First Masters Swim Practice

I didn’t know how this was going to go… but I have to say I Really liked it.  The people in my lane were really nice and I felt like I got a Great workout.

It was kicking my butt for the first few laps but I adjusted quickly and found my groove.  I was even able to do some of the butterfly stroke (which I had never done before).

I’m stoked about this and really think this was a good idea.  I’m going to be Faster next season for sure!

btw: I hate the kicking drills

Sentinal Race Report

This was a late add to my calendar because a guy who I work with (Mark) said he was doing the race and it was his first Triathlon ever... so I said WTF, I'll do it too.

I was doing all the normal taper stuff... hydrating like crazy, adding in the necessary carbs, lighter workouts, I even watched Invincible the night before to get all motivated.  I love those sort of movies (Rudy, Remember the Titans, etc...)

As usual, I have the 3:45am wake up call to start get the body going, eat, hydrate some more and get in the car to drive to Santa Cruz.  I was Wide Awake and really ready for this race as it was the last one of the season for me.

I get there in plenty of time, get my packet from Mark (Saturday packet pickup only) and get a Killer spot in transition.

Light Run... Stretch... Visualized my transition location from each entrance and exit... I'm ready.

I head down to the water with Mark... I dip my foot in for a second and it's REALLY COLD!  Some say it was wamer then normal but 63 degrees is COLD.  I warm up a little and get ready to go; we were the second wave. 

We're Off... I'm not really thinking much about the cold as much as I am about the people around me.  There were 79 guys in the 35-39 and I felt like I grappled with half of them.  The swim started on the left side of the pier out and around and then back to shore... kind of a cool swim course.  I don't like swimming in the ocean though... I hate how the sea water makes my throat all raw.

It was an average swim for me; 28 min.  I was a little slower than I wanted but I think that because of the grappling (it's surprising how much time you lose on that crap).

** Side note: I have a tryout on Thursday for a masters program so I'm hoping by next season I'll be much faster and won't have to deal with that as much.

Ok, I'm out of the water and Thankfully someone had their thinking cap on when they put a FRESH WATER station right at the swim exit.  Then it was a run up hill back to transition.  I had a little motivation when I ran by a 6 or 7 year old spectator who yelled "Go zTeam"... I laughed and kept running.

T1 was ok, not great by any means but I felt like I was in and out in a decent time.

Then I'm off on the bike... I got a very loud EEEEWWWWW when I blew a snot rocket rounding the first corner.  LOL!

I'm moving along at a good pace 21.5 mph and was really feeling good!  I was at mile 3.8 when I heard....  Wait for it

PPPPPPPPPPPPPSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!

FUCK!!!!!    Flat Tire!

As soon as it happened I yelled Fuck at the top of my lungs... stared at the bike in disbelief... punched the saddle and walked back to transition.  Yes Walked back.  They have a van that I saw at mile 2 but it was only to shuttle race workers.  To add insult to the situation, I had to walk back in bare feet 3.8 miles!

OH... And this is something worth mentioning.   I haven't had a flat tire in a training ride or race since last October.  Can you believe that!  Crazy and I'm so pissed that it happened in my last race of the season.  At least it wasn't at mile 12 (that walk would have sucked).

I got back, turned in my chip, packed my bag, packed the car and drove home!

2 beers and some wings later, I felt ok.  But have EXTRA motivation for the off season.

WTF... Can one person have a crappier run?

This past weekend Julie and I had to stay in a hotel because they were leveling our floors for the remodel.  A bit of a pain in the butt because we have a cat and finding a pet friendly hotel that you actually want to stay in can be a bit challenging! Luckily the Kimpton Hotel Group allows pets and they have a hotel right around the corner from us, Hotel Monaco (we live only a couple of blocks off of Union Square).  It was nice and we didn't feel to displaced because we were so close to home.  Ron (our cat) on the other hand, wasn't happy and spent most of the time under the bed.  Poor little guy... he's been out of sorts since we began the remodel.

Anyway... on to the real post.  On Saturday morning I got up and went for a run.  It was my normal route, pretty quick and short; 6 miles along the Embarcadero by the ballpark.

I get to my half way point and my calf was a little tight so I stopped to stretch on a garbage can (the only thing around) and as most of you know, when running your nose runs.  So I blew a "snot rocket".  And some guy crossing the street walking his dog gets near me and says "did you have to blow your snot rocket right there... I walk here every day".  I thought he was kidding so I asked; "Are you kidding"?  He says: "No... did you have to do that right there!".  So I ask... "when you walk your dog and it shits on the sidewalk do you pick it up?"  He say's "yes".  I follow up with "Do you scrub the ground with soap so there's No Shit left on the sidewalk?"  He say's "That's not he same"  I said "Your right... my snot vs. your dog's shit are not the same.  So go Fuck Yourself"  And then I turned and finished my run.



Now I'm running back to the hotel and just a little thrown off because of the guy I just encountered... that kind of crap really gets under my skin.  I really Hate San Francisco some times... who the hell to these people think they are.  I won't get started... I could go on for days on this topic.

Anyway... I'm running along and I'm almost at the hotel, running right by Macy's on Union Square when some kid in his 20's, just as I'm about even with him jukes toward me.  It startled me a bit so I jump out of the way and Immediately call him a Fucking Asshole.  Looking back I wish I would have moved into him and layed him on his ass!  It'd be the last time he ever did that.  But I suppose I have to admit it would have been kind of funny to see that take place.  Although it pissed me off when it happed.

