SB Ride and 13.1 Los Angeles

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!

LA 13.1 marks the end of my hardest training week.

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!)