Transitions

Here's a hodgepodge of stuff from the week, with no logical transitions to connect them. Been focusing my transition abilities elsewhere:

This week's official organized training was all about making the switch between the triathlon events: swim to bike and bike to run. On Wednesday, we did a run/bike/run/bike/run workout; each run was about a mile, and each bike segment was about 4.5 miles. At the end, my legs really felt like concrete - it was really hard to make the switch from pedaling in circles to running. I guess that's the point of the training though - to get your legs used to it so that it's not such a shock.

Then on Saturday we had a great day filled with three mini-triathlons. Each one consisted of a 300 yard swim, about 7 miles on the bike, and about 1.5 miles running, with a break in between each one. Again, the first two were pretty manageable, but on the third round it was tough to get revved up again. My arms and legs decided of their own accord that they were pretty much done after two rounds. Overall, the training aspects of the day were great; all was not fabulous though - my relay friend had a bit of a crash on her last bike segment. Last I heard (Saturday afternoon) she was doing fine, and her sense of humor was mostly intact, even if her knees and arms and other parts were not. Ouch! Hope she's doing better. I had made some tentative plans to join her and a couple of other folks today in scouting out the official 56 mile Big Kahuna bike course, but we'll have to take a gauze-and-bandaid check on that.

On Friday I swam the official half-ironman distance of 1.2 miles in the pool, just to see how long it would take. 43 minutes - room for improvement? Actually, just being able to swim that far without stopping is a pretty huge thing, considering my swimming shape when I started this whole shebang.

I've been doored! Yup, I learned firsthand why it's not a good idea to ride your bike on the right side of slow or stopped traffic. On the way home from practice Wednesday night, traffic was slow on University, and I was passing on the right when, in the middle of the block, the passenger door opened on a big SUV, and I didn't have time to stop or room to swerve. So. I had a nice meeting with the door, and then a follow-up session with the pavement. It could have been a lot worse - all I have to show for this episode is a gouge in my finger and some bruises. And increased wisdom. I'll promise to limit my right-side passing if folks promise to at least look if they're going to do something silly like open their door, suddenly, in the middle of the block. At the end of the day, though, it's up to the cyclists, right? Because we'll always lose.

This evening I went out cycling with some folks from St. Mark's - they were pretty darn fast and very impressive! After returning home I switched to my running shoes and went for the best run yet: 22 minutes out and 18 minutes back - it's a great feeling to finish at a quick pace.

It's time for the weekly totals! 5100 yards swimming, 139 miles biking, 13 miles running.

And the monthly totals for July: 10.9 miles swimming, 461 miles biking, 52.5 miles running.

Total totals, starting at the beginning of June: 20.4 miles swimming, 929 miles biking, 89.5 miles running. Pretty good numbers for Team Zip, eh?

Finally, I know there are a lot of folks out there who have promised me donations are forthcoming - seize the day! And I'm sure that there are even more folks out there that have promised themselves that they will donate. Go for it! I'm inching toward my big goal, but time is running out quickly! Thanks a ton.

wharf to wharf

This morning I dragged myself out of bed at 5am. The cat was ecstatic - early breakfast! I drove pretty much all alone on the road down to Santa Cruz for the Wharf to wharf "run" with 14,999 other folks. After the starting gun went off, about 5 minutes passed before I made it up to the starting line, and the first mile was pretty much all walking. I didn't really start running until after the second mile marker. My finish time for the six mile race was about 57 minutes; over the last two miles the time splits suggested that I was running just a bit faster than an 8 minute mile pace. Two things learned, to remember if I ever run a "race" like this again: (1) don't be honest and line up under your estimated mile pace - I was passing people all the way to the finish line, and (2) bring a watch! It was a really good time though - there were over 40 bands providing entertainment and encouragement along the entire route. Quite festive!

