be having MANY 13 hour weeks in months to come, probably getting near (or over) 20 at some point....crazy. And thankfully I've finally figured out how to manage my time. It's actually increasing my productivity (work wise) to do two workouts a day.

Finally, in spirit of the holidays, I've got a free registration to the LA 13.1 race on 1/10.

http://www.131marathon.com/13_1_Los_Angeles.htm

It sounds like an awesome race. First comment gets dibs! :)

Thanks for reading, happy holidays and enjoy this little holiday card. (Click to enlarge)

SB Marathon Weekend

2009-12-06T15:54:00.000-08:00

So as I prob mentioned I planned to race SB way earlier this year, but then things changed with my Ironman aspirations. SO...instead of running the full 26.2 I decided I'd bike the marathon (twice - out and back) on Saturday and run half on Sunday as a relay (with my cool -- and fast -- cousin Josh.) And not to mention two screenings - which were to be honest a bit thrown together but really successful!

Drove up Friday night, crashed at mom's. Woke up at 6:45 and was off on the bike by 7:10. A bit of a tangent, but the bird watching is CRAZY this time of year. Saw white tailed kites, red tailed hawks, kestrels and even a northern harrier. Gotta stick in this shot that I took a few weeks back...

Anyway...the marathon start is just 1.5 miles from the house - and right across from Ellwood - my favorite place in the world and where my dad is now (ashes.) It was COLD (for me.) But the course is amazing. Goes by my favorite stretch of SB twice:

Made my way towards the waterfront, and encountered the nice hill (which I've tackeled before) at the 23 mark. Man, those poor runners tomorrow I was thinking! Met up with a cool local cyclist named John and chatted for awhile about tris, local climbs in SB (I'd love to do a fair amount of training up here.)

The way back was nice and easy - kept the heart rate pretty low and mellow. At my second time by the starting line I decided to test the many outhouses by relieving my bladder (did I mention I went through 4 full bottles of Perpetum?)

All in all 54 miles covered in about 3:30. Man would I kill to run ONE marathon in 3:30. Someday...maybe.

Off to the expo, where we screened the film to a nice audience and I did a little speaking. Then off to the Pasta Party where we killed time for a bit, and showed the film again! This was one of the nicer showings we've had. It was a captive audience, the lights were dimmed, very effective. And 3 veterinarians came up to me after and introduced themselves - all runners. We had a great chat (my dad was a vet.)

Early rise on Sunday (5 AM) battled traffic to the start since we had to go around.

Just made the gun, which was delayed due to the traffic. Off I went for the first half, my cousin, mom and her boyfriend to a few points around the course to cheer. What a gorgeous day. Started cold, but I felt like I had a nice rhythm, keeping the heartrate nice and low (in Zone 2) and easy 10 minute miles or so. Met some great people along the way including a marine in his 2nd marathon, a girl from Colorado doing her first and some Texans! Fun chatting with people, although I felt a bit guilty knowing my day would be over much sooner than theirs. Made it to the exchange:

My cousin took off! He's very motivated and is capable of being quite fast, I'd say. We caught him at a few spots and he was basically passing everybody in sight - running at about 8/mile where I had put him with the 10/mile crowd. Fun for him!

I waited patiently at the 26 mile mark and we sprinted to the finish together. Awesome. Note the contrasting expressions - he worked HARD!

Total time 3:54:xx. Wow. There's the sub-4 I'm dreaming of - but I only did 2:13 of it! Josh made up a ton of time. :)

Got to hang with the super cool race director June for a minute:

Had a great time cheering people on at the finish, etc. That's such a blast. Especially when you get above the 4:20 mark or so - that's my crowd. I'm all for being goal oriented, etc but a lot of the sub-4 crowd are all business. I'm in this for fun, personally. While time is often important to me, it's often those more mellow runs that are sometimes more fulfilling. It's great to watch those "age groupers." Love it. It doesn't get old seeing people delighted with the payoff of hard work. What an awesome weekend - and it was all for you, Dad.

The Last Few Weeks Have Been...

2009-11-19T21:54:00.000-08:00

Great! I battled a sinus infection a few weeks ago and unfortunately that really put the brakes on my "base training." Even with the infection (well at the tale end of it) I did my second ever stand alone (ie not w/in a Oly Tri) 10k. I had planned to do the "Race for Research" at Dockweiler Beach as a fitness test of sorts to determine my Max Heartrate as well as Lactate Threshold. (I won't get anymore technical than that!) The race also had personal relevance for me - being for Brain Tumor Research. Honestly I was kinda dreading it as I knew it'd be tough! It was like death for almost an hour...I ended up coming in around 52 minutes (+3 min from my PR, oh well) but averaged 190 and maxed 205! Crazy.

SO.....my new zones are much more forgiving meaning I can run and bike just a bit harder during this base period. That's great news as I've still been having a tough time with keeping slow. I'm just now starting to incorporate a little speed (like 5x1 minute hard, etc) but it's still mostly pretty easy. But I'm loving the nice relaxing paces of running and biking now. Just enough to get that oh so friendly endorphin rush post workout.

I've also been getting back in the pool lately and shockingly...enjoying that too. The only thing I'm struggling with is the strength workouts....Sheesh those suck. Can't win em all! :)

Breaking news is that we'll be screening "Running for my Father" at the Santa Barbara Marathon in a few weeks! I'll be doing the first half of the race with my cousin who's doing the second half. And being my hometown we're definitely dedicating this one to my dad. More soon.

A Month Down, 8 to go...and MEB!

2009-11-01T09:42:00.000-08:00

It's been an interesting month. First of all, it's absolutely FLOWN by. (just like this year...NOVEMBER?!)

My training thus far has been largely unremarkable. I've been working on keeping my heart rate low. Real low. Supposed to go less than 145 running, 130 cycling. Easier said than done! But the trick is to get my body burning fat instead of carb. It seems to be working. I started off running at about 12+ minute pace. Yuck. Literally had an old man run beside me and ask me if I was "starting out." Now I'm no speed freak, but that was definitely humbling. That was earlier this month - I'm now able to do 10:30 or so at the same HR. Hopefully I'll just keep improving. Still, I find it very frustrating to keep the pace slow. Running used to be my outlet, but now it's definitely a burden! But it's for the best and I know long term the payoff will be huge.

Cycling has been a different story. I've been LOVING the new bike - the titanium goliath made by Serotta. It's a bike that would be way out of my league ($) had I not got it used from my dad's old doctor! I also find it easier to keep the heartrate down since you can coast, and it just feels like cruising. Nice.

Went on an epic ride up in San Luis last weekend - to Avilla Beach Pier, then inland to the wine country. AMAZING. I was the "manic cyclist" up there - always smiling! I can't imagine living there...probably some of the best cyling in SoCal.

Yesterday went another beautiful ride down here in LA with LA TriClub friends yesterday.

All and all, status quo and I look forward to Month #2 of "Base Training."

And WAY TO GO MEB! That was amazing seeing him win in NYC today. Huge for this ultra cool dude who my buddy Billy and I met in Houston. (He won that race too!)

And on a random note, here's by pup Henry dressed up as a Pumpkin!

Week 1 and Change...

2009-10-15T22:57:00.001-07:00

Well it's been an interesting 10 days. Working with my new coach Rom Levitsky, he has me doing pretty low intensity stuff, all in the "fat burning zone." So low heart rate stuff. Less than 145 for running, 130 for biking....basically equalling about 12 minute miles on the run (!) and 14-15mph on the bike. Yikes....but it's for the greater good, so I'll stop complaining! I even had an old man (in his 80s?) ask me if I was just starting out the other day! (Yes, I looked that slow...)

To be continued...

A Big Announcement...yes it's in the 100s...

2009-09-21T18:45:00.000-07:00

OK, so it's official. I'm bailing out of my winter races (SB Marathon, Houston Marathon) in favor for a bigger race. One that will take about 9 months of training (for me.)

No it's not a 100 run - those people are even nuttier than me! Still guessing? Well check out the video - I hope you get a giggle...or two...or 140.2!

Malibu Triathlon Race Weekend/Report

2009-09-13T20:43:00.000-07:00

What a blast the last few days.

Friday: Drove up to SB to pickup my new bike (well, new to me.) My bike has had all sorts of probs the last few weeks and I had an opportunity to grab this beautiful titanium Serotta for cheap, so I took it! Unfortunately as many have said, don't change ANYTHING the day before (or of) a race. Opps. Took 3 emergency trips to the bike shop to get it fit correctly for me...long story...anyway, ended up camping 5 miles North of Zuma at Leo Carillo with my LA Triclub friends Tina, Mo, Byron and Roxanne. What a blast.

Saturday: Olympic Distance. Swim went great. Didn't wear a watch at all this entire race - my perceived effort experiment. Final swim time would be 28:51 - a PR! Cool beans. The bike, despite being excited about my new steed, I had decided to take very easy - in hopes of having a strong run. This is my 4th triathlon and I have yet to have a run that I'm proud of. It was a little odd honestly....it felt like recreational pace, but I stuck to the plan. The run...well it felt like SHIT! I tried not to go out too fast, but mile marker ONE seemed far! Uh-oh. I suffered, but I tried to keep moving at a consistent pace. I was hoping I'd low to mid 8 minute miles...but had no idea until I got my splits. Turns out I ran a 53:28 - almost exactly 8:30 - so I'm stoked. Final time: 2:45:53. About +1:30 from my PR for an Oly, but I'm happy. I had a great time the rest of the day hanging out with friends, getting my hair cut (? yes they had a booth for that) and a free massage! Julia didn't make the trip (hates camping) but came up to visit with Henry and we had dinner - that was cool.

