Five more days

Claire and I went out for a 20 mile ride this morning. Then we sat by the pool and read our books for the afternoon. We will be heading down to Guerneville this evening for a swim. I tried out the farmer John wetsuit last Friday, and tonight I want to try out my old full wetsuit that I purchased for the World's Toughest back in 1989. I want to see how my shoulders feel. In the past I have noticed that the tightness can make my shoulders ache a bit. I know that the full wetsuit is faster, but if my shoulders hurt, then the farmer john would be better. We worked yesterday, and will be going in to work tomorrow, but I will have Friday off to rest.

One week to go

One more week. Yesterday I went out and did my last brick before the race. It wasn't a true brick since I had to knead some sourdough between the bike and the run. I felt pretty good, still a little tired from Monday's workout. I actually went down and swam in Guerneville with my borrowed wetsuit, and then rode 61 miles over the Vineman course. I averaged 19.6 mph, and felt pretty comfortable the whole way. I then mixed together some bread, and then went out and ran for an hour and a half. The run felt great except for a little pain in my thighs. I had a chance to try out my brand new shoes, which worked great. I plan on taking it easy for this next week.

Another Brick

Went out on Monday and hurt myself pretty good. Claire and I rode 53 miles out to the coast and down to Bodega and home. It was a beautiful ride and it was nice to be out of the heat at the coast. We had a powerful tailwind heading down the coast. We stopped for coffee in Duncan's Mills. It was my first ride on my aerobars. My hips started hurting after about a mile, and then I stopped and lowered my saddle about an eight of an inch, and then no pain the rest of the ride. I was very happy with the position. Here is a map of this route.
After the ride, I changed into my running stuff and headed out for a couple of hours. I did a 15 mile run in around 2:06. It was extremely hot out there, probably in the 90's. I hurt pretty good at the end, but I think it was because I didn't have any food with me. I drank plenty of water though. Here is a map of that route.
I basically do an out and back on Martinelli twice with a run through the regional park in between. I was able to get water in the park and I carried a water bottle with me. It is back to work today. I will try to get some swims in this week and maybe another long ride on Thursday or Friday.

Twelve More Days

The title says it all. Less than two weeks till the Vineman. I have to assume that I can't screw up all my training in two weeks. I haven't run in four days, but I plan on getting out later today after a bike ride. I finally got my aerobars on my bike, but haven't had a chance to ride it yet. Claire and I rode into work and home on Saturday. I had Mathilda in the trailer and we rode the flat way. The way home was into a tough headwind.
It is Monday morning now. I just ordered myself a couple of pairs of Pearlizumi running shoes. I know that you are not supposed to change shoes with only a week to go, but my current running shoes are all off-road shoes. I figure I will be able to get in a couple of short runs in them before the race.
I still haven't tried on my old wetsuit for the swim. It seems like it makes my shoulders sore, probably from the lack of flexibility. It would be nice if the water was warm enough that they would not allow wetsuits, but I think it would have to rise a couple of more degrees for that. I thought about trying to borrow a "farmer John" wetsuit with out sleeves, but haven't been able to locate one yet.

Running home from Sebastopol

Claire dropped me off in Sebastopol and I ran home from there. It is around 13 miles and last night it took me 1 hour and 43 minutes. I did an extra loop around Ragle park beforehand to add in some extra miles. My legs felt relatively good considering we had gone in to work at 7:30 and had gotten off at 5:00. I figure I can consider that some cross training, standing in the work area all day and then running. Only 16 more days till the Full Vineman. I can't think of anything else I could be doing better to train for it. Maybe some more swimming, but I will survive that part no matter what. I will try to get in a swim today at the SSU pool. I still haven't put my aerobars on my bike yet, and I need to get some miles in using the aero position.

Claire and I are considering signing up for the Ukiah Triathlon which takes place Sept. 7. Claire hasn't done a triathlon since she did the Olympic Vineman many years ago. It will be a 1/2 mile swim, a 21.7 mile bike ride, and a 3 mile run. I have always wanted to do this event, and am looking forward to the it.

Death Ride and Tahoe Weekend

Well, the Death Ride was this last Saturday and it went great. I rode the complete ride with Eric from Oakland who was the perfect riding companion. He and I were very compatible with our pace. We ended up with a total riding time of around 8 hours and 45 minutes. I was very happy with my intake of water and food. There have been years past where I was unable to eat or drink during the latter parts of the ride, and I paid the price. This year I even had two sandwiches at lunch and 5 popsicles at the top of the fifth pass. My top speed was 58.5 mph, which I did on Carson. I did catch a tandem on Carson, and really appreciated the pull along the flats before descending down Woodsford Pass.
We camped the night after at Fallen Leaf Campground with Eric and Jen and our friend Hunt from Petaluma. The next day we went for a hike up to Fallen Leaf Lake and then I went for a 10 mile run which felt great. Less than 3 weeks to go till the Vineman.

Training Update

Well, it is just a couple of days before the Death Ride. I haven't been on my bike for about a week, but I have gotten out on a couple of pretty good runs. Last night Claire dropped me off in Sebastopol and I ran home. It took about an hour and 20 minutes. I timed myself on a couple of miles in the middle and was running 7:40 miles. I felt pretty good. It was all pavement miles, and I could feel it a bit in my thighs, but this morning my legs feel great. I went out for a two hour run up near Yosemite on Monday. It was almost all trail running. I get a little nervous on the steep uphills because of my past calf pains. I haven't had any new calf pains. I am quite excited about the Death Ride. I am at my lightest weight in quite a while, and even though I haven't been doing the big old long rides, I have been pretty consistent up till a couple of weeks ago.

Pain and suffering in the heat

So, we decided to close the shop on the 4th of July since Claire and I needed a day off. I took the opportunity to do a brick workout. I went out at about 11 in the morning, with the temperature just hitting 90 or so, and rode over Sweetwater. Not once, but twice. It was a scorcher out there. It was over a 100 when I finished up at 2 or so. I then slammed down a bottle of water and went out for a 7.5 mile run. The heat really kicked my butt. I usually do that run in around 56 minutes, and this time it took 70 minutes. It was a great workout, but a paid for it a bit later with some cramping in the legs. I really didn't hold back on the bike at all, going 1:22 on my first loop and 1:26 on the second.
I went in to swim today, but the pool was closed. I have been having a very hard time finding some time to swim. It is hard to get away from the shop in the afternoon no matter how early I start work. Today I dropped everything and rode my bike down to SSU only to find out that there was no lap swimming. It did give me a chance to get to the library and pick up some books I had reserved.
Tomorrow Claire and I are going to Carson City for her brother's wedding. We will get out for a ride and run in the morning, and I will take my running stuff along, but no cycling for a couploe of days. The Death Ride is in 9 days.