Perpetual Motion

SJC Enduro 2011

2011-11-07T08:50:00.000-08:00

Trying to post to the 'blog once a week. Failing so far....

Last weekend, I rode the San Jacinto Enduro. I you've never heard of it, that's the idea. It's one of those under-the-radar, unsupported "rides" that keeps it's street cred by staying low-key. There are no entry fees and the start list is selective to stay under the limit for a permitted event in the National Forest. It showcases all the best trails Idyllwild has to offer and challenges even very strong riders. The "management" at the start of the ride said "It's a perfect excuse to ride your bike all day in the mountains; and that's a pretty cool thing."

Word.

I RSVP'd for the Enduro last year, but couldn't make it since I was on lockdown in Monterey. This year, I was going no matter what:

I broke my geared bike back in June; I can't seem to find a replacement part and I'm not buying new wheels for a bike I don't plan on riding any more...looks like I'd be riding the single speed. I was still field training for work and putting in huge hours when I RSVP'd for the start list. I got in as much training as I could ,but my preparation was still less-than-adequate; pacing would be key. The total ride is 78 miles and approximately 11k feet of climbing, however, my longest ride on the single speed had only been less than half of that. I was worried for sure. Since the ride was divided into two loops, I figured I'd ride the first one conservatively and make the decision about loop two at that point. I soon found out that turned out to be a popular game plan with the majority of the field.

I could only get race day off, which meant driving up Friday night after work. Ugh. I jammed home, threw the rest of my gear in Holly's car (girl packed most of it by herself!) and we hit the road. We grabbed dinner on the road, rolled into the campgrounds around 10 , unpacked and set up in the cold dark and crashed into the tent.

Race start was 6AM and that meant a 5-ish wake up, meh. I'm NOT a morning person. Too cold to mess with coffee, I chugged an Ensure, mixed my nutrition bottles and shivered while prepping the bike and my gear. I forgot to mention, this ride is totally unsupported; no aid stations, no SAG, no rescue crew and no course markings. You get maps and a "cue sheet" that details the route...that's it.

I climbed back into the tent, gave Holly a kiss on the cheek and rolled down to the start: hands painful and going numb with the feet following soon after. I signed in, someone sang the National Anthem incredibly well for the early hour and near-freezing temps and a voice in the dark counted down..."GO!" We were off.

Honestly, the stuff in the dark is a total blur. I vaguely remember: getting dropped on the hwy (geared out on the single speed, legs felt like blocks of wood) climbing for the first hour, incredible pain as my hands began defrosting and the most amazing sunrise I've seen in a long time. A sketchy fire-road descent into Hemet, a water stop at a fire station, and the arduous climb back into Mountain Center. The first 20 miles of near-boredom stand in sharp contrast with some of the most amazing single-track trails I've ever ridden. I've ridden these trails before, but in the reverse direction. It's way better this way. Friggin' sweet.

I finished up loop one (45 miles and about 8k feet of climbing) at about 11:37 or 5:32 of riding. The most time I've spent on the single speed by about 20 miles and 2.5 hours. My quads were trying to cramp the last 5 miles, loop two looked like it would take another 3.5 hours and Holly was sitting at the campsite by herself. I thought about how I would feel if I pulled the plug after loop one and made a quick physical assessment; I felt like I could definitely ride loop two, but couldn't think of any reasons to keep going. It would be nice to say I finished the whole thing, but I had gotten everything out of the ride that I wanted to when I started: rode some new dirt, made some new friends and had a blast riding some amazing trails.

Mission accomplished.

Videos courtesy of Chris Branson and "My Idyllwild".

-E

Shake it Out

2011-10-24T15:01:00.000-07:00

I know: I'm averaging about one 'blog update a month. I'm sure that both of you who read my 'blog are crushed. I'm sorry.

I certainly paid my dues over the past 5 years or so. It's about time for things to go my way for a while. I'm finally done training for work. The cut me loose and I've been working by myself for nearly a month now. The freedom to do what I want is nice, but it certainly helped having another opinion around when things got sticky. I'm muddling through.

People always stop me and remark about what a great job I have. It's way better than sitting in a cubicle all day, but long hours sitting in a truck and dealing with the "bad" part of the population keep it from feeling like a permanent vacation. Nice views out my office window, though.

Now that I'm getting on my feet financially, Holly and I can afford to eat a little better. I splurged a while back and bought a cast-iron grill pan. It makes AWESOME steaks and heats up way faster than a grill does. It smokes up the house a good bit, but I'll take it in exchange for some par-boiled and grilled artichokes. They came out amazing.

It's getting on into Winter, which means bigger surf and big changes on the beach. That last storm that rolled through stripped a LOT of sand off the beach. That's a full-size truck and a 3' sand berm.

Every so often, I get to take part in some neat events that most people never get to see. The local marine wildlife rescue called asking if they could release a sea-lion on our beach. I was happy to help out.

Alas, the 4WD on their truck decided it was a good day to give up and they were soon stuck in the sand. Despite airing the tires WAY down and digging the truck out several times. the truck wan't going anywhere. I asked if they wanted me to call a tow-truck and they said they had called "Jeep Rescue". I sat in my truck watching the waves roll lazily in and expecting to hear the tell-tale sound of a diesel tow-truck. Imagine my surprise when I heard the distinctive rumble of a small-block V-8. I turned around in time to see this amazing vehicle making it's way down the ramp.

That's a 1977 Jeep Cherokee on 47" tires. They affectionately called it "Matilda".

I totally want one..

"Matilda" had wildlife rescue un-stuck in no time at all and I went back to making sure the beach was in the chill condition I left it in. I got a radio call about a "sick sea lion"on the beach a mere 1/4 mile from where they released one earlier in the day. Coincidence. No way. Same friggin' animal.

Pain in the A$$! I spent the next several hours shooing people away from it:

"No, you can't roll it back into the ocean."
"Yes, it's fine."

And so on...

For the record, they're like 300-lb dogs with a nasty disposition and a worse bite. Ask any real surfer or diver about sea lions if you don't believe me.

State Mountain Bike Championships were a few weeks ago. I had the day off and went down to cheer for some athletes and re-connect with some enduro-friends. Kerry had a solid race in Cat 2 after being on a boat for 9 months. His second ever race in Cat2 after "graduating" from Clydesdales (200lb+). A feat in and of itself; his weight loss over the past year inspires me. Awesome job!

Not to be outdone, John Dang stayed strong, despite the sweltering heat, and pulled down the win. I bet that State Champion Jersey is going to look great on him. I can only imagine how good it must feel pulling one on. Sweet!

Last week I celebrated my 36th birthday. Mom and Da originally wanted Holly and I to come over for dinner, but sprung an all-expense paid Disneyland trip on us instead. WIN. A fairly crowded day, but we hung in there and got to all the "good" rides. I love Haunted Mansion all dressed up as "The Nightmare Before Christmas" and Space Mountain never disappoints. The 3-D version of Star Tours made us both wanna hurl. It never did before, I think it has something to do with the 3-D glasses. Bummer.

Last, but certainly not least, Holly bought me a stove-top espresso maker for my birthday. French Press coffee is rad, but it's too much liquid so early in the morning. I had a theory that the diuretic effect was from all the liquid and not the caffeine. For $25, it was worth the experiment. I was right! All the buzz without all the bathroom stops...and it makes amazing espresso. I called my sister to brag and it turns out both she and mom have had one for almost a year. Thanks for sharing! Sheesh!

Anyway. I'm easing back into training and working hard at figuring out how to fit training around a 4 x 10 hour shift work schedule. Tips are appreciated.

Thanks for reading; both of you!

-Eric

Cognitive Dissonance

2011-08-26T10:00:00.000-07:00

Noun - an uncomfortable mental state resulting from conflicting cognitions.
Like when you take a sip of a soda you swear was supposed to be Dr. Pepper and it turns out to be Coke. That awkward split second where you brain goes..."wait a minute, this isn't what I expected."

Without going into too much detail, work's been a lot of that. I'm loving the job, but it's a bit more gnarly than I expected. I'm confident things will get better once the busy season winds down, but I worked more than a few shifts that started at 4PM and didn't finish until 6AM. Not what I expected, but what ever is?

Long shifts make it tough to train like I want to and my fitness level (or lack thereof) prevents me from the long, meditative workouts I love. I'm working my way back up to an acceptable level, but long is the way and winding is the road. Last week I drove out to Temecula and hit a few hours of dirt with Luke. My odd work schedule doesn't allow me many weekend days off for socializing with people on a "traditional" work schedule and that wears on me a bit.

Thursday I hit up one of my favorite So Cal trails. Hello, old friend.

There was one other car in the parking lot when I pulled in and the rider passed me going down hill as I was going up. I had the trail all to myself! Strange feeling since this lot is FULL most weekends. My non-traditional work schedule has some benefits.

Up, up and away. Hot is right. Within 20 minutes, my cycling kit was soaked through with sweat. The high humidity affected my cooling and I found myself walking because it was just too hot.

The original plan was to ride all the way to Blue Jay Campground and back, but it wasn't going to happen in the heat. I pulled the plug at Cocktail Rock and enjoyed the 6 mile descent back to the trail head.

Basically, I'm squeezing training in wherever I can. Since I'm still "training" at work, I'm bouncing between parks my hours constantly change. I should be done and onto my own schedule in 3-4 weeks, but I'm not counting on anything until I have it in writing. I'm really looking forward to settling into something resembling a routine so I can get back into a training groove where I'm happy.

Back to "work".

E.

Climb Mt. Whitney: check

2011-05-31T15:31:00.000-07:00

Let's back up a bit...

The third week of May marked the end of my sentence, err training, in Monterey. We did the whole graduation thing, the Parks Director pinned a shiny star on my jacket, I packed up and got the hell out. Holly and I rolled in to San Diego at about 11PM that night and collapsed on the bed. Done.

Earlier that week, Dan had flown a message on Facebook that his climbing partner for Whitney blew his knee out (chronic injury got worse) and he needed a fill-in or he'd be forced to stay home. Whitney permits are a little difficult to come by, I'd always wanted to do it (it was on the "Bucket List"), I had the time and the money. I ran it by Holly since it was the weekend after I just got home from 8 months in Monterey and she gave me the go-ahead: "Do it."

I sent Dan a message, spent WAY too much on gear and last Friday, I pulled into Lone Pine to meet up with him. I'd never done any mountaineering, but I'm pretty fit, I've done solo backpacking and used to rock climb pretty aggressively. Besides, it's just walking, right?

I met Dan in Lone Pine around noon and we hit the local grocery for last minute supplies. I followed him up to the trail head (Whitney Portal) and we did one last gear check before hitting the trail.

At 8360 feet elevation, I could feel the altitude just walking around the parking lot. It would get MUCH worse.

We weighed our packs on the hanging scale at the trail head just for giggles: me 53 lbs, Dan 55 lbs. Yikes! Onward and upward; the trail started off fairly steep and got steeper from there. With the warm temps, we were both sweating under the load of our packs.

Plenty of high step-ups to negotiate; not easy carrying 30% more weight than your legs are used to.

Still, there were plenty of beautiful views to take our minds off the workload. I lost track of the number of times we stopped to take pictures or just take in the views.

The hiker in front is jut for perspective, that's not Dan. The trail traverses above the granite slab in the background and through the valley between the peaks. Whitney itself is just over the ridge above the hiker in the foreground. Yeah, a looonnng way up.

The granite cliffs flanking the valley provided an amazing backdrop for the hike in.

Dan and I turned out to both be John Muir fans. No choice but to stop and geek out a bit at the entrance to the John Muir Wilderness. It's also quite the symbolic entry into the back country. You're a long way from help back here.

With record snow fall this past Winter and Spring, the Sierra snow pack is about 160% of normal. It wasn't long before we began encountering significant snow fields. With the late start and the warm temps, the snow wasn't holding our weight and we began "post-holing", which slowed our progress considerably and took much more effort to get through than I had anticipated.

We were still having a good time at this point; we were enjoying the views and just happy to be out there. Dan's all smiles.

Amazing waterfall. Lots of water running in the streams and creeks makes for dramatic waterfalls.

Sweet view! Lone Pine Lake in the foreground with the Owens Valley below.

We pushed hard, but did not make it to our planned campsite, Trail Camp. Instead, we stopped at Mirror Lake (not supposed to camp there) due to the lack of open room at Outpost Camp just below us. With all the snow, finding a spot on actual dirt proved challenging. We persevered and found enough room. however. We pulled in late (5:30) and debated pushing up to Trail Camp, bu a group that summited that day advised against it saying trail camp was very cold and windy, miserable in fact. We took their advice and stayed put. It turned out to be good advice as the wind began gusting strongly and increased throughout the night and into the morning. We started out summit trip Saturday morning by climbing the snow/ice field in the middle of the photo. A trial by fire for me considering I've never used crampons or an ice axe before. Yikes!

Mirror Lake mostly frozen; our water source for the trip.

Saturday we headed for the summit. It turned out to be way harder than I thought it would be. The first snow field directly across from Mirror lake looked short enough, but it took us almost 50 minutes to climb it. I didn't know it, but I was in for a long day.

We eventually made it to where the trail side meadow should be, but it remains covered by several feet of snow and ice. Consultation Lake (below) is no different. Hard to believe it's almost June and there's still this much snow on everything.

The push up the snow chute up to the John Muir Trail junction and the ridge line was a nasty one. It's, by far, the hardest part of the trip and climbs about 1500 feet in a very short distance. Despite our fitness, it took us two hours to reach what is called "the notch" or "Trail Crest". I can only begin to describe the suffering; 20 steps, 20 breaths...repeat for 2 hours. The progress was frustratingly slow and the lack of available oxygen only made it worse. Half way up, Dan carved out a ledge in the snow for a seat. When I got to him , he got up and let me rest. My calves and feet burned like fire from climbing the steep slope in crampons. I silently thanked the REI Salesperson for recommending a boot with a stiff sole. I eventually gave up my precarious seat and went back to my task. Step, step...move the ice axe. Breathe, drink. Repeat.

At long last, Trail Crest!

Here we paused long enough to remove our crampons and take in the views we worked so hard to attain. The pictures hardly do it justice and a panoramic video only hints at the beauty. Here's a pretty sweet 360 VR pano I found: 360 Pano

North West into Sequoia National Park. I think that's Crabtree Lakes in the foreground. Guitar Lake is just off the screen to the right, behind the point.

West into Sequoia National Park. Friggin' gorgeous!

Back down the valley we came up from. Consultation Lake just visible in the right foreground.

North towards Mt. Whitney. Not sure if it's the middle or far peak on the left. Still a ways off.

I was hurting for sure by this time. I was tired, had a headache, was pretty nauseated and could tell I was way low on cals...and then I ran out of water. With the closest water source at Consultation Lake and about 45 minutes before we even reached the summit, I knew I getting back would be very difficult to say the least. I don't think he knew it, but when I asked Dan how far to the summit, I was mentally deciding if it was time to bail on the summit and head for some water. Luckily, Dan had enough water to share some, but it would be close for us to make the summit and make it back to water. Moreover, it was getting late (12:45-ish) and we still had to hike all the way back to camp. With increasing wind speeds (65-75 mph gusts) and snow forecast, it was decision time. Spending the night on the ridge line or at Trail Camp would be ugly.

We needed to pick up the pace so Dan suggested we ditch our main packs. We put our crampons back on, I took a small summit pack with just some emergency supplies, Dan grabbed his camera and water bottle and we and went for it. Game on.

I could tell we were making better time with the lighter load. Finally, we hit the last snow field on the back side of the peak. Soon I heard Dan yell out: "There's the hut!". I looked up and there it was. The peak!

It was blowing HARD up on the peak, Dan went over to the summit register and we both signed it. He went about snapping photos and I plopped down on the lee side of the hut. I was smashed. Dan shared more of his water with me and I eventually realized I was on top of the highest point in 48 states. I set about taking my own photos.

Back down the valley toward Lone Pine. I didn't get closer to the edge because of the wind.

Muir Hut!

Sequoia National Park.

Yeah, it's high. Still seems a bit surreal.

We spent about 30 mins on the summit, relaxing and taking pictures. We headed started the journey down at about 2 PM, 7 hours after leaving camp that morning. Most people had already summited and we knew we were close to the last people coming down. It occurred to me we, possibly, had no one behind us to help if we got in trouble. Kind of a sobering thought, really. We hiked back down to our packs, re-shouldered them and trekked back to the "notch". We took our crampons back off for the trip down the tough snow chute climb; this time, we'd make it down in 5 minutes; glissading! Imagine a snow slide with a 1000' vertical drop and you get the idea. Adult-sized fun! A fellow climber summed it up: " I wanna go again! That was fun, but it feels like Mr. Frosty just had his way with me." Quote of the trip.

Alas, the fun had to end. By now it was late in the day and the snow had softened considerably. As smashed as we were, post-holing was taking a huge toll on our bodies as was the dehydration. I'd walk/stumble as far as I could until I thought I was going to vomit and then take a break until the waves of nausea passed. Not fun. Add to that the 65-75 mph wind gusts and it made for extremely slow going. Dan won the "deepest post hole" award when he sank all the way to his groin in the snow. You get the idea.

Finally, we were close enough to Consultation Lake that Dan pushed ahead to see if he could find water for us. I could see him below me trying to figure out how to get through the ice and not break through and fall into the water. I caught up to him and plopped down on some rocks where he was looking at drinking from a snow melt pool when he spied a small snow melt waterfall nearby. He filled a bottle dropped the bleach in to treat it and we both sipped the cold, delicious liquid. Saved!

Again, time was not our friend and we had to press on before dark and before the snow blew in. After a final, tricky descent we made it back to camp and threw ourselves to the ground. Exhausted. I heard Dan moving about re-securing his tent that had blown over during the day, while I made some weak gatorade from the lake. Cold, tired and nauseated, I changed out wet clothes for dry and climbed into my sleeping bag to warm up. I fell asleep from the ordeal and awoke 30 mins later feeling much better. Dan had also fallen asleep without meaning to. We made dimmer and ,eventually, the gusty winds drove us into our beds. Unfortunately, a good night's rest was not in the card; Mother Nature had other plans for us.

HOWLING winds all night long. Several times I thought the nearby trees were about to fall on us or that my tent would rip apart from the winds. Around 1100, I heard it the unmistakable sound of snow falling on my tent. The winds were strong enough during the night to blow snow under my tent's rain fly and through the mesh of the inner tent. By morning, I had a small pile of snow inside my tent and a 1" snow drift against my tent. We both only slept about an hour at a time, but sleep we did. I awoke Sunday morning to clear skies, weakening wind gusts and fresh snow on the ground. Perfect!

Sunrise! Oh yeah!

Dan finally got up and I debated out loud if to make breakfast or not. Dan mentioned breakfast in town and I was hooked. Let's go.

From the cold tamps the night before, the snow had hardened considerably, which made the trip down exponentially faster than the day before. Soon we were out of the worst of the snow and back onto dirt. Not before spying a few, last winter reminders.

The scenery still amazes me.

We made it back to the trail head in a few, short hours, but not before one, last snow flurry to remind us who was really in charge. We packed up and hit the local cafe for breakfast. More disappointment: no pancakes after 11 and it was already noon. Dammit. Luckily, they serve breakfast all day; we chowed down.

After lunch we said our goodbyes and I hit the road.

I'm stoked to check this one off my bucket list. People in the parking lot were mirroring the challenges we had faced: lots of soft snow, losing the route, emergency bivvy sack use and even shacking up with strangers while waiting out the weather. I'd love to go back in the Summer and see all the trees and plants green and the lakes in the unfrozen state.

Hope you enjoyed the story and the pics. The rest of the pics are here. There's just too many to show on the 'blog.

“Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves.”

-John Muir

Thanks.

Re-Birth?