Sunday: I was planning on doing the swim portion of the "Classic" distance with the Paramount Tri Team, but got a last minute call to also run the relay...so another day of racing! Yay...We started with the celebrity wave which was kinda cool and funny. It was just a 800 meter swim so I decided I'd go balls out. I've never been so aggressive running into the water - every man for them self! Getting out to the buoy was complete mayhem. But I finally found a rhythm and just wondered if I could hang on. A few short minutes later I rounded the last marker and headed in. Not sure about my chip time, but when I got out of the water my watch said 12:xx (couldn't read it!) After the 50 yard jog up the beach I stopped it at the mats - 13:01. I'm stoked with this. And I think the current definitely helped me out! An hour later I was off for the 4 mile run on my other team. I was hoping to do around 8 minute miles, which I quickly realized I was not up for. Then about a mile out had a bit of a surge. Final time on the run 32:00 - hurray! Funny too - I almost caught Mario Lopez right at the line! I should be right over his shoulder in his finish photos! Hung out some more with friends and the Paramount Tri Team (Awesome brunch btw at the event) and headed home to the wife and dog.

What a fun weekend. Thanks for reading.

Oh, and a silly little video I made of the elites coming through on Sunday.

Santa Barbara Long Course Triathlon - Race Report

2009-08-23T11:54:00.000-07:00

My first "Long Course Tri." I've done 2 Olympics thus far...this one is a little more than halfway between an Oly and a 70.3 Half Ironman. Let's say 1/3 Ironman...and I'm bib #911! WTF? Well here we go....

5:00 AM wakeup, coffee, pop tarts and the 20 minute drive to the Santa Barbara waterfront. After I arrive I get in the transition line, and ultimately claim one of the best spots in the house - right near the swim exit and bike start. Weather = perfect. Overcast and not too hot or cold. Kinda tropical, but cooler and not so muggy. So maybe more "Pacific Northwest." So not so tropical. Whatever...

After I set up my area I put on my wetsuit and headed down to the beach. I've found if I wade in the water for 15-20 minutes I swim much better. Something about acclimatizing to the water temperature.

At 7:05, we were off. I was in the second "wave." We ran into the water and started our mile swim. It was, as always MAHEM. A few minutes later I found my groove. I did something new this time. I found a swimmer who was the same speed as me and DRAFTED! It was great. In addition to the energy conserved I only veered off course once since I was following him. Pretty dope. 32 minutes later I was out of the water and running up the beach towards transition. Gotta say I was light headed and dizzy after the swim. I can remember this happening on my other tris - but it went away quickly. (T1 Time = 1:52)

I got on the bike and headed out on what I thought would be the toughest challenge of the day. I rode the course a few weeks back with the LA Tri Club and actually drove the course with Julia on Friday. There are few flats on the course, countless rollers and two climbs in the "Gob" - a very steep 1/2 mile and Toro Canyon - a 1.5 mile very steep climb. I decided to keep the aero bars on despite the technicality of the course (it twists and turns everywhere!) I got into a good rhythm, but because of my slightly above average swim time was passed right and left by guys in $5000 bikes. The sound of aero wheels passing you is unique - maybe the sound of a dog with bronchitis breathing heavily? Anyway, I'm fine with my $500 modified craigslist special (for now - I wouldn't mind a slightly better bike, but probably never a bike that equals any sort of decent car in terms of price...)

So we zipped down toward Carpinteria - a few very quick descents - dangerous, but fun. I took them pretty conservatively while some did them in aero! (That's INSANE imho....you can't brake!) Several flat miles later we finally hit "The Gobernator." It's a quick climb luckily, and I felt good popping out of the saddle. No big deal - was glad to have it over. 20 minutes later I'd hit the tougher climb. It's so freaking steep. My bike, when in it's easiest gear makes a fun metal rubbing on metal sound. Gotta love my sweet cheap bike. A nice cyclist (who I believe was riding one of those $5000 Cervelos) was kind enough to tell me that my rear derailleur was rubbing on the spoke, and if I continued in that gear might lose the derailleur altogether (it'd fall off!) Or perhaps a spoke! Um....opps. So risk the derailleur breaking (my day would be over...) or climb the steepest hill of the day on a harder gear than I need to. I went for the tougher solution. I somehow made it up, but boy was it tough. I was DEAD at the top. I was grinding as hard as I could. I thought I might even fall over at one point I was moving so slow...

Luckily the next section of the course was largely downhill. I took it quick and let my legs crank very easily to keep them moving. I thought I was being clobbered by small bugs when I finally realized I was feeling rain drops. Yes, I was indeed in a daze. Rain! Good thing it didn't come until now, as wet roads with these crazy turns would be tough for me. I tried to hammer the last portion of the bike, realizing that I might be able to have what would be the perfect day for me if I averaged 18.5 mph over the course. This would indeed put me in sub-4 contention if I could have a half way decent run.

Off the bike I ran into Julia and my mom - both them and my sister volunteering at the event! I got on the shoes and took off on the 10 mile run. I felt good for the first 3 miles. Somewhere in there I developed some pretty bad acid reflux. I gave in and walked. Damn. Everything going so well, with more uphill running ahead of me I thought I was throwing my goal of sub-4 away. I somehow managed to get myself running again - but at over 10 minute miles. Better than walking, right? All I need was 9:15/mile overall according to my "A" plan. At the turnaround I felt ok, but couldn't take in fluids without getting that horrid gassy feeling in my chest. I also couldn't take on any nutrition. Maybe these honey stinger gels I've been so keen on aren't so great for me. Who knows. There was a nice downhill from miles 5-7 or so, but my pace was nowhere near where it needed to be to make up for the walking and slow running. I became content with the fact that this, my first long course would be a huge triumph finishing, even if it was a few minutes off my "A" goal. 4 hours was pretty ambitious for me anyway. I had only thought I'd be able to get that if I had a "perfect day."

Mile 8 came and with two miles left I was just trying to hang on for dear life. I didn't know exactly where I stood time wise, since my Garmin watch only told my bike-run combined time. I wore a wristwatch in the water, and I was pretty sure I needed to do 3:25 between the bike and run. From my half-assed math during the haze my mind was in I figured that it was going to be fairly close - that I somehow might be able to break 4. The last few miles are flat and along the gorgeous SB waterfront. But it's a LONG waterfront, and from the pier it's about 1 miles, and you can see the Cabrillo Bath House in the distance. I for one like the dangling carrot. Being able to see the finish is uplifting. I gave as much kick as I could - but there was barely anything left. I saw Julia, my mom and sister a few hundred meters out telling people to "step up, step down" over a very precariously placed curb. Cruel! Also about 6 feet of very sof sand to run through...bizarre.

I crossed the line and was immediately greeted by two lovely women who squeezed cold water sponges over my tired body. That was a unique perk! I would learn a few minutes later that I did indeed break 4 hours - by just 22 seconds! 3:59:38. Good thing I didn't walk anymore as I would have just missed it!

I hung out with Julia and my mom and cheered on the athletes as they trickled in - including my friends Semira and Roxanne - both whom gave a strong kick towards the finish as I commanded! (My voice was very sore after cheering...yes I can talk/yell/scream with the best of them.)

The one thing that struck me about this race...at about 1.5 miles to go when I was hurting like hell I thought to myself, "and you want to do an Ironman." My answer to myself was, "yes, yes I do." Having self conversation sure is fun, but usually the answer is more like "f*ck no!" at that point during a race. Strange. Maybe this is really where I've caught the bug. I should also mention from a mile out all I thought a lot about my dad. Somehow the pain makes me feel closer to him. Racing in Santa Barbara is extra special since it's where he raised me. Nice.

I'm trying to decide if this race was as hard as a marathon. The three disciplines all have their challenges, but I've really got to learn how to not blow up on the run. This will be my top priority for my last race of the season - Malibu Olympic on 9/12. Then it'll be all about the running in the fall.

Can't wait for my next one. In the meantime, I'll continue my eating binge. Fish and chips for lunch yesterday, followed by chicken nachos last night and donuts this morning. MMMMMM. Maybe ice cream later? Don't worry health freaks, I'll be back on salads and smoothies tomorrow. :)

Thanks for reading!

Tech Data/Splits:
448th/758 Place Overall
Bib# 911
Overall: 03:59:38
Men 30-34 58/78
Swim 1 mile: 00:31:59 (1:59/100m, 350/758)
T1 01:52
Bike 34 miles: 01:50:30 (18.46 mph, 380/758)
T2 01:38
Run 10 miles: 01:33:40 (9:22/mile, 561/758)

First Latigo Climb

2009-08-08T16:28:00.000-07:00

Last week I was up in Santa Barbara for the "SB Triathlon Training Camp." While the bike course was gorgeous, it was definitely a little harder (and steeper!) than I expected. Time to get some more hills in with just 2 weeks to go until my big race on the summer.

So I've been itching to climb the infamous Latigo Canyon for several months now. I still consider myself a novice cyclist, but I've definitely been getting stronger - I've been curious to see if I could handle it. The closest I've come before today is Encinal Canyon - which is shorter with a little less elevation gain. So here we go!

Anyway, I met up with my friend Jessica (who's weeks away from her first Ironman!) at Malibu Bluffs at around 7:30. We clipped in and headed North just past Zuma (Trancas Cyn Road.) After the warmup, we turned around and hit Latigo Canyon Road. Wow. It's no joke. Pretty steep at first, leveled out a bit, but all in all a pretty tough climb. I'm told it's 7 miles long and has almost 1900 ft of gain. About a half hour in I definitely started to feel it.

