On Your Knees Boy! Week-4

Firstly, congratulations to Marty, Kelly, Sam, Jenn, and everyone else on the SCE team that ran the Oakland Marathon. Some great runs and great results. I ran with Kelly last Sunday at the tail end of her 70 mile week and she inspired me to run longer and faster. She'd put in a recent 20 miler and I thought to myself, I'd love to be able to do that, what a great goal for me.... without injury or needing 3 days recovery that is.

The Good News

So yesterday I put in 14 miles. Definitely my longest run since the summer after high school when I suffered through my one and only marathon. I've blocked out most of that memory but I had managed something close to 3 hours without proper training, and I paid a heavy price. But Sundays run was 14.12 @ a comfortable 7:48/mi pace. I was happy and functional the rest of the day and feel awesome today. My unofficial half marathon (13.1) PR is now 1:41:53! :)

The Bon Jovi News

At the beginning of the run, a car passed me and they were blasting Bon Jovi, "You Give Love a Bad Name".. It stuck in my head, for the entire 14 mile run. So I changed the chorus to "14 miles on a bad knee" and made up my own lyrics as I ran...

This weeks tally is 36 miles on the run, with a couple of swims and a couple of rides on the trainer. The rain was brutal so I biked in the living room.

The Bad news

I was thinking I'd run the Santa Cruz half coming up in a couple of weeks but I found out this week that I need to have a torn meniscus in my left knee repaired. Actually the torn part removed. (See the image on the left.) I'd had an MRI and saw the doctor on Thursday. I go in on Friday the 8th for Arthroscopic surgery, then I'm on crutches or the couch for the weekend. According to the Doc, I should be back at it in a month if that's all that's wrong in there. I could wait until fall and after the season to have this done, but that could cause some permanent damage to the cartilage resulting in a lifetime of pain. I can take the time off now and still be ok for later in the season.

I'll hone my swim skills while on the comeback. :) I have a great run and cycling base now and if I can get a few rides in on the trainer or jog on the track after a couple of weeks, I'll be good to go come May 1st. Wildflower is probably out of the question but that still leaves me 3+ months to get ready for a mid August shot at the old-guy triathlon National championship.

The big goals this year remain a sub 2 minute 800m and winning my age group at Triathlon Nationals in late August. I'm feeling really good about things, although worried about the upcoming recovery. For the first time I feel like I have a head start on the season, I'm ahead of any injuries and my base fitness is the best it's ever been. Last year I started out with an ankle problem and the year before I had surgery on my left foot. Maybe next year I'll start with no injuries whatsoever....

Thanks for reading and please send something to Japan. They still need your help.

A Wet Week-3

All in all not a bad week. 30 plus miles running again, a couple of good pool swims and I managed to get a lunchtime bike ride in between storms. Still all about droppin' lbs and running.

I did buzz through a 12 miler yesterday with some teammates. And at a good clip. All felt great and I had energy for the rest of the day. I actually feel really good today, but it's a rest day for me. I'll probably do a light swim tomorrow, drills and such. Or maybe just sit in the hot tub and then partake in either a good long tempo or the track... We'll see how I feel because two ays after something big always hurst the most for em.

Coach Marty the Smarty was quick to point out that was my longest run ever. Not true but in the last gazillion years there have been 3 12 milers and one excruciating 13 mile day. So I'm going to push the weekly Sunday run to 12 or more now and with 3 more mid week runs at 7+ miles I'll bump from 30 to 35 miles per week with plenty of recovery. We'll see how it goes but my goal is to be solid at 35-40 and then add the bike and swim on top.

I'm noticing this year how much more recovery I needed the last two seasons. I really pushed things right out of the gate and didn't build a good base. I have a feeling I won't perform as well early on, especially with the swim, but we'll see what happens in May.

My main numero uno goal is Nationals in late August, so no rush.

I'm considering doing the Santa Cruz Half Marathon now in mid April. It's right here in town and fairly laid back. I usually do my long run on Sunday morning anyway and what's another 1.1 miles? Maybe I'll push the little man (pictured below) in the BOB. Although he usually sleeps until 10 am. And I'm not sure he could take two hours in the stroller. Or that my knees could take two hours pushing the stroller. :) Either way YOU should join me!