2011-04-24T18:11:00.000-07:00

I'm putting together a presentation for work and I needed some plant/nature photos. I put out the call for help to the online community last week, but using my own shots feels better than getting them off the web. The photographers that I've been working with have been more than generous with their time and property rights. Thanks to everyone that's been helping me out.

I was able to re-hab the MTB from last month's race (braks pads F and R, F brake bleed cleaning etc) and decided to grab the camera and see what I could do on my own. It's been beautiful in Monterey all week and I woke up Sunday morning to cold temps, wind and light drizzle. Great. Nothing for it but grab a jacket and HTFU.

Lucky for me, the recent rain meant tacky trails (woot!) and flowers blooming everywhere. I spent quite a bit of time snapping pics and just enjoying being out on the dirt after way too long of a lay-off.

Black Sage (Salvia mellifera). This stuff was going CRAZY.

California Buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum)...I think. Feel free to correct me if I have the plants wrong.

There were entire hillsides absolutely covered in these purple flowers. No idea what they are, though.

Poison Oak! (Toxicodendron diversilobum). The water on the leaves is from the rain Tons of this stuff all over the place as well. Some of it growing right next to and even reaching out over the trail itself with leaves as big as the palm of my hand. Crossing my fingers and hoping I don't get a reaction. There's so much of it up here, I'm thinking of buying some PO soap just as a precaution. Yuck.

Overcast, windy and rainy all day, but I didn't care I was so glad to be out riding. I started from the west end of Fort Ord, hooked up with the Sea Otter Cat 1 course, did a loop and headed back. Lost some data, but probably 30+ miles and about 3:20 or so with all the stops. No hurry, just chillin'.

I was so blow away by how green everything was. I've been locked up in my room for so long that I totally missed the transition from Winter to Spring. Well Spring is here with a vengeance and I'm going to make sure I get out and start enjoying it!

Black Sage blooming all over the place. Crazy!

That's it for now. One more week of interpretive training complete with a test and 20 minute presentation, followed by 3 weeks of first aid and rifle training (woot!) and then 2-weeks of VACATION! I can't wait.

E.

Basic

2011-04-13T20:50:00.000-07:00

For those of you who weren't aware, I've been sequestered in Monterey since October training for a new job with State Parks. Last Thursday (4/7) we graduated from the po-po phase of training and moved into the interpretive portion. If things all go well, I should be "home" May 20th. Home is in quotes because I'll be incredibly busy with field training for another 12 weeks though I'll by physically home, I won't be relaxing as field training is the make-or-break part.

I've been assigned to Crystal Cove State Park and, though I've been there before, I took advantage of the 3-day weekend and paid my new park a visit.

You're jealous...I know.

Part of interpretive training requires us to create and present a 20-minute talk or campfire program and I was in the park taking photos for that. Alas, I didn't take many pictures of the back country since it was closed due to some heavy rains we got that weekend. Holly and I lucked out and scored a rad day, though. Suffice to say there are almost 2500 acres in the back country, and most of you in So Cal are familiar with the trails in "El Moro". That's my park. Training opportunities? Oh yeah! I'm pretty sure it's practically Slater's back yard.

Coincidentally, lots of people get married in the CC historic district because, well...it's pretty! Hey, Holly and I are looking for a wedding site...

Not bad, right? It's got an awesome view of Catalina Island.

We're still deciding, but this one goes on the list for sure.

Training and racing are on the back burner for now. I'm still getting out whenever I can and racing when the opportunity presents itself, but securing a career for the next 30 years of my life needs to take priority over "hobbies" at the moment. It kills me watching all my crazy friends win races left and right, but I gotta finish this chapter of my life off before I add multi-sport back into the mix. Can't wait to get back to training and racing at the level I enjoy.

I squeezed in Xterra REAL at the end of March and pulled of a halfway decent result considering the lack of training I've been getting in. Results here. A muddy mess for sure, but I pulled off 7th AG and 20th OA. First tri of the season under the belt; onward and upward from here. Photos here (1)(2). I'm not going into a full race report because this post is getting too long, but I'll sum it up:

The water was SUPER cold (48.5) and swimming in water that cold sucks. The bike and run were so muddy my bike is still acting funny, my clothes still have mud in them and I had to retire my running shoes. I raced on a shoddy base and I could tell the top-end wasn't there. I gave what I had, but yearned for the days when I had more to give. A little disappointing.

More "Death by Power Point" this week and next as my enginerd friends call it. Hopefully, I'll have more time to check in from now on.

Cheers.

E.

2010 Wrap-Up

2010-12-31T14:42:00.000-08:00

This past year was a roller coaster for sure. Holly and I dealt with some pretty major life changes and, somehow, managed to come out of it without driving each other insane.

In January, I got fired from the UCSD bike shop because I graduated and only students work at the shop. Bitter-sweet, but the sudden lack of a paycheck hurt; more so when I learned I don't qualify for unemployment thanks to my coaching business. Huge props to my athletes, friends and family for keeping a roof over our heads and food on the table. Needless to say, we struggled for sure.

February-March I trained like a beast, dug way too big a hole and wound up burned out later in the season. DUMB. Lesson learned. I went back to lifeguarding, but needed more stability and some semblance of a set schedule.

Tasty snacks from the sister and brother-in-law along with a beer sampler from Guinness. Not bad.

Thankfully, the folks at B&L bikes took a chance on hiring me. Life got better FAST: a set schedule and indoor employment made for some happy days. State Parks was unhappy with my choice, but Seasonal Lifeguard pay doesn't cut it for a guy in my situation. Sometimes the unpopular choice is the right one.

The soft, chewy ornaments lasted all of 24 hours before we found them all over the house. They were still in one piece, but we put them away to remove the temptation. Don't let the cute face fool you, he's an Evil Genius.

So I went back to life before UCSD: working full time, going to school part to full time and squeezing in as much training as my mental state could handle. Then I get notice the State Parks is hiring the bottom of the barrel for Peace Officer Ranger and Lifeguards. I jump through the hoops all over again and you probably know the rest. I happy to be focused on just two things right now instead of 20; it seems simple in comparison.

Blue skies and mid 60's in December. Gotta love San Diego, though I think a pump malfunction started the swimmer's ear I'm battling. It dumped rain last Wednesday and the pool was full over the gutters. I didn't think anything of it until my ear canals got painful and swollen. A visit to the Urgent Care and probably 90 bucks later...

With money as tight as it was, I only raced 4 times all year. Xterra West in Vegas: food poisoning, 100 deg temps and a flat tire. Lots learned here.

Xterra Snow Valley rocked for me. Despite a VERY slow swim, I think this was the race of my life to date. The key is leaving the watch and HRM in the bag. "There is no spoon..."

With nothing to lose I jumped in to my first Ultra Marathon. Record levels of pain and suffering here. Had a blast!

I also race in my first State Championship race for Mountain Biking. I got my ass handed to me, but the improvement over other races at the same venue was clear. Despite the crummy result, it reinforced that my training theories and practices are headed in the right direction. I'm always tweaking stuff, and it's nice when stuff "works" cool.

The same can be said for my athletes: some SOLID improvements with people meeting or exceeding their season expectations. Awesome!

So to end 2010 on a high note, Christmas Morning I went ahead and asked Holly to marry me. I was confident she'd accept, but how excited she got really blew me away. Stoked to have such an incredible woman agree to be my wife.

Back to Monterey and training for State Parks on Monday; we're not done until JUNE! Ick.

Look for 2011 plans and schemes after the first of the year. Best wishes to friends and family everywhere.

Cheers!

Recess

2010-10-30T16:52:00.000-07:00

Although I spend Monday through Friday playing "Recruit Palmer" Saturday and Sunday are all about getting out and clearing the mind so I don't go stir crazy...or get FAT! LOL!

Did I mention the deer around here are kind of used to people? My room mate is a hunter and I clowned him: "Look! I'm shooting deer!".
He gave me a dirty look: "Don't tease me..."

Of course the scenery is awesome. All the buildings were designed by the same architect that designed Hearst Castle: Julia Morgan. This isn't my building, but they all look very similar. Rad.

Driving out to the trail. A rare sunny day on the Monterrey Peninsula; I took FULL advantage.

The ocean is just out of the picture on the left.

Partly cloudy and quite breezy, but I'm pretty much used to the cold by now. Today was "nice" comparatively speaking.

Some cool views out here.

I saw FIVE people during a three-hour ride. Stoked? Oh yeah!

Single track! Mmmmm...

Yeah; that's a marked trail. Love it. I'll let the pictures do the talking.

With the rain the night before, the dirt was super tacky given the high sand content in the soil. SWEET.

As nice as it is having so many miles of trails practically to myself, I really miss the techy steeps of So Cal. *sigh*

Heading out for a long run tomorrow along the coast and probably heading back to the pool next week since I get my first paycheck Monday. CSUMB has lap swim from 6:30-7:30. Perfect.

E.

Happenings

2010-10-23T15:09:00.000-07:00

I know, I'm long overdue for a 'blog update. I'm into the third week of a police academy so I deserve some slack for, um, slacking.

Briefly, Monterey is pretty, but it's hard to tell since it's always socked in with fog. I'm gettin gout for the occasional 30 minute run during the week and longer sessions on the weekend, but the academy schedule keeps me pretty busy. I need the running so I don;t go insane and don't put on too much weight. The deserts at the dining hall are tasty and there's plenty to ga around. I think I've put on 3 pounds already...oof.

Where academics is concerned, the materila is easy to grasp there's just lots to learn in a very short time frame. As far as academy PT is concerned, we did a 20 minute run the other day at the local track and I lapped the whole class running 6:30's in lane three. And I'm out of shape! LOL!

Backing up to late September, Holly and I ran the Nobkle Canyon 50K. My apologies for the pics' the disposable film camera we bought failed miserably int he photo quality department. I wasn't going to risk my nice digital camera to my legendary sweating capabilities. Moving on.

Race start; 0630, If I recall. Early (more so since we drove out the morning of) and cold.

They turned out to be a humorous and super-supportive bunch. A great crowd of crazies for suffering with.

Some beautiful views early on in the race as the sun comes up. The sunrise behind, moon in front and lanscape below seemed like a cool juxtaposition. I guess you had to be there...

Soemwhere on the way to Penny Pines. I just started snapepd photos at random intervals just to see what I'd get. I'm surprised anything came out!

Erm...trees?

Just crossed over Sunrise Highway and headed out onto the PCT. The views get better from here. Mile 12 or so.

I'm lost for captions. Enjoy the pics.

Notice the salty shirt. Mile 15? I felt AWESOME and decided to crack the throttle just a bit and started reeling people in that had passed me early on. I knew I was rolling the dice by doing so, but the last 11 miles is all downhill, right?

The brown specs on the horizon are cows. Another "had to be there" photo. Still feeling pretty good at this point, but I could tell it was getting warm. Mile 19?

There are no photos to record my complete meltdown. I rolled into the mile 22 aid station ON FIRE. Seriously, I rolled in with 3:30 elapsed thinking I had sub-6 hours in the bag. I refilled and headed down the trail. Somewhere around mile 27, the serious descending starts...and everything started cramping. I'm reduced to wakling and occasionally shuffling. The rest all blurs together: walking, cramping, shuffling, overheating and then I'm out of water. Crap. My feet hurt so bad that at one point I sat down on the side of the trail just to get off them for a second. Wheels came off? Big time.

I made it to the last aid station (mile 30?) and sat down in the shade; drinking and having my first serious "Should I pull the plug on this thing?" moment. With plenty of time to walk and still make the cut-off, I start back down the trail. I was seriously nauseated for the past 2 hours and just trying to force stuff down. With about 2 miles left to go, I passed a down runner being attended to; he either slipped and hit his head or passd out and hit his head. Either way, he didn't look good. About 200 yards further down and I'm so hurlish that I sat down...and puked HUGE. Race personnel passing me heading for the more seriously injured racer and worrying about me...a friendly mountain biker giving me salt capsules...a finisher coming back up the trail to walk me in just in case. I had that small post-vomit window where you feel great to make it to the finish line. GOOO!!!

I managed a shuffle step for a bit and then back to walking as the cramps came back. I crossed the finish line in an underwheliming 8:20 but still with quite the large lump in my throat. Transcending personal boundaries? Hell yeah.

I nursed some Gatorade and water, managed to get some food down and headed over to see Holly come in.

Gotta kiss the rat; race rules! MUAH!

Body language says it all. Total time: 10:30. That extra 3 miles was a killer for everyone.

Dirty girl feet!

Dirty boy. Those socks were white once.

Am I a salty sweater? Um, yes.

Do all these salt stains make my ass look big?

Post-race, we hit the showers and headed home for some ice baths. The hunger monster was the most intense I've ever experieced. I literally woke up at midnight and made a Del Taco run we were both so hungry.

Holly: "Where are you going?"

Me: "Del Taco; I'm STARVING".

Holly: "Right now?"

Me: "Yeah. I'm so hungry I can't sleep."

Holly: ...can you get me a burrito?"

Comedy!

Training's mostly taking a back seat to academy stuff, but I'm going to see what I can fit in once I've finished my end-of-season break. I should have the money to do the races I want to, but It'll be tough to top last year's fitness.

If you're in Monterey, drop me en a-mail. I'm slowly learning where all the cool trails are in Fort Ord and would love to see some familiar faces.

Upheaval

2010-09-13T16:19:00.000-07:00

[uhp-hee-vuhl]

–noun

1. strong or violent change or disturbance, as in a society: the upheaval of war.

Like when your entire life is about to change...

I got a package from FedEx last week containing a 2" thick 3-ring binder containing my training materials for the State Park Ranger/Lifeguard academy as well as a list of uniform items I needed to buy and a report date and time. Unless something completely unexpected happens, I'm taking the State job. After talking it over with Holly and doing all the math regarding malpractice insurance, student loans, yadda, yadda; I decided that I'd take the Parks job if it was offered to me, but wouldn't re-apply since the retirement is about to change for the new hiring list. Decision made; time to get on with life.

Labor Day weekend Holly and I headed out to the Laguna mountains to pre-run the middle section of the Noble Canyon 50K course. Since 5 miles of it is the Pacific Crest Trail and closed to bicycles, I wanted to see it before race day. Did I leave out the part about how I'm racing this year? My bad.

Way less people than I expected and always friggin' gorgeous out there. Looking East towards the desert below.

The course gets STEEP in parts. Glad we took the time to pre-run.

Big Laguna Trail turn off. The descending technically starts here (mile 15 or so), but BLT rolls quite a lot and it's impossible to get into any kind of rhythm. That section is going to be the most physically and mentally challenging, I think .

On BLT headed back to Penny Pines. Lots of cows.

This past weekend, Holly and I headed up to Bonelli Regional Park for the last stop on the US Cup Series for 2010 and the CA State Championships. Athlete Kerry Waldman came back from a back strain 6 weeks ago to take the State Title, the Hard Charger Award and the US Cup Series win. Way to go Kerry! His team, Rodder Racing, had a stellar weekend with Scott and Matt taking 3rd in their respective classed (Scott wound up 12th overall!) at the Racers and Chasers 50 miler. Team mate James finished his first 50-miler in 6 hours. Way to go team!

We got there way too early and wound up sitting around for hours. It was nice seeing Kerry win and visiting with friends, but the extra sleep would have been nice. With a 1:45 Pro/Cat 1 start, it got HOT out in San Dimas: 87deg, by race start and 20 deg, warmer than the past week at home. Oof.

Looking at the sign, figuring out my leg marking: lucky number 7.

Justin at the start. All of 8 weeks back on the bike after a crash that left him with a fractured neck and patella. Really happy to see him on two wheels again and proud to have him "gimp" me in the race. Solid work, man.

Allison on the start line fresh off her first race at world Championships and a night of Sake shots. That explains the yawn. Ha!

Justin coming through on lap one, I think. He and I were in a group of 4-5 about 60 secs off the leaders, but I lost them when I dropped my chain. He'd go on to finish 4th. STUD.

Me coming through early in the race. Still "in it" from the looks of the picture, but I had no idea on placing the entire race. Hammer down and "doin' work" the whole time. It hurt.

These photos are out of order. Allison started in front of us and I never caught her. I managed to catch Joy and Heather, but Allison beat my overall time by almost 15 minutes. Girl is on fire and picked up the Pro State Championship. Wow!

Somewhere around lap 3or 4 judging by how spread out the field is and by how beat tired I look. Not even the Donut socks could help me.

Steph catching Pro Joy Duerksen (sorry Joy!) late in the race. Pros did 5 laps, Steph's cat did 4. Steph picked up a State Champ jersey as did her husband, Dan. I'm beginning to think it was the Sake shots the night before. Hmmm...

Late in the race and just trying to keep the pedals turning. I was starting to cramp and alternating using my quads and hamstrings so neither muscle group would cramp. I sucked my chain into my rear wheel on the final short, steep climb about 1/2 mile from the finish. I thought about running, but the wheel wouldn't roll with the chain jammed the way it was. No choice but to pry it out. Don't think I lost any places in my class since the guy in front was 8 mins up on me.

Finishing up. Totally shelled. Actual time was 1:53.24 since I started 4 mins after the pros and the clock start. I feel more fit than last year's Incycle XC Challenge. but I'm not sure a comparison is valid since the courses were run in opposite directions. All I know is that I hung in with the front group for about 50 minutes this year compared to 5 minutes last year. I'm calling it an improvement.

Time to put the finishing touches on my run fitness: 12 days left before my first Ultra Marathon. YIKES!

Xterra Snow Valley RR

2010-08-04T17:57:00.000-07:00

I know I said I was done with tri training for a while, but I just couldn't stay away. Not that I got bored with exclusively cycling, I just find too much joy in swimming and running. So a few weeks back, I figured I'd salvage what I could of my early season fitness and have a go at Snow Valley. With zero pressure to qualify for world's or Nationals, I figured I'd show up and throw down absolutely everything I had and see what happened. I was out to have fun and smash myself along the way. It turned out to be a great day. Big Bear in the Summer NEVER disappoints; friggin' love it up there.

Like the race kit? It came with the new job! While I didn't totally quit lifeguarding, I took myself off the schedule for July and August and started working for B&L Bikes staring in late June. Working two jobs and going to school was hellish for while, but year-round employment and STEEP shop discounts will be perfect for me in the long run. My co-workers are awesome, we get along great and the parade of pro triathletes and super fast amateurs coming through the shop is always cool.

Shot of T2 from the base area. The swim and T1 are half way up the slope, which makes for interesting race logistics, but probably the only Xterra with a net elevation LOSS. Good news for all you Gonzos out there who love bombing descents like I do. Steeper than it looks!

Coming past T2 to finish out the initial 1/2 lap. Notice the Tri shoes! Saved me huge time in transition despite having to use road pedals. TriVents are drilled for 3-bolt cleats and my MTB cleats are 2-bolt. Little did I know there's an adapter and I didn't figure that out until I got home from work...after all the bike shops are closed. So on with the road pedals and cleats: I figured if I had to walk this course, I deserved to ruin my carbon soles. The shoes were amazing! Super light and stiff!

Heading out to finish the bike course. You can see in the above pic the guy I had just passed on the downhill. I tried dropping him on the flat section and then tried hanging with him on the climb, but he had a 7-pound advantage on his S-Works hardtail. I found out on Saturday that my "race bike" weighs 26 pounds. Ouch.

Finishing up the bike leg and getting out of my shoes. Saving time everywhere I can. Seriously, if you're not getting off and walking, what does it matter what shoes you wear?

I vaguely remember hearing some people yelling for me, but I was so focused and on the limit that I didn't even see who it was (thanks Allison and Justin! LOL!). You can barely see me bent over in the back ground (shoot the moon!), but the dude in the foreground is about to get a lesson in Transition 101...

See ya! That's how it's done people.