Yesterday's official triathlon workout was the toughest yet by far. After an hour in the pool attempting to swim the same distances over and over at the same speeds or faster, I was wiped out. Then came a pretty fast 40 mile bike ride that went up and down and up and down and up and down these pretty short but steep hills. The first four or five or so were fine, but then . . . . With the commute to training and back, that makes 60 miles total, at about 17 mph average, up and down and up and down. I've been on rides of longer distances, but they weren't as hard. I cannot imagine going for a 13 mile run after such a ride. I wonder if I'll be able to do the triathlon in September after all!?

On a positive note, donations are going pretty well - don't miss your chance!

Sunday weekly totals: 5600 yards swimming, 138 miles biking, 16 miles running. Less hours sleeping than I'd like!

Voldemort vs. Vader

Lately, the back story seems to have taken center stage: first the Star Wars prequels, and now the latest Harry Potter book. Rowling does a pretty good job in the latest book filling out the details of Voldemort's past. This is effective, I think, in making him more real, and importantly, a more imposingly scary figure. Before this book, Voldemort was simply a caricature of evil that popped up at the end of each of the Potter books to be promptly vanquished by a geeky teenager. The back story makes his not-to-be-named wickedness more tangible.

Before the latest "Potter," and before the Star Wars prequels, Vader would clearly have won in any head to head with Voldemort. Vader is appropriately nasty and puts the hurt to a number of fairly potent folks: he "kills" Obi-Wan, he renders Han Solo helpless, and he beats up on Luke fairly handily. The prequels, though, pretty much ruined Vader for me. As far as I can tell, here's how Anakin's transformation went down:

"Boy, Mace Windu's obfuscatory politicking sure is confusing. And what's with his weird purple lightsaber, anyway? He's just not as cool as that Palpatine, who has a wicked cool gravelly voice with that vaguely sinister precise diction. Oh, and my wife may or may not be in danger. Better go slaughter a bunch of helpless kids and become the most wicked tyrant the galaxy has ever known."

Right, so instead of swimming and all that other triathlon stuff, the greater portion of this last Sunday was spent gobbling up "The Half-blood Prince." I bought the book at Kepler's late Saturday night (my copy was about the 1000th sold in less than 24 hours at this local, non-chain bookstore) and had it pretty much finished by Sunday night. I think it may be the best so far, maybe even surpassing "Azkaban." I'm looking forward to the last book.

There's a demon that lives in the sky

Actually, there's a demon that lives on Old LaHonda Road, on the way up to skyline. And it's a personal demon. It lives at 25:30; somehow I have been unable to climb the hill faster than that. I'm pretty sure it's a mental demon, because my legs feel fine and I'm able to cruise on up the skyline hill pretty well after reaching the top of Old LaHonda. I'm thinking it's a mental demon that prevents me from going too hard. Looking at the various OLH hill climb times over the years from the Stanford team, this puts me squarely at the back of the pack. Maybe after the back of the pack. Good thing I didn't try to race! Or maybe riding with team folks more will exorcise the curse?

How many The Right Stuff references can be fit into one blog? We're pushing the outer edge of the envelope here.

Saturday's workout was great - we tried out our wetsuits for the first time in a Foster City Lagoon. Adjusting to the wetsuit was no problem - my wetsuit was pleasantly floaty, and no chafing happened whatsoever (I did manage to get some nice butter-flavored Pam on my neck beforehand, so that may have helped). We went straight from the swim to a 7.5 mile run, which felt fine as I was doing it. I was a bit tired in the last mile or two, but I'm fairly certain the tiredness was all in my head, as a quick assessment of other running happenings (legs, aerobic stuff) turn up no problems. So the tiredness was all in my head - I have to figure out how to get that out of there, and also how to remove the speed governor that seems to be in there telling me to go slowly.

What did not feel so fine was the chafing induced by my salt-encrusted tri shorts. I didn't realize this while running, but after returning home I became painfully aware of some raw spots in unlikely places. Ouch. I'll have to invest seriously in some chamois butter, and soon.

And Friday's pool workout went really well - I swam 2600 yards with no problems whatsoever (and with no help from zoomers or hand paddles). More importantly, I'm finally feeling like I'm doing a lot of things correctly in the pool. Hopefully I'll remember these correct things when the crazy mass-start triathlon rolls around.