I'm calking it up to the worst city run I've had... I bet Loren or Ian don't have to deal with that crap in Tiburon.

Ok… Are you Serious!

Sarah Palin has to be the best example of pandering in the History of politics.  Did you know that 9 out of 43 Vice Presidents have become President due to Presidential Death?  21% of the Time!

McCain is not the healthiest guy around you know.

Should this woman be our next VP and have a 21% chance of being President?

Based on this picture she seems 21% likely to give a lap dance.

Finally... Folsom Race Report

The quick and dirty... 2:39. Not great by any means but this was a "training race" for me because I have Sentinal on 9/21.

Longer version:

Wake up 3:50 am to get my body going, eat some oatmeal and start hydrating. I don't like getting up this early... but it saves money on staying in a hotel by the race. I can't justify $150 or so just to get an extra hour of sleep. Anyway... the day started ok until I had to go from my car in the garage of the my building back to my place on the 20th floor TWICE! Forgot clif bars then forgot cellphone... aaarrrrggghhh!

Finally out the door and driving to the race.

I get to the race and Every rack was full... so I just set my stuff up by a pillar in the trasition lot. It ended up being a good spot. No one around me and I was by the bike and run exit. It seemed like I was running just a bit behind all morning but I kept thinking "don't stress, it's a training race". The with 12 min before I'm supposed to go off (2nd wave)... I get the oh man... I really have to use the porto-potty before I race. We've all been there and there's nothing worse then waiting in line when you know you should be warming up. I'm in... I'm out.

I run get my wetsuit on as I see my wave is pretty much lined up and I have 2 minutes before the gun... Shit!!! I hurry up and put my wetsuit on, eat a gel, grab my cap and goggles and run to the water. I suppose that could be deemed my warmup. I litterally go into the water with 30 seconds to spare. HORN... and we're off.

Mental thoughts: Training race... don't stess. Training race... don't stess. Training race... don't stess. What the Hell is wrong with that guy... he's swimming zig zags and has run into me 3 times... Verbal: I yell at him. Mental... Ok get back in your groove. Shit here he comes again. I slow down, let him get in front of me and grabbed his ankle and pulled him backward as I moved forward. I didn't see him the rest of the swim.

Other than that... I swam straight. Felt like I had a good stroke and finished in 25 minutes which was a Great time for me.

As I came out of the water I stubbed my toe on my right foot on a rock ... Ouch! 2 steps later... I stubbed my toe on my left foot and broke it! Son of a........ That really hurt!

Then as I'm running to T1 some guy decides to cross my path and I run right into him even though I'm yelling "heads up" 30 yards before I get to him. Idiot!

T1 was a little crappy at 2:10 or something close to that.

On the bike, I was just cruising along and pushing but not to hard. Again Training race... don't stess. Then some tool tries to cut in on my front tire so close that he almost takes me out... I yell at him let him know he's a Stupid F@#K!

Back to cruising along... I really enjoyed the bike. It was relatively flat with one exception and I just went along at about 20 mph. I also thanked Every volunteer on the course. And like Loren Yelled at the Drafters... I hate that crap. Cheaters!

T2 was just over a minute

The run was pretty nice too... it was a paved trail run; out and back. It was nice because it was lots of shade and water every mile. It was a bit undulating but not so bad that it was painful. But here I am "Training race... don't stess". Pretty easy run... I went Slow!

Overall... I actually had Fun. I know it's crazy to think that you can have that kind of thought during the race but I did. On several occasions... I actually thought "I'm having a lot of fun today. I know I'm not going to win and I'm not trying to so Just continue to have fun".

Crossed in 2:39.

Got my broken toe taped by the EMT, packed my stuff and drove home.

Later that day I went to a birthday party and felt great. I had a couple of beers, a couple pieces of pizza, some cake and hung out with some friends. Did I mention I felt Great! There just might be something to this Have Fun thing.

Next Race Sentinal on 9/21. Last one for the season... I won't be having fun in this race; I'll be pushing Hard!

Could things get any busier?

For some reason... I suppose just naturally things in life keep getting busier.  Whether it's work, home (remodel), dealing with home stuff, did I mention things around the house.  Ok, I suppose that most of the work is self inflicted right now but it's a lot.

I'm selling a Pottery Barn dining table w/ 6 chairs and a Manhattan Leather Sofa on craigslist and have been showing those.

Our dining room and kitchen are totally gutted and the dust is ridiculous.

It seems like there a never ending pile of stuff to do and I get less time to do it.

And I throw in a bunch of training too which takes of even more time.

Such is life... I wouldn't trade it.  I have a Great wife, I live in a place most would kill for and it's going to be another beautiful sunny day.  Oh... and our cat Ron is sitting next to me while I write this post.

There were a couple of things I read a while back that I've been doing lately and I've really seen a difference:

1. Focus on the thing that your doing no matter what it is... talking to someone, riding your bike, working, whatever.  Stay present in what you have in front of you... your mind may try to wander but be in the moment of what you are doing Now.
2. Learn the difference between what you can and can't control and accept the things you can't.  Because we live very busy lives we tend to get annoyed at many things around us.  Many of which you can't control.  I've been trying Very hard at this one... it's made my days better.  I still hate traffic, but there's not much I can do about it so I crank the tunes and try to enjoy the moment.  And relate back to my first one Being Present in what I'm doing now.

Well that's enough of a rant for this morning... I have to get going on my day.

Good luck to everyone racing this weekend.