The guy in front of me was the one I battled with on the bike course. I chased him for the majority of the run course and put in some HARD efforts on the really steep stuff trying to reel him in, no dice. The "rock on" sign from me is because I hit the trash can with the aid station cup with an over the shoulder no-look toss. The volunteer was stoked: "Two points!". That's how I roll, son!

Finishing up. Smashed. I got caught late in the race and battled with a someone for an overall spot. We passed each other at least 3 times that I can think of, but I finally cracked in a soft sand climb and he got away. Dammit. Still, I knew I'd given everything I had on that day and was stoked with how it felt regardless of where I placed. A solid race despite a shitty swim.

It's hot...and I'm tired...and racing...at altitude...hurts...

I got my stuff together and started packing up so we could drive the 2 hours home to San Diego since I had a paper due the next day. I heard the announcer calling out names and figured I'd see how I did.

Third in my age group and tenth overall! WOW! Highest Xterra placing for me EVER.

Cool burned wood trophies and a burned leather coaster as a finisher's award. I'm totally blown away since I didn't think I had a performance like that in the tank considering how sporadic training has been lately. Given how crappy Vegas went for me, I really needed a confidence boost training and racing-wise. Too bad I can't afford to race more, who knows what could happen!

Recovery this week with no race plans as of yet, I'm just enjoying training and settling in to the new job.

Hard work pays off!

E.

Old Habits

2010-06-28T19:38:00.000-07:00

They're the toughest ones to kick; they've become so ingrained into our personalities, daily rituals and our lives that they become a part of who we are.

I didn't order this...

School is one of those things I've been doing for a really, really long time and though I loathe to call myself a "student" I cannot ignore that I've been in school in some form or another for my entire life. Quite staggering when you really think about it. Meanwhile, Summer School started at the local JC and I'm beginning wrapping up my pre-reqs for Physician's Assistant school. The ironay is that State Parks sent me my background packet to re-do along with a letter stating that everyone on the current hiring list will be selected for the 2010 academy starting in October or for the 2011 academy starting next Spring...if there's enough money. I'm rudderless as far as a career path: PA means more money, but two years of school and $100k in additional debt. Lifeguard/Ranger means 1/2 as much money, but I get to stop being poor almost immediately. I'm familiar with the concept of delayed gratification so spare me the lecture, OK? Thanks!

Students at Miramar College get to swim for free. Woot! Back in the pool and not spending any money to do it = WIN. Unfortunately, the pool feels like it's about 84 degrees and all of the suit dryers are busted. FAIL. The pool is also the local community pool, and Holly says they're probably unplugged becasue the kids play with them. She's probably right.I'm also slowly adding running back into the mix. Mothing structured, but I have a ton of fun trail running and it's a great stop-gap for when I sleep past my alarm and miss a ride. Guess I'm a triathlete no matter what. I'm learning to accept it.
Any ideas on what to do about my career path? I'm lost on that one...

June Gloom

2010-06-08T09:32:00.000-07:00

From urbandictionary.com

"...extremely annoying late spring to early summer (and sometimes all summer long) weather phenomenon in coastal Southern California that causes relentless, damp, dreary, miserable weather with drizzle and fog for weeks without end at the beaches. It sometimes spreads into the mountains. This shocks tourists who come to 'sunny Southern California' to instead find themselves in Alaska. It spoils beach days a'plenty and for most locals is the most dreaded time of the year. Number 1 cause for Seasonal Affective Disorder in Southern California. A.k.a. May Gray."

As much as that pertains to the local weather, it applies to my situation as well. The new budget for the State is due out at the end of June and there's lots of uncertainty about what's going to happen with our salary and furlough situation. Couple that with some non-employee friendly policy changes and I'm not stoked on my job at the moment.

As much as I need money to pay for stuff, I friggin HATE it sometimes. Stupid money...

Sure money pays for me to do cool things that make me happy, but it's severely limiting that ablity right now since I don't have any extra to pay for "fun stuff". After crunching the numbers, it looks like I might not get to race any more this season; at $90 a race, triathlon is too rich for us right now. Tack on $70 a month for Master's swim, $24 a month for parking, $190 for a new HRM (my Garmin fell apart), $100 for new running shoes...you get the idea...

Xterra Snow Valley 2008. Jon Clark in the orange camo and me in the orange top in the background. FUN race. Moreover, I got really burned out on the 2-3 workouts a day triathlon grind. Up at O-dark 30, off to swim or ride, run at work on my break (which are getting cut back to 45 minutes, BTW). Come home, eat dinner, collapse into bed, repeat ad infinitum. All that and I might not even get to race again this year because of the cost. I got burned out...no surprise there.

So I looked at WHY I liked racing, what aspect of triathlon kept me coming back since 2003.

Swimming? No way. Every time I'd set my alarm for morning Master's, I'd get a sinking feling in the pit of my stomach. Definitely NOT whay I race.

Running? I'll admit trail running puts a smile on my face, but sharing one Garmin with Holly turned out to be more problematic than I imagined AND I get running injuries far too frequently for me to really enjoy it.

Biking? Well...yes! When I think about which Xterra courses I like and dislike, the deciding factor is always the "fun factor" of the bike course. I love shredding sweet single track and have this odd ability to destroy myself on a bicycle every day without hating it or myself. So I'm going back to where I started: racing mountain bikes.

It's as much a financial decision as it is a personal one; races are cheaper and closer than tris, no more paying for Master's, no more buying running shoes and I don't have to figure out how to get my hands on a new HRM/GPS unit. Score.

I've been not swimming and running for a few weeks and I'm loving it: I can ride to work on recovery days, saving money on gas, and motivation is high. I'm rolling with it.

Plus I have more personal time since I'm no longer constantly prepping for or recovering from workouts. Which left me time to build a wheel for Luke. Cool.There's that saying "make hay while the sun is shining" and that's good advice for me right now.

I'm heading out for a ride. See ya...

E.

Groovy

2010-05-27T20:33:00.000-07:00

Memorial Day is right around the corner and with it, the busy lifeguarding season. It amazes me how people are convinced they should only go to the beach between now and Labor Day and I often wonder if the news didn't announce "Beach Season" if people would even notice. Best time to go to the beach? AFTER Labor Day; the water and the weather are still perfect and the crowds are GONE. Try it out and thank me later.

I'm struggling with balancing work and training; tough to do given how variable my schedule can be and that I tend to train best when I can get into a groove and just hammer out the tough sessions. Speaking of jobs, I'm looking around at my options since the seasonal thing no longer works out for me. "The Governator" lost a lawsuit and the courts decided furloughs were illegal or something. Rumor has it our rates might go up to "only" a 5% pay cut or might get cut to a 15% reduction. Eff that. I'm outta there as soon as I find something that pays close to what I make now.

As for training, I jump-started the second 1/2 of 2010 with a TCSD aquathlon (1000 yard swim, 5k run). I was beat from the week, but desperately needed to remind myself that I CAN go fast when properly motivated.

Awesome evening.

I got a lousy start and wound up mid-pack in the swim. I tried all the tricks I knew and just could not get clear. I took a beating the whole way and swallowed a ton of water. I need to swim more...Once I hit the beach, it was game on! I kept thinking how much different Vegas would have went if I'd had legs like this! I could see Beth just in front of me at the turn-arounds and tried like hell to catch her, but just couldn't reel her in. It's like she runs fast or something. CHARRRGE! Mom and Dad stopped by this week to say hello, buy us dinner and drop off my "mail". This $80,000 piece of paper is the most expensive thing I own. Woo...

Dad brought a sixer from their vacation up near Punta Arenas. A decent stout with a solid body and hints of coffee. Nice.

That's it from here. When you're out enjoying the holiday weekend, think of me working my butt off on a crowded beach and be glad you have your 9-5. =)

Vicissitudes

2010-05-09T19:31:00.000-07:00

I've been really, REALLY tired since Holly and I got home from Xterra Vegas. I though it might have been residual fatigue from the food poisoning or maybe the 10-hour shifts I've been pulling at work.

After a Facebook discussion with Allison, James, Steph and Trevor and some texting with Vance, it became clear that I needed more time off so I bagged the big weekend I had planned and shut down the training. As much as it hurts me to do so, I'm gonna have to forgo Maui this year and focus on Nationals instead. If I manage to qualify at MTN Champs, I'll have a go at it, but I had planned on peaking for MTN Champs; not happening.

Then Holly calls me from the kitchen the next morning:
"Um...when did you buy DECAF?!"
Me: "What? You're kidding me, right?"
I moseyed into the kitchen and, to my horror, found THIS! DUM, DUM, DUMMMM!! I had mistakenly bought it before the Vegas race. No wonder I've been so tired! I've been missing my crack! LOL! I chucked the impostor in the garbage and picked up some real coffee ASAP. Needless to say, morning's have been much easier to handle. =D

Anyway, since I'm taking some more time off, I've been sleeping in and heading out for whatever I feel like doing on any given day. It's really been helping my mood and I know I'll be better off long-term with the extra rest. Live and Learn.

So Saturday I headed out to the local trail system (Los Penasquitos Canyon) and just cruised around with a rough idea of what trails I felt like riding and how long it would take. Even on a busy trail day, stopping for, horses, kids, moms, dads, dogs, yadda, yadda. I still enjoyed myself where normally I'd be fuming at the people in MY way. A clear indicator I've turned the corner on the fatigue.

Even double track is getting over-grown! Trails are great right now.

Somewhere on the run down "cobbles" I found my smile. Been looking for that.

...and 1/2 mile from the car, I heard and felt a slight "PING" followed by my saddle suddenly dropping. Diagnosis: broken seat rail. It's not my fault, the seat slides back on the rails, which bend and prevent me from putting the saddle where it should be. Having it slammed that far back weakens the rail and it eventually breaks. A new WTB Silverado is on the way and the saddle on the SS will do until then. =D

Tire review (Conti Race King Supersonic):

They're everything you'd expect from a light XC tire: light, grippy and fast rolling. I like how predictable they are in corners, it's easy to ride them right to the limit of what the tire can do and the round profile make the transitions from straight-line riding to cornering seamless. They're also: expensive, they slide out on you if you push them into a corner even a little too hard, the sidewalls are flimsy the tubed versions pinch-flatted on me and the lugs shred FAST (see photo).

I'm thinking of trying them in tubeless before totally giving up on them. Tough call considering the cost and weight is the same as my trusty Larsen's. The grip might be better, but if they're less-durable that's a wash in my book. I'll let you know.

In other news, brother Steve killed it at Xterra Del Valle, chopping 50 minutes off his time from last year and nabbing 9th in his AG. Holly ran solid at the Malibu Creek 22K (friggin' STEEP) and finished in just over 3 hours. Great job you guys!

Last thing. Mom called: my diploma came in the mail. Woot! I'm reeling at the fact that I have a degree from a top-10 University. Whoa!

Easy training this week, testing this weekend and back to some base fitness work. Stoked I can re-do my base with a power meter. Time to get on it!

Moving On

2010-05-02T19:37:00.000-07:00

I got some tough love about last week's results and I definitely I needed the wake-up call. I put way too much pressure on myself to perform at Xterra West and I absolutely caved beneath it. I didn't handle the food poisoning right, swapped tires when I shouldn't have and stressed out about the heat and the course. Dumb.

I absolutely went into last weekend half-cocked; my easy workouts this week have been nothing short of amazing as I wound up dropping 6 secs per 100 in the pool and running incredibly fast in very easy HR zones. Honestly, I think I dug too deep a hole back in February and never got out of it. Looking back at my training data, I should have recognized it and taken some time off. This is where having someone else coach you helps tremendously. Alas, I still lack the funds to hire a coach. Moving on.

Speaking of moving on, my next planned race is Xterra Tahoe City in June. I had planned on racing Xterra del Valle with brother Steve, but my heel and my bank account are still recovering from the Vegas Race. No worries; plenty of racing left!

The Tahoe course looks steep. Here's the course map from the website. For those of you fuzzy on reading contour maps, the more squiggly lines you cross, the steeper it is. The 22 mile bike course has 2400 feet of gain in it. For comparison, San Juan trail is 22.8 miles with 3700 vertical feet. Actually, looking at it like that makes it seem not so bad. Cool! Mountain champs looks WAY worse: 15.5 miles and 3600 vertical feet. Yeeouch! Looks like a great course, though. I'm all over it. Sorry for the .pdf file, I can't seem to embed it in the 'blog. Computer noob!

http://www.xterrabeavercreek.com/images/xterra-mtb-2010.pdf

Anyway. Rest and relaxation is done and I'm ready to get back to training. I'm re-visiting some base work and transitioning all my bike workouts to power-based. I've seen some improvements just basing my power zones off my approximated FTP and I'm sure I'll see much more improvements once I get my CP zones all dialed in. I'm excited to see what the rest of the season holds. Off to bed; master's swim in the morning...

Dust, Blood and Snakebites (Xterra West RR)

2010-04-26T07:49:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, Holly and I headed out to Vegas for the Xterra West Championship. This would be my first triathlon since I broke my hand last year and my first race of 2010. I had high hopes going into my taper, but came down with food poisoning the weekend before. I barely started eating solid foods Wednesday and still felt woozy all the way up to Thursday. Not good, but I'd paid for the race and Holly scored a killer room for next to nothing; we were going.
~
My chauffer, sherpa and photog for the weekend. Plenty of traffic all weekend thanks to the Laughlin River Run and an off-road race the same weekend. There was no shortage of awesome views, however, as the desert is in full bloom from all the rain we've had this year. Green desert? Yup.

We made it out to the race site in time for Holly to sign up for the 10K on Saturday, I picked up my race packet and we headed to our hotel to check in. We were fortunate enough to score a room at the MGM Signature for next to nothing. I didn't go crazy taking pictures of the room, but I think the Jacuzzi tub built for 2 tells you how swank the place is. Bell hops and valets kissed our collective asses all weekend. Is this how "the other half" lives? Pretty nice.

Notice how the bike is upside down? My trusty Larsen's were worn out and I'd always been bummed on how heavy they are. Thursday, I swapped them out for some Conti Race King Super Sonics, which shaved about 600 grams (over a POUND) off the bike. However, they wouldn't hold air for more than 20 minutes. Out of time, I pulled the tubeless set-up out and threw tubes in at the hotel Friday before the race...and crossed my fingers.

Saturday, we got up early and headed over to the race site for Holly's 10K and so I could preview the course. Holly started well and looked like she cruised the whole thing.

She felt like she had a "bad run". I grabbed her timing card while she got some water in and checked it out. Girl got 2nd in her AG. Bad run my ass!

Ta da!

She's doing great and I she's looking good for the Malibu Creek 22K in May. Way to go, babe!

We milled around until the course opened and I headed out. I wasn't stoked on the course, but it favored solid bike handling skills. It was steep and loose with 2 or 3 hike-a-bikes in a row separated by silty, rocky hairball descents. I was running tubes and all I could think was " I sure hope I don't pinch-flat tomorrow".

It was already blazing hot and super-dry. I talked to Trevor in the parking lot and we both agreed race day would be a war of attrition: flats and dehydration would be the theme for the race for sure.

Holly and I headed back to the hotel: I put my feet up and started drinking Gatorade and taking electrolyte tabs. She went down to the pool.

Race morning we got up super early because we had to do the check out nonsense. Late check-out was 11:00 and there wasn't enough time post-race to get back to the hotel and take care of it.

I went into pre-race mode and it was warming up fast. I made sure to keep sipping on water, trying to stay hydrated.

Out warming up. The race finishes along this ridge and I wanted to run it just in case it turned out to be tricky. It was fine, but I didn't feel "snappy". Mentally, I just felt like I was there to do a job and that was it. No nerves, no excitement, no butterflies. Nothing.

The swim start was really narrow and they were keeping everyone corralled in a very small area. I spied someone warming up in the pool and joined him. Plenty of room!

The pro wave goes off and I get my spot. Soon after they count it down and fire the cannon: 3...2...1...BOOM! We're off and I'm getting pummeled thanks to the narrow start and the bridge the course passes under. I did my best to avoid the worst of the mess and focused on my stroke and looked for someone to draft off. The swim is over before I know it (was that a pro I just passed?). I glance at my watch as I hit hit the beach (24:11?!? Holy sh!t). A PR by almost 2 minutes. The announcer calls out the guy who normally wins 35-39 (Kyle Stock). I look around and he's just passing me so I get on his heels and hit T1 with him. I smoke him in transition and hit the bike course on fire.

We get to the first series of climbs and it's hot. People are going out way too hard for how hot and steep it is. I get held up a little through the techy spots, but I'm riding well and picking off riders here and there. We get to a section that basically runs straight down a dry, sandy wash strewn with rocks when I feel the unmistakable sensation of my rear tire going down (F*CK!!!). I stop next to a guy already changing a flat: "Welcome to the club!" he cheerfully exclaims. I change it as fast as I can (back on before the guy already stopped!), but the damage is done as I painfully watch dozens of riders go by with my AG on their legs. No Maui slot for me.

With the flat fresh in my mind, I tiptoe around the rest of the course begging my tire to hold as I was out of tubes. No bottle hand-off on the bike, only cups of water and only one aid station. I drink as much as I can, but I'm getting chills by the end of the bike leg when the breeze picks up. Not good.

Charging into T2 here, trying to limit my losses.

I hit the aid station immediately out of T2 and walk so I can get all the water down. I start up the hill and I can feel my quads wanting to cramp. It's hot and I can tell I'm dehydrated. Survival mode engage....

Holly: "Good job!"

Me: " I flatted..."

The run was pure survival. I had no snap and wound up walking the steep climbs. Pro men were finishing up as I was heading out. Demoralizing.

I recovered some and was able to open it up on lap 2 of the run. I could feel some killer blisters forming on my feet from the steep hills. I sucked it up as best I could and managed to finish just under 3 hours. Weak.

Notice the salt stains on my race kit? Yeah, it was HOT!

Those blisters I could feel? They popped...and bled.

Juicy...

I finished 18th in my AG out of 39 starters; 31 finished.

So what happened?

-I gambled on lighter tires and lost. Lesson learned.

-Was I not totally recovered from food poisoning? Maybe.

-Should I have run a hydration pack instead of a 24 oz bottle? Maybe, but hydration packs cover a lot of skin and I over-heat wearing them in hot conditions. Besides, my bike split was only 1:35 WITH the flat, I was well-hydrated before the race started, but dehydrated FAST. Maybe I just suck in the heat. Maybe I needed a salt tab on the bike. I'm a little confused on this one.

-I need new racing shoes. My feet are thrashed and it's gonna be a while before they heal.

-I've got some serious bike skills compared to the people I saw tri-poding the descents. SCARY.

-Best. Swim. EVER.

-Need to run more hills and spend more time on the MTB. Quads were hammered by the end of the bike leg.

Time for a short break while I figure out what to do with the rest of my season. Onward.

All Work and no Play...

2010-04-10T20:35:00.001-07:00

...makes "Zippy" not so zippy.

Spring sprung and with it a huge increase in my working hours. Getting paid is nice, but I'd rather be training. As awesome as it is working at the beach, a lifeguard tower or a Jeep start looking like a prison midway through the week.

I took this photo using the timer on my camera. Notice all the people in my water... Tower 15 at Cardiff is there for a very good reason, there's a stationary rip current right where the reef ends and it manages to snag a few people every day. I'm partially blocking the rip in the photo. Notice where the waves aren't breaking? That's where the rip is.

I tried to take some video of the rip, but it didn't come out so great. Basically, if the water's choppy and flowing AWAY from shore, stay out of that area.

As diligent and as fast as lifeguards are, sometimes we can't save someone.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/mar/21/search-continues-for-man-feared-drowned-at-torrey/

I drove down from Cardiff as fast as I could when the call came in, got into the water and assiste dinthe search until the Permanent Lifeguards pulled us out of the water due to darkness. Neither of the two victims knew how to swim and we're still not sure why the girl went into the water to begin with. I've been told there's video and that it's hard to watch...

