5 Year Anniversary

I was talking about running with a customer this morning and he was asking how long I had been running. I had to think about it for a second and then I told him...5 years....5 years this week. In 2007, my wife was going to do the Disneyland Half marathon with a friend and in July, she informed her she was going on vacation and wasn't going to be able to do it. When my wife told me about it and was upset as she didn't want to do the race alone, I decided to give it a try. I signed up for the race (back when they still had registrations available in July) and found an 8 week training plan.

I ran 3-4 days a week in the early mornings and did a "long-er" run on the weekends. I wanted to see what my fitness was and I signed us up for a 5K the week before. The 5K went pretty well and I was confident that we would be fine doing the half marathon even though my longest run was 7 miles. The 2007 Disneyland Half was the hottest on record....100+degrees at the 6am start....110 degrees at the finish. We finished and judging by the effort and my time (2:41:31), you would have thought I would have given up running. That was not the case....I found a new hobby and started running and signing up for races.

In the last 5 years, I have done...

2-Marathons, 14-Half Marathons, 4-10K's,5-5K's, 2-18 mile races, 9-Sprint Triathlons and 1-Half Ironman

The last 5 years have been fantastic and I look forward to the next 5 years.

Looking Back, Looking Forward

Here I sit on the last days of 2011 reflecting on  the past year and thinking about 2012. I realize that I haven't blogged since August and I hope to change that in the coming year. 2011 turned out to be a busy year, even though I tried to scale back the amount of races/events I participated in.

2011 Races:
Firecracker 10K
SRLA 18 Mile Friendship Run
LA Monsoon (Marathon)
Vineman 70.3
Castaic Sprint Triathlon I & II
Roadchickie's Almost Flat, Mostly Smooth Century Ride
Disneyland Half Marathon
Mohawk Hudson River Half Marathon
Bike The Coast 50 Mile
Run For Her 5K
Say No To Drugs 10K
Holiday Half Marathon

The 3 highlights for me were A) Running Swimming the LA Marathon with my running partner, Melissa  B) Vineman 70.3  C) Flying to Albany, NY to surprise our friend Veronica and run the Mohawk Hudson River Half Marathon with her.

Here is 2011 by the numbers:

Running: 640 miles
Biking: 1,828 miles
Swimming: 47 miles

Looking forward to 2012, I only have one race on the calendar which is the Hollywood Half Marathon in April. I'm sure my wife and I will do the Disneyland Half Marathon again next year. I decided that I wouldn't run the LA Marathon again this year with Coach Craig and his SRLA group since the LA Marathon falls on my daughter's due date. Yup...we are going to be grandparents and we are excited. I need to set a goal, something to train for next year, so I am looking at Ride Around the Bear or the 100 Mile Tour Of Big Bear.
The second half of 2012 will be spent training for the 2013 Disney Goofy Challenge in Orlando, Fl. on January 12-13, 2013.

2011 was a great year for friendships, both old and new. I met some amazing new friends (thanks twitter) and strengthened my relationships with old friends. Thank you all for your support! I couldn't have done it without you.

Happy New Year!

Bob

Vineman 70.3 Race Report

**Warning** This race report is rather long, so grab yourself a cup of your favorite beverage, sit back, relax and enjoy my Vineman 70.3 Race Report

Let me preface this race report by saying that this was my first attempt at the half iron distance, I had previously done only Sprint distance triathlons. I decided last summer that I wanted to try a 70.3 race in 2011. After doing some research, I decided on Vineman as my first 70.3. I waited up until midnight on November 1, 2010 and signed up...and got in!

Friday

We left Los Angeles at 5am and made it to Windsor by 12 noon. Since I wanted to get in a swim at the river before the race, we made the 15 mile drive out to Guerneville. Once we got down to the river, I put on my wetsuit and waded into the water. Temperature was very comfortable and I headed upstream. I decided to swim to the bridge and back (about 300 yds) and once I got to the bridge, the water was waist deep. I stood there and talked with a few other swimmers and headed back. I decided to do 2 more swims (both with and without the wetsuit) and we walked around Guerneville a bit.We headed back to Windsor, checked in at the hotel and then decided to go find a place to eat dinner.

