Hey everyone!
Just a heads up that I will be at Wildflower all weekend so if you are going to be there stop by and say hi!
I will likely be at the Avia and K-man Cyclery booth sporting Skinfit of course!!!!
My plan is to get in some great training and to help out those that have helped me along the way.
I won't be racing so if anyone needs a hand let me know and I will do all that I can.
Hopefully I will see some of you out there!
Oh, on a training front I feel sooooo good! I feel fresh and I am crushing my hard workouts! Can't wait for Temecula...Xterra here I come!
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Oh, how good it feels when hard workouts seem easy...
Today my rest week ended and I did my first hard session of my 2 week build phase. After a week of rest my body absorbed all of the hard training from previous weeks and I was feeling so fresh and ready to really get after it.
My hard ride and run combo seemed easy...I did a 3:30 group ride and immediately went into my 4.5 mile hilly transition run course. During the ride, I felt strong and powerful on the climbs, flats, sprints, everything. It feels so good to be finding my cycling legs. They have been absent the last couple years and I think this year I am coming closer to the form I had when I was just racing my bike. Several more weeks of hard training along with plenty of rest and I think I will be fully equiped to post some solid results.
The run was smooth and I felt like my breathing and form were all in check.
I missed Xterra Arizona today and I am bummed about that but I know missing this race is going to make me even more fired up to race Temecula May 18th. The goal is to toe the line hungry to race and I know this will be the case for me.
Alright, time for some recovery and then come monday it's on!!!!
Have a good one!
My hard ride and run combo seemed easy...I did a 3:30 group ride and immediately went into my 4.5 mile hilly transition run course. During the ride, I felt strong and powerful on the climbs, flats, sprints, everything. It feels so good to be finding my cycling legs. They have been absent the last couple years and I think this year I am coming closer to the form I had when I was just racing my bike. Several more weeks of hard training along with plenty of rest and I think I will be fully equiped to post some solid results.
The run was smooth and I felt like my breathing and form were all in check.
I missed Xterra Arizona today and I am bummed about that but I know missing this race is going to make me even more fired up to race Temecula May 18th. The goal is to toe the line hungry to race and I know this will be the case for me.
Alright, time for some recovery and then come monday it's on!!!!
Have a good one!
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Change of plans...
Unfortunately, I will be missing the Arizona Xterra race this weekend. I just have too much going on and it will only lead to a ton of stress if I try to make it out there. I am really bummed b/c I love hanging out with the crew out there and I would love to test my fitness. Oh well, you have to be flexible with things and I know this is the right decision.
My rest week is coming along nicely. I am starting to feel refreshed. I was pretty beat down after the races at Sea Otter and a hard couple weeks of training so it took me a few days to get back to normal and I am still recovering. Once again, I am reminded how important it is to listen to your body!
After this week I am back at it with some very hard training as I ramp up for the first big race of the year...Xterra West Champs in Temecula.
Have a great rest of the week and weekend! Thanks for reading!
My rest week is coming along nicely. I am starting to feel refreshed. I was pretty beat down after the races at Sea Otter and a hard couple weeks of training so it took me a few days to get back to normal and I am still recovering. Once again, I am reminded how important it is to listen to your body!
After this week I am back at it with some very hard training as I ramp up for the first big race of the year...Xterra West Champs in Temecula.
Have a great rest of the week and weekend! Thanks for reading!
Monday, April 21, 2008
Training and racing...
So, I just wrapped up a very solid block of hard training. I feel good about where I am and I am looking forward to some rest over the next week.
Over the weekend I did two mountain bike races at the Sea Otter Classic. I did the short track on friday and the cross-country on sunday. These races fit nicely into my hard training block and since they are literally in my backyard I just couldn't pass them up. I had a great time racing and hanging out at the festival.
On friday the short track consisted of 15 minutes plus 3 laps so it was pretty much 22 minutes all-out! This was the hardest I have gone all year and my lungs certainly hated me for it. It hurt and I am not kiding when I say it was all-out from the first second. Great to clean out the system! I finished 3rd in Expert.
On sunday we faced nearly 40 miles of cross-country racing. It was a long,hard day for sure. I finished in 4th and, while not a great finish, it was a very solid training day.