...I have no desire to see it.

Sorry for the downer post. Jeeze!

Here's Oolong the rabbit that balances things on his head. Whee!

On the training front, things have been hit or miss. I'm sneaking in workouts around my haphazard work schedule and fully maximizing the 30-minute workout. I'm doing what I can and hoping the huge base I built back in February will carry me through Xterra Vegas.

Assuming I can scrape the cash together to pay for the trip. Yeesh!

E.

Fringe Benefits

2010-03-29T07:47:00.001-07:00

Let's face it; lifeguarding doesn't pay a whole lot and the forced 3 minths off every year strains our finances immensely. However, every once in a while I get to do cool stuff that people with "normal jobs" can only dream of doing or have to pay a lot of money for the same experience.

Last November was one of those moments when I spent a few days piloting a Jet Ski in the surf and around jettys.

Just over a week ago, I got a call from the boss telling me I'd been chosen for joint helicopter insertion training with County Sheriff's, Encinitas Lifeguards and Solana Beach Lifeguards.

It was as AWESOME as it sounds...

Waiting for the "go ahead" from the co-pilot (I'm the short one with the orange fins and whit helmet). Yes, that's a triathlon wetsuit. Notice the legs are cut for easy wetsuit removal in T1 ;). Loading up

"Thumbs up" to the co-pilot that we're ready to go.

Whee!

Helicopter skids are SMALL when you're standing on them 30 feet in the air.

Out over the water

Cool vantage point because you can see all the bottom features that create the currents and surf. Very cool!

1...2...3...GO!

...and then we did it 2 more times. All that and a paycheck too! Way stoked I got to be a part of that. No idea when or IF we'll ever use that sort of thing, but we all had a blast jumping off the helo a bunvh of times. :D

As for training, it's been very hit-or-miss. Ten-hour shifts make it tough to get up the next day and drag my ass to Master's or head out the door for a run when the sun isnt even up yet. It's seriously making me think I should just race MTB this year; especially given that MTB races are HALF the cost of tri's. So tempting.

I've got a few days off right now so I'm putting some solid training down, but Wednesday I start 9 days in a row. Ouch.

Time to knuckle up.

March in Pictures

2010-03-23T08:02:00.000-07:00

I went back to work full-time in March. I'm happy to be making money again, but they've put me on 10-hour shifts 4 days a week, which makes training difficult. On my rare days off I just want to lay in bed all day, stuff my face and watch T.V. I have zero energy for some reason.

Since my schedule is decidedly "non-traditional" I wind up training by myself much the time. The opnly exception being Master's swim. a few weeks ago, I actually had enough gas money to get on the MTB up in the Santa Anas. I pulled the trigger on the Motorway double-dip.

Top of Blackstar. Not working hard, but on a serious PR pace. Way stoked on it.
Snow-capped Baldy made for some awesome views!

A few clouds rolled in by the first Motorway run. Arm and knee warmers all day.

Heading up Maple Springs. You can tell I really love this climb.

Plenty of water running in Maple Springs; more than I've seen in a long time. Made it feel like somewhere other than smoggy So. Cal, which was really nice.

I finished the ride off with a 50-minute PR even though I was short on cals and semi-bonking on the last main divide section. I'm feeling really strong on the bike right now even though I'm swim-run focused. It's either the power meter or the HEED I was forced to buy with my REI gift cards. Who knows.

St. Patrick's weekend I usually run the 10K down in Mission Bay. This year, Holly and I had planned on the Black MTN 15K, but only one of us had the money for it. My turn to play sherpa.

We go there WAY too early and sat in the car watching the race crew set up registration. The time change hurt...a LOT. You know it's early when your'e up before the sun. At least it was pretty.

Yes, she makes that same face in every picture...

Race start. Defending champ Brandon Mills in the red, SkinFit tank top.

Holly finishing up. Poor thing looked tired.

Brandon went on to win in 1:02, breaking his own course record. Which is insane considering the course ran long (9.86 miles instead of 15k). Animal.

Holly broke 2 hours, which made us both happy. I'm pretty sure that's all she had on that day.

As for me, I'm just working a lot and squeezing training in where I can. Sometimes I get in a run or ocean swim on my break at work and sometimes I work straight through. Money's still an issue and it looks like I'll be betting everything on a few "big" races and that's it. The Xterra seson starts this weekend with Xterra REAL, usually my season-opener. Obviously, I'm skipping it since we don't have the cash for the drive and I'm pretty bummed about it, which affects my motivation. My brother, Steve, is doing it and I hope he does well.

Oceanside 1/2 IM is also this weekend. Still debating if we're gonna go spectate: Slater and Monique are racing it as is one of my athletes, but I think I'd rather be training.

Hiccups

2010-02-25T07:09:00.000-08:00

After losing my job last month, finances at our home have been tight. Actually, that's putting it mildly. I won't be able to race this weekend, because we just don't have the "extra" cash for my license (Cat 1's have to buy an annual license) and race entry fee($47). I'm sort of OK with that since MTB races are not my focus for 2010, but I was really looking forward to posting up some solid results and getting some momentum rolling before Xterra REAL. Oh well.

I was also planning on doing the Black Mountain 15K (Xterra trail race) the weekend of 3/15, but I have lifeguard requalifying (1000 yard surf swim under 20 mins) and training the same weekend. I took requals lightly one year, misjudged the current and surf (see 2008) and didn't make the bouy. I couldn't work until I requalified somewhere else. I missed out on a lot of work and can't risk losing out on paychecks right now.

I filed for unemployment, but it looks like my coaching business (my teeny, tiny coaching business) disqualifies me from receiving anything. FAIL.

Meanwhile, I've been logging some serious training hours (20+ per week) and building my training plan library for my business. The business continues to grow, but not fast enough that it takes the place of a "real job". Though I would LOVE to coach full-time if i could. Shoulda-woulda-coulda...

So I gotta go back to work. Meh.

E-mails to State Lifeguards went unanswered so early this week I called and left a message where I KNEW someone would get it. Yesterday I got a call and they have shifts for me. I'm glad to be earning a paycheck agan, but pretending I was a pro athlete for a month was really, really cool. *sigh*

So here comes the cold shower that is reality, the cutback in training in favor of earning money. No more time for "living the life"; time to head back to work.

Phooey.

Ramblings

2010-02-15T16:26:00.000-08:00

There's no central theme to this post whatsoever. Clearly. I've been lagging in the posting department, but there isn't much going on this time of year other than prepping for the racing and lifeguarding season. That means training...and lots of it.

Life stuff first! The Chemistry department granted my wish (petitions) and are begrudgingly allowing me to graduate. I'm still waiting for the University to process my stuff (yay bureuacrats!), but I have the paper that says I get to stop going to school. Woot!

Which means I no longer get to work for the campus bike shop and I'm now on unemployment until Lifeguarding starts up again. The drama that is my life never seems to stop.

The good news is that I get to train like ya'll wish you could (except Slater and James who never seem to go to work!) and I'm "doin' it" as it were. Can't wait to toe the line and see what I got in a few weeks!

Since I'm broke, I'm stuck training from home. Not a horrible thing since San Diego has some of the best training weather in the country. Saturday I headed out the door and pointed my wheels East. up HWY 67 towards Ramona. Headed for the ribbon in the background. Once in Ramona (so THAT'S where S.D. rednecks live), I turned North on HWY 78. No pics there because the shoulder is actually a guardrail and a steep drop. Not riding though there again!

I found the Wild Animal Park...grrrr...

Stopped at a church for some water. Notice the yellow computer on the bars? My tax return paid for the Power Tap I've been drooling over for the past two years. If not for the steep shop employee discount, there's no way I'd be able to afford it. I'm collecting data right now, but plan on moving to power-based workouts next month. Looking forwad to it!

I've got some stuff for sale since money's tight. My 1999 GT Zaskar that I rode to the 2006 Rim Nordic Beginner Series win. E-mail me for details.

Also on the auction block is my Raleigh 29'er Single Speed. I love riding this bike, but I've got too many and it needs to go. A blast to ride. Please e-mail me for details.

That's it from here. first race should be Sage Brush on Feb 28th. See you there?

Lagging...

2010-02-04T16:57:00.000-08:00

My laptop has some kind of virus so I'm taking it offline except for analyzing training data until I can get a new anti-virus and kill what's making it go haywire. For now, I'm up on gramp's old desktop (thanks grampa!) and I'll try and update the insanity that is my life right now. Stay tuned!

GOOD RIDDANCE!

2010-01-03T15:06:00.000-08:00

Seriously, 2009 is over and not a moment to soon. It went something like: School jerked me around, Holly had shoulder surgery, I broke my hand, school jerked me around some more and then Grampa died. Meh.

Oh yeah, Luke, James AND Ryan all got married. Not to each other...

I had a few fleeting glimpses of "what could be" with solid races at Xterra REAL and the Incycle XC Challenge. I'm looking to seriously improve on those results in 2010.

I'm done looking back; time for looking at what's ahead.

Pic from the top of Soledad New Year's Eve during hill repeats. The weather's been PERFECT.

Training's been going very well and I'm seeing numbers in December I saw in March last year. I just capped off an epic 2 weeks of training during Winter break and, if I can keep this rolling, I think I'm going to shock a lot of people once the racing season cranks up. I can't wait to toe the line...I want it bad.

So the first 1/2 of 2010 looks like this:

1/23: 12 Hrs Temecula (4-Man with Rodeer Racing)

2/28: Us Cup Sage Brush

3/14: Black MTN 15K (Xterra trail run)

3/28: Xterra REAL

4/25: Xterra West Cup

I have plans beyond that, but I'm focusing on one block at a time and re-assessing finances and motivation once I get to key races. I'm hoping that focusing on the immediate future keeps me centered on the job at hand.

Some much needed recovery this week and some testing. Stoked to see what I've got!

Marking Time

2009-12-21T14:42:00.000-08:00

Back in the day when I performed with band/Drum and Bugle Corps. We used a technique called "marking time" to keep tempo while playing; it helps you put feet motion together with the music and accelerates the pace at which you learn marching (the actual movement part). Bascially, you lift just your heels off the ground and make sure they hit the ground with the beat.

The point is that you're doing something, but not going anywhere; kind of how I feel at the moment.

Still, some good luck coming my way: I managed to pull a B- out of my a$$ at school and now get the chance to petition for my degree. It's long story, but suffice to say I might be getting out of UCSD. None too soon.

This past week, Luke and I slapped together a ride at the last minute. I spent all day Friday putting a new rim on the race MTB (found a crack back in October) and Saturday we met up in Trabuco Canyon to hit Harding - Upper Holy Jim. I was beat from a big training week and hoping for some chill dirt miles.

I was stoked to see James and Ryan pulled into the parking lot as I haven't seen them in a long time.

Once through O'Neil Park, we headed up past Cook's Corner and over to Harding. I wound up sucking Luke's wheel for most of the day while James hammered away up front.
Ryan mentioned something about coming down with a cold. Kudos to him for hanging in even though he was under the weather. He's the dark dot in the shade of the tree.Harding was the long, uncomfortable climb I remember it as. Similaryl, the climb from Modjeska to Santiago Peak was as rocky and gnarly as ever. It all went by much faster this time than previously, though. I felt like I was climbing pretty well compared to last season; Luke noticed the difference. He can still drop me whenever he wants, though. LOL!

Rest stop at the top of Upper Holy Jim. The guy in the green jersey is James' buddy, Loren. Lots of strong dudes on this ride. I was hurtin' for certain just trying to keep up! P.O.V. shot. This is why I love MTB'ing, folks.I followed Luke down Upper Holy Jim and we were soon faced with DEEP rain ruts and some gnarly rocky sections. Instead of trying to ride the sections, we swallowed our respective prides and walked the rough stuff. No use getting injured now: way too much racing in the coming months!

Money shot of James exiting Upper Holy Jim.
Sunday I headed out to Daley Ranch, met up with the Mann's and picked up the start of Holly's MTB build. I think the 29'er will be good for her to learn on since the bigger wheels are more stable. Plus they gave us a killer deal on the frame/fork combo. I look forward to putting it together.I'm doing the Xmas shopping thing this week and couldn't resist picking up a little something for myself.

Merry Christmas everybody!

Melvin Donald "Don" Palmer

2009-12-10T20:36:00.000-08:00

Last Thursday I got a call from Mom that 'medics had taken grampa (Dad's Dad) to the ER and that they'd only say "We're working on him". I spent 10 years as a Paramedic saying those words to familes when the outlook was dire. Mom called back 30 minutes later and told me what I already knew: my grandfather had died.
Grampa was born in Missouri and eventually moved to So Cal with his parents. He started his military career in 1944 and was scheduled to get shipped out to the European theater of WWII but the war endeed before he had to go. He and grandma were High School sweethearts and she traveled by train from So Cal all the way to Pensacola FL so they could marry. My Dad was born in 1945.

In 1948 his unit was recalled for the Korean War where he served as a carrier pilot aboard the USS Bon Homme Richard. He stayed in the Navy after the war and wound up flying everything from single engine to multi engine and even helicopters.

Grampa eventually found his way into photo intelligence and worked at the Pentagon in the Chief Naval Officer's Office. Grampa was there when Gary Powers got shot down over Russia in a U-2 and grampa was on board the USS Essex at the Bay of Pigs.

Needless to say, Grampa had the best stories.

What I treasure most are the things he taught me: Golf and the infinite patience it takes to teach someone how to play, especially a 12 year-old. And words I've lived nearly my entire life by: "If you don't love what you do, you ought not to be doing it"

Thanks for reading, if you still are. I guess I just need to say goodbye and I'm having a hard time doig it.

Goodbye Grampa, I'll miss you..

Turkey Weekend

2009-12-03T20:19:00.000-08:00

Oh the drama.

Wed. night, Holly and I loaded up the Jeep (cat included) and made the trek up to Mom and Dad's house in the OC. I pulled three workouts and an 8-hour shift lifeguarding and still summoned the energy to pack up and drive 85 miles. Needless to say we piled into bed pretty late.

Thursday morning, I bagged the Rock N' Road annual climb up Harding in favor of sleeping in. I took a leisurely spin around the Fullerton Loop before Holly and I cruised over to her parent's house for the requisite Thanksgiving stuffing (us, not the Turkey). Holly's mom did an awesome job and it was cool to hang out with her family for a change. However, with 3 brothers, 6 cats, 2 dogs and assorted friends, the house got crowded fast.

Friday morning I slept in again (woot!) and headed over to Fullerton Loop for the 6th Annual Le Tour de Tryptophan: underground 24-Solo in the heart of OC. Low key and always a good time.

Tools of the trade.

Sweet T-Shirts. Proceeds from T-Shirt sales go to help a different charity every year. This year it would be the Brent Thomson memorial fund (Bootleg Canyon founder) and help pay medical bills for Dave Collins who has terminal cancer. Ride on, man.Pre-race meeting in the Courthouse parking lot. Quite the turnout!How'd I get out front on a single speed when it's flat!? Gene immediately behind me would be going for the record: 17 laps, which calculates to nearly 190 miles.Geared bikes would pass me on the flats and downhills, but I'd reel 'em all in on the climbs. By lap 5, I was out front by nearly 30 minutes. Rollin' on the big wheels for this one. I think 29'ers fare better on courses with wide open sections. The jury is still out on whether 26" or 29" wheels are better for XC racing (for me at least). Rolling handlebar shot.I pulled the plug after 5 laps like I had planned. Hard to do considering the lead I had, but I'm looking at the big picture.

Saturday, we just chilled. One of my fav. places to eat in OC is a tiny little Mexican food place in Placentia near where I went to high school: "Q-Tortas". THE best mex food in the area. Stop by if you're ever near Cal State Fullerton.

Sunday, we ran some errands and started getting ready for the trip back to S.D. When I went to get my oil changed, the guy tells me my drain plug is stripped and he couldn't change it. My buddy Alex wrenched on cars for a long time and tells me about oversize drain plugs for just such and occasion. I bought one, started the install and...snapped the insert off inside the oil pan. Sh!tty.

Monday I took the car to the mechanic: part's on back-order, lemme see what I can find.

Tuesday: Got the part late and we gotta clean it. It'll be tomorrow.

Wed: Truck's finally done...$750 bucks! Friggin' robbery. Mom and Dad to the rescue again (credit card in hand).

This week is all about buckling down for my last final exam of my undergrad degree (hopefully!). Training's taking a back seat for now, but I'm looking forward to cranking it up once I'm done with my final. Wish me luck!

Alive and Kicking

2009-11-15T20:07:00.001-08:00

When the 'blog posts quit coming, it means Eric is SUPER BUSY. Thanks to two jobs, coaching, school, training and trying to get stuff squared away in case I have to go to the Po-Po academy I'm constantly going from one thing to the next. I'm skipping my fav. T.V. show right now so ya'll can get yer Zippy fix. Haha!

Last week I spent some time "training"... Yes. It's as fun as it looks! We spent two days learning how to rescue victims in all types of conditions and even practiced picking people off the jettys at So C-Bad. With practice, it's incredible how maneuverable PWC's are (Personal Water Craft).

Money is still tight 'cause the State pays us peanuts.

At least my office has a window with an awesome view. Any other job must totally suck after working at the beach all the time. No wonder we have guys with 20+ years on the job.

We had some BIG surf blow through a while back, which pushed a bunch of Lobster traps into the surf line. Since we don't want people getting caught in the ropes and drowning (which can happen), we go into the water and pull them out. The irony of lifeguards risking getting caught in the lines so other people don't didn't escape me. The difference is we carry knives so we can cut ourselves free.

Where lobsters come from! Mmmmm, butter....

We get one hour of paid "PT" (Physical Training) every day. I take full advantage of it and run the trails at work. Since Torrey Pines sits on a 400 foot high bluff, the trails to the beach are STEEP. Hell yeah that's gonna pay off for Xterra this year.

I went for a walk today and snapped some photos to make ya'll jealous. :D

If you live in the area and haven't stopped by, you're seriously blowing it.

You can just make out the switchbacks in the photo that I run down on my break runs.

Um, yeah. Today was pretty awesome.

More switchbacks to run. Scripps and downtown La Jolla in the distance. There's also a nude beach that's popular with gay men. Yay...

(Random thought: why do naked people like volleyball so much. Anyone??)

More switchbacks on the way back up the cliff. Two loops is about 5 miles and take 45 minutes at a moderate effort. Thankfully, there are no bicycles OR HORSES allowed in the reserve. Loving it.

Livin' the life! Now if it only paid more!

Win, "Win", WIN!

2009-10-19T09:08:00.000-07:00

Better than a "Win, Win" situation...

Sorry for lagging on the 'blog posts. I'm working two jobs, trying to pass the last class for my degree, coaching a handful of athletes and still managing to train quite a lot. Luckily, I'm shutting down 2009 for a bit before I start up for 2010.

This past weekend was a big one and I figure I'd share what went down. Friday was my 34th birthday and Holly and my 5-year anniversary (which I forgot...sorry!).

Holly is so amazing, she baked me a cake. Chocolate! Thankfully, there was no singing. My birthday present to myself came in to REI (special order) and I tested it out Sunday. Camelbak Montara. Bomb! Minimal bounce, holds 35 oz of liquid and still has room to carry quite a lot. Best way to carry stuff on long runs that I've found (better than hand-held bottles or bottle waist packs for sure!).

Saturday morning I got up way too early and drove up to San Dimas for the Incycle XC Challenge, the first race in the So Cal Triple Crown. The race was HOT, the course unrelenting and the field was FAST. Thanks to the weak turnout and Marco breaking his chain on lap 1, I got the "win" by default. Now that I'm leading the series, I may have to do the other two races. Hmmmm...

Cool trophy and my first win!