Saturday

Tina and I went for an early morning walk around Windsor, eventually walking by the high school where workers were setting up T2 and the Finish line. After breakfast, we headed to the school for the mandatory meeting and packet pick up. The "meeting" was nothing more than a 22 minute video talking about safety and rules including "drafting" (remember that for later). I got my race packet, timing chip and t shirt and headed for the Vineman merchandise tent to buy some hats, etc. I had to drop my running gear at T2, so I found a spot I thought I could remember fairly easily and claimed my space. We left the school and headed back to Guerenville so I could drive the bike course. Just a few miles into the bike course, I noticed that the roads were not in great shape. These are lightly traveled, county roads and with California's current financial crisis, they don't get a lot of attention. I knew I was going to have to pay attention on the bike and dodge a lot of crappy road. The bike course has some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen. During this time, I was munching on a bagel and noticed something in my mouth that didn't feel right...I broke a piece of tooth off. Fortunately, there was no pain and I didn't think it would affect my race. The course took about 2 hours to drive and once we got back to the hotel, we headed out for an early dinner, then off to bed.

Sunday - Race Day

We were up at 4 am, so we could be on the road to Guerneville by 5 am. We made it out to Guerneville just as T1 was opening. On the way in, I got body marked and luckily, my wife was standing next to me as I forgot my age. I found some space and started to lay out my stuff. I was going through a mental checklist and hoping I didn't forget anything. I got into my wetsuit and waited for my wave to be called. I was in the 5th wave and didn't have long to wait...before I knew it, I was in the water waiting for the horn to blow. My strategy in the swim was to start in the back to avoid the "washing machine"and take it easy. The horn sounds and I let the group go ahead of me. I start swimming at a nice, easy pace. About 200 yards into the swim, I am now in the crowd...WTF? How did this happen? Either, I was swimming fast or they were swimming slow, in any case, I didn't want to be on someones feet and get kicked in the face. I slowed my pace a bit and headed towards the shore a bit until I got some clean water ahead. At the turn around, the water was about knee deep and it was easier to walk the turn than to swim it. On the way back, there was a bit of a current that made the 2nd half of the swim a little quicker. Before I knew it, I saw the swim exit right in front of me...out of the water I went.  
Swim - 41:24 

T1
I grabbed a cup of water on the way in and decided to take my time. I didn't want to forget anything and I needed to pack up all of my swim items into the plastic bag so I could hand them to my wife on the way out. I saw Rebecca on the way out and stopped for a quick picture. I took the advice of every Vineman race report I read and ran/walked my bike to the top of the hill before getting on it. That was great advice!
T1 - 7:39

Bike
I started out at a comfortable pace while I got situated on the bike. I was really conscious of the drafting distance and I spent a lot of energy and time focusing on that. I made it to the first turn off which was pretty hairy and sure enough...someone had already crashed and was being tended to. The bike course was beautiful and I started passing people and increasing the pace while still focusing on drafting and potential penalties. About 20 miles into the course,  a group of guys on tri bikes, basically forming a pace line, wheel to wheel, passed me and right behind them was a course Marshall. The Marshall didn't even bat an eye at them, so at that point, I decided to pick up the pace and not worry so much about drafting. Things seemed to be going well and I thought that a 3 hour bike was possible. I stopped at the last aid station for a potty break and then hit it pretty hard until Chalk Hill. It wasn't that it was that big or long of a hill, it was just at mile 45 and I was getting tired. I ate the last quarter of a PB&J sandwich (I ate 1/4 every 10 miles and supplemented it with Gu) and tried to pick up the pace for the last 10 miles. No such luck...I watched the 3 hour mark slipped by and then 3:15. I pushed hard the last couple of miles and reached the high school and T2.
Bike - 3:21:14 (16.70 mph/avg)

T2
It was quite a distance from the dismount line to the bike racks and it seemed like it took forever to run that distance. I racked my bike and emptied my run bag onto the grass. I sat down and put on my compression sleeves and shoes. I talked with another racer who offered me some sunscreen, which was a reminder to grab mine and apply it liberally. I put on my water belt and visor and headed out with a quick stop at the porta potty before leaving transition.
T2 - 8:09