There's a nice little decent about 3/4 the way up, but I found that just took away my momentum! At times I was definitely missing the triple chainring which I just recently had swapped out for a more common double. (I basically lost the "easiest" gear, also known as the "granny.") Anyway, finally, almost exactly an hour after starting the climb I submitted. Jess is quite the climber - she finished a minute or two ahead of me and was barely challenged it seems! Plus she ran 20 or so miles yesterday! Bad ass. Talk about no joke - Ironman training = CRAZY.

So we hit Muhullond and eventually made it into Calabasas - tons of rolling hills on the way and it got HOT. A few hours later we took Malibu Canyon Rd back to the bluffs. Not recommended. Way too much traffic (including a tunnel) and extremely windy. Total time from start to finish 5 hours - but just 60 miles covered! The 5 hrs is not counting Jess's TWO flats (poor girl!) and the refilling water bottles at the park...I'd say we only averaged about 15 mph in the end, but TONS of climbing on the day. Next time....maybe...just maybe we'll add Piuma. Also infamous from what I hear.

Nike FREEs Sortof Review

2009-07-27T12:15:00.000-07:00

So I scored a pair of Nike frees yesterday. The chick at the store was extremely pessimistic about these shoes working for...I felt like she almost wasn't going to sell them to me! I do overpronate a bit, and thus wear stability shoes. The frees are neutral. Anyway, I did end up getting them, and have got 60 days to decide if I want to keep them. (roadrunner sports)

This weekend was pretty good training. Went on a 4.5 hr ride up Pch - really enjoyed the big waves! It was quite the sight. On Sunday took a 30 minute swim near the marina sans wetsuit - so liberating. I was planning on doing a medium run with my friend Jessica, but stupidly forgot my shoes! Instead we just ended up doing a few miles (prob 3) on the sand.

I've really been focusing on my form lately. Lift the knees, kick the butt, land midfoot. In keeping with this spirit I thought the frees might help me with this.

This morning, even though I was a bit sore from the long ride I headed out for a few easy miles in the old shoes. The first mile sucked, but I quickly got into it. After a loop I headed home and laced up the frees.

Wow. These things are freaking light!!! Like nothing. Still focusing on my form it was definitely easier to strike midfoot in these pups. My pace also shot up without any extra perceived effort. All in all I covered 2.5 miles in the frees. I want to say they definitely rock, but am a bit reluctant to call myself a convert just yet.

I got back into my nike triax 11s (which are still very light when compared to my workhorse asics kayanos) and I literally felt like I had concrete blocks on my feet!!!!! I could also feel them really controlling my stride. My feet felt like they were rolling out! I got used to the extra weight and control after a few minutes and finished the run despite some it band tightness (from the bike?). Definitely need to keep up the stretching.

So I'm definitely sold that stability shoes really enforce a stride. I'm just not so sure these frees will protect me enough from the road when the miles pile up.... Time will tell!

Btw, I'm writing this post from my iPhone while waiting for my car at costco. Here's some irony, my Scion is getting new tires!

The Strawberry Fields Triathlon (Now with Pics!)

2009-07-19T17:32:00.001-07:00

4:30 AM wake up at Mom's home in Goleta (North of Santa Barbara)

5:30 AM arrive, park, rack bike, lay out gear

6:30 AM get in the water, play in the surf, chat it up

7:05 AM START!

THE SWIM:

Crazy horrid swim. Pretty cold water, biggish swells, big current. Got off the beach pretty good. Had trouble getting a breath and finding my rhythm. Definitely a mass start. Had trouble spotting the buoys due to the big swells. The course definitely felt way longer than 1500m. Following other swimmers just led us way off course. Would love to see a helicopter shot - all the zig zagging! Checked my watch at the 2/3 buoy: 23 min! Yikes. Final swim time ~37 min. Crap!

T1:

Quick jog to the transition area. Uneventful T1. Time ~2:30. Cool by me.

Bike:

Shorter than 40k at 23.2 miles (no idea why!) Flat, but windy. Aero position 90% of the time. Tried to focus on eating, drinking. First loop went well after I got into it ~3 miles in. Flew past a good amount of other riders (yay!) Second loop took it up a notch in effort to make up for the horrid swim (which was the talk of the day amongst most of my friends who also raced!) Got off the bike in 1:07:38 - very stoked with my 20.6 mph effort in pretty windy conditions and of course not drafting!

T2:

Uneventful as well! Time: ~ 40 seconds.

Run:

Felt pretty bad right out of the gate, but was surprised to see my pace at 8:23 for the first mile! Then 8:53, then 8:58. Fading fast and am not such a fan of loop courses...9:05. Holding on by a string! I knew if I walked it was over. And I knew if I tried to stay with it I could still go sub 2:45 despite a disastrous start. 9:23. Finish line in sites....gasping....last mile 8:48. Run time 55:10. (Yikes as well!) Total time ~ 2:44:27. Mission accomplished despite the adversity. (PR!) Still no official times or race photos. Stay tuned.

The PS's:

P.S. Bummed about Lance!

P.P.S. Shout outs to my friends Willis, Greg, Ryan and Jess who duked it out with me in Oxnard!

P.P.P.S. Had a "Strawberry Fields" smoothie at the Natural Cafe on the way home. Seriously. That's what it's called.

P.P.P.P.S. Yes. I'm in a strange mood.

P.P.P.P.P.S. Just noticed that I finished 121th overall, ranked 97th in my gender and 12th in my "class." Anybody know what "class" is? (Age, I presume? Not etiquette, obviously.)

P.P.P.P.P.P.S. Yes, I need to stop typing now and Billy will surely not be amused by my attempt at humor here.

Race Upcoming and Off Topic Pics

2009-07-16T13:06:00.000-07:00

How's this for a hodge-podge (sp?) post?! Pics of my latest obsession (Deck!) Pics from my vacation (yes, photography is a passion of mine) and ramblings about my upcoming race: The Strawberry Fields Triathlon (Olympic Dist.)

This Sunday is just my second Tri - although I feel like I'm not quite that green! I've been working pretty hard on the bike for the last month or so. I must say I've falled off the wagon running a bit - track work once a week and a medium run or two a week and that's it....Swimming so-so. That's the one sport I'm decent at so I tend to neglect it. So without further adieu...my goals.

Swim 1500m: 27:30ish (1:50/100m) - should be pretty doable, no faster than my first tri back in March

Bike 40k: 1:14:30ish (20mph) - up from 18.5, more comfy on the bike, easier course

Run 10k: 54:20ish (8:45/mile) - I'd be more ambitious here but know myself and if I go out to hard after the bike I'm done. I'll start out here and if I feel good I'll go harder!

With the transitions I'm thinking between 2:40 and 2:45, about 6-10 minutes off my first. I'd definitely like to go sub 2:45 and possibly 2:40 if it goes really well. We'll see!

Without further adieu, here's my favorite pics from my trip up North...

For more you can check out my MobileMe gallery: http://gallery.me.com/codymusic

And here are the promised pics of the newly completed deck! :)

Oh yeah, the lens I shot with (Canon 10-22) makes it look much, much bigger!

Will letcha know how Sunday goes! Hopefully I'm not too sore from hauling all that wood!

The Gorgeous San Juans

2009-06-17T21:54:00.000-07:00

I've been pretty low key in the active/running world the last several weeks. I've been building a deck in my backyard (!) and been busy with work. But this last week I've been vacationing with my wife Julia in the incredible San Juan Islands, off the coast of Washington State, near the Canadian border.

I've been there twice before - for the scenery and the orcas that visit every summer. This visit we'd stay at the world famous Orcas Hotel on Orcas Island. Details of the trip aside, Julia and I went on 2 hikes the first day, but on Friday I wanted to tackle Mt. Constitution - the highest point on the island at 2500'. Most people drive to the top, but there's a hike (labeled "strenuous" in the guides - I'm "trembling!" that ranges from 3-5 miles depending where you start.

I lobbied for the long route, about 5.5 miles with just under 2000' of gain. (Hmmm.) The scenery was GORGEOUS.

It was pretty damn tough! I stopped to catch my breath multiple times, hiking a few of the really steep parts. At one point I wondered if I was on the right trail...my mountain experience from November flashing back to me....hopefully this time without snow (!) But this tale would be one with a more typical ending. Summiting the trail with Julia waiting for me at the top - she drove. It took me about 1:20 to make it up and the view was spectacular! On the way down we stopped at the lake where I swam a few laps. Ah the mountain ice water felt nice!

A few days later, this time on Lopez Island I set out on another run - this time to Iceberg Point - at the Southern tip of the island. Deserted. Gorgeous. Once I was out on the trail I didn't see anybody! Except for the occasional gull and ever present bald eagles (by the dozen up there!) it was me and the trail. Unfortunately I brought my road shoes. They're my typical Asics - Kayano 14s that don't have such great traction on the dirt. That would be my single complaint of the experience. Other than that it was HEAVEN! We kayaked, saw otters, porpoises and droves of baldys - including a few young ones! No orcas unfortunately - they were on strike apparently. :(

If you haven't checked out the San Juans by all means look it up! On lopez we stayed at the Mackaye Harbor Inn - incredible. More pics later...I promise! :)

The Trail @ Mt Constitution

Me on the trail....tired!

Steps from the top...I tried to sprint the last mile ("tried")

The view...see what I mean?