I nabbed my award and hauled ass down to Temecula for Luke and Charressa's wedding. Still hot and kinda windy, but great to see people make a commitment to each other in front of friends and family. Congrats!

Hooked up with the usual suspects at the wedding. I swear it looked like a group ride with Allison, Justin, Slater, Monique, James, Beth, Holly and myself all sporting various swiming, cycling, running and paddling tan lines. Cracking me up.

We tasted Luke's home brews, drank some wine (not me), and did some dancing before heading home and collapsing into bed. Exhausted.

A killer weekend!

Crashing...

2009-10-08T11:00:00.000-07:00

No pics. So those of you who don't like reading will have to wait until next week or so.

Lots going on in life right now: working 2 jobs, going to school and trying to fit training in are all keeping me insanely busy.

This past Saturday I headed out to Temecula for the Fat Tire Epic 50 to support one of my athletes. Despite 3 flats and some stomach issues, Scott finished 3rd in cat 3 in 5:20 or so. Tinker won in 3:22. Animal. We had some fun in the pits, though I was nearly attacked by a random dog that came running out of a camp site. The way it sprinted up to me growling and barking, I thought for sure I was going to get mauled. Some dude called it off and apologized, but it scared the crap out of me. Seriously, how hard is it to keep your mutt on a friggin' leash?

Sunday I took Holly out for her first ever MTB ride and she loved it. I brought the camera, but didn't check the batteries and it turns out they were dead, of course. Zippy fail!

This past week has been all about crash training. Basically, you squeeze two training blocks into one when you're short on time. I'm aiming for the Incycle XC Challenge next week as my last race before I shut down 2009 and take a break before gearing up for 2010 (big plans for next year...BIG PLANS!).

So yesterday, I headed out with Xterra pro Renata Bucher to ride with Arnie Baker and the Cyclo-Vets. I knew the ride would be hard and I was looking forward to it. I've never worked so hard on a road bike for so long before: 65 miles and over 7k vertical feet in 5 hours. Ouch. Today I tok the MTB out and drilled it again. Tomorrow is some welcome recovery and then I'm cranking it back up for the weekend before shutting it down and recovering my ass off for the race.

Looking forward to toe-ing the line for my 4th and final race for 2009.

E.

Going Long

2009-09-26T20:12:00.000-07:00

No, I'm still not planning any races longer than 3 hours, but this post has three week's worth of stuff in it and it's all about races lasting 8 hours or more where I crewed for people or had athletes or friends competing. Get comfy...

I saw a post on a DirtTreaders.com from a guy riding the 24 HOA in desperate need of a pit crew since his bailed and his family couldn't make it. Knowing how much racing by yourself sucks and how bad you need a crew for a race like that, I jumped in.

We rolled into Hurkey Friday night and set up camp. I teased Darryl (racer) with some tasty beverages.

Woke up early Saturday and thrashed myself on the Idyllwild Spring Challenge Course; as brutal and beautiful as I remember it. I got misdirected near the end and ran out of water, but backtracked and found my way back to the campground after the race started.

I ran into some really fast guy I haven't seen in a while.

...and watched friend Chris battle his way up to 3rd in the 8 Hour Solo class. STUD.

Athlete Mykyta picked up 7th in the 8-Hour Solo class. Solid day for him.

...and Darryl battled it out with Chuck Wheeler for 12 HOURS for the final podium spot in the 24 Solo category. Not only was it Darryl's first ever 24 Solo attempt, but Chuck is a veteran at the distance. Needless to say we were both shocked when Darryl nabbed 3rd. SWEET!

Self-portrait at 4AM. I'd like to thank PEET's coffee, the French Press and Red Bull for their contributions.

Today, Holly and I woke up super early and headed out to the Laguna Mountains for th eNobal Canyon 50k. Considering she's supported me at nearly every race I've been in for the duration of our 5 year relationship, it was my turn to play Sherpa. Sure she's smiling now...

About 50 degrees at the raace start at 7AM. By the time it hit noon, it was over 80 deg. at the Penny Pines aid station. Roasting.

Holly looked pretty fresh at mile 11. Still smiling.

I snuck out while Holly was running the Pacific Crest/ Big Laguna loop and bagged nearby Garnet Peak. Amazing views from the top. I was stoked to be up there and had it all to myself. Lovin' it.

Part of the Garnet Peak Trail runs along the PCT. Through hiking it is totally on my bucket list.

Holly would fall twice, once into a cactus, and she wasn't so fresh and smiley when I saw her again at mile 21. I paced her halfway to the next aid station, ran back to the car, drove down to the bottom of the course and then chased up the course to make she sure was doing OK. She was cooked from the heat and distance and was relegaed to walking. I walked/ran with her the last 2 miles. Girl sucked it up and ran through the finish line though I'm sure it hure like hell. I'm so proud of her...

Worked.

We headed home, got some fatty, nasty food on the way and once there I introduced her to ice baths. Hehe. =D

IT'S OVER!

2009-09-08T18:27:00.001-07:00

By that I mean the busy beach season. For some reason, American's think you're only supposed to go to the beach between Memorial Day and Labor Day. On those holidays (along with July 4th) So Cal beaches are absolutely PACKED with people celebrating the holiday. Personally, I'm greatly relieved when the busy season is over adn I can go back to preventing people from drowning instead of playing "beach cop" by keeping surfers and swimmers in separate areas so they don't hurt each other. Personal responsibility? Not in America...

Last week, my brother called my up and finally pulled the trigger on the Orbea we had in his size. Pretty sweet bike and a SMOKIN' deal thanks to my employee discount =D.

'09 Orbea Gavia

Ultegra, 105 mixed group. Not "blingy", but solid components proven to perform.Mmm...10-speed...I like the little Orbea "O" touches on the seat and brake calipers. Classy. And a Selle Italia saddle to boot. Very nice for his first road bike. So I wrapped up a recovery week last week and I put down February numbers duing my cycling test. Not bad considering I haven't ridden much since May.

I spent Sunday and Monday doin' the lifeguard thing and keeping people from hurting themselves. Sunday, I pulled 3 kids out of the lagoon mouth rip at Torrey and Monday I nabbed a boogie boarder in the Seaside rip that claimed a life 4 years ago. I love what do.
Season's over. See you next year.
E.

Sucker Punch

2009-08-27T08:41:00.000-07:00

The State's messed up economy strikes again...

A while back, the Governator threatened to close some 200+ State Parks. I asked my district supervisor about the possibility and he replied we had enough money to pay lifeguards through Labor Day.

Fast forward to last week, when I hear we'd be receiving schedules for the 1st half of September only (a week longer than I expected. Good news). When schedules came out, we'd been scheduled for all of September ( more good news, but I had to run around changing shifts since I was supposed to work on days I'll have class. Oy!).

Yesterday, we all get told that the September schedule is now only valid through Labor Day (as before) and there will be NO lifeguards at all during the week for the duration of the Off Season (Labor Day through Memorial Day). Whoa...

No seasonal staff at all except weekends. No roving guards. Nothing except Permanent Staff. Crap.

So let's do some math:
-no financial aid from school
-no guarding in the off season
-bike shop pays minimum wage and I'm limited to 20 hours per week during the school year.

Anyone hiring?

Eric

Back in the Saddle

2009-08-21T19:42:00.000-07:00

From last post, you learned I'm not going to the Academy for the State Park Lifeguard position due to the State's budget shortfall. This week, I learned my District Supervisor didn't receive a budget for September and we're only being scheduled through the 15th of the month. Scary. I'll keep you posted, but swimming and surfing at State beaches might get a lot more dangerous after Labor Day.

Meanwhile, I've started training exclusively on the bike. I'm still running and swimming on my breaks at work, but I'm all about getting ready for the Collegiate MTB series that starts Sept. 26th. Today I hit up Daley Ranch for some climbing.

Singletrack. Mmm....
Some tasty switchbacks...

More singletrack all to myself. The pace was pretty empty.

The climb I love to hate. Steep, loose and seemingly never-ending. I cleaned the whole thing (didn't last time I was here); a feat I have yet to repeat on the SS 29'er.

I made my customary stop at Del Taco on the way home and chilled the rest of the day since there was no lifeguard work for me today.

Back to work tomorrow (supposed to get some swell this week) and more riding Sat and Sun. I love riding my bike! :D

The Best Laid Schemes of Mice and Men...

2009-08-10T19:17:00.000-07:00

...go often askew.

I got some unofficial news this week that the Academy for Lifeguard/Peace Officer scheduled to start in October has been cancelled and might start up in January. Considering the current state of California's economy, I'm not holding my breath.

This is good news/bad news for me: it looks like I'll be able to finish my degree after all (YAY!), but that Holly and I have to suffer through some more financial hardship (boo).

It also means I get one last chance at whooping up on some college kids on the collegiate MTB circuit (tee hee!). That means I'm scrapping the 50K plans. I'm disappointed since it's on my "bucket list", but the strain training for the race and lifeguarding puts on my previously injured soleus worries me. It's not injury pain, but it's definitely tight, painful in the mornings and takes a while to warm up during training.

I've been jonesin' for some MTB love for quite a while and putting it off in favor of run training; getting back on the bike will definitely make me a lot happier.

So life now looks like:
Sept-Dec:
-Finish BioChem degree
-Race collegiate MTB

November:
-apply for PA school (in case State Jobbie gets put off until next year)

Jan:
-take last pre-reqs for PA school at Community College OR
-Begin State Peace Officer academy

Meanwhile, I'm spending lots of time in the ocean learning how to surf (also on my bucket list) and working my butt off lifeguarding for the State. No major worries, really.

E.

Eat, Drink and Be Married

2009-08-03T21:26:00.000-07:00

Not me, but my little sister got married this past weekend. The cool twist? I performed the ceremony!

Friday night Holly and I headed up to El Torito in Zooport Beach (Fashion Island). Turns out we were an hour early for the rehearsal dinner....but right on time for happy hour! I call that awesome timing. Some bloody marys, chips and salsa and taquitos later and we hooked up with the rest of the party. By the time we rolled home and crawled into bed, it was way past our bedtime.

Saturday, we got up and went for our long runs in Penasquitos Canyon, got ready and headed back to the OC. Laguna Beach Surf and Sand Resort this time.

The g/f all dolled up... Like I said, I got ordained as a minister after my sis and her then fiancee weren't too thrilled with the minister they had planned on using. I was stoked to step in! I can also do funerals :/.

Sister Christine wanted to get married with sand between her toes. The high tide meant a few of the guests got their feet wet, but we made it work. Christine started crying during her vows and I choked up a bit too. I held it together, though. Note the bare feet!

Yay! All married and stuff!Me, Christine and brother Steve (AKA: Big Rig).Me and the g/f chillin' at the reception. I was lucky enough to sample the 40 y/o rum sis got her hubby as his groom gift (Pyrat 1623). At $240 a bottle (!!!) it was quite the tasty sip.

Throw in some bomb-ass cigars and I was feelin' pretty good. A great weekend overall.

Sunday we were both beat from multiple days of being up way too late and we took the day off.

Monday, I got cleared to go back to work. I called in to let them know I was available and got a call 20 mins later to staff a tower. My doc cleared me at 9 and I was in a tower by 11. Ha!

No sooner did I finish opening the tower when the tower phone rings and my supervisor piles a bunch of shifts in my lap. Nice to be needed! I'm getting caught up on all the work gossip and definitely missed getting paid to boogie board/body surf on my breaks; I tried surfing last year on the paddle board and it didn't suck. I know a guy selling a short board for cheap...

Earth Shaking

2009-07-20T10:17:00.000-07:00

I'm still having a rough time making a firm decision about whether to take the Lfeguard/Ranger job or not. The ideal situation would be if I had my degree already; then taking it would be a no-brainer. As it stands, I have no guarantees that I'll get back to SD once through the acadamy to finish my degree. No online courses available and taking those courses at another UC would require another petition...and we all know how well those go over with my major advisors.

Is it strange that I'm more concerned about what the academy will do to my training than I am about my degree? I'm sure my priorities are out of whack, but I can't help but feel like I have to give up my athletic dreams to secure my future (a few of you probably understand, the rest of you won't get it).

I've got a lot to think about, no doubt.

Speaking of training....

I've been runinng A LOT since the hand break, because it's all I was allowed to do. I'm cranking out 26-30 mile weeks like they're nothing. My poor Saucony's are much the worse for wear.

A while back, I posted up a pic of some sweet trail runners I've had my eye on. Holly finally noticed how "rough" my trainers were looking and offered to buy me some shoes. After running around at three separate stores, we picked these bad boys up.
Some SICK trail runners! Light, fast and uber sexy.

Why does Zippy need hard-core trail runners?

For a gnar trail run. The Noble Canyon 50K.

Yeah. I've had my eye on the Calico 50 K for years, but the January date was always tough to make. With the broken hand and all the running I've been doing, I figured a marathon would cap the season off. I had planned on the Big Bear Mary, but it's been cancelled for 2009. I poked around and found the Noble Canyon race, but then got the OK to ride and toyed with the idea of crushing the collegiate MTB circuit as a last hurrah before graduating. Since I might not be going to school for a while, I have no desire for James and Justin whoop my ass at State MTB Champs and I shouldn't be planning on racing beyond the academy start date, the 50K should cap the season off nicely.

I have mixed feelings of excitement and fear: it's some sweet terrain, but it's a long friggin' way to run over steep, rocky trails.

Can't wait.

E.

Sneaking Out

2009-07-16T17:41:00.000-07:00

The doc said no MTB until after he sees me again the first week of August, but I just couldn't take it anymore. During the entire process of getting ready, loading the Jeep and driving to the trailhead I had that guilty, excited feeling I haven't had since I used to sneak girls into Mom and Dad's house.

One I hit the trails, though it was all good. The ride reminded me why I've been racing Mountain bikes for almost 10 years and riding them since I got too big for a BMX bike: I LOVE IT!

JOB ALERT!
I got a packet in the mail toay from the State informing me that I passed backgrounds and offering me the Perm Guard position pending medical and psych evaluations....

...except I have one more quarter of school left and the academy starts 10/5 .

Crap.

Turn down a 60K a year job that I can retire off OR finish school. Honestly, I'm so tired of the UC's antics I want to tell them to stick their degree where the sun don't shine.

I'm totally rudderless here...

E.

Edit: I was surfing and found this recruiting vid. It was shot entirely at the beach I work at most often: Torrey Pines.
http://www.parks.ca.gov/pages/736/video/CSP_Jobing.asx

The Comeback Trail

2009-07-13T08:04:00.000-07:00

The proverbial "Road to Recovery" is supposed to be long and rocky, but it looks suspiciously like a flat bike path...
You know you like the red tape on the black handlebars ;)
~

Saturday I headed out for my first bicycle ride since breaking my hand almost 2 months ago. The doc said "Yes" to the road bike, but "No" to the MTB. I'm OK with that for now. I've been running to keep some type of aerobic fitness (running A LOT really), but it was clear my legs forgot how to pedal and I got tired after a whopping 90 minutes. No biggie; it'll come back.

There's a sketchy ramp that drops you onto the bike path and I've always ridden it. Not today; no point taking chances considering the screws holding my hand together are only 2mm. I took the stairs.

The ramp is to the left. Totally rideable, but the sharp left turn at the bottom is always exciting. Too much speed and you wind up in the fence or into the nasty storm drain. Yummy.

Wanting to avoid cars, I headed down to man-made Fiesta Island for a flat, 3 mile loop before I'd head back. Little did I know the Over the Line Championships were in town. Zippy FAIL. LOL!

Lots of sunburned necks and 36'ers of Natty Light goin' on here; complete with the Miss "Emersum" competition. Comedy.

The hand is getting better: physical therapy cut back to once a week, I'm back working at the campus bike shop AND I get to ride a bike again. The doc still isn't cool with me lifeguarding "I'm afraid you'll have a problem in the water and I can't in good conscience let you go back to work, yet". No prob, doc. I go back to see him 8/3 and should get the go ahead then.

"What about the trail runners" you ask? I'm still fleshing out my Fall race plans so you'll just have to wait. :P

Lust...

2009-07-02T10:00:00.001-07:00

Why is Zippy lusting after hard-core trail running shoes you ask? I'm keeping it under wraps for now, but "Something Wicked This Way Comes"...

E.

Rolling with the Punches

2009-06-26T08:36:00.000-07:00

I've been getting a lot of crap for being myself recently and it's been getting me down: graduation petition denied so I get to come back for Fall Quarter, financial aid is maxed out so I won't get anymore, got pushed by a Grad Committee member and told her off so now I get to meet with the Dean for a "Non-Academic Misconduct" wrist slap (roll eyes) and my disability claim got denied (State Employees don't pay into Disability Insurance). Stop the World; I want OFF!

At least I got to see "Best Friend" Alex who came down for Graduation. We've been friends since we were 11.

Baller pose... I had an athlete racing the 12-Hours of Rim Nordic this past weekend and I needed to get away for a while, so Holly and I packed up her Matrix and headed for the mountains. A little camping always makes me feel better.The crappy part was the 200 Off-Roaders occupying the majority of the parking lot. Between their RV's, generators and exhaust from their Jeeps, I wonder how many TONS fo CO2 they pumped into the air that weekend. Yay pollution!
Our fantastic campsite on the pavement. We had a lttle fire in the 'que to roast marshmallows and for warmth (got cold!) and the next morning one of the OHV'ers hassled me for it: "That's an illegal fire", "Nothing's allowed up here but propane", "I'm just telling you because Forest Service will cite you for it". Tool...

I was in the middle of breakfast and didnt want to argue with him, or mention tthat he 2003 Clear Fire that decimated the area was started by a hot catalytic converter on an OFF ROAD vehicle. Holly's comment as he walked away was priceless: "That's great...go destroy some nature." Love that girl...

My athlete (Mykyta) killed it for his first 12-Hour solo: 5th in Beginner with very little rest and just starting his training up after his mid-season break. He should do really well at the November race. Results here.

No race pics, but the clouds looked cool as they rolled in over the mountains Saturday night. Snow Valley usd to be the site for an Xterra Race; not this year because the race director ran into some "financial difficulties" as he called it. Hope it comes back for 2010.Woke up Sunday morning with the sun. Drove down to OC for Father's Day lunch with my family since brother Steve was in town to celebrate his birthday at Disneyland the following Monday (free admission on your b-day!). The marine layer looked cool on the way down.

The hand is getting better, slowly. Another 2 weeks before I can swim or ride a bike. Trying to find some office work at the Bike Shop or State Parks to pay the bills.

Keep on keepin' on...

Edit: I've been following the Tour Divide pretty closely since I'm sitting at home so much. Self-supported, 2700 miles from Banff, Alberta Canada to Antelope Wells, NM on the Mexican Border. Incredible stuff!

"When Life Gives You Lemons..."

2009-06-08T10:49:00.000-07:00

"...find someone who's life has given them Vodka; and have party"
~
-Ron White
~
Seriously...
~
I went to a club meeting where Brad Kearns was speaking and he related a story about a transcendental moment during his racing career. The gist of it was that he pre-rode the course the day before the race with a competitor who crushed him and the course wound up being very hilly. Race morning, the start was delayed due to fog causing poor visibility during the swim and he simply sat on the shore and shrugged it off while his competitors grumbled about the conditions and the delay; Brad figured his race was shot given his pre-rde the day before. The swim wound up being very cold and he spent a large portion of the bike course simply trying to get warm; halfway through the bike leg he looks up and sees the lead motorcycle in front of him. He'd ridden through the field and didn't know it because he'd been so focused on how cold he was. He'd go on to win that race.
~
The point?
~
You cannot control the circumstances given to you, only how you react to them.
~
I was bummed about breaking my hand, but it's given me the opportunity to focus on my coaching and I've gotten a lot of interest recently. Cool.
~
Friday, I went to my first Physical Therapy appointment and the PT said I could run and ride the trainer, but no swimming and I should avoid "weight bearing" activities.
~
How do you ride the trainer without putting weight on your hands?