Run
As I headed out on the run, I saw my wife taking pictures and seeing her smile gave me bit of energy that I desperately needed. The run course was made up of rolling hills (some challenging) and some flats. (I wish I would have driven the run course as well)  The first 6 miles seemed to go very well, I hit every aid station (there were 12) and took on fluids and a gel. I also ate a few pretzels each mile from a bag that carried with me. The course was changed a bit this year, it ran around the perimeter of the winery and that was on dirt and gravel. By that time, the sun had finally made an appearance and it was getting warm. I started feeling tired so I started breaking down the last 6 miles by mile. I would run to the aid station, walk while taking on fluids and gels (about a minute or two) then run to the next aid station. It worked well and before I knew it, I was at the last aid station with 1.1 miles to go. My pace picked up a bit since I could sense the finish was near. I hit the finish chute and had the finish line in my sights. I crossed the finish line, hands raised! I finished!! 
Run - 2:20:12  Finish Time - 6:38:38

I saw my wife behind the barrier and posed as she took a couple of pictures. The finish area had a lot op people mulling around and eating. Vineman puts on a pretty good post race meal (chicken sandwich, pasta salad, fruit, etc) all of which was fine and dandy, but how about some gatorade??? None to be found...they had water, iced tea and soda. I grabbed some fruit and a water and headed over to the transition area to meet my wife. I gathered my bike and we walked back to the off site parking lot where she had parked the car. Once back at the hotel, a quick shower and a beer and we headed out for some wine tasting. After all, we were in Sonoma and I could leave without wine tasting. One of my twitter peeps suggested Truett-Hurst Winery, so we decided to give them a try. They had some very nice wines, they specialize in Zinfandel's and syrah's. Since it was so late in the day and most wineries close at 5pm, we decided to go right to dinner. We tried KC Downtown Grill in downtown Windsor. Once back at the hotel, I decided to head down to the hot tub, where I sat and chatted with other racers about the race. It was interesting to hear what they thought about the race, course, etc.

Since this was my first attempt at the half iron distance, I really didn't have any expectations other than finishing. In the back of my mind, I said I would like to come in under 7 hours, which I did. It was a great experience, one I will never forget, but the journey to get there was even greater. I have met so many wonderful and supportive people over the years. There are so many people I need to thank...my wife and family, my coach, my running/riding partners, my friends, my twitter/facebook friends,  and A Runner's Circle family... I couldn't have done it without all of you....so from the bottom of my heart...THANK YOU!

So what's next you ask??? Nothing! Actually, I have the Disneyland Half Marathon on the schedule and that is it. I'm not going to do much the rest of this year, I need to give my body a break and I need to take care of things in my life that I have put on hold for the better part of the last year. In the coming weeks, I will sit down and figure out some kind of maintenance plan so I can try and stay in shape. I will also try and figure out 2012 as far as racing...at this point, I am leaning towards "not much", since I am shooting to run the Goofy Challenge in January 2013. I need to decide if I want to run the LA Marathon again, but at the very least, I will volunteer with Craig and his SRLA kids once again.

Oh yes...the broken tooth...I had it looked at on Tuesday morning and fortunately, it was only a wisdom tooth, but it was beyond saving and had to come out.

Time...A Precious Commodity

I keep looking at this blog and thinking I really need to write something. After all, it has been over 2 months since I last posted anything, but I really haven't had much time to write. So today...I am forcing myself to write!

The last few months have been crazy as I have been training for my first half ironman triathlon...Vineman 70.3. The race is next weekend and I have been preparing for the last few months. I have 9 workouts over 6 days with Friday being my only rest day. I'm not going to lie...it has taken it toll, not only on me, but those around me. I tend to be a bit cranky at times! I get home after 8pm 3 nights a week, spend most of Saturday on a bike doing my long rides and several hours on Sunday doing a long run. My wife has been a real trooper when it comes to my training, but I think she is glad it's almost over. In a way...I am too...I can get my life back. There are so many things (projects, honey do's, etc) that I have pushed aside during this training plan, and after next week's race, I must deal with them.