The deck framed out! Work resumes manana....

The Race that was a Wall....And a different type of PR

2009-05-25T16:46:00.000-07:00

Short Story: Today was not my day. Almost DNF'd, but ended up mostly walking to the finish.

Long Story: Woke up at 5:00 AM, had a little coffee, a granola bar, a fruit bar and starting drinking my usual Poweraide. My friend Billy and his cousin "Q" (who would be running his first!) pick me up at about 6 AM. We make it downtown with no problems, wait in line for the porta potties and line up. It didn't seem like a huge field, but it was incredibly crowded. There was no "side area" etc to get to your designated position. After 10 minutes of jockeying for position I make it up within 30 feet of the 4:00 hour pace group.

The women took off at around 7:10 and somehow a lot of the crowd didn't get the memo. There's a push of people from the back resulting in many people near me toppling over....crazy! We were finally off at 7:25. Talk about a crazy start. It was all over the place. The 4:00 hr dude totally took off! It was near impossible to stay anywhere close to him....way too many people - all different people! And plenty of race walkers clogging up the start! (Thought they were supposed to start AFTER the runners???) It was utter mayhem, and it didn't subside until at least mile 3 or so. I managed to stick with the pace guy through all this somehow, but quickly started feeling fatigue - especially for being just 3 or so miles in! WTF?!?!?! The calm before the storm. Mile splits (1) 6:49 - but I think that's wrong (2) 9:05 (3) 9:09 (4) 8:51.

During mile 4 I realized I was breathing pretty heavy...and my heartrate would confirm that indeed I was struggling. 175 bpm for that pace??? Maybe 8 months ago....I mananged to click off the next several miles with the pace dude still in site, ignoring my awol heartrate. Mile splits (5) 8:59 HR 177 (6) 8:56 - HR 179 (7) 9:06 HR 183. I know my rates pretty well, and I definitely knew 180s this early were not going to back down. I can handle 180s (and 190s) short term, but not for 19 miles. I made the decision to kiss the pace group goodbye. It sucked watching the balloons fade off into the distance. My next goal: sub 4:10. Mile splits (8) 9:44 (9) 9:49

I saw my Julia and mom at around mile 9 - knowing this was not my day I informed them that I still wanted to push for a good PR and that I'd see them at mile 17 (where they'd meet me next). Let the meltdown continue....Mile splits (10) 10:17 (11) 10:52 (12) 10:49

Before the halfway point I was caught by the 4:15 pace group. This chick rocked, she was pep talking and animated. Way better than the silent mysterious 4:00 dude...I thought about picking up the pace, but decided to stay with them. Nice. I was even comfortable, and content....at least for a mile or two (13) 9:43.

THEN....good old fashioned GI issues. Nausea. I didn't puke, but sure felt like it. I had to let the 4:15 group go. (14) 12:02 - HR 160 (!) (15) 10:55 HR 165 (!!) (16) 12:28 HR 163 (!!) These HRs don't go with the paces, do they? I hooked up with my cousin Josh at mile 17 or so. He ran from his home in SM (he's also a runner). I was falling apart quickly though and couldn't bare to run. We walked together for a bit. I was a bit light headed and still nauseous. At one point while WALKING my HR read 165. This had me worried. I thought about pulling out. Something was definitely not right. With the PR out of site it certainly didn't seem unreasonable to DNF. Josh was worried about me and we agreed we'd visit the nearest Medical tent to make sure I was fit to continue if I chose so. We came by Julia and my mom again at mile 18 and we finally found the medical stop. The nurse took my blood pressure (normal) asked me questions and basically told me I was ok to go. I decided I could not bare to DNF - that would make a tough day a tough week knowing I was physically fit to continue.

I gave hugs to the fam and carried on in a light jog. Uh-oh. The walking tightened me up. My entire left side cramped up and a nasty blister had formed (from the walking?) on my right foot. WHAT THE HELL ELSE COULD GO WRONG? I decided to walk, walk and more walk. At this point I had nothing except the finish. Last year I finished this race in 5:00:50 and I wouldn't break 5 until Houston THIS YEAR (4:28:xx.) If I wasn't gonna break 5 part of me thought well maybe I could top my LONGEST marathon time (My first in Houston - 5:09:xx.)

The miles crept by incredibly slowly. For awhile I turned on the iPod and tried to zone out. Then I tried to encourage some of the runners who were obviously first timers and needed some support. But the miles go on forever when you're doing a 16:00 pace. (HA!) Just before mile 25 the 5:30 pace group came up from behind. I decided to try and run with them for a few minutes and chatted. 5 or so minutes later they were due for a walk break. With just over a mile to go I decided to turn on the jets (more like a small electric motor with dead batteries.) I clicked off that final bit at around a 10:00 pace. Game over. Final time 5:26:xx

A new PR! PR stands for "Personal Record." And that it is. Officially my longest marathon. Hopefully this is a PR that stands up until I'm elderly. Honestly I'm somewhat frustrated (obviously). I think I've overdone it. 4 weeks ago was Big Sur, then SM 10k, then SB 1/2, then a weekend off and now a very tough LA Mar. Whatever....it's done and I'm glad for that! I'll have many other opportunities for glory in the future. I'm happy I didn't DNF - I'd be MUCH unhappier with that. So no A,B,C, or even "D" goal. I did get my "E" goal. My dad's first name happened to be "Eric." Very Fitting.

P.S. Ironically I watched the 2007 Ironman Special last night to get amped up. Was definitely thinking of that elite runner who refused to drop out in the marathon after getting injured. He walked it with age groupers passing him right and left. Obviously I'm about as far from elite as you'll find, but seeing his dedication certainly fueled me during my "long walk."

The Numbers Talk: Pre LA Marathon

2009-05-24T14:23:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I'll be taking on my 6th marathon...good old LA. Weather looks good and I'm definitely my usual combination of nervous and pumped up.

I've raced 3 out of the last 4 weekends. Well, Big Sur wasn't really a race for me (4:41:xx) But the SM 10k (48:11) and the SB Wine Country Half (1:50:00) definitely were. I took last weekend off in prep for tomorrow and I think I'm ready for a big PR.

The numbers say I'm capable of a sub-4 hour marathon. That's been my end game for awhile. I'm planning on going for it. I'll head out with 9 minute miles and see if I can hold on. I might even run with the 4:00 pace group - we'll see!

Fingers crossed, but I must admit I'm not entirely sure of this one. My goals...

A) Sub 4 (ok, I'd take 4:00:00)

B) Sub 4:10

C) Sub 4:20

D) PR (previous 4:28:41)

E) Finish

Is that a first? 5 goals?

I'll let you know how it goes manana!

Good Ol' Hockey and Ramblings

2009-05-13T23:26:00.000-07:00

Before running and triathlon I played a lot of hockey. After college I decided to try my hand playing ice hockey. I played a little street hockey growing up, and somehow upon my graduation in 2001 the flame reignited. I've been a fairly loyal LA Kings fan ever since and have enjoyed my time on the ice, mostly at the nearby Culver Ice Arena.

Since I lost my dad and discovered running my passion for hockey has somewhat diminished. So much so I actually ended up "changing teams" (not that team to team!) and moved to a less competitive group of guys. I've still been playing a 2-3 times a month - kinda makes for an interesting cross training!

The last few times I've played I've had an absolute blast. One thing that fascinates me tremendously about Hockey is that when you're in a game you forget about life in a very big way. To be honest all that I can really remember for that hour and change is that my name is "Cody." (Yes, from my team mates yelling at me!) After the game I remember "I have a wife, I have a dog, etc."

I miss this feeling. I find running especially to be incredibly introspective. I do some great thinking running. That's great, but there's something magical about "checking your life at the door." Thoughts? Maybe I should listen to music a bit more...

Oh and here's a fake pic of me fighting.

Oh yeah, I'm pissed Danny got eliminated off Idol this week! Kris is mediocre at best and reminds me of the generic smug popular guy in high school. (/vent.)

SB: Fire, Screen and Run

2009-05-09T14:46:00.000-07:00

It's been a very interesting 3 days...I got up to Santa Barbara on Wednesday night as the Jesusita Fire flared up..I took my time getting up North to take some photos. Here's a little video of the smoke over the ocean. This was shot from sea cliff, about 10 miles out of SB.

It felt strange to carry on with our film screening despite all the craziness with the fire, but the showing was sponsored by my friends at Destination Races, so the decision was made to go through with it. Before the screening we had a booth at the mini expo - my roommate was none other the famed Bart Yasso! Pretty cool.

We screened "Running for my Father" to an audience of 40-50 people, mostly locals (some of who had to leave right after the film, getting calls to evacuate!) It was a bittersweet night as I think most of out minds were on the flames. I probably did my crappiest Q&A yet (!) On our way back home we realized the flames had really erupted. Scary times. One of our friends house had already burned, several more in danger. Luckily my mom's house was pretty far from this:

Friday morning we went up to the expo in Buellton, which is about 25 miles North from Santa Barbara - far from the flames. I was pleased (and shocked) that the air quality in the Santa Ynez Valley was pristine. No ash to be seen. It looked like the race might actually NOT be cancelled! Picked up the packet and headed back to SB where I met Billy (larunner - duh!) his girl Sara and my girl Julia who drove up with them.

We took a walk at my favorite place in SB, Ellwood and then headed out to dinner at the famous E-Bar. Soon we were all packed up and ready to go to bed.