(late) Sunday weekly totals:

5,500 yards swimming, 70 miles biking, 18 miles running. Again, with the increased running it's been a light bike week.

Donations keep coming in too - don't miss your chance! Thanks a ton.

Pool Toys

I've really been enjoying those zoomers that Michelle got for me. At first, I thought they were cheating, but then I tried them with the kick board, and wow. Great for the legs! She also got me some hand paddles, and they are great too - finally my arms have no excuse for being lazy, and maybe they'll get inspired to actually work a bit for a change. With all of these pool doodads, swimming is actually becoming somewhat interesting. All I need now is a beachball, a bucket, and a little plastic shovel, and then I'll be all set. Swimming is now rivaling cycling as a sport that perhaps requires too much gear.

Other water works: we received our wetsuits yesterday at track practice, so that we could be ready for this Saturday's first open water swim. I'm supposed to try mine on tonight, but I have to confess that the thing frightens me just a little. Right now it's hanging up in the doorway, taunting me with its sleek buoyancy. Maybe I'll try it on tomorrow. Maybe I'll just try to avoid it.

What really disturbs me is all this talk of chafing: apparently salt water splashing does not mix well with subsequent repetitive leg and arm motions in cycling and running. Ouch. Chafing is right up there with ticks on my list of least favorite things in the world. Ostensibly, this serious chafing can be prevented via the liberal use of something called "Body Glide." I haven't mustered up the courage yet to visit Body Glide land. I might have to go with the low-budget option (rumor has it this works just as well): Pam cooking spray. Yech. Hopefully I can grab something slippery before Saturday.

I've been lax on the biking this week, in favor of running. This evening I went down to the swanky athletic digs at nearby Menlo-Atherton High School. Quite posh! Ran many laps on the track, trying to spare my knees, but now (a few hours later) my legs are complaining loudly. What's their problem??!?

Donations are still trickling in - thanks a ton! Many folks have been very enthusiastic about promising to send in a check, but not quite as many folks are actually getting that check in the mail. If that's you - save yourself a stamp and check this out! Thanks tons to all of you for your support.

does canoeing count?

Forces both good and evil have been conspiring to limit triathlon training this week. Michelle and I had a great trip to Tahoe to celebrate our sixth anniversary. Actually, the trip to Tahoe was not so hot - apparently folks did not get their fill of out-of-Bay-Area-experiences on the 4th of July weekend. It seemed as if we were heading to Tahoe with about 3/4 of the Bay Area on Friday afternoon, and it took more than twice as long to get there as it normally does. Or perhaps the travel time was indeed normal for Friday afternoon. Either way, it wasn't pleasant. The portion of the trip AT Tahoe, though, was most excellent. We hiked, hung out on the beach, did some cycling, watched movies outdoors, camped, made pancakes, went canoeing, saw some mountain lakes, and trudged over some snow. Note the lack of tri-approved activities such as running and swimming (and the biking was only 12 miles or so). Maybe just being at a high elevation counts for something? Actually, the benefits of high elevations were probably outgunned by the drawbacks of camp food: lots of salami, cheese, trail mix, cookies, meatballs. Mmmm. And our special anniversary dinner was at a pizza place, followed by ice cream. Incidentally, if you ever find yourself in Tahoma, California, I highly recommend that you try Angela's Pizzaria (yes, even with the creative spelling). The pizza was excellent (smoked chicken with kalamata olives), as were the soup (carrot and curry) and the salad (with a sesame-seed/orange dressing). Tasty!

So the Tahoe trip, along with the stickleback course, were both a bit obstructive as far as training goes, leading to this week's Sunday totals: 5.5 miles running, 104 miles biking, 2900 yards swimming. This week I'm planning to do quite a bit more running - stay tuned for how that goes. In the meantime, why not give me a figurative "get going" kick in my speedo-clad butt?