Yeah. I blew the dust off the aero bars and slapped 'em on. Yes, they're old and WAY ghetto, but they'll let me ride. Ignore the bar tape...
~
It's officially Summer by the way. The grilled Sweet Potato idea came from James a while back. Friggin' tasty. As for the hand, the stitches are already out and the cast is off. Yay Steri Strips!Removable plastic splint lets me have some mobility and I'm doing exercises a couple times a day. I can still hold a beer. Can't be all bad, right? :D

E.

Gettin' Screwed

2009-05-30T17:38:00.001-07:00

Friday morning I went in to the Ortho's office plunked down a $2k co-pay (yikes!) courtsey of Dad and got my hand fixed.

It hurt like I broke it all over again and I spent most of Friday in a narcotic induced haze. I'm feeling a little better today, but coming off anesthesia is like a bad hangover that food or water have no effect on. Nasty stuff.

I go back in next week to check my progress and, hopefully, get rid of this splint (my third so far) and get my hand moving...

...and maybe ride the trainer :D

Crash Happens...

2009-05-24T17:02:00.001-07:00

On the roadbike too! Doc says spiral fracture and it needs a pin. I go to see the Ortho on Tuesday. Bye bye fitness...

Reader's digest version: descending, blind corner, water on the road and concrete drainage with huge channels cut into it for water flow and slippery algae growing in it. Rear tire slides on concrete from braking, front tire washes out, gravity, fingers slip into channel and stop my slide, taking the brunt of the impact.

Luke: "You ok?"

Me: "...that's a broken hand..."
~

Luke hauls ass back and gets my truck, I drive home and g/f and I spend a few hours in the ER. Woo...

Swollen. Note the bloody finger; not the one I broke. Odd.Note how the broken finger is pushed over and crowding the rest. Thumb is just a bruise."Soft splint". Thing's hard as a rock and heavy to boot.

Scratching the Itch

2009-05-14T09:02:00.000-07:00

Tri Club San Diego is a huge club and it's difficult for it to exude that "welcome" feeling to prospective or new members, but they do put on some cool events and their support of local races acheives near-legendary status.

Wednesday night I bombed their monthly summer Aquathlon series to get my race on.

The good:

TONS of fast people come out of the woodwork for these things and it's easy to dial up the intensity racing them.

The bad:

Chip timing only if you pre-reg. No chip = no time. Womp womp.

The ugly:

Awesome food spread, I feel guilty eating club food when I'm not an official member so I stand there...starving.

Some pics:

The group heading off to the start. I was already down by the start location body-surfing at this point. Hey, the surf was good...Coming out of the water. Probably 800 meters or so. Still a PR for me at 12:50; over a minute faster than my split at Xterra REAL, which is billed as 1/2 mile. Stoked!
Heading out of "transition" for the 5k beach run. T1 took too long as I fought to get my wetsuit off around my feet. Time to shorten the legs on the suit.
Finishing up. Ran the 5k in around 20:47.
~
Not my best by far, but a good result considering the month lay-off for illness and that I'm back to putting in base miles.

Got "chicked" by Jessi Stensland who won the women's side and probably Amanda Felder, but I'm OK with that since they're short-course stud-ettes anyway. Nice to see Jessi back racing.

All told, a quality mid-week workout and some good validation that the work I'm doing in the pool is paying off...finally!

Off to work.

By the Numbers

2009-05-07T09:55:00.000-07:00

I've been going back and forth between Xterra, MTB and even road triathlon's of all things. I still can't decide which type of racing I'll wind up doing for the remainder of the season.

When I look at the travel required for chasing Xterra points, however, it's clear that series is beyond my financial capabilities. Some examples.

Distances are all one way!
Xterra Del Valle: 455 miles
Xterra Deuces Wild: 539 miles
Xterra MTN Champs: 968 miles
Xterra Tahoe City: 608 miles
Xterra Incline Village: 541 miles
Xterra USA Champs: 783 miles

Good lord...

I might be able to make Tahoe City and Incline Village since my brother lives in Auburn, CA (NE of Sacramento) and I can stay with him or use his house as a staging point. The problem is he's about 3 hours from Tahoe, where the two races are. That's a rough drive race morning, but I might just have to suck it up and deal with it if I want to compete in any more Xterra races.

Honestly, I don't think I can stick to "just MTB"; I'm a lifeguard by trade and I need to keep swimming and running so I can make rescues. I'd be seriously bummed if someone drowned because I was out of "swim shape".

So I'm kinda training just to train. With no races on my calendar, finding the motivation for training is getting progressively more difficult.

In the meantime, TCSD has some Club races coming up that I'll crash for my racing fix and I'm sure to bomb some of the Rim Nordic or Racers and Chasers races, but chasing Xterra World or National qualifications is out the window this season. Bummer.

E.

Clownin'!

2009-05-03T17:32:00.000-07:00

Holly and I went to the grocery store and saw this.

Think if I eat some I'll be fast like Hunter? Lol!

Props to him for getting the box cover, though.

E.

Zig or Zag?

2009-04-26T19:07:00.000-07:00

Xterra Snow Valley has been cancelled for 2009. Crap.

Xterra, this season, counts your best 4 races towards regional championship spots and for qualifying for National Championships. With my recent illness I'm not ready to race any time soon. The revised plan included Snow Valley (where I historically perform REALLY well at) in my build up to the MTN Champs in Colorado. FAIL.

I need three more races if I want to qualify for USA Champs. The next closest races to me are:
5/2 - West Cup, Henderson, NV) - Like I said, NO WAY am I ready to race this soon
5/9 - Xterra Del Valle, Livermore, CA - More time to recover some fitness, but a long drive
5/31 Xterra Deuces Wild - Show Low, AZ. Practically to NM.
6/27 - Xterra Tahoe City - Yes, Lake Tahoe...8-10 hr drive.
7/18 Xterra MTN Champs - Beaver Creek, CO...12-14+ hr drive.
8/29 - Xterra Incline Village - North LAke Tahoe - 8-10 hr drive. Epic course. I've got some unfinished business here from USA Champs in 2007.

That's a lot of driving and I have no contractual obligations nor am I competing for prize money. With all that traveling and my current financial situation, I'm seriously considering just doing races "for fun" and forgetting all about USA Champs and World's.

It's tempting to scrap the entire Xterra season and race my brains out at all the local MTB races
5/2 Idyllwild Spring Challenge
5/31 Big Bear Shootout #1
6/28 Rim Nordic #1
7/11 Big Bear Shootout #2
7/26 Rim Nordic #2
8/9 Rim Nordic #3
8/30 Rim Nordic #4
10/3 Cal State XC Champs

Sheesh! I could do 8 races for way less money! Soooo tempting...

E.

Mega Colossus?

2009-04-21T08:24:00.000-07:00

Last year's was sometime in July and I think this would be epic suffering. The blisters on your feet alone would be worth writing about.

No wetsuits, no fins, no shoes. Barefoot on the sand and swimming with what ya got.
It's 8.5 miles from start to finish with 4000 yards of swimming in 4 sections. The fastest times I've seen are 1 hour 37. Jeeze that's fast.

Could be fun?

Cranky

2009-04-16T07:46:00.000-07:00

Master's peeps pissed me off this morning:

People not listening to the set and swimming a faster interval than prescribed; then turning around mid-lane and cutting in front of me though I'm swimming the "correct" interval...not cool.

During the IM set, everything turns into freestyle because fly and backstroke are too hard. Maybe if you tried the other strokes you'd get better at them? Just a thought.

Someone swiped the kickboard I was using, forcing me to get out, walk across the deck and get another. You'll get yours...

Kick set...it's OK to use fins, but using them just so you can lead the lane is weak.

And I'm not fast enough to swim with the people that "get it". *sigh* (Rant over, sorry!)

Xterra West....I'm not going. I planned on taking a shot at qualifying for Maui there, but being sick and missing two weeks of training set my fitness back too far and theres no way I'd get it. Furthemore my result at Xterra REAL and the start list for the West Cup leads me to believe I don't have a chance of qualifying. Spending the money to go out there just to get my butt kicked seems silly. Add in a midterm the following Monday and Holly's shoulder surgery on the 5th; the reasons not to go just keep piling up.

Instead, I'll take my shot at MTN Champs; harsh because of the altitude and more expensive to travel to, but I think I'll have a better chance to qualify for Maui there since I'll have time to re-build my fitness for it.

...and I can do the Idyllwild Spring Challenge on 5/2, which conflicts with Xterra West. Woot! I love that race!

E.

Idyllwild Spring Challenge Pre-Ride...FAIL!

2009-04-11T19:55:00.000-07:00

This ride had been in the planning stages for quite some time and this weekend Luke, The Mann Show and I decided to get it in. So Saturday morning I got up really eary and hit the road for Hurkey Creek park on Mount Idyllwild. I tanked up on coffee and stopped for breakfast and gas along the way. Mmmm...

I was enjoying them unti I read the nutrition label and noticed these contained 75% of my total RDA for saturated fat. Yeesh.

I made it to the Park a little early and was decidedly NOT pumped to discover light rain and temps in the 40's. Once the rest of the crew got there we discussed and made the decision to ride anyway. I had to work tomorrow, we'd already paid for parking, blah, blah, blah.

Suiting up...

Things started off a little moist, but the effort of climbing kept us warm. Soon we noticed snow patches (no biggie, press on!), which quickly became 1-2" on the ground. Just enough to make things slippery. Pretty, yes. Also a pain to ride in. Temps dropped precipitously and we all got cold. Allison mentioned she was having quite a lot of difficulty with the cold and wanted to head back. We were all cold and agreed to pull the plug. We all wound up disappointed the weather refused to cooperate, but that's the mountains for you. We covered a whopping 13 miles total and only 10 miles of the course in 2 hours ride time. Things should dry up by the Spring Challenge, but The Hurkey race might be a little cold and wet.

The cold is better, but I'm still snotty and coughing stuff up. I'm trying to decide on what to do about Xterra West since my Peak is ruined for that race. I might bag the West Cup, do the Spring Challenge, head up to Xterra MTN Champs and try qualifying for Maui there.

Xterra REAL Video

2009-04-03T15:20:00.000-07:00

Courtesy of Delta Velo.

http://www.deltavelo.com/09_race_videos/xterra_real/xterra_real_video.html

Turns out I get points for 4th since my AG winner is a Pro (and Slater gets the points for the win! Woot!) and the first female finisher was a Pro as well...and I finished in front of her! Guess I don't suck! :D

Forced Recovery/Splits

2009-04-01T16:37:00.001-07:00

I'm sick. I caught whatever cootie my brother's rugrats had. It's not bad, but It knocked me flat on my butt as I've been totally exhausted since Monday.

So far I've got the scratchy throat, the post-nasal drip and the stuffy nose. I'm dialing it back this week (probably bailing on Sagebursh) in hopes that I'll kick it sooner and get back to preparing for Xterra West in 4 weeks and change.

On another note, the splits from Xterra REAL have been posted. I can see the results of the work I've been doing and that there's lots of work to be done.

Swim: 13:54. 1:41/100 pace and 48th overall. F'ing horrible...
Bike: 1:00:14. Around 13 MPH and 20th overall. This probably includes T1 and T2 so the average pace is a little higher than it seems. A solid split.
Run: 28:00, good for 17th overall. Sweetness! Last year, I ran 30:48. Not the 4-min PR I thought it was, but a great improvement for me.

My swimming and running focus is working, but I'm still getting killed in the water. I need to fix that...FAST! Looks like lots more early mornings in the pool with the Master's program.

E.

Xterra REAL: Race Report

2009-03-30T09:07:00.000-07:00

Busy weekend...

Thursday I headed up to Mom and Dad's to take care of some vehicle business (smog check, oil change) and when I pulled my bike out for an easy spin, I found this... Rats! I planned to swim Friday morning and hit the road early, but balied on that so I could get a replacement spoke Friday morning. That meant waiting around until the LBS (Rock N'Road) opened at 10AM before hitting the road. Ugh.

Friday morning, I pikced up some spokes and hit the road for Auburn.

Yay Central Valley...

Pulled in to town around 6 and made it to Steve's house. He lives in the sticks. Pretty, though.

Saturday morning, I went over to watch my oldest Nephew's baseball game. Doin' the uncle thing...

Nephew Henry on the swings. Kid's a nut!

A wife, two kids and a dog: my brother went and got domesticated!

Brother Steve. He stil finds time to get some training in. Sportin' the Rudy's; sweet!

I watched a few innings and headed out to check the course conditions. The lake was way more full than last year and had come up about 60' since Steve sent me some pics that looked like you could jump accross the lake at it's narrowest point. Awesome!

They had a super-sprint tri and Trail half marathon Saturday. Good to see the Xterra scene still drawing racers in despite the recession.

Some pics from the pre-ride. This is why I love this course and why I come back every year. This would be my 5th year racing here. Bomb.

Short, punchy climbs with fast and flowy single track in between; all under the trees. Killer! The course got shortened by 3 miles due to lake levels; bad for me since I'm a strong cyclist compared to most Xterra racers. Oh well, roll with it.

The only mud hole on the course. When it's wet up here, this is HUGE. The "clean line" is right up the middle.

I went back to Steve's and put my feet up.

Race morning went fine, a few little hiccups, but they always happen.
~

We wound up swimming straight into the sun (for the 5th year in a row!), ate some chop on the leg parallel to the shore and on the way back in. I just focused on staying long and then worked the inbound leg. Out of the water around 14 minutes (0.5 miles); felt like I could've gone harder.

Onto the bike; Steve only a minute behind me out of the water got to his rack as I was leaving mine he yells: "GO, ERIC!" You got it...

Absolutely crushed the bike course. Swim and first bike lap in 44 mins, second lap in 29 minutes. Passing people left and right, worked my way up to 4th in my AG. Killed it!

Run: Stayed strong out to the 1/2 way point, hammered up the hills and smoked the back 1/2. I'm pretty sure I negative-split the run course and could've run the first part a little faster. Passed a few people, but got passed for 5th around mile 2. Dude trucked right by me and there was no way I had the speed to run with him.

Broke the tape in 1:42, a HUGE PR for the course (I've raced the shortened version before). I was totally stoked to stand on my first Xterra podium.

I don't think the race could've gone any better and 4th place was just over 2 mins up on me. I caught him on the bike, but didn't have the speed to run with him. A longer bike course and I might have had enough of a lead out of T2 to stay in front of him.

OA, I wound up 19th (17th if you don't count the two relays). Not the competitive result I had hoped for, but 3 minutes faster than I thought I could go and faster than the goal times I set at the top of the season.

Yeah, I'm pretty happy with it. :D

Edit: Huge props to Slater: 2nd AG and top 10 OA. Animal!

Game Face

2009-03-25T18:55:00.000-07:00

So I haen't really been excited about racing this weekend. I got some news the other day that took the wind out of my sails a little bit; the academy for the Permanent Lifeguard postion with State Parks is scheduled to start October 5th...and Xterra World's (which I think I have a good shot at qulifying for) is October 25th. No way I can take time off from a police academy and go, not to mention the training impact sitting in a classroom umpteen hours a day will have.

I swam for a season with the community college I went to: "Dude, then how come you're so slow in the water?" Truly I have no idea; I digress...

For big swim meets, swimmers shave their entire bodies (except for the inside of your forearms) for speed. It always helps my mental state when I break out the "tools" and get to work.

I'm feeling more "race ready", but the fact that I'll probably miss out on World's has me bummed. There's plenty of time to switch my focus over to USA Championships and I still have a shot at some strong competitive results this season, but I was really looking forward to "The Big Dance".

What I should be doing is focusing on the races I can make and on maximizing my results there.

Heading up to Auburn Friday morning. Good luck to everyone racing the US-Cup Fontana this weekend!

Sage Brush Pre-Ride!

2009-03-22T15:48:00.000-07:00

Ok, so it started off as a beautiful day. The proof is the picture I took when I turned off the freeway on the way to the race venue. A few clouds and a little chilly, but no biggie, right? I started a little late becasue I was trying to find a market where I could buy a one-day adventure pass (Ranger Station's closed on Sunday. D'oh!). I got a little confused trying to find the start/finish area, but used my Garmin to find the right spot, geared up and got going.

I was unsure how much food/clothing etc to bring, but erred on the side of carrying too much and filled the hydration pack, stuffed a couple granola bars in the jersey, and strapped my jacket to my pack...just in case.

Rolling up the pavement climb. Kinda sucky, but not too steep and a good warm up for the rest of the course. Clouds started rolling in, the wind picked up and temps dropped a little, but I was fine in my arm and knee warmers. Besides, I had my jacket just in case and a 60% chance of rain means there's 40% chance it might not...right? :D

Kernan Trail. A little confusion; "Do I climb this?". Luckily I ran into a few riders coming down who pointed me in the right direction: up the pavement still. "Thanks!"

I could see I was getting close to a saddle and come accross this sign. notice how the clouds are dark gray in the background? Temps continued to drop and I was a little worried since I was rolling solo. Still, plenty of people in the area and I'm not too worried.

I get to the "Four Corners" area and the GPS file looks like a nest of snakes. Clearly the course comes through here several times and I simply continue in the direction I'm pointed.

I roll down the fireroad, through Corral Canyon Camprounds (apparently open judging by the campers), get to the next turn off and run into a group of *ahem* Hispanic men.

Due to the proximity of the Mexican border and the Laguna Mountains I'm not surprised...until they stop after seeing me and sit down. Huh? Then they stand up, cross the road and sit back down. WTF? I'm holding my GPS watch in front of me trying to figure out where to go when the group leader approaches me and asks in broken English "Ju hab problem?" Me. "Uh...no. No hay problema". At which point he gives me a huge, toothy grin and a thumbs up. "Tank you beddy mus!" and the group heads back into the bushes. Guess I look like an immigration officer. LOL!

Back on the right trail and the course turns off onto some moto-trails. Finally!

I run into Clint and some of his riding buddies; we chat for a while and it turns out I'm going backwards on the course. D'oh! Oh well. Might was well get a look at the rest of it. We decide to continue on our respective directions and meet back at four corners.

...and it starts pitter-patting rain. Crap. As I roll through the course the pitter-patter turns to drizzle. The slick-rock sections get a little "excting", but I keep it upright and keep moving.

Temps keep dropping and the area is now socked in with clouds. A bunch of trail intersections, a few worng turns and some righteous moto-berms later (whee!) and I make it back to Four Corners.

Clint's already in his car and his buddies are long gone. "They all got cold" Clint explains, "and I don't wanna ride down and have to climb back up".

No worries. I tell him I'm gonna drop the Kernan Trail back to my car and call it a day. He'll meet me there.

I'm finally wet and a little chilly, so I put my jacket on. No sooner am I rolling when it starts dumping rain. The wind picks up as I'm descending (on hardpack race tires, no less!) and it's now raining sideways. Nothing to do in the situation, but laugh it off. The irony of the situation and the speed at which the weather changed just struck me as hilarious and I laughed like a crazy person all the way back to the pavemnent. Stupid.

Overall Opinion:

It looks like a good course. Sandy and relentless (no real downhills to rest on), but it should be a fun race. I missed the section up and over Mount Pinos due to the weather, but I got a good idea of the terrain and what to expect race day.

The weather will likely be extreme: cold and windy; cold, windy and raining; or dry, windy and hotter than...you get the idea.

Should be fun! See you there?

St. Patrick's Photos

2009-03-17T18:11:00.001-07:00

They're up, but $10 for a jpeg sounds a bit pricey. Here's the link to the proof. I think I look pretty good; if a bit tired. It's mile 5 or 6 and I'm beat when the photo got taken.

https://www.opix.net/cgi-bin/index07.cgi?cart_id=4088999.58458&race_id=110&race_ids=110&race=stpat09&image_id=jd%200841&race_number=3485&athlete_name=&Category=&SubCategory1=&search_image_id=&race_for_sale=1&show_brand=0

E.