And FINALLY...race day. 5:30 AM wakeup call. We were out the door by 6. I didn't know what to expect. The fire was going better, but if there was ash in the air my plan was to DNF. No sense in ruining my lungs. I was hoping to stick to my plan as much as I could: 8:40 miles 1-7, take it slow up the climb near mile 7, then book it in. Definitely wanted to break 2, hoping for a sub 1:55 and a sub 1:50 would be A+ for me.

After the walk to the start we were off.

First off, Billy is freaking FAST. Don't let him tell you otherwise. He's got serious skillz. I remember hearing him say "I'll take the first mile as a warm up." He was out of sight by the 100 meter mark...Sheesh.

The first miles were really beautiful. I was trying to find my groove and remember settling in somewhere around mile 2. By mile 5 I remember thinking...hmmm...8:30-40 for another 8 miles? I don't think so. I tried to convince myself the race would be over by the big climb near mile 7. That kept me going.

The air quality seemed great, and it definitely wasn't as hot as I anticipated. (Yes, this is my debut in a sleeveless, or don't we call them "singlets?" We headed through the town of Los Olivos at around mile 5 and it was probably my favorite part - tons of crowd support there. :)

Just around the corner was the biggest hill in the race. I remember last year when I paced Julia through her half we totally walked it. I was pretty hell bent on running. Man it went on awhile! But after the crest there was a great downhill - which, btw, normally I hate, but I had to make up the time. Miles 8-10 were a gradual downhill so I tried to pick it up as planned. By the 11 marker I knew I was in position to possibly break 1:50 if I could hold onto my faster kick.

I love the feeling when you're close - you can taste it. BUT...it's tough when a hill gets in the way. I'm not scared of hills after Big Sur...but I still loose time! And the horribly placed hill just before mile 12 was definitely NOT helping my cause. I somehow made it up - checking my watch at the mile marker - it read something like 1:41:0x. 9:00ish to do 1.1 should be ok, right?

I knew I still had a shot so I gave it all I possibly could. Finally to the 13 mile marker in the town of Solvang I went into an all out sprint. I knew it'd be close. I rounded the corner thinking the finish line would be right there. (?!) Uh...this was seeming a bit more like ".2" WTF?! I held on to my ridiculous sprint and made it across the line. The time on my Garmin, and my eventual chip time: 1:50:00.8

Damn. 8/10 of a second! Still a huge PR of almost 13 minutes, but those numbers hurt a bit. It's all good though. This race was nearly cancelled! And it's not like I "lost" the race by a fraction of a second - my goal was definitely reached in a big way. Billy, despite what he'll say in his blog is a total badass. 1:40:xx. I can't even fathom that! :)

(Julia and Henry in the car at the start of the race - she was there for the finish!)

Mile Splits:

m1 - 8:35 / HR 164

m2 - 8:39 / HR 168

m3 - 8:29 / HR 170

m4 - 8:35 / HR 174

m5 - 8:29 / HR 174

m6- 8:52 / HR 175

m7 - 9:13 / HR 178

m8 - 8:03 / HR 177

m9 - 7:44 / HR 177

m10 - 7:55 / HR 182

m11 - 7:53 / HR 187

m12 - 8:24 / HR 188

m13 - 7:40 / HR 193

.1 (should be .1 but Garmin says .23 and 6:11 pace?!) 1:24 / HR 200 (!)

Overall: 1:50:00 ; 8:19/mile ; HR=177

Age Group 41/110 Overall 271/1956

Legs on Strike

2009-05-06T10:39:00.000-07:00

Had a great 5 mile recovery run with Billy Monday...took yesterday of and decided to go for a medium (albeit slow) run this AM. It's somewhat warm so I wore my singlet...and by mile 1 I could tell this was not going to be my day. My Garmin battery died, I had some stomach issues and by the SM Airport (about 2.5 miles from my house) my legs were totally done. So I'm guessing about 5 miles on the day - with a lot of it walking. WTF?!

I'm gonna shrug it off and still shoot for an 8:20 pace to start the SB Wine Country Half on Saturday. Not sure if I can hold on to that ambitious a pace the whole 13, but we'll see!

Arg...I hate crappy run days!

Santa Monica Classic 10k

2009-05-03T10:34:00.000-07:00

After last week's race in Big Sur I had a case of PMLDS (Post Marathon Let Down Syndrome). We've all been there, and especially considering I didn't "race" it, I felt like I wanted to push myself a bit this weekend. I didn't run much this last week - the knees are still week from Big Sur! I did a short recovery jog, played some ice hockey Weds and went out for a 40 mile ride on Friday. But today was the Santa Monica Classic 10k. I've never done this distance, outside of my triathlon at least! And for a good cause: Heal the Bay

My plan was to go out at an 8:00 pace and try and pick it up after mile 2 if possible. There was a climb before mile 4 and I knew I'd slow a bit there, but then it was all downhill - I wanted to punch it towards the end.

Wake up call: 6:15 AM. I drove down to Santa Monica and jogged towards the start line about a mile away (it's a point to point, so I parked near the finish.) I ran into my bro Eric from the LA Tri Club - we visited for a bit while the DJ at the start was trying WAY too hard...poor guy.

At 8 AM sharp we were off. I tried to position myself towards the front - this is new for me! I settled into a nice 8 minute pace, sometimes going into the high 7s a bit. The first mile was through Main Street SM - nice. At around 1 mile I saw my pal Billy running with his cousin. He had mentioned he might come by and I was thrilled to see a friendly face (two if you count his cuz!) We exchanged pleasantries and I carried on down to Ocean Ave. Definitely a false flat between miles 1.5-3...but I chugged on! I had my Garmin set to Time, Pace and Average Pace. I wanted to keep the overall average pace below 8 to reach my goal of breaking 50 minutes. In the back of my mind I would have loved to break 48...but this being my first 10k just wanted to try hard.

Between miles 3-4 we climbed about 100 vertical feet on San Vicente. It sounds like nada, but this was a little rough for me trying to keep pace. I slowed just a tad and was definitely feeling it at the turnaround. I flew down that hill though! I also ran into my buddy Bill Lockton who was watching the race in front of his house.

The final 2 miles was a gentle downhill and at the 5 mile mark there was Billy and his cuz again! I was definitely struggling to hang on at this point, but Billy decided to run with me! Pretty cool! I was definitely kicking it as hard as I could - it was downhill after all. Billy peeled off at the 6 mile mark and that last .2 felt like FOREVER! But I made it - Garmin time = 48:11.

What a great experience. Love the shorter distance - it definitely breaks you in a different way! Next week I'm in SB for screenings of my film and then running the SB Wine Country Half Marathon. I was originally hoping for the low 1:50s (which would be a big PR) but seeing the LA Marathon is 3 weeks away I'm thinking of going a little easier - perhaps sub 2:00 (still a PR)

Here are my splits for today's race...

Mile 1: 8:00, 166 HR

Mile 2: 7:48, 177 HR

Mile 3: 8:00, 181 HR

Mile 4: 8:03, 185 HR

Mile 5: 7:26, 185 HR

Mile 6: 6:34 (!) 189 HR

Last .2 (on the Garmin it's .34...) 2:16, 192 HR

Chip Time: 48:11.7

Age Group: 40/167

Overall: 270/1663

Pics courtesy of Billy Burger:

About a mile in...

Mile 5 - not smiling!

Home stretch! The hardest .2 ever...

Big Sur Marathon Report & Houston Worldfest

2009-04-26T21:29:00.000-07:00

It's been a crazy busy few days. I awoke early Wednesday morning in LA to catch a flight back to Houston, TX. After some great Tex Mex and Pecan Pie at the Goode Company we headed over to my cousin's place (The Wizigs) and hung out for the night. The next day we showed my film at an incredible AMC Theatre to an audience of 50 or more. It was the most exhilarating screening yet. It was on a huge screen and for the first time I actually felt like a member of the audience watching the story unfold. At mile 20 during what I call the "The Struggle Segment" I found myself asking "why in hell am I doing this?!" Then came the triumphant finish. The audience erupted in applause! I got butterflies --- it was incredible! "I can't wait for Sunday!" What a turn around in a few mere minutes. Great audience response and comments - thanks ya'll for coming out!

The next morning we (my mama made the trip with me) we awoke at 5am Houston time (3am LA time!!!) and got back into LA by 9am. I kicked back for a few hours before jumping in the car and heading North to Big Sur. I stopped in Ventura to rendezvous with my friend Richard (LA Tri) who would be carpooling with me. We set up camp at the Big Sur Campgrounds and Cabins, made dinner and went off to bed by 9pm.

On Saturday we essentially toured the course by heading North into Monterey for the expo. Wow. This course is HILLY. Holy crap...how in hell...??? I'm staying true to my goal: A Zen Enjoyment of the Experience. (AZEE - I just made that up....kinda sounds like "easy" with an undefined accent...) I left the Garmin at home...this will be interesting!

5:00 AM Wakeup call. The cool part about camping for a race is that it's easy to go to bed early. Richard and I headed into our respective tents by about 9pm, I read for a bit and was probably dreaming by 10pm. Some idiot's car alarm went off at 4:30...that got me up early, but I dozed a bit before getting dressed, prepped and ready to head up the hill for the shuttle pickup. Once we arrived at the start there was already an electric vibe going. It quickly became apparent that this is a very well orchestrated event - coffee and bagels, etc. It was FREEZING, but we were all in sweats and would throw our sweats into a truck (via a labeled bag).