Over the last few months, I have met some amazing people and done some really good training rides/runs with. I was really fortunate to meet @roadchickie and she took me under her wing and showed me how to embrace and love cycling. "Ride for Food and Beer"is her motto! You can read about most of our rides on her blog: www.mydogparty.blogspot.com  As she says...I have drank the cycling kool-aid and now I am thinking about doing a century ride later this year. I also got to do a couple of rides with Ron and Rebecca and we all did a Sprint Triathlon today, which was a lot of fun. The last few weeks, I have been running with Craig Moss and some of his Mt Gleason Runners in the hills of Griffith Park. Some serious trail running with lots of elevation gain.

Recently, I was asked what are my plans after Vineman? I said I am taking a break from training, although I still want to get in a good bike ride and run every other week or so. I only have one race on the schedule and that is the Disneyland Half marathon in September. I still need to decide if I want to run the LA Marathon again next year or take the year off. I may just volunteer with Craig and his SRLA kids working water stops and doing some of the shorter runs. I dont know...I probably wont make that decision until late September.

This week is a pretty light training week, although I will put in some extra workouts in the pool. I was not pleased with this mornings swim (Sprint Triathlon) so I need to get it figured out before next week. We leave on Friday morning for Sonoma and the race is Sunday.

Thank you to everyone for your support!, especially those of you who has put in training miles with me either on the bike or by foot, it means everything to me.

Under-Promise and Over-Deliver!

I have been is sales for almost 20 years and when I first got started, one of the old timers told me about the phrase.."under-promise and over-deliver" and it has stuck with me all these years and I still practice it to this day.

This week I had the opportunity to finally meet and ride with @roadchickie. We have been talking about doing a ride for sometime, but with my LA Marathon training, it just didn't happen until yesterday. She had mentioned on her blog that she did a 50 mile ride to the Rose Bowl and back and that peeked my interest. I told her this would be my longest ride yet and that I wasn't all that fast and a poor climber as well. Mind you, this was coming off of last weeks ride where I felt a bit overwhelmed at 35 miles. I have followed her on twitter for some time and have read her blog regularly, so I know she is the "real deal" when it comes to cycling. She agreed to take me on this trip with only one condition...that no pictures could be taken of her (remember this for later), but she could take pictures of us  and we made plans for Saturday. We took off from her place in the Valley and cruised along at a nice pace on into Burbank where we met up with a couple of her other riding friends, Randy and William.

William, Randy and I

Once we met up with William and Randy, we headed up into the hills of Glendale. The climbing wasn't bad and I was feeling pretty good. Winding through the neighborhoods of Glendale was nice and we were all chatting as we rode. M.E. would ask if I had ever done "such and such" a ride and when I said nope...I could here the wheels turning in her head, she was eventually get me on those rides. When we got to Verdugo, which would be our biggest climb, William and I started out at a nice pace. We were talking about beer and just kept cruising right along. All of the sudden, his cell phone rings and he answers it...it was M.E. and Randy, we had missed the turn off and need to go back to them...it was about 1/2 mile, no big deal...who couldn't use a bit of extra climbing? We got back to them and headed down a side street that led us to Verdugo about 1 block north of where William and I turned around. WTF? I guess it was payback for my smart ass comment to M.E. as we were riding to meet the guys. She asked me what I did for a living and I told her I was a stunt double on adult films...for 1 second she took me seriously and didn't know what to say...then she just laughed. I guess I deserved the extra climbing.

We started descending into Pasadena and M.E. warned us that we needed to stop at any stop sign as the police were giving tickets. Sure enough, there was one sitting at an intersection just waiting for cyclist to blow through the stop signs. Fortunately, none of us got tickets as we all stopped. When we arrived at the Rose Bowl, there was an event going on but we were able to make it to the bathrooms for a quick break. While we were getting ready to leave, a women cyclist approached and M.E. and Randy knew her. Her name is Dorothy Wong and she does/has done a lot for women's cycling. I must admit I didn't know who she was until I got home and googled her. We chatted for a few minutes and then we stopped over to take a few pictures with her and her cycling group. While M.E. was taking pictures with them (remember that "no picture" clause) Randy, William and I were making jokes about her "no pictures of me" clause and how it didn't seem to apply now. Dorothy decided to ride out of the Rose Bowl with us and head home.