State Guard Re-Qual 2009

2009-03-15T17:55:00.000-07:00

The surf conditions weren't nearly as bad this year as last year. The wave period (time between waves) was much longer this year, which meant you could make progress getting past the surf between sets if you timed it right. Last year, I picked my entry point wrong and paid a high price; this year would be different.
~
Park vehicles all lined up. Yes, I get to drive them and, yes, driving on the beach is COOL!
Cold and overcast; typical March weather for SD. I would be returning guard number 5. The numbers mean nothing; just a way to keep track of who drowns; er... where you finish. NO, you cannot use fins for the swim (top right corner of the photo), we use them for rescues. Wetsuits are allowed, however. No one told me you could use wetsuits my first year and I swm it in a Speedo. Some people "trunk it" every year; the average water temp for March? 58 deg F! Brrrr.....
I got there plenty early and watched the surf for a while, guaging the current (pushing HARD South) and the surf: a long-ish period with plenty of chop...
~
...and head-high surf. Oy. Water entry would be ctirical so I picked a spot where a rip would occasinally pop up and where there seemed to be a trough between peaks. If I could catch the rip and shoot the gap between peaks, I'd have a better chance than trying to swim through the set.

Last year, I started too far away from the jetty......and wound up at the cliffs in Encinitas. D'oh!

Lousy focus, but you can almost make out the bouys. The thing making the wake is Al on the PWC (Personal Water Craft).

The dark object in the water is Al on the PWC. Note how he disappears behind the wave as he moves from right to left. I'm stading on an elevated sand berm that's 8' high and Al is standing up on the PWC...Al is 6' tall. Some BIG sets coming in.

We line up and at 9:05 we're off. The water takes my breath away it's so cold and it's tough to get into a rhythm with the chop, I fight though the current and white wash until the lull hits and I charge out. I picked my entry spot right and make it out just as the next BIG SET breaks inside me. A little skill and a little luck on that one.

If you surf swim , you know the hard part's already over. I round the bouy (not working hard since I might need to hold my breath on the way in) and just keep the arms turning over as the swell pushes me back to the shore. Thanks to the swim I did with Trevor on Friday, I'm keeping tabs on my left turn tendency and taking a fairly straight path. I sit up to let the last big wave break and make my way in. I dolphin through the shallows (momentarily caught in a rip current) and jog through the line: 17:12.

Not my best swimming, but I'll take that time in head-high surf and a wicked current.

After our swim, the returning guards got to shadow the new recruits trying out. You can wear your fins, but it's stil an extra 1000 yards to swim. I should mention people trying out also need to pass a 200-400-200, run-swim-run in 10 minutes. Back in the water for me and the rest of the guards to shadow swimmers; a 2400 yard swimming day.

We spent the rest the day going over paperwork and reviewing skills; it would turn out to be an 8-hour day. Meh. Got paid for it though!

So now I can get back to working for the State and back to making double what the bike shop pays me. Only the Governator slapped us with a 9% cut in personnel pay and a 17% cut department wide. As if times weren't hard enough.

This season I'm going to start keeping track of how many rescues I make, just to see how many I make during the course of a season. I'll see if I can put up a counter on the side or something.

Build 2 coming; up next week, Xterra REAL in two weeks and US Cup #3 the following week.

Race season is here!

St. Patrick's 10K Fail?

2009-03-14T12:24:00.000-07:00

Holly and I drug our butts out of bed this morning and crashed the 10K party down in Mission Bay. I was there for a fitness check and Holly came along just for giggles.

Some race highlights:

Mile 1: bug flew into my eye.

5K split: 18:34 (stoked to see this, thinking 38 would be a SWEET result)

Mile 3.8: horrific side stich, pace drops way, way down

Mile 5: short, ragged breaths the pain in my side is so bad.

10K split: 40:29 (officially 40:37; 22:35 for the second 5K

Managed 12th/190 AG and 72nd out of 1903 total finishers. Tantalizingly close to top 10 in my AG. Oy!

So a bittersweet race for me: a PR over my 2007 race (44:53) but I can't help but wonder how fast I would've gone if not for the digestion issues. Stupid body.

Still; I hit my goal running pace for Xterra REAL 2 weeks early ;)

James killed it as usual:

James: 34:01 (5th AG, 10th OA)...stud. So jealous of how fast that boy is.

Holly had a good time, but lost her bet at work and now owes her co-worker a soda. D'oh!

Holly: 58:25; 9:25; a good result considering her training.

Full results here.

Putting my feet up and chillaxin' for the rest of the day. Lifeguard requal swim tomorrow.

Surf's Up!

2009-03-12T12:18:00.000-07:00

So Sunday is the re-qualification swim for my lifeguard job: 1,000 yard surf swim in 20 minutes or less. It's a daunting swim because it's straight out from shore and straight back in. The buoy looks TINY from the beach and the shore looks really far away once you get to the turn-around point. Last year's swim went poorly for me due to a freak Alaskan storm that swept through, bringing the gnarliest conditions anyone had seen in 15 years (thought I was gonna DIE!).

I just checked Sunday's surf report on wetsand.com...*sigh*

"Sunday the 15th the second swath of southern hemi swell should come to its peak. Standout south facing breaks with steep bathymetry/shoaling can expect set waves running 2-3 feet overhead. The slower sloped south facing breaks though may only see head high waves. Once again, with such long periods coming through, there will be a great disparity in size between breaks with varying bathymetry, shoaling, and refraction."

The only good part is the longer period (more time between waves) and the fact that "set waves" will be relatively sparse, which gives you a break between poundings, but it's still gonna make for some rough conditions.

Surf's up indeed.

E.

Build 1...DONE!

2009-03-08T20:04:00.000-07:00

So the first Build phase is over and it's time for some much-needed recovery. Last weekend's race took a lot out of me and between school and work, training took a little of a back seat last week. Not good for my fitness, but my mental and physical state demanded it. I might implement the 16-5 mesocycle for my next peak; I'm just so drilled by the last week of the 21-7 mesocycle that I'm not getting stuff done. Anyway...

The running continues to improve A LOT. As tired as I was, I still pulled some impressive numbers during workouts this week. Thursday's brick on the trails was so good, I found myself whooping Bear Grylls style while hammering up James' favorite hill. I'm running way faster than I thought I was ever capable of. Hard work pays off!

Saturday I had another meeting with my background investigator and we nailed down some details. He said he's 85% done and that my chances of getting hired are good, but not great. I'm crossing my fingers...

Last week's race made it clear that I need more climbing in my regiment (that's for you, Luke!) so I headed out to Vail Lake to get some...climbing that is.

Yay freeway! OK, not really.
"Vailocity" Clever or lame? You decide.

I knew the High School circuit was having a race today, but how many High School kids are into mountain biking?

LOTS! The Merlot campgrounds were FULL! I was relegated to parking by the pool. Sheesh! I was stoked to see so many kids gettin' their race on, though. With the turn-out at Bonelli last week and at the High-School race this week, It's clear MTB racing is back in a BIG way. Sweet!

Still, they weren't using the all the trails. I could wait and get my fix of "Tunnel of Love" a little later. Windy and COLD up top (57 deg according to the bank thermometer; whoa!).

Still, Spring in So Cal is AWESOME!

Green as far as the eye could see and wildflowers everywhere. Beautiful!

One way or another, this is gonna be my office...

...and what better way to cap off a ride than with some highly nutritious food!

"Go Bold or Go Home". Nice.

Bonelli US-Cup: Race Report

2009-03-02T20:55:00.000-08:00

So I bailed out of Vision Quest a few weeks ago. The "race" didn't fit into my training, wasn't going to count for Xterra or USA Cycling points and I was having a hard time finding reasons why I should do it. When the US-Cup series schedule was finialized, I figured I could do 2-3 XC races for the price of the VQ and selling the spot was a load off my mind.
~
I got my start racing XC in 2000 and it always feels like coming home when I do an XC race. Xterra is still #1 in my book, but XC is where I got bit by the racing bug and I'll always find room for it.
~
Saturday, Holly and I headed up to Mom and Dad's for the night to lessen the drive from San Diego to San Dimas. My sentiments echo James', my jaw dropped when I saw how many people showed up for the race. Luckily, we were familiar with Bonelli and found a secluded, shaded parking lot practically to ourselves.
~
Awesome day for a race, if a little hot.
After picking up my race packet, we returned to the car to find none other than Xterra Pro Melanie McQuaid parked next to us. She turned out to be super-cool and chatted up Holly for about 30 minutes. I swear, Xterra people are the coolest on the friggin' planet.
~
The Whip all ready to go...Staying loose, in the shade and hydrated before my warm up.

I found all my racing buddies before the start: Allison, Jusin, James, Luke and Ryan. I finally got to meet Ryan's fiancee, Sara, though Holly still hasn't met Allison and Justin. Dammit!
~
Random photo of me before the start...

Luke, James and I all headed out for a warm up about 30 minutes prior to the start, I spun easy on the pavement an then rode the initial climb to get a sweat going. I felt pretty good, but couldn't shake the dehydrated feeling I'd had since after my Saturday long run. Strange. I headed back to the starts and James passed me going the other way, saying the race had been delayed by 15 minutes...figures.
~

Once the motorcycle stunt show had finished (that was random) they announced staging for the Pro race and I found myself wading through the throngs of Cat 1 racers trying to find my staging spot. Luckily, I found James in the crowd and got a pretty decent spot. Justin would find me seconds later "Dude where are we supposed to be?".
~

I catch Luke's gaze as he's starting a minute in front of us. I point at him and jokingly threaten him: "I'm coming after you." Smiles all around; we're ready to go.
~

Announcer: "Ten seconds!" and there's that familiar adrenaline surge I've had on every start line for the past 9 years.
~

"GO!"

Felt good on lap one. Fast course, wide open and plenty of passing room. No techy spots and I'm drafting like it's a road triathlon (you know it's true!). I hit start/finish, grab my second bottle from Holly and hit "Lap" on my Garmin: 32! Sweet.
~

Lap 2 and I can feel it getting hotter on the hills further away from the lake. The fatigue is creeping in, but I'm hanging on. More huge drafting packs at over 20 MPH on the pavement sections and I see Luke up ahead going backwards "Luke! Get on the train, man!" as we rocket by. I can tell he's beat because I get no response. Bummer.
~
Finish lap 2: 35 and change. Not bad considering how much running and swimming I've been doing. Holly hands me Luke's bottle instead of mine and I stop "I need the clear one". Apologies from Holly and I head off.
~
Twelve minutes into the last lap and I'm toast. No power, so I spin, spin, spin and keep the fluinds coming. I rallied a bit for the last 1/2 of the lap and limped it home in 1:48 for an unimpressive 16th out of 24.
~
Cool number plates, though!
And a pretty cool T-shirt too.

Good stuff: Threw down 3 laps at a pace faster then I thought I could for this point in the season and way faster than the last time I raced at Bonelli. A solid training day.
~
Bad stuff: not the competitive result I had hoped for.
~
With as stacked as this race was, 680 racers and people came from AZ, NV, CO and UT, I'm pretty happy with how it all unfolded.
~

I'm stoked to get the 2009 race season underway! Woot!
~

E.

Bonelli US-CUP

2009-03-02T07:59:00.000-08:00

Race numer one for 2009 is in the books. A hot, dusty and FAST course. Not the result I was hoping for (16th of 23), but faster than last time I raced here and a great high-intensity training day. I'm right where I should be going into Xterra REAL at the end of March. Sweet!

Justin kicked my azz (8th, I think) as did James (4th!) and it looks like Luke may have over done it leading up to the race and wound up with an ufortunate DNF (sorry, bro!). No idea how Ryan did, but Allison chalked up another win in her category.

Full report later; I'm way behind on school work.

E.

Soledad!

2009-02-24T13:53:00.000-08:00

Today I had some hill repeats scheduled. Since the local trails are all still wet and closed, I figured Mt Soledad would be my best bet. It gets steep in spots...

Really steep...Puff...puff...puff...

Obligatory handlebar shot for Allison. Note the super-bling S-Works Quick-Step gloves I'm flossin'. ;) Thanks to B&L for the freebie!

Heading back down the hill after my second repeat, I noticed some guy jogging up and it looked like he was dragging something...

As I caught him I noticed he had TWO tires on a chain and was draggin them UP the hill. What?!

His shirt says "Boston" and "Kelley" with a shamrock in the middle. I guess he's training for the Boston Marathon. James totally needs to do this for the Pike's Peak 1/2 he's doing. LOL!

Windy on the way up every time. A little foggy, but 360 deg. views of SD anyway.

Looking North towards Black's Beach and UCSD:

...and South toward Mission Bay and beyond.

A great day to be on the bike and a lot of good work done today. I even saw Trevor heading up as I was heading down after my last repeat. I was going too fast to snap a pic, though.

Living in San Diego rocks!

Shakin' it up!

2009-02-22T16:44:00.000-08:00

So the first Build week is out of the way and I'm friggin' drilled. I haven't been this tried in a long, long time and sometimes I forget just how hard you work during this point of the season. Whoa.

This week, I moved some workouts around so I could spend more time in the pool and running since those are clearly my weak points in races. A few posts back I mentioned that if I could bridge the gap to the front swim pack, it would mean more time saved overall since I'd be drafting off fast guys on the bike. So into the pool and off to the running track I must go...

I managed over 12k yards in the pool this week and almost 30 miles running. All good stuff and bound to help out when it comes time to race.

Sunday, I hooked up with "The Mann Show" at Daley Ranch for some MTB fun. Only it just hurt since Justin and Allison killed me all morning long...then took off after an hour, D'oh! No worries, I cranked the tunes and just "zoned out". By the time I hit the 3-hour mark, I was ready to call it a day as my left quad started cramping. I was determined to get the work in, though, and it felt better after a quick stretch. Random trail photo...

So next week is more of the same...pain and fatigue. I'm racing the Bonelli US-Cup race Sunday against Justin (who kicked my ass the last two times I rode with him) and possibly James. Already a stacked field! I feel sorry for the other racers showing up! :D

Look Out!

2009-02-16T11:33:00.000-08:00

I had a small collision in the pool this morning...

Me and another swimmer ran into each other: he was circle swimming (down one side, back the other) and I was sticking to the left side. We're both at fault: I should've been circling too, but he should've split since I was in the lane first. Stuff happens.

Speaking of swimming, I need to move up a lane since I'm getting 8 seconds rest between sets and should get no more than 5. That means I'll only get 3 seconds rest when I move up, though. Time to suck it up , I guess.

I picked up some Chamois Butt'r last week and it's good stuff. No more saddle sores or "Monkey Butt" on long rides or wet rides. It also has an interesting cooling sensation...TMI?

Mom and Dad came down last week as well and dropped off a belated Xmas gift.

Dad says he cancelled it, but they seem to have sent it anyway. The ball is really good for working out my hip and the book tells you what areas to work on depending on what symptoms you have. Since the kit was so late, they included some free NUUN (good as an electrolyte replacement and pretty tasty) as well as a Zorrell tech T-shirt. Cool.

Last thing: I sold my Vision Quest spot. I've been thinking about it and the "race" doesn't make sense in the grander scheme of my season. With the money I got from selling the spot, I'm can do a few of the US-Cup XC races instead. It just makes more sense when I look at my training and race schedule for me to do shorter, high intensity races instead of a 7-8 hour epic.

I'm really excited about racing some of the US-Cup series! It's been too long since I've raced XC and I miss it.

Testing, 1...2...

2009-02-13T18:07:00.000-08:00

My first fitness check of the week was a tempo-pace 5k.

I dropped 2 minutes off my time compared to the last meso-cycle. Holy crap!

Sticking with the 21 and 7 meso cycle over the 16 and 5 for sure. Whoa!

UPDATE
Cycling test: 1:24 faster for the two-climb test set over last time; with my front brake rubbing on the second one because the dish on the front wheel is off and I forgot to undo the brake.

So over a 6.78 mile climb, I'm at least 1:24 faster. Nice.

Swimming my butt off pays off:

as in dropping another 5 seconds off my threshold pace from last test.

I've gotta keep this momentum going into my Build Phases that start next week. Just gotta.

E.

At 7:10 AM...

2009-02-12T08:48:00.000-08:00

...I enrolled in the last class for my undergraduate degree. In 16 weeks (finish out this Quarter and one more to go) it'll all be over. Yeah, I'm counting down for sure.

Then I gotta get a job or somethin'. Not sure what's worse. Ha!

New Stuff!

2009-02-09T18:51:00.000-08:00

Friday night I stripped the bike almost down to the frame and replaced the bottom bracket, chain rings, chain anc cassette. Turns out I need a freehub thanks to the cassette digging into it and the chain rings were unplanned, but severely needed.

Good thing I didn't try those repars at home: the drive-side bearings had rusted to the crank spindle and it took me over an hour to wiggle it off; millimeters at a time. Sucky. So was the Thai food from the local place on campus. Blecch!

Sunday, Luke, Allison and I hit up San Juan trail...in the pouring rain and mud. What better way to break in the new drivetrain? We had a much longer route, but pulled the plug before even reaching the top of San Juan...just too f-ing COLD. the descent was nearly unbearable: I kept having to stop and relieve myself thanks to the cold and let my hands warm up enough that I could tell how hard I was pulling the break levers.

My new drivetrain was ghost-shifting on me, which really pissed me off. When I got home and cleaned it, I could clearly see the derailleur pulleys were so worn that they were no longer doing their job of keeping the chain where it should be. The result was the chain rubbing on the derailleur cage and ghost-shifting at high chain angles. It's always something.

Today, I started a recovery week. The Base work is DONE and it's time to let my body rest up for the intensity to come in the Build phases. I took my first day off since November...it rocked.

If you look to the right, you'll see I picked up MY FIRST sponsor ever. I've rocked Rudy project stuff for years and I'm stoked to represent their products.

Sweet.

E.

I Can't Go Outside Like This!

2009-02-02T21:32:00.000-08:00

Yeah, um, so the new UCSD Cycling Team kits came in last week and they look FABULOUS!

FAIL!!!

The colors are decidedly...um...er...feminine?

I'm torn because it's the most comfortable stuff I've ever worn (Capo Forma), but the colors are just...HIDEOUS!

I think this pic says it all...

This is what happens when you let roadies design stuff. AAARGH!

Taking the Plunge

2009-02-01T19:36:00.000-08:00

No, not the famous hill on the Xterra Maui course, but my own coaching business.

Terrifying and exhilarating all at the same time. Cross your fingers and let's hope I get someone willing to pay me. :D

Training's been going fairly well: this past block was run-focused and I'm seeing some great improvements in my pace at aerobic HR zones - sweet!

I ramped up the cycling intensity over the last two weeks and my legs are less than happy with me, but I know the work I'm purtting in will pay off in the long run.

Speaking of cycling work: a group of us did a Counting Coup pre-ride yesterday. I was n the middle of a high-volume week, but knew I had a solid ride in me if I stayed on top of my nutrition...no such luck. I ran out of "snap" about 1/2 way through and suffered through the rest of the ride - just one of those days.

I could certainly feel yesterday's ride on my long run today: slogging it out for 90 minutes is never fun, but I got it done. The recovery swim felt better than any of my swims all week...strange.

Yeah, swimming didn't go so great this week: I bailed on my Monday swim 45 minutes in due to lane overcrowding (6 people!). I was so focused on not hitting someone I wasn't focusing on my stroke, got mad at the situation and got out. No more 6 AM Master's. Wednesday we did a one-hour swim. I wasn't physically ready for anything of that nature and lost count after 2100 yards; a complete waste of time. Friday I swam by myself and just mindlessly ground the yards out. Meh. Today felt way better and I have no idea why. *shrug*

So check out the coaching site, let me know your thoughts on it and wish me luck!