We lined up on the closed highway 1, shivered a bit and at 6:45 we were off! I went out easy, as planned, and as suggested by all of the veterans I talked to. Miles 1-5 were definitely a breeze and quite fun. We were in the comfort and cover of the Redwoods. Somewhere in there I passed by our campsite - and I barely thought about crawling back to bed! The crowd support was sparse, but enthusiastic. There was plenty of music along the way - such as the harpist at mile 3.

By mile 6 we were out on the open road. I was feeling great when the wind picked up tremendously. Par for the course so I hear. I'd guess it was 10-15mph sustained in our face wind. This made our first climb (a longer roller) a bit difficult. I was careful to not put too much into it and to focus on the gorgeous scenery surrounding me. Every so often I had to pinch myself and realize I was running on a closed Highway in one of the more gorgeous parts of North America. Insane.

I don't remember too much about miles 7-10...I was very absorbed in the scenary without regard for pace, technique etc. This race was definitely about chugging along for me. Of course the volunteers were shouting out times at the mile markers, so I had some idea - I was going about 11 minute pace. As I was just looking for an enjoyable run this was perfect....in the back of my mind I definitely wanted to crack 5 hours...and hoped for possibly a sub 4:45.

At mile 10 the long 2 mile climb that is Hurricane Point begins. This is what everybody talks about. It's about 500-600 feet of vertical gain over that mileage. Doesn't sound like much....but there's a decent before and after the climb...it'd be important to watch my speed on both so I didn't kill my quads and knees on the downhill.

Right at the start of the decent there was a group of Taiko Drummers. It was exhilarating! I had the camera in video mode and I was shooting them as I ran by. I was totally involved in what they were doing...so involved that I neglected to notice the cone that was directly in front of me...before I new it I took a dive. It happened so quickly I didn't really know what hit me. Several people came to my aid, but within seconds I knew I was fine --- with the exception of some VERY bloody elbows. Some how my knees made it out of the mess with some non-bleeding blood blisters. Yuck. Serves me right I suppose. I walked up to the next aide station where I got some band-aides. I wondered if this was the beginning of the end for me.

My knees were throbbing from the impact and the elbows were of course burning like hell. About 100 yards of walking later I decided this was a turning point for better or worse. I decided to go for it - to run up the main climb of the race. I didn't want an excuse to come back! I made it up in great time...I think the trail runner's club has really helped my hills. Thanks Stan and Ernie!

The wind was HOWLING at the crest. Not quite enough to knock you over...but definitely very strong. I tried to take the decent pretty easy - my knees were already a wreck. At the halfway point I headed over the famous Bixby Bridge. On the far side was the famous piano player. They haul a Yamaha Baby Grand out to the road every year! I decided to stop for the photo op. I asked if I could sit with him as he played - he nodded. He was playing a Beatles tune I knew, so I dared to play the melody in the high octave. I think this threw him and the others around him....but I played it correctly until I forgot what key he was in...opps. I think I got in a phrase or two. Why the hell not?!

I carried on and chugged up and down the many many rollers --- trying to save it for the last stretch. I would say I lasted until about mile 18 when it got pretty darn tough. I was walking minimally through the aide stations and made numerous pit stops at the porta potties as I was probably over-hydrating for such a cool (and windy) day.

The scenery was absolutely breathtaking...it definitely kept me going in a big way. By mile 21 I was sniffing the finish line. I was on pace for a 4:48 finish according to the volunteers at the mile markers. At this point I decided I wanted to see how well I could do. I will say I suffered through miles 21 and 22, but there were fresh strawberries somewhere in there - just the kick I needed! At mile 23 I started to pick it up a bit more, passing a fair share of people. The scenery was gone, but the spectators made up for it. There was one last very significant hill just before the end. I chugged up knowing there was less than a mile to go. Finish line in sight I went as fast as I could without ruining the group's finish in front of me.

My time when all was said and done was 4:41:30. I'm really pleased with this - especially seeing I wasn't really "racing." I'm very curious where I'd be had I been and not made all the pit stops. What I can say is that Big Sur is an extremely demanding course. That said, not pushing myself to the max in this case made for a very rewarding experience - not in the form of a PR, but in pure enjoyment. The PR is for LA on May 25th. Before that I've got the SB Wine Country to worry about. Give Big Sur a shot - it's definitely worth the pain getting up there, riding the buses, etc! You surely won't forget your experience there.

Oh...and here's the video I took that caused the great fall! :)

Running with LA Runner

2009-04-19T16:22:00.000-07:00

Um...yeah...what Billy said minus 5 miles. :)

The beach was my favorite part.

Next on the schedule for me:

4/26 Big Sur Marathon - Goal: To Enjoy It and Finish (No time goal, not wearing watch)

5/9 SB Wine Country - Goal: A) Sub 1:55

5/25 LA Marathon - Goal: PR... depending on weather (and ME!) would love to go 4:20

June/July will be more Oly Tris

August will be the SB Long Course (1m swim, 35m bike, 10m run)

Fun stuff!

Sandy, Windy, FAILED Long Run

2009-04-08T20:40:00.001-07:00

So I've got a few weeks before the Big Sur Marathon (which I'm not running with any goal in mind...) so I need to get my long run on! I set out on an 18 miler today to Will Rodgers Beach and back. It was HELLA windy. And my stomach was being a little testy, just tight, but highly uncomfortable. I was trying to stay below 10 minute pace for the duration, and despite running directly into the crazy wind on my way towards the beach I did pretty well and felt good.

I got to the bike path and headed North towards Will Rodgers Beach (about 4m.) The sand was crazy! I was getting my newly shaven legs sandblasted! Before I knew it there were spoonfuls of sand in my shoes...but I carried on. For whatever reason I was determined not to walk. I wanted to see how far I could go! The best I've done in that department is a half marathon. I turned around when I reached Temescal (at WR Beach) and had a glorious tail wind. I definitely felt like I was gliding, but my knees had had it.

I made it about a mile or so up Ocean Park (hilly) when I felt myself falling apart. I made it up a few hills, but on the way down felt as though my knees (both!) were about to give out. I decided to pull the plug once I stopped running - I could barely walk to the market across the street! Luckily my wife was more than willing to pick me up...3.5 miles shy of my 18 miles...DAMN! FAIL!

On the upside, I don't think I injured myself besides overdoing it...and I know I can run 14.5 miles continuously keeping a pace of around 9:40 with my HR at about 160 bpm average. But I'll be putting in 3.5 miles early tomorrow morning...as if that'll make the difference. :)

My Run with Dean

2009-04-03T23:06:00.000-07:00

So I wrote the music for UltraMarathon Man, the Dean Karnazes documentary about a year a half ago. A few months prior, when I first discovered running this is the film that "cemented" the passion for me - Dean hooked me. We started corresponding as I was working on the project in the fall of 2007 and we've kept up ever since. I've seen Dean around at various functions but we've never really had a chance to hang (or run) one on one. I'm up in Sonoma for the film festival (we're showing my film here) and Dean and I decided to take a run near his house in Marin.

I met up with Dean at his place at around 10:30 and after checking exchanging hellos with his lovely wife Julie we were off towards the trail. I'm just a few weeks out from Big Sur and told him I could use some hills. Man did I ever eat my words. What the hell was I thinking? We ran at a nice clip to a lake where we then proceeded up a trail that's as beautiful as I've ever seen. Downright gorgeous! But STEEP! I kept up with Dean for about 10 minutes but was quickly (and quietly) loosing steam. These were grades I would almost surely be hiking under usual circumstances. He gave me some great advice, speed up my cadence and decrease the distance of each stride. But it was too late, I had tried too hard to keep up with him! He was quite polite, running his pace then circling back. I tried to run whenever I could - and I probably ended up succeeding about 2/3 of the time. We finally made it to the top 20 minutes later and enjoyed gorgeous views. On the way down he shared another tip with me: bend your legs, tighten your core and swing your arms. This definitely helped my knees right away. Although I had my road shoes on unfortunately so my traction was not good on the decent.

We chatted about running, life and everything in between. Dean's as great in person as you'd imagine. A truely nice guy with a lot of good uplifting thoughts to share. As far as the run, in all we covered almost 9 miles in about 1:45 or so. (Yes, he was going nice and slow for me!) As I got in my car he said something like "I'm going to continue on" and ran off into the distance. He could still be going now! Anyway, It was a truly wonderful experience and I feel lucky to call Dean a friend. Now back to the shameless schmoozing at the festival!

SUCCESS: UCSB Triathlon Race Report (UPDATED)

2009-03-29T17:10:00.000-07:00

So here I am, 30 years of age today. And here I am, a triathlete!

Yesterday my mom, wife and I made the drive up to my hometown of Santa Barbara. After feeding at my local favorite "The Natural Cafe" we headed back to my mom's house (and my childhood house!) to wind down and celebrate "Earth Hour." I must admit I used the laptop on battery power during this time! I took a shower and shaved them legs! (This time with a razor instead of the electric.) Might as well have the full experience of triathlon. :) I was off to bed by 10pm and ready to close off the decade that was my 20s.

5:45 AM. I awoke with delight. Had a little coffee, ate some flaxseed almond bars from TJs and got ready to go. Short drive to UCSB, I maxed out the tire pressure, hopped on the bike and rode to the transition area. We were there by about 6:30. The transition area was nearly full! Luckily I found an open spot and set up. A quick trip to the bathroom and very light jog later and it was already time to get into my wetsuit.