Thanks for reading!

Is this loud enough for you or should I turn it up?

The Unweek- Week-2

Well as good as week one was, week 2 was as bad. Monday morning I woke up feeling a little "funky". By 4 pm I was done for. Tuesday and Wednesday I pretty much surfed the couch. But if there's a silver lining it's that I ate nothing but oranges, a couple of bananas, an occasional oatmeal cookie and tea. Talk about a crash diet, I dropped a solid 5 pounds this week. But not worth it. I hate being sick.

Thursday I managed to work for a few hours which included a trip to the Holy Land (Apple Inc. in Cupertino), which pretty much wore me out. But Friday I managed to eek out a painful 2 miles with Tori and Pauline from work. Combine that with Today's solid 8 at a good pace and I managed 10 miles. Better than nothing.

So 10 miles on the run this week, no swim, no bike, no wine no women, I think I'm turning Japanese.... Let's hope week 3 is a good one because WildFlower is looming.

Speaking of the massive "super sumo keep up with the Jones's equipment fest", I was contacted by Terry from tricalifornia events and was informed that 29" wheels would be allowed in the off-road race but preclude the rider from any awards. I guess they feel it gives some riders an advantage? While I'm not sure I agree, he did get back to me right away which was awesome and well appreciated. So I'll be rolling my Cannondale (pictured) which I was given by Bike Station Aptos in exchange for a whole bunch of work.(<--shameless plug)

So the only other thing this week is that I bought one of those orange rollers called "The grid" that's been advertised all to hell. I've used it twice and it's ok. Don't believe the marketing hype.

It's a foam roller and doesn't feel any different than the other two that were already taking up closet space. It's just mini-me'd. So $40 for half size, as opposed to the $12 I spent on the full length hunk of environmental disaster that I've been using for a couple of years now. But this week has been all about the orange.

Stay happy and healthy. Cheers!

The not Saturday 7 at 7. Week-1

This weeks post begs the question; Is it better to shove a whole cake down your face in one sitting, or eat a piece each day for eight days?

Before I tell you why I'm asking, I must say that the first week back was great. Five runs totaling 36 miles, two great swims and a single ride that was actually really good. Aside from a slightly sore achilles I'm in good shape. I've got like six weeks to get ready for Wildflower so it's definitely on.

There was one minor setback this week. Due to beer, really bad pseudo mexican food, my planned Saturday morning 7 mile run at an attempted 7min/mi pace turned into Sunday 8 miler at a leisurely 8.5. I've been wearing some Kinvaras, which are nice and light with plenty of support. They felt good off the pavement today, even with some mud and gravel.

Food Me!

The biggest issue will be keeping my fat ass out of the pantry. I likes to eat. I mean I don't just like it, I really like it! If there's something sweet around such as Girl Scout cookies, they belong to me no matter who says different and I will devour them until they are no more. Instead of tiger blood, I have K-9 blood. Just like a dog, It's not possible for me to stop at one box if there are three boxes on the shelf. So I must remove all temptation. In theory I'm all about organic whole foods and if that's all that is around, that's what I'll eat. So the goal of 12lbs dropped in the next six weeks will be a tough one for me and depend on shopping habits and schedule. But I'm confident I'll drop 10. Especially since I powered through all the GS cookies in one sitting. Hence the question about cake. Think of cake as a metaphor for cookies and you're with me.

Swim Stuff....

I'm thinking I might go back to Masters swim this week, we'll see. In past years I thought it cool to tell people I swim twice a week at 6am rain, snow, or shine. Even in January. OUTDOORS. People would ooh and ahh and say things, like "Dude you're hard core..." or "are you nuts?". I loved it. This year, I am pretty much over it, and the need for the oohing. No showing up to a dark icy pool deck on a January morning. That WAS nuts.

Oh also the Friday night swim around the warf has started up again. Really looking forward to doing that weekly and if you're local you should come out. I couldn't make it this past Friday due to work. Check the link if interested. No one swims alone and all abilities are welcomed. Provided you actually have the ability to swim.

Thanks for reading!