Dorothy, William and Me

We started back up the hill to Verdugo and it really wasn't that bad of a climb back out. We headed in Montrose and M.E. and I decided to eat lunch, while William and Randy decided to keep going. I was glad we stopped as it broke up the ride a bit, but it was fun chatting and getting to know M.E. After lunch it was either downhill or flat (my kind of ride) as promised and we made our way through Glendale, and Burbank. We hopped on the Chandler bike path and then on down Chandler. I thought we were keeping a pretty good, but comfortable pace, it turns out that maybe it was a bit fast???  Sorry!

We were cruising along and my Garmin dinged and we had just hit 50 miles...woo hoo! We made it back to M.E.'s place and she introduced me to Boo...her dragon. What a cool creature...I have never seen, nor been able to touch one in person.

Boo

 When it was all said and done, we did 50.63 miles, moving time: 3:54:01 with 2,086 feet of climbing. Drove home thinking about my accomplishment and my new friends, unloaded my car and had a well deserved beer or 3.

I had a great time and can't wait to get together and ride again, although I get the feeling that M.E. wont be going so easy on me the next time! So in the end, I under-promised my riding ability, but by the end of the day...I definitely over-delivered! Thanks again!!!!

"Sandbagger Bob"  :)

Check out M.E.'s account of our day, she is a much better story teller and has all of the pictures she took from the day. Here's the link http://mydogparty.blogspot.com/2011/04/game-on.html

Vineman 70.3 Training is in Full Swing

I cant believe it's been so long since I have written anything, probably since I have been so busy with real world stuff. I started my Vineman 70.3 training plan on April 5 and so far it has been going fairly well. I am doing 9 workouts over 6 days with Friday being my only rest day. This is what my typical week looks like:

Monday - A.M. - Swim,   P.M. - Bike
Tuesday - A.M. -Long Swim
Wednesday - Brick Workout with the LA Tri Club
Thursday - A.M. - Swim,  P.M. - Run
Friday - Off
Saturday - Long Bike
Sunday - Long Run

I feel as if things are coming together, but the July 17 race date is rapidly approaching and I still have a long way to go until I feel confident about this race.

I have been fortunate enough to have meet some great people on twitter and we have met up for some longer bike rides. Last week, I finally got to meet and ride with Rebecca, her husband Ron and Stuart out in the Conejo Valley. It was nice to be able to ride with some new faces and Rebecca took us for a nice, not easy 35 mile ride. TheWhen it was done, I felt that I had gotten a great workout and up to then, that was my longest ride. Thanks again for not dropping me! Can't wait to do it again...hopefully soon.

Becca and I rolling to a quick water stop...a much needed break for me!

 Me, Becca and Ron

Moving Forward

After the LA Marathon, I have taken the last 2 weeks off of training. Other than a couple of 3 miles runs and a 4 mile walk with my wife, there has been no biking or swimming. Over the last 2 weeks, I have tried to figure out what went wrong, once again, at the LA Marathon. I have talked with several people, some athletes, some in the medical profession, about my issues....hunger at mile 9 and having no energy later in the race. Two theories have come up, one being the lack of protein I ate in the days leading up to the race. I have a PB&J sandwich for lunch on Friday and another one at the stadium before the race but that was it for protein. For the most part, Friday and Saturday was all carbs. Second was the fact that my body was using more energy to counteract the cold/rain/wind, makes sense, although I had a poncho on, but I was still wet and at times, cold. Time to move on, I have bigger things in my future...Vineman 70.3 on July 17th.

I received my training plan from Craig Moss the other day and have been studying it like crazy. I will be making some adjustments to the swimming portion by adding more distance to some of the workouts. I will also add a few longer bricks, later in the training cycle. I am also looking forward to meeting some people I follow on twitter and doing some bike rides and bricks with. With that said...training starts Sunday with a 5 mile run.