Heading to Tahoe

...for our sixth anniversary, so no official training for me this weekend. Tomorrow the team is scheduled to do a bike/run "brick" workout: 30 miles of cycling followed immediately by 30 minutes of running. I hope to take the bikes up to Tahoe with us, so maybe I'll be able to do this on my own. Mostly we intend to relax and see the sights, though.

I've been slacking just a bit this week on the swimming, as I've only been in the pool once. Two new things in the pool though: the long-awaited debut of the SPEEDOS, and (2) the romantic zoomers/swim training fins that my lovely wife got me for our anniversary. So regarding the speedos - no, they're not the 'brief' kind, thankfully. I don't think you'll be seeing me sporting those anytime soon. Yes, you're welcome. The ones I newly acquired are of the thigh-hugging, 'jammer' variety: basically bike shorts without the seat pad. And you know what? I think they actually help? Instead of just a vague splashy feeling in my hip region, I can genuinely feel when my hips are (unfortunately rarely) on the surface of the water (as they should be), instead of sinking like an anchor. So now maybe I can fix that. And the zoomers - I'm not sure I'm using them right. As far as I can tell, all they do is make me go about 4 times faster with less effort. Which is a good thing - it's fun to feel firsthand what swimming quickly is all about. I'm not getting the leg workout that was promised by our coach (who, incidentally, says using zoomers is "not cheating" .... not sure if I buy that). So they're a work in progress, I guess.

So far my Tue/Thurs morning "buddy" rides have been wildly successful in the fact that they actually get me out of bed and out on the road. They haven't been at all successful in attracting any "buddies" from the triathlon team, alas; maybe people who have real jobs cannot dally around on their bikes until 8:30 am?

Off to Tahoe now .... maybe my fundraising goal will have been met by the time I return?

Discovery Channel

No, not the Tour; rather, something else entirely. On Friday afternoons, our department has what's known as 'social hour.' This event consists of two long tables filled with all sorts of things that are terribly bad for you, along with an occasional sorry-looking bag of baby carrots to balance out the junk, and an ice tray filled with as much beer as possible. Because the department consists primarily of cash-starved graduate students and postdocs who get all twitchy at the prospect of free food (and beer), the social hour inevitably takes on the character of those 'Nature' specials where the divers release a drop of fish blood, the sharks appear out of nowhere, and a feeding frenzy ensues. People eat anything and everything in sight. Who says cookies and doritos and hummus and beer and dark chocolate truffles and salsa and pastrami and bean dip and gummy worms and smoked salmon and chocolate-covered espresso beans don't all complement each other nicely? From experience, I can now tell you that these delights may taste good going down, but it is not wise to attempt a swim workout 30 minutes after social hour. I guess I'll have to re-examine my nutritional intake strategies for the actual triathlon. In any case, social-hour induced pudge is one prime motivator for doing all of this training.

On Saturday I went on a somewhat epic (for me) bike ride. While many of the spandex-encased cyclist studs who live around this area may take issue with this ride as being "epic," it was pushing the outer limits for me. I rode down to Cupertino, up Mt. Eden Road, up Pierce, up Hwy 9 to Redwood Gulch, down to Stevens Canyon, back up foothill to Alpine, up Old La Honda to Skyline, down 84 to Sand Hill, and then back home. 65 miles of hilly fun. The main discovery of this ride is that I'm fine as long as I have enough food along - energy is not a problem (don't quite know how to address the sore back, shoulders, and butt though).

Today I went for another meandering 6-7 mile run through the tonier neighborhoods of the Peninsula - they're great because of the nice flat dirt shoulders on the roads. Someday I'll have to brave running the hills. This afternoon, Michelle and I braved the fast lane in the pool at Stanford. For the first time, I felt as if I was actually swimming somewhat correctly. Not fast, but I was cruising and gliding! Good news.

Sunday weekly total: 5080 yards swimming, 107 miles biking, 10 miles running (a bit light on the running, but my joints are thanking me).

June monthly total: 9.5 miles swimming, 468 miles biking, 37 miles running. Seems like a lot!

Fundraising has hit a bit of a plateau - I'm about halfway to my goal, and still need to send some letters and emails out to people. Are you one of these people? Thanks!