Great weekend

I will post a rambling audio blog later this morning but swim lesson was great. Lots of good tips. I am working harder than I need to and got some good drills to do. I also had an hour run on Sunday morning that was like I had a tailwind. Good music in the Ipod helped and got chased by a killer poodle...again!!!!! same damn poodle that chased me for 3 miles on my bike once. Also spent about 1 hour getting fit on my new bike with Dan Davis "Mr. Time time trial" which was very helpful. Just a quick post as off to work and will add detail soon and pics of the bike.

Good Swim

Fresh snow this morning that was nice to commute in to work by bike and then it burned off by noon. I rode over to the pool and swam for about 40 minutes. 1st day that I think it clicked. It really felt good. I will see if I am right when I swim for the coach tomorrow. I have a buddy coming over to help fit me on my time trial bike and then a swim coach session then a spin after the swim at the club. Should be a good day!!!!!!

Ski day

spent a few hours backcountry skiing with Rob this morning, snow not so great but got a nice climb up a mountain and few turn to reward us. Tomorrow I will swim some drills then I have coach lesson 2 on Saturday and will plan on doing an audio comment after the lesson.

Performance testing

Well I went to Oregon State university and had body composition done in a Mork from Ork egg thing called the bod pod ( see photo) pretty interesting. Then I did a VO2max test on the treadmill. I warmed up on the treadmill for about 10 minutes at 135 beats which I felt pretty calm about. so we put on the big headpiece with the mouthtube and I was thinking this was not too bad...but then I forgot about the noseclips. Ok now it was like breathing through a tube. We started out and worked my way up to a perceived exertion of "pretty hard" then they left the speed the same and ramped up the incline every 30 seconds until I got to the point of almost passing out and losing form right off the treadmill. When I was done which was about 12 minutes into it ( they said between 8 and 15 minutes was optimal) I was done and hopped off the sides, I noted my heart rate on the monitor was 198 which was good as last time I did this on a bike it got to 195. So after I was done they would not tell me any of the results as there is a second part of the testing with a nutriational analysis and bloodwork and they give it all to you then. so when I get that I will scan it in. Over all a great experience and they really seemed scientific at the university so I felt the results will be accurate. ( not me on the treadmill....but yes i really got inside that pod!!!)

Road trip

While I used to hate road trips for work now I come to look forward to them. Howoften do you get 3 plus hours in a car alone where I can relax, sip coffee and catch up on a bunch of podcasts? I am off to the rental agency to pick up a nice ride and plug in the ipod. Tomorrow morning I will do the VO2 max test and body comp so that will be interesting. The last time I did it was at the end of a race season and I did it on a bike. This is at the start of a season and on a treadmill so we shall see what the differences are.

Isis and jennelle with Ann Curry ( a photo for Kahuna)

Portland Marathon 2005

I finally got the pics of Isis and I after the 2005 Portland Marathon ( a first marathon for both of us). What a great experience and I think this was the catapult to the triathlon. My training partner and mountain bike teammate Bruce Rogers did them last year and finished a half ironman in just over 5 hours. I did an interview on endurance radio and we talked about my cycling background and my running background which started last January and ended with a marathon 10 months later and at the end of the interview he asked if I was going to do swimming now for a triathlon and the question sparked one of those....WHY NOT??? moments. So with that thought and Bruce pushing me I am on board. We ran for an hour in the snow yesterday and my run felt pretty good. I got home later that day with Jennelle after an errand and could not find Isis. I come to find her walking in the door 45 minutes later as she was out on a run.....I knew it she does secret training when I am not around...( she beat me fair and square in the marathon by 5 minutes). On an unrelated side note a great book I picked up at the library recently is "NEED FOR THE BIKE" by Paul Fournel. This is a small book of bike articles or thoughts of just a page or two each. Magnificent.

Early morning ski workout

I went up to Mt. Bachelor this morning at 5 am to climb up in some altitude at the ski resort at oh dark thirty to get in an earl morning workout. Great snow, nice and cold and dry which is good because it was somewhat a wet snow the last few weeks. I spent about an hour climbing and then while I was getting ready to take the skins off of my telemark skis I was enjoying the sunrise and thought it would be a fun time to call Wil for the "Get your geek on" triathlon podcast and leave a message for them. SO it rang and all of a sudden I got a "Hello?" and not expecting anyone there as I thought it was a voicemail to mp3 service I said..."Wil?" and she was getting to chat with Kahuna about the upcoming show. So Thee I sat in the dark on top of a snow mountain talking to a new friend in the sporting community for a bit before I sailed downhill with my Niterider headlamp leading the way. What a small world!!. So good workout and I am having a great breakfast with my wife and daughter this morning and then will spend the most part of today studying for a test for some ongoing education classes for work. I plan on dong a spin for about an hour during my daughters nap time and will try and talk Isis ( my Wife) into joining me as we have the road bikes set up on the trainers indoor since a bit chilly out.