The prologue. We hiked down to campus point, where the race would begin. The rocky path killed my feet! But upon arriving to the sand I had one of those moments. Bliss. I feel well trained and totally ready to go. But I'm also HELLA nervous! I decided to get into the water to try and acclimate. After dunking and swimming just a bit I realized I was getting the dreaded "ice cream headache," despite my neoprene cap (and swim cap over it!) My mom, Julia (and Henry) reassured me that all would be well. I hoped they'd be right, as swimming with your head out of water for 1.5k is NOT fun. The college folks headed out at 8:00 - we'd have a half hour to wait until 8:30.

The swim. Time flew by and before you knew it we were off! I decided I'd try and swim somewhat aggressively. I've had some friends suggest I lay back on the swim to avoid getting kicked in the face, etc. But I wanted the full experience! I didn't want to go all out, but I'm a fairly strong swimmer and knew I could at least be mid-pack. Getting into the water is a bit of an art - and I was, ahem, not too graceful! As I was starting out a huge wave crested and blew back a dozen off us - pretty epic! The ocean was not at all calm. Not quite the roughest I've swam in, but very, very close. The addition of all of the people around you makes for quite the experience. It was very hard to find a lane and very difficult to get into any sort of groove. And very EASY to get off course - as I did half a dozen times. There were four buoys to go around and on each approach we would all uncomfortably bunch up like crazy. I felt arms, etc on my feet several times, almost ripped a guys goggles off with my hand (sorry!) and even got a few feet to my hands a couple times. Talk about the full experience. The course took us quite far out and through several kelp beds! I got wrapped up a ton, which was no big deal but funny. It was a little tough spotting the buoys with the swells - often times they were hidden by the breaks. I probably ended up swimming closer to 2k with all of the drifting and swimming off track! I finally approached the beach and swam nearly all the way in.

T1. I hopped onto the beach and quickly realized I had absolutely no feeling in my feet. It was as if I had local anesthetic! Eerily, it reminded me of how they felt on top of the mountain when my cousin and I got stranded. I ran up the beach, up the 3 flights of stairs to the transition area. It was bizarre - the path was rocky and I knew I should be experiencing pain in my feet, but I felt nothing. I got to my bike, put my socks and shoes on (still feeling nothing) grabbed my helmet and glasses and before I knew it I was off on the bike. Clipping in was a huge challenge as I couldn't feel my feet!

The bike. I was really trying to push it on the bike portion. It's where I've put most of my training since it's so new to me - it's also the longest portion timewise (hopefully!) so it makes sense to go for it. The course took us along the bike path in my favorite town - it's just gorgeous. I tried to go into "aero position" as much as possible but am still not completely comfortable on them during turns, etc. I was trying to push my tempo the whole way - I ended up passing a lot more than being passed - that felt a little bizarre since I'm not so used to that - especially on the bike! I got to Cathedral Oaks road, a road I'm pretty familiar with and put it into a high gear. I must have been cruising around 21 mph or so for a few miles straight - but I had no idea what was in store for me next. We took a right up Fairview Ave and there was a nicely sized hill in front of me. No biggy. Let's just chug away! Probably 8-9mph, maybe 10 - and still passing people! After about 5 minutes of climbing (seemed longer!) we hit a nice downhill, in which I hauled ass. Then we took a sharp left and would go up

"Holiday Hill," a very steep - but fairly short - hill. I approached with optimism, but not more than 20 seconds in my chain derailed while shifting to the lower gear. I tried to force it back in by shifting up (sometimes works) but I was about to fall! I clipped out, yelled "sh*t" and put it on the gear with my hand. Now the hard part - clipping back in on a very steep grade! It took me a good 30 seconds to get back in, meanwhile all the riders that I had passed were now passing me! Dow! I was angry and killed that hill, hopping out of my seat and absolutely attacking! I crested and proceed to fly down the downhill. I was happy with my turns, going way wide then cutting in. Next we'd nearly pass by my mom's house, descend into a little valley, and climb out. I was starting to feel it (especially in my back!) But I knew I only had 5-6 miles to go. I kept my bike computer on speed and time, as to motivate me to try to get back to transition sub 1:20. I charged as fast as I could those last miles, by my favorite place (Ellwood) and through UCSB. The wind really picked up towards the end - and for the last 2-3 miles it was definitely working against me. What to do though? I still wanted to try and make my split goal! I had seen Julia and my mom out of the water and was hoping to get a little cheering at T2, but I couldn't find them amongst the crowd as I approached. The time on my bike computer upon getting back into T2 and racking my bike? 1:20:XX. Wow - that's accurate training, eh?

T2. Racked the bike. Sat on the ground to take off my bike shoes, slipped on my Asics - and oh yeah, remembered to take off my helmet and replace it with my hat! Took a last swig of Cytomax and I was off.

The run. Legs are always ridiculously wobbly at the start of a run after bike. No new news there. I was shocked my Garmin had me running at 7:5x pace though! That seemed a little quicker than I felt. About a half mile in we hit a steep dirt path - maybe 50 feet long, but there was no way anybody could run it - it was literally a quick hike and had an angle of at least 50 degrees. Then was a nice flat section of trail before we hit the second aide station where I inhaled more water and looked ahead to see a few flights of steps! Ugh. I made it up...and still felt marginally ok. About a half mile later I completely and utterly bonked. I had pretty much nothing left to give this race. What to do? Walk? Go slower? Forgo my time goal and just try to enjoy the course (slowly?) I just walked a few steps, inhaled my new favorite nutrition (Honeystinger Gel) and started to run again. I was at a pretty slow 10 minute pace for a bit. I was nearly to the end of the first loop. As I ran (or "jogged") by the finish area, lamenting that I wasn't there already, I saw the read out on the clock - 2:50ish. But that clock was 30 minutes ahead of me, since the age groupers took off at 8:30, not 8:00 as the collegiates did! I had this in the bag as long as I didn't collapse! 5k in in 40ish minutes? I wasn't THAT gone! Just goes to show you the mind/body correlation. I was definitely still hurting, so I didn't push it too hard too early, but I knew I could pretty "easily" work my way to the finish line time goal in hand. It was just a matter of how hard to push. The loop seemed to drag on, I remember at one time hearing the clock tower ring on the hour and I knew it was just 11am - I had plenty of time to make it across the line. A mile to go I passed an aide station dying of thirst. It was getting hot out there! I had zipped down my stylish tri top! There was no water (and no volunteer!) to be had! Oh well. I cruised on, ignoring the hot, lightheaded feeling knowing that I'd soon be at the end of the race. About a quarter mile out there's a pretty decent hill. I gave it all I had. There was my smiley mom snapping pictures! She ran with me a bit before I "dropped" her. I was hoping she'd keep up! I rounded the corner and saw the line. Smiles all the way - even more when I saw my babe for a wife Julia standing there her camera. I crossed the finish line screaming bloody joy, I collapsed (gracefully and willingly) onto the grass and enjoyed the fact that I was 30 years old. I had finished my first (and not last!) triathlon.

The Splits.

Swim: 32:15 (includes the run out of the water, jaunt up the stairs and run into transition)

T1: 2:36

Bike: 1:20:07

T2: 1:25

Run: 55:05 (5k split, 27:21)

Total: 2:51:25

The feeling. I braved the waves, the cold, the hills, the wind, the heat. Multisport is truly unique and I've learned so much the last few months. I pretty stoked how it all came out. I nailed my splits just as planned - despite bonking. My final time: 2:51:28. I'm 30 today with shaved legs, a smiley face and the satisfaction of making it through my very first tri. Now it's time to eat and drink like there's no tomorrow! Thanks for reading. :)

I'm Ready!

2009-03-27T23:08:00.000-07:00

Less than 36 hours to go before my big day - turning 30 and ringing it in with my first tri - the UCSB Triathlon! Thought I'd take a moment to jot down my goals for the big day...

• First and foremost = have fun and finish

• The time goals:

Swim = roughly 30 minutes...I can do 1.5k in less in ideal conditions, but this is freezing open water with tons of swimmers around me for the first time

T1 = swim->bike...shouldn't take too long, right? I'm hoping for under 4 minutes, depending on how far I have to run to get to my bike...let's say 5 to be safe...

Bike = 40k...I'm hoping ideally I can go sub 1:20. This requires around an 18.5 mph average...I think I'm capable of that - but this is the biggest question mark for me. I'm pretty sure I can finish in under 1:30, so that's my "B" goal...

T2 = bike->run....again shouldn't be a big deal, let's say 3 minutes!

Run = 10k...on a good running day I might be able to break 50 minutes (around 8 min/mile pace,) but after the run I'm thinking around 54 minutes...let's say 55.

That brings me in at 2:55. Breaking 3 hours (which I'm told is a respectable time) would definitely be huge in my book. I'd really love to give it a go. I'm feeling pretty darn confident in my training - I've worked hard...especially on the bike which is newest to me. My friend Billy says he's never heard me so confident going into a race. I sure hope so. I know I can finish. It'd be rocking to go for a killer time on my first, but if I don't make it in the twos I'll have many, many more chances! Can't wait for Sunday! (and the party after!) :)

To Shave or not to Shave

2009-03-21T13:54:00.000-07:00

So I'm about a week out from my first triathlon. Most triathletes shave their legs... There's not a huge reason to do this, it seems like more of a rite of passage... There's no benefit to the swim - I'm wearing a wetsuit! And the bike, the aerodynamics are so negligible. It can definitely help in a fall - it makes cleaning up the wound much easier. So I'm still undecided, but am leaning towards doing it...it will make the experience a little more unique!

This week I had a great brick workout...26 mile ride in about 1:25 and a 4 mile run in about 34 minutes! That puts me right on pace for the 3 hour finish I'd like! There, I said it. I'd love to finish, but also to come in breaking 3...