I have to keep things in perspective when analyzing my results. I am a triathlete and I am racing cyclists. I was at the end of a very tough block of training and most of these guys were rested and peaking for this race. Had I rested I think I could have gone much faster but that wasn't my goal. I met my goal this weekend...I wanted two hard races to get me ready for the races that really matter. My big races start May 18th and I will peak in early June for my races in Alabama and Richmond. Until then, I am building my fitness and I have to put results into perspective. At the end of the day I went very hard and got in some great training!
Over the weekend I did two mountain bike races at the Sea Otter Classic. I did the short track on friday and the cross-country on sunday. These races fit nicely into my hard training block and since they are literally in my backyard I just couldn't pass them up. I had a great time racing and hanging out at the festival.
On friday the short track consisted of 15 minutes plus 3 laps so it was pretty much 22 minutes all-out! This was the hardest I have gone all year and my lungs certainly hated me for it. It hurt and I am not kiding when I say it was all-out from the first second. Great to clean out the system! I finished 3rd in Expert.
On sunday we faced nearly 40 miles of cross-country racing. It was a long,hard day for sure. I finished in 4th and, while not a great finish, it was a very solid training day.
I have to keep things in perspective when analyzing my results. I am a triathlete and I am racing cyclists. I was at the end of a very tough block of training and most of these guys were rested and peaking for this race. Had I rested I think I could have gone much faster but that wasn't my goal. I met my goal this weekend...I wanted two hard races to get me ready for the races that really matter. My big races start May 18th and I will peak in early June for my races in Alabama and Richmond. Until then, I am building my fitness and I have to put results into perspective. At the end of the day I went very hard and got in some great training!
Thursday, April 17, 2008
New post on my coaching site!
I will try to post a new article every tuesday or wednesday.
Click on the link in the side bar to view my coaching blog.
Click on the link in the side bar to view my coaching blog.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Training update...
I am in the middle of a hard build phase and I am happy to report that things are coming along exceptionally well. I am very pleased with my progress and I really feel like I am setting myself up for a very successful season.
My swimming is coming along nicely. I am swimming a lot with the local masters team/high school kids at Monterey Peninsula College and I am hitting the open water with Reto on a regular basis. I had a bit of a revelation last time Reto and I were out doing an open water workout. I was watching Reto's stroke and realized that my left arm was swinging way to wide on my underwater pull. Once I made some corrections I felt so much more powerful and balanced. Funny how this stuff works...you put in tons of time training to only one day think "what am I doing?" Then you make the slight changes and your times drop instantly. So, I expect with this slight modification and some practice I will be swimming ever stronger in a couple weeks...just in time for the bigger races! I did recently post an open water swim article on my coaching blog and with every passing week I realize how truly important open water swimming is to a triathletes preparation...so, I guess that article was a timely one and I hope some people found it useful.
--This is where we do our swimming!
My cycling is stronger then ever and I still have several weeks before my fitness peaks. I am feeling powerful during my hard sessions and I am recovering quickly. I put in a tough mountain bike race last sunday and I am happy with the way I rode. It was a 20 minute lap (we did 5 laps) with 15 minutes of climbing and 5 minutes of a tight, semi-technical descent...perfect training! I built each lap and felt very strong on the climbs. I was able to maintain a solid and progressively stronger tempo as each lap progressed showing me that my trainer sessions are building my fitness and power, which was what I was hoping for.
My run is on its way. I am putting in the miles and tough sessions as planned and I am certain my running will be in great form by the time temecula rolls around. I am focusing on my bike and swim more this year b/c I know my running will be there. I know what I have to do so I just put in the hard work and when it is all said and done I know I will show up on race day ready to run fast off the bike.
Next week will be hard and it will include some hard mountain bike racing at Sea Otter. I can't wait to test my fitness and I can't wait to get another hard week of training under my belt as I enter my next recovery week leading into Xterra Arizona Extreme (April 26th). So, things are going as planned and, I would say, I am right in line to achieve all of my early season goals, which are tough but attainable.