One more week and then some recovery. Thank God because I'm thrashed right now.

E.

Sh!t Like a Champion (part II)

2009-01-29T18:14:00.000-08:00

More on Drum and Bugle Corps here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drum_and_bugle_corps_(modern)

It's a long read, but fills you in on the details of the activity. I did it for six years and that experience is a large part of me.

As for my last post, it seems that I'm condoning maximum effort every time you hop on the bike, jump in the pool or lace up your running shoes; that's not the case. Physical effort is part of it yes, but the emphasis was meant to be more on the amount of mental effort you put into things.

Ex: you can recover like a Champion. It's more about being in the moment, focus and mental discipline than it is about going as hard as you can until you keel over. One of my favorite instructors used to say "Job at hand" frequently. Pay attention to what you're doing; brush your teeth like a champion while you're at it.

Some exciting developments on the job front: I met with my background investigator on Tuesday and he asked me all kinds of embarassing questions. He recorded the interview, which was a little nerve-wracking.

So my background investigation has started and those of you on my list of references should expect to be contacted. The good news is that he already spoke to my boss from the lifeguard service and he spoke very highly of me: "Eric's a great guy and we'd love to have him join us (the permanent lifeguard staff)". Cool.

As for training...

Just when you think you're getting fast, some guy comes along and shows you what fast really is.

I was doing hill repeats up Torrey Pines hill today and got passed by a guy in a local cycling shop team kit. I jumped on his wheel and stayed in my HR zone...then his phone rang; he answered it, chatting comfortably while I pegged zone 4...d'oh! We get to the top, both turn around and I stop at the bottom to fill my water bottle. I round the guardrail to head back up the hill...and he's doing one leg drills....UP TORREY PINES!!!

Friggn' insane.

I smiled as I passed him: "That looks like it hurts." He chuckled and we went our separate ways.

Honestly; who does that?

E.

Sh!t Like a Champion

2009-01-25T17:09:00.000-08:00

If you're not familiar with the above logo, here's the wikipedia explanation of The Concord Blue Devils and Drum Corps International.

I spent 6 years from age 16-22 traveling and performing with two groups that participated in DCI. During my last two years with the Blue Devils before I "aged out" (members cannot be more than 21 years old) we were fortunate enough to win World Championships both years; in 1996 we tied with another group (total B.S. if you ask me) and in 1997 we won it outright.

The cool part is that I have some sweet 'bling and bragging rights for the rest of my life. Seriously, we were treated like rockstars when we went to Japan (all expenses paid!) and other former 'corps members speak with a little awe in their voice when they ask you what years you marched "Dude, you guys were awesome that year." Me: "Thanks. I really appreciate that." It makes all the hard work we put in to rehearsals worth it.

...and rehearse we did; up to 12 hours a day. Auditions in November (yes, you had to try out and yes, it was nerve wracking), Sunday rehearsals starting in January, monthly "camps" that lasted Friday at 5PM until Sunday at 5 PM. Memorial Day Weekend we rehearsed from Friday all the way to Monday; starting in June, we'd practice from 10 AM to 10PM and then jump on buses and travel all over the country performing for crowds of over 20,000 people. The year World Championships came to the Rose Bowl, the front side of the stands sold out. This is a huge deal for lots of people all over the world...chances are you've never heard of it.

Which brings me to the 'post title: "Sh!t Like a Champion". I believe it started in 1994
(before I began marching with the Blue Devils and while I was still marching with the now-defunct "Velvet Knights"... an entire BOOK worth of stories by itself).

One of the instructors was in the middle of motivating the members and, reportedly since I wasn't around yet, was explaining that you will approach rehearsals the same way you approach mundane tasks in your daily life.

The Point: if you want to be a World Champion, everything you do must be done "all the way". No half-measures, no going through the motions. Everything you do in life, do it like a World Champion would do it. In short, Sh!t Like a Chamion.

The members (remember we're talking about 14-21 year-olds) latched on to it and it became a 'corps mantra such that it was in regular use when I joined in 1995 (they would go on to win the World Championships in 1994; their first since 1986).

It's a pretty silly saying, but think about it in a broader context. Everything you do from the moment you wake up to the minute you go to bed should be done to the best of your ability. If it's worth doing, why half-ass it? Why slack through that 3rd interval just because there's 2 more?

Seriously, when I'm beat down and don't feel like hitting a workout, I ask myself what would "so and so" do? would he (or she) bag this workout? No way....and so I won't either.

So my work ethic makes a little more sense to those of you who know me well.

Rain, heat, wind, cold, dark, it didn't matter, you kept going and kept practicing and rehearsing. Illness, injury; none of it mattered except being the best 'corps on the field and hearing them call out your name as World Champions. Winners got to re-perform their show as a "Victory Concert" after awards; a musical version of a victory lap. Imagine 60+ brass players standing less than 10' feet away from you playing their asses-off; I guarantee it's the loudest thing you'll ever hear that's not amplified.

There's a 'blurb on the Wikipedia page about an infamous show where the lights went out over the entire city at one of Blue Devils' shows in 1999...they kept playing even in the dark (shows are performed at night). That should give you an idea of the dedication and professionalism you learn as a part of the Blue Devils legacy.

Winning is awesome. Go Sh!t Like a Champion.

E.

Getting the Itch

2009-01-18T15:21:00.000-08:00

Right around this point in the season, I start getting that racing itch. I know I shouldn't be racing at this point in the season, but I'm feeling fit and really want to get out and see what I've got.

Climbing San Juan Trail on New Year's. Big thanks to Steph for the pic.
This past week was all about recovery and testing. I was interested about what kind of improvements I'd see, if any, after switching to a 3-week meso-cycle for my Base 2. I was happy with the results: 30 seconds off my 1k time trial in the pool, over a minute faster combined on my 2x Soledad repeats and 30 seconds off my 5k time trial and the track; I'm stoked to see the times I've been putting down ...and it's only January!

Reality check: James' "easy running pace"coming off his foot injury is only slightly slower than my tempo pace. Man, that guy's fast!

Holly and I had a serious Pizookie craving, but neither of us felt like actually going to BJ's and paying their ridiculous prices. A little inspiration and a trip to the grocery store and we had our own ghetto Pizookie.

What are you gonna do with a cookie this big?

...put ice cream on it!

Totally fulfilled our craving. So good and we got 4x the dessert for what it would have cost at the restaurant. If you're not familiar with Pizookie, I recommend you check out BJ's Restaurant web page. Basically a warm cookie in the shape of a pizza with ice cream on it; Pizza + cookie = Pizookie. Get it?

So training is moving on (Base 3 if you're down with Friel) and I've got some HUGE weeks on tap. It's going to be tough, but It'll be worth it when I start toeing the line in March.

E.

Highs and Lows

2009-01-13T11:43:00.000-08:00

This past week was killer in the training department. I put down my biggest volume week in the 7 years I've been racing and training for tri's. I have no doubt the work I did this past week will pay off huge later in the season. Sweet.

I felt pretty hammered by Thursday, but sucked it up and finished the week off strong. Saturday I hit a big ride with Luke. Check out his 'blog for the report: windy and COLD. The ride totaled 5.5 hours, with me going solo for the last 2. All things considered, it was a great fitness check and a great indicator of how Vision Quest could go. Though I was shelled from the work during the week, I still rode pretty close to my goal pace for VQ and stayed in zones 1-3 the entire time. Encouraging for sure.

On the way home, I stopped off at Eric H's house and picked up a light set from him that he didn't want to take with him when he moves back East. Two digital HID set ups for $25. I've been needing a helmt mount set. Thanks, man.
Speaking of sweet deals, my MP3 player quit on me and the manufacturer says it;s out of warranty and they don't repair them. Jerks. Last week I saw this 4 gig player at Target for 70 bucks. Sold.

...and Costco had Garmin's for cheap. Good thing since Holly lost her Polar HRM (my old cheapo) and she's stepping into the world of HR training. Now if her Small chest strap would show up, she could actually USE the thing. C'mon Garmin. Get yer shit together...

I tried out my polarized lenses on Saturday: friggin' sweet! No more blinding glare when transitioning from shade to sun or vice versa. Even with the sun in my face late in the day, I could still clearly see trail details. Great stuff for courses with lots of tree cover like Xterra REAL or Tahoe. No more slowing down 'cause I can't see.

Holly's patient's keep bringing food for the staff. She brings the extras home for me so I can taste the goodness. I think she's trying to slow me down so she can catch me...

She swam he first official swim workout Monday and she's still 3 seconds faster per 100 than I am. Damn swimmers...

Peanut Butter Rice Krispy Treats on a layer of chocolate. So good with a glass of milk!

I'm sure I burned it off during my trainer session this morning. At least I hope I did.

If only I had a Power Tap...

Some much needed recovery and testing this week.

31 Degrees...

2009-01-05T14:01:00.000-08:00

...on the pool deck this morning. The coach put ice in with the kick boards and pull buoys just to be funny. I giggled.

So yeah, after hating on Master's for a few years for various reasons (some lame, some not so lame) I bit the bullet and rolled my happy ass out of bed and into the pool for 6 AM Master's today for the first time in THREE YEARS.

Here's why:
-my schedule is such that I have no other time to swim and there is no 6 AM lap swim--bastards. -my personal best swim (25:53) came in 2005 after swimming Master's 3 days a week.

If you watch a triathlon, there is typically a small front swim pack followed by the main field with some stragglers in between. Furthermore, Xterra allows drafting (could you imagine if they didn't?) and I'm confident I can ride with the pointy end of my age group if I could get out of the water fast enough and get on someone's wheel.

I'm not swimming fast enough to make that happen.

So...paradigm shift! Get out of the water in a good enough spot that I can capitalize on my strong riding. Dropping 2-4 minutes off my 1500 meter swim time means I'm with the front pack A) not breaking water by myself ( I get left in "no man's land" a lot) B) I've got fast wheels to latch onto during the ride. The time I drop in the water translates to more time gained on the bike since I've got clear trails and fast wheels to follow.

Don't get me wrong, I'm still working my ass off on the running track and in the hills...the swimming is just going really well right now.

So I had a good time at Master's swim, so what?

E.

Jim's probably screaming at his computer by now: "I TOLD YOU SO!" ; )

Happy New Year 2009

2009-01-01T19:37:00.000-08:00

I rang the new year in right with a White Russian; making good use of Holly's White Elephant gift. Thanks, babe!

We're such wimps, we watched the East Coast feed of the ball dropping in Times Square and passed out by 10 PM. Party animals.

A few weeks ago, I got the idea for a New Year's epic ride. I'm sure lots of people do something similar, but I got the idea from the Inland Inferno Triathlon Club, who do a huge "Resolution Ride" every year near Mt Baldy. The original route was supposed to be The Gabrielino Trial that I solo back packed in 2005, but the recent storms made trail conditions unpredictable. The second option I came up with was the San Juan Super Loop created by Doug Andrews, but reports of trail conditions on Holy Jim canceled that one as well. Late Wednesday night, a core group of Ryan, Eric H, Steph, Dan and myself agreed on San Juan at 9AM. Justin and Allison arriving at the trail head pleasantly surprised me...and then there were 7.

Ryan, Steph and Allison at the start, Justin in the background. A little chilly in the canyon as always. San Juan never disappoints for technicality or awesome views. Ryan climbing up to the "strip show" where most of us peeled off a layer or more.
Steph...apologies for the digital zoom. Meh.

Dan. Gettin' it done all day. Nice.

Allison rode strong all day as well despite admitting to "not feeling so hot" the night before.This looked better with the naked eye. *shrug*Justin managed to twist a link in his chain (something I'd never seen in 7 years of racing) and while we stopped to fix it, Luke rides up. He said he'd decided to ride at the last minute once he woke up. Once he got out front, we never saw him again though it's an out and back trail. Huh? Some miscommunication near the top and I wound up riding solo to Blue Jay.

Serious storm damage up there; downed trees all over the place requiring several hike-a-bikes to traverse the blockages. Blue Jay was also closed due to "Hazardous conditions"; I.E. more downed trees. I looked for Luke (no luck) and waited for Ryan to show up (also no luck) and figured Luke snuck by me somehow and Ryan must have made a wrong turn and headed back down. I began my descent, plagued by drive train issues the rest of the day (the new one is at the shop when I go back to work on Monday. Woot!).

We regrouped at Cocktail Rock (still no Luke, but Ryan made it back OK) and headed back down the trail. Another great ride on SJT despite the miscues. We said our "goodbyes" to Eric H. (moving East for work) and went our separate ways.

The calf and hip both continue to improve, though the lack of intensity and MTB riding in my training showed clearly today as technical spots got the best of me and my heart rate soared. More MTB riding in the next mesocycle for sure.

Happy New Year! Make it a great one!

Root of All Evil?

2008-12-30T19:58:00.000-08:00

The calf is much better. I'll get to why in a bit, but as the calf gets better, it exposes that my hip hurts...a lot. The pain in the calf/soleus has been masking the hip pain for some time and alleviating one set of injuries exposes another. I've been certain that all my problems stemmed from one injury or imbalance, but I was unsure which. Thanks to a new little toy Holly and I picked up AND the expertise of her co-workers at Core Orthopedic, I'm on the mend and totally stoked about it.

We went to Road Runner's Sports just for the stick and I walk out with a new pair of shoes...oy! Yeah, Saucony Pro Grid Hurricane X (ten). "The Stick" in the background has completely fixed my calf; no bullsh!t. After only a few days of treatment it's almost completely pain free and I dropped close to 30 seconds per mile off my Z2 running pace...all from self-massage 2x a day. Nothing short of miraculous. The foan roller is working out my hip pain and the golf ball (permanently in the freezer) is doing wonders for my plantar fasciitis. It sounds like a lot, but if that's what I have to do to keep training and stave off injury--I will.

On to the hip. I'm sure the Piriformis is the problem. The hip and gluteals are the prime movers for your legs; when they're not happy, your performance suffers BIG TIME. I have pain in my hip that radiates up into my back and gets worse when I sit for long periods of time. Read below (text and photo courtesy if wikipedia.org). The Piriformis is the muscle at the top of the leg right where the sciatic nerve (colored yellow) begins.

"Inactive gluteal muscles also facilitate development of the syndrome. These are important in both hip extension and in aiding the piriformis in external rotation of the femur. A major cause for inactive gluteals is unwanted reciprocal inhibition from overactive hip flexors (psoas major, iliacus, and rectus femoris). This imbalance usually occurs where the hip flexors have been trained to be too short and tight, such as when someone sits with hips flexed, as in sitting all day at work. This deprives the gluteals of activation, and the synergists to the gluteals (hamstrings, adductor magnus, and piriformis) then have to perform extra roles they were not designed to do. Resulting hypertrophy of the piriformis then produces the typical symptoms.
Runners, bicyclists and other athletes engaging in forward-moving activites are particularly susceptible to developing piriformis syndrome if they do not engage in lateral stretching and strengthening exercises. When not balanced by lateral movement of the legs, repeated forward movements can lead to disproportionately weak hip abductors and tight adductors.[7] Thus, disproportionately weak hip abductors/gluteus medius muscles, combined with very tight adductor muscles, can cause the piriformis muscle to shorten and severely contract. This means the abductors on the outside cannot work properly and strain is put on the Piriformis.[8]"

All of those symptoms and causes fit me to a "T" and it's no surprise my hamstring and calf on that side hurt.

I seem to have found a solution to my problem(s) and I'm very excited about it. Woot!

Christmas...DONE!

2008-12-26T12:31:00.000-08:00

I love my family and all, but I'm always glad when the Holidays are over. Stress from traffic and running hither and yon taking care of random stuff wears me down fast.

We rearranged some furniture to fit the tree into our tiny condo and The Monster learned a new trick:
That's what I get for putting the end table behind the door. THIS is why I hate leaving him alone for more than a day; he's likely to do something stupid and hurt himself. I swear he's either an evil genius or a complete moron.

Anyway, a quick furniture switch-a-roo and problem solved.

Holly and I spent Xmas at my folk's house in Orange County; we headed up late afternoon and made it in time to grab a snack before heading over to her parent's place for Xmas Eve dinner. It was my first time meeting her grandparents and one set of Aunts/Uncles. Dad's advice for dealing with your girlfriend's relatives: "she drives...you drink; it worked for me." My Dad rocks. A few Rouge, Dead Guys later and we were off. They turned out to be much nicer than Holly made them out to be.

Best friend Alex (since we were 11) and his "roomie"/ex-fiance/girlfirend/whatever Jennifer cam over to Mom and Dad's after dinner at Holly's folks house. I've been friends with Jennifer for many years and I seriously hope she and Alex work things out. They're practically family and it was awesome to see them. I tossed back a 22 oz. "Arrogant Bastard" in the process.

Little sister Christine and her fiance, Steve, made it in from Cupertino around 10. A few libations and we called it around 1 AM. Iwas thrilled to have them come down since I only get to see them every 12-18 months.

Xmas day was NUTS. Gifts at Mom and Dad's, over to her folks' place to open gifts with them, over to Gramma dna Grampa's to say Hi while we were in town and back to Mom and Dad's for Xmas dinner (22 oz. Stone IPA with it) and then back home to SD so Holly could get to work Friday morning. We walked in the door around 10 PM, totally exhausted and absolutley crashed.

We raked in some amazing loot, though...
Highlights:
De Soto Black Wave bibjohn (replaces my 2003 Tres bibjohn with the holes and rips in it)
Rudy Projesct sunglasses (replaces my frames that broke over a year ago)
Crockpot (yes!)
De Soto gift cert
Memory Foam slippers
about $200 in gift cards
HUGE check from Mom and Dad

IOU's for: a TP Massage kit (something about an FDA hold?) and a gift cert to Kiefer's (swim stuff).

As with any trip to Mom and Dad's we always get leftovers.

Just the cookies!

Chocolate covered graham crackers, oatmeal peanut butter toffee, sugar cookies, something peanut-like with chocolate frosting on it and Mom's rum cookies. I'm getting fat just inhaling the fumes.

I forgot the reen Chile Stew mix from comfortfoods.com that Mom threw in and the toilet valve Dad hooked us up with (ours leaks...f'ing annoying!).

Thankfully it's a recovery week, otherwise I can't imagine how tired I'd be.

Speaking of training: did a 3 mile TT on the track today. I'm not divulging the results, but I'm in good shape considering the running troubles I've had since August; if the leg holds together I have a chance to do some amazing stuff in 2009.

Happy Holidays to you and yours!

E.

"Can't Deny....."

2008-12-22T11:12:00.000-08:00

"...the prize may never fulfill you."

That's a line from one of the songs on my MP3 player ("You Know My Name" from: Casino Royal) and I can't help but think how it applies to endurance sports: even athletes that win championships are never fully satisfied; they go home and figure out how to get faster. It seems like the pursuit of that unattainable "perfect race" is what drives us (dare I include myself?).

Training this weekend went really well. I found myself digging deep to finish the week out and I know that work will yield awesome results come March. I'm still dropping time in the pool, the calf is holding up and my zone 1-2 running pace is getting back to where it was beforeI got injured. All good stuff.

Which leads me to my next admission: I'm a streaker. Not the guys that strip naked and run around on a sports field, but my current mental state seriously affects my training. Maybe "Head Case" is more like it. I guess you could call it "training inertia" (patent pending). Bascially, when things go well, I'm motivated to keep training and things continue to go well. The opposite is absolutely true as well; I have considerable difficulty shaking off a poor race performance or work out. I get better the more I race, however. I guess there's something to be said for maturity--"race age"--as Joe Friel calls it.

Meanwhile it's raining again, which makes training difficult. If we're in for a wet Winter, I need to get over my aversion to riding the trainer for longer than 30 minutes. D'oh!

Stay dry and Happy Holidays to you and yours.

E.