So I took a quick break in training for another home improvement project: demoing and installing a retaining wall weds-thur (tough back breaking work!) That counts for a core workout, right?

But I did put in a slow 16 miler this yesterday afternoon. Legs were very heavy, but I've gotta keep up some distance for Big Sur!

More soon... And stay posted for news on the legs... :)

I'm A Slacker Blogger

2009-03-16T23:52:00.000-07:00

Yes, I'm sorry to admit...I am. Sometimes I find writing about my life/training is as taxing as my life/training! Other times it's cool to jot the thoughts down. So without further adieu:

Training has been going really well for my first triathlon - now less than 2 weeks away! Last week I tried to train pretty hard - this included 2 (COLD!) ocean swims of a mile each, intervals on the bike, and a 14 mile long run (trying to keep the legs going in prep for Big Sur.) Oh, and not to mention the sprinkler system that I installed with Julia! (Which included 200+ feet of trenching! Talk about a core workout...)

On Saturday I decided to go for a long ride up PCH. I didn't want to go too hard, as I was really hoping to make the Trail Runner's Club on Sunday. However, I did wake up at 6 AM (ugh!) This was tough, but once I got going from the Malibu Bluffs I was loving it. Along with a few members of the LA Triclub we made it all the way to Big Rock and back! (50 miles!) It was a nice easy pace with some rolling hills. But my highlight came on the way back at Zuma. Dolphins. And DOZENS of them! At my request we stopped and watched them wade their bodies through the waves...GORGEOUS. I'm amazing on how much beauty there is in LA sometime...

I got home, showered off, and got back to work on the house. I'm very much in home improvement mode lately. My mom was in town and we installed an exhaust fan in the bathroom so it doesn't get so soggy...exciting! But this was another core workout! I turned in pretty early in hopes of making it out again on Sunday.

So the alarm interupts another pleasant dream. This was worth it though because it was perfect running weather. The trail started with an immediate climb. That sure got me warmed up. I settled in nicely to an easy 10+ pace. This put me right between the faster pack and the slower pack. There's something about running the trails (or running!) alone. It's very peaceful. I have to remind myself this is what was originally so attractive about running. If you know me I'm quite the talker. I even have to tell myself to shutup half the time. Running alone, focusing on letting my mind wander and ponder calms me. And the trail - taking note of the beautiful nature that surrounds instead of studying traffic and which cars are likely candidates to run you - the trail is much more of a calming feeling.

The climbing...that can be pretty challenging for me! I usually turn into a hiker at that point, but this day was different. I managed to run 75 or so % of the hills! I was pretty stoked. There was about 2 miles in which I'm luck I didn't loose an eye - lots of branches on the technical single track.

Ernie, who marks the trail had a little surprise for us at the end. He decided to add a little extra climb at the end - a trail that basically went up about 150 feet in just about the same distance! A good steep 50 degrees! Now that was more like rock climbing - but it felt great to get to the top.

I'm pretty excited about what the next few weeks bring. I'll be going out for a brick (bike-run) workout tomorrow and will play the next 10 or so by ear, although I'd love to get in a 15-16 mile run if possible. I'm a bit anxious about Big Sur!

Till my next blog - hopefully before 2010!

Tour of California and Angeles Crest Ride

2009-02-22T09:01:00.000-08:00

What a training week! I'm taking the day off today after some seriously hard/dicey workouts. Perhaps the most difficult was yesterday. On Friday my friend Semira called and asked if I wanted to go on a ride up Angeles Crest Highway - the Tour of California route - prior to the pros, of course. Um....yes?! Perhaps equally exciting is that we'd then descend back down to watch the riders complete 5 circuits around the Rose Bowl....AWESOME!

We started off in Altadena and pedaled towards Angeles Crest. It was already pretty much exclusively uphill, but not too steep. We averaged about 14 mph in this section. I have to say my legs were already a bit sore from the big week I had. About 40 minutes later we reached "the bottom" of what would be a 10 mile climb...straight up. I had told the group (Semira, Gail and Mike - all LA Triclubbers) that I might cut out if I was suffering too much. I've never done anything like this - my rides have had some hills, but always rolling ones. This was a 5%-7% grade NON STOP! I made it about 5 miles in. I had to stop. I took a short break, stretched the back out and carried on. I made it another 2.5 - which by the way - miles were very close to my running paces! We're talking 7-9 minute miles...on a bike! At the 7.5 mark the group was already far ahead, and I was worried I might really hurt myself. I decided to wait for them.

A few minutes later I see my friends dashing down the mountain. "Come on, Cody!" Semira yelled from her multi thousand dollar machine. I got in the saddle and started streaming down the mountain. 25...30...35 mph. I have to admit it was slightly scary, but was absolutely exhilarating. What a rush! It may have taken just over an hour to climb, but we were down in about 10 minutes. Crazy. And we were on the exact route that the pros would be on in just a few hours - too cool!

We made it back to cars, I got my camera gear and we hit the expo. About an hour later the riders came through. It was exciting as a hockey game. I was taking snap after snap - focusing in on my (and my dad's) hero: Lance Armstrong. I think everybody loves this guy. My dad used to get up at 5 AM and get on the recumbent bike to stay in shape. On some of the more lazy mornings Lance would be that extra kick. And for me, Lance is the epitome of perseverance and triumph over challenge (almost stole Josh Cox's endorsement of my movie! LOL) It was pretty cool taking snaps as they whizzed by. So here are some of my favorite shots. No way I'm selling my lens to finance a new/better bike anytime soon. I'm doing fine on my craigslist roady so far. But I must say...this incredible day may have sealed the deal as far as being hooked on biking! Taking pix of these guys was almost as amazing a rush as the descent! Be sure to check out the photo galleries below! :)

You can see the rest of the images at:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=66970&id=561300921 ...or...

http://gallery.mac.com/codymusic#100290

This Week In Review and some plans...

2009-02-15T15:36:00.001-08:00

Economic stimulus, check.

Longest bike ride to date, check.

Rain in SoCal, check.

Swim workouts, check.

Computer issues, check.

Dad's birthday (2/9) which is also Henry's birthday! Check.

Homemade V-Day dinner, check.

This was indeed an interesting week. I still have no real training schedule. I'm basically going day to day with my focus being on improving my biking and swimming. I'm fortunate enough to be seeing these improvements! I'm starting to enjoy the bike as I get more comfortable. I put in a good 37 mile ride on Wednesday in about 2:20.

So what's this post about? Very good question. I'm going to take this next week to settle into some sort of training program. I'm careful to make time for some long runs (I put in 12 at 9:15 pace today...which is, btw ahead of my half marathon PR!) I want to make sure I'm ready for Big Sur in April. So for now...here are my updated goals for the year:

3/29 - First Olympic Distance Tri - I hope to finish in about 3 hours, maybe a 3:10

4/26 - Big Sur Int'l Marathon - I have no goal other than to enjoy the course

5/9 - SB Wine Country Half - We'll be showing the film at the event! Julia will also be running. Julia's hoping to break 2:30 and I'm hoping to break 2:00

5/x - LA or SD Marathon....hmmmmm......

6/x - Another Tri...somewhere

7/x - Another Tri - somewhere

8/22 - SB Triathlon, Long Course - goal TBD

10/x - LA Tri

12/7 - SB Int'l Marathon

OK....great, right? I'm also thinking about a 70.3 in September if I can find one...how cool would that be?

Triathlon Training

2009-02-07T09:24:00.000-08:00

I'm nearly 3 weeks out from Houston and knee deep into my next endeavor: Training for my first Triathlon - on my 30th birthday in March. (3/29) I'm having a great time swimming in the pool and in the ocean.

Last week, swimming with an experienced member of the LA Tri Club, I swam a mile at Venice beach. We were accompanied by dolphins and sea lions - it was amazing!

I've also been hopping on the bike a lot, but the rain has grounded such efforts the last few days. Today I'll be running for my 3rd day straight - perhaps an easy 8 miler. And tomorrow if it's clear I hope to go for a long ride....we'll see!

Body's pretty sore - I must admit I'm obsessed with training at this point. With Tri, I'm learning there's always something you can do. I've been doing some core/light weight work too...but I think I'd be best not to push things TOO far. I've still got 6 or 7 weeks to go!

In other news we're in the midst of planning more screenings of "Running for my Father." Details to follow...

Reviews continue to come in as well:

http://runnersrambles.blogspot.com/2009/02/movie-review-running-for-my-father.html

And to be completely random here are a few cool bird pics I took last week up in SB. White Tailed Kites (endangered raptors) are becoming my favorite...

Sick...but looking ahead!

2009-01-23T21:22:00.000-08:00

It's official. I've got PMS. (Post Marathon Sickness...) Oh well! Still had a chance to go on a nice bike ride Tuesday and played Hockey Wednesday. But the last two days have not been pretty ones.

I wanted to give a big shout out to these awesome reviews of the film by fellow bloggers:

http://ambitiousaspirations.blogspot.com/2009/01/movie-review.html

http://isignedupforthis.blogspot.com/2009/01/paging-dr-nic-and-running-for-my-father.html

http://old-nc-runner.blogspot.com/2009/01/running-for-my-father.html

And I failed to mention that the film made the news in Houston! I had given a copy to a reporter at the expo, but I didn't think he was serious about putting it on the air! If it weren't for my friend Andrew Lockton who randomly saw it on the live feed (he was watching the half marathon championships) I would have never known!