I am off to pre-ride the Sea Otter cross-country course and then off for a transition run...is this weather not amazing?!!!!!!!
Have a good day everyone and thanks for reading!
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Rest week done and now it's time for some serious training!
Well, my rest week has come and gone and I feel good right now. It took me a while to recover from my first race of the year but that was to be expected. It felt good to relax a bit and get my mind and body fresh for what is to come.
I am launching into a tough block of training that will push me to my limits for sure. I know exactly what I need to do, I have a great plan in place and I am excited to see my progress...a perfect recipe for success in my opinion.
With my race and work schedule the way it is I am doing 3, 2-week build blocks seperated by a rest week. This is slightly different from years past but I think it will work well for me and will assure I build enough rest into my training, which is key at this stage.
I will start to include some mountain bike races to build my speed and pain tolerance and some tough group rides to build endurance and power. I have two key run sessions per week that are very specific to my races and will no doubt make me strong. I will start to add in some open water swimming b/c this is so important to faster race day splits....open water swimming is so different from pool swimming and, in my opinion, it is required. It is also a lot more fun to get a group out to a lake or the ocean for some quality work.
Over the years I have come to realize how important it is to be pacient and consistent with your training. It is so easy to flood your week with hard workouts b/c you think it will make you faster based on the "more is better" attitude. As athletes we all want instant gratification but "instant" is a bad word in my opinion b/c it leads to overtraining, burnout, and injury. It take years to become a solid, all-around athlete so I think it is important to be specific in your training. By specific I mean pick a few key sessions per week to really work and focus on, fill the rest of your week with recovery and build to harder workouts as the year progresses. Over time you will see steady progression and your love for the sport will remain. So, enjoy the ride because the road to success can often times be a long one and will no doubt be filled with some great adventures!
Alright, that's my thought for the day. Have a good sunday and happy training!
I am launching into a tough block of training that will push me to my limits for sure. I know exactly what I need to do, I have a great plan in place and I am excited to see my progress...a perfect recipe for success in my opinion.
With my race and work schedule the way it is I am doing 3, 2-week build blocks seperated by a rest week. This is slightly different from years past but I think it will work well for me and will assure I build enough rest into my training, which is key at this stage.
I will start to include some mountain bike races to build my speed and pain tolerance and some tough group rides to build endurance and power. I have two key run sessions per week that are very specific to my races and will no doubt make me strong. I will start to add in some open water swimming b/c this is so important to faster race day splits....open water swimming is so different from pool swimming and, in my opinion, it is required. It is also a lot more fun to get a group out to a lake or the ocean for some quality work.
Over the years I have come to realize how important it is to be pacient and consistent with your training. It is so easy to flood your week with hard workouts b/c you think it will make you faster based on the "more is better" attitude. As athletes we all want instant gratification but "instant" is a bad word in my opinion b/c it leads to overtraining, burnout, and injury. It take years to become a solid, all-around athlete so I think it is important to be specific in your training. By specific I mean pick a few key sessions per week to really work and focus on, fill the rest of your week with recovery and build to harder workouts as the year progresses. Over time you will see steady progression and your love for the sport will remain. So, enjoy the ride because the road to success can often times be a long one and will no doubt be filled with some great adventures!
Alright, that's my thought for the day. Have a good sunday and happy training!
Friday, April 4, 2008
Sea Otter preview
I just posted a Sea Otter preview on my coaching blog for all those traveling to Monterey for the races.
Check it out at http://trainingbiblecoaching.blogspot.com
Check it out at http://trainingbiblecoaching.blogspot.com
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Xterraplanet.com race report
Checkout the race report from sunday on the xterraplanet website
http://www.xterraplanet.com/news/dsp_content.cfm?id=2124
Also, I posted an article about post race recovery on my coaching blog...click my coaching site link on the right sidebar to view the article. I plan to post a weekly educational article that I hope will serve as a resource for those that are interested.
Have a great day!
http://www.xterraplanet.com/news/dsp_content.cfm?id=2124
Also, I posted an article about post race recovery on my coaching blog...click my coaching site link on the right sidebar to view the article. I plan to post a weekly educational article that I hope will serve as a resource for those that are interested.
Have a great day!
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