old photo

Received a nice email from an old friend thismorning that must be about 10 years old of me in my heavier days but a fun shot on top of Mt. Hood. Oregons highest peak. This was part if a club climb for the cascades mountaineers, a local cub I helped found almost 11 years ago...oh how time flies.

other interests

for the motorized folks ( on rest day) here was alittle site I threw together last summer for a fun dualsport moto weekend near my home. Nice to take a solo trip every now and then witha nothing but time and a few books.

www.klr650oregon.blogspot.com

Better

rode over to the pool and did about 30 minutes. The key was to get some good strokes in no distance so after I started out to fast ( good looking girl in lane with me like running faster on the treadmill with good looking girl next to you) I relaxed and got in two lengths of good relaxed freestyle and better form. After that I got out and left so that I would end on a good note mentally. Feel much better. Not really a swimmer but then again I was not really a biker at one time and not really a runner at one time as well so baby steps.

Update

Ok so I must remind all that My brother lives with his live in athlete..."Sponsored" climber Melissa Lipani...You can check her out at : www.cuoredipietra.com just scroll down to Melissa. It really is a nice page layout. I listened to the inaugural episode of "get your geek on" podcast about triathlon from Wil and the Kahuna and WOW I was the show opener in their little soundbyte deal. Great show. This show will be a huge addition to the podcast trifecta of Zen, Stu and now Wil and the Kahuna. The show has a very nice mix of interviews, soundseeing and tips.

Goal for today is do some swim drills without stressing out. Upcoming will be a story about the NEW BIKE!!!!!

Daily commute

I had a reporter from a local newspaper come and interview me yesterday regarding my insane bike commute in the snow and ice during he winter. Here is a pic of my Sweet studded tires. I rode in this morning in fresh snow ( after climbing and skiing at Mt. Bachelor at 5am with Rob...good skiing for Dawn patrol). I will copy the article when it comes out.

HMMMMM???????

NEW BIKE??????? UPCOMING STORY BUT HERE IS A PEEEEEEEK!!!!

run

Went for a run tonight in the dark for about 45 minutes. Used a headlamp as it was DARK!!! Felt pretty good, neck not really a problem now it seams about 60% better so that is good. Will hit the pool manana and do all the drills from my coaching session.

I will try and call after the session and leave an audioblog comment.

back on track

I rode the trainer for 40 minutes with the sore neck so I am back on track. I got some good news today that I qualified for a health test study at the Oregon State University labs so next Monday I will be going and getting a VO2 Max test and body comp for free. Great deal and working in with a business trip so that is nice. Had VO2 Max done about 1 year ago so I will go find those results and compare and see how I am doing.

clean bill of health...sort of

Doctor said muscle strain only nothing broke and I should be good in 2-3 days so that is great. He is a runner so he understands and respects the need to get back to training. He said if not better in 2 days he would be happy to prescribe some physical therapy. So I will stick to the trainer for a few days and see how it goes but that was good new that this is a short term setback. Guess I will put the studded tires back on the cyclocross bike.

PICS

More shots...the ones from below I realized are from about three years ago. I know this from the fact the mountain bike from Rocky mountain is about 3 bikes ago. I got the chance to tour the factory in Vancouver BC and I have to say a class act. I love the top shot of me sitting up ( this is from about two years ago. The reason is I had two flats and Quit. I DNF ( did not finish)....Weak. I promised that even if you come in last you need to finish. I use this shot as a motivator that that is the last time I gave in and just threw in the towel. Not again...and I have stuck to it.

SOME SHOTS FROM THE PAST

PICS FROM PAST RACES

Ouch

Still sore from the crash yesterday. My neck really hurts so I am going to see a doctor today. The neck pain was acute and seems more like bone that muscle so I want to confirm that I did not really hurt something before I start some hard workouts. I am bummed as I doubt I will jump in the pool and use all of the skills I just got. Getting injured or sick is a large factor in sports and the head game. While it shows you really love training it also gets quite frustrating when you cannot train and you can feel...Depressed. Now I am not really the depressed kind of guy with my positive attitude so for me it is really more like frustration. I think even if the doctor says to take it easy I can get on a spin bike so all is not lost. I found out that I a need to Fly from Oregon to Kansas City at the end of Febuary for a 6 hour meeting. As business stuff goes it is kind of funny. If I count the number of things I say in the meeting and then divide that by the cost they spent getting me there and hotel, food etc it probably costs them $200 a word. What a waste. The sad thing is I provably will actually say something smarter that most at the meeting. The good part is I do like travel. It gets me a chance to listen to backed up podcasts on the plane. But the great part is on the way back I should be able to get a layover in Salt lake and go backcountry skiing with my brother who lives there. Speaking of podcasts here is a list of the ones I listen to on a regular basis: Zen and the art of triathlon, Simply Stu, DSC, Keith and the girl ( pretty adult oriented but funny), endurance radio, The transmission, japenesepod101.

Sore

I have been pretty stubborn and ridden my bike to work almost all winter. I was using my cyclocross bike with studded tires but this morning made the mistake of taking my single speed mountain bike . We call it "thirteen fifty" because that's what I have into the bike. ....$13.50 in spare parts. We built it from spare parts and an extra frame so it is a fun bike. However a bit icy this morning and took three distinct hard crashes. First one it ffflew out from underneath me and I was laughing so hard did not notice it hurt. Second time I came up to a stop sign and just tapped the brakes.......whap on the ground. Oh that hurt the neck and back, I had to twist the handlebars back like I used to when I was a kid on my BMX. headlamp stopped working...oh wait that is just the helmet twisted on my head so the lamp was facing straight up instead of forward. So I am a bit sore now.......But a few vitamin I and I should be ok. Today is a rest day so off to give blood this afternoon at the red cross.

Swim lesson #1

So I spent about 45 minutes with my new swim coach Rob at the Athletic club. I am not so physically tired as I am mentaly tired. I have not swum in years so i was glad I spent a day in the pool with Bruce my training partner who still loves telling the story about how i could not get to the other end of a 25m pool without stopping. I remember asking him..." Do you hold your breath between strokes?" HIs eyes still water at the laughter he creates when he tells the story. I had spent about 6 more sessions in the pool self guided by TOTAL IMMERSION swimming by Terry Laughlin. A + stuff. buy this book or get it at the library. I also got his companion DVD set from my local library and made personal copies. My Coack today said alot of what was said in the book but the key was he gave me good specific drills as well as was able to see what I was doing right and doing wrong....That helped a ton. The plan is about 4-6 more sessions with the coach and then likley will join a local masters swim club. He has me doing sessions about every 2 weeks so I can really get the drills down. So if you are just starting swimming the progression happens so just get yourself the right information and coaches. I could not not swim a lap 1 month ago and now am doing 500 meters at a time so today felt like a springboard in the right direction.

A plus

That has got to be one of the best cycling films I have ever seen!!! I rode the trainer for 2 hours watching that thing. I watched it on a laptop ( with a nice big screen) propped up right in front of the bike with headphones and WOW the music, the drama.....race scenes....You name it. I borrwowed from a friend but if you cannot find it somewhere to rent would be worth multiple watchings. here is the link: www.offroadtoathens.com

I had the T-mobile womens team stay at our house in 2004 and it was hardcore watching pro women and this film does that well ( has mens too).

So now I am resting waiting for the family to get back from a birthday party and looking forward to my swim lesson on Sunday.

All I can say is if you need something to get you through a long indoor ride.....this will do it.

Sat workout in the snow

So it snowed last night. it was warm enough yesterday enough so that I was able to ride my motorcycle to work yesterday ( still cold, rain but i have good gear) so i thought i would get in my long ride today since i have a swim workout on Sunday and woke up to snow. So I borrowed a DVD from my friend Rob "offroad to athens" about the mountainbiking tale of the Olympics. he said it was great and we have similar tastes so it should be good......so off to the trainer for 109 minutes with the movie.

First post

I guess as part of this little community I should share so Here is my little blog in the corner about me trying to train and finish a full ironman by the end of 2007. Living in Bend Oregon I am sorrunded by trainig opprotunities and like minded folks so no excuses. Currently I am trying to learn to Swim. Bike I can do, Run I can do but Swim is new. The only swimming I have done in the last 15 years is at a small hotlel swimming pool on vacation or chasing my kayak down a river. I have been training with the help of total immersion DVDs which are the best and some help from one of my training partners Bruce. But I have my forst private lesson on Sunday. Goals this year are a few olympic triathlons then a half ironman in late June finished with the Portland marathon in Oct. on my un-birthday ( but thats another story.........) Lets start the photos with my everyday training bike the Lemond Victoire...carbon/ti......great for the century rides etc.....so guess I need a tri bike, ( but thats another story........