Blah, blah, blah....

Same old sad story...I still can't train on the bike or run. Okay, I can ride a little but only short distances, flat, and easy (no more then 1 hr). I can't run without discomfort for more then a couple minutes. My knee is certainly getting better (without question) but not quickly enough for me. I have missed 3 cup races and I just cancelled my travel plans for Idaho. Not exactly what I had planned for this year. It is no secret that I was beyond fired up to race this year and I was in the best shape of my life. To see this season rapidly passing me by is disheartening to say the least. In all honesty, I will probably miss the cup races in Richmond and Little Rock too b/c this knee just needs more time. A hard pill to swallow for sure.

I did find out that the elliptical machine doesn't hurt my knee at all. So, at least I can go to the gym with Jess and sweat, which actually feels amazing (kind of feel like I am sweating chlorine though!). I am totally that moron doing interval training on the elliptical...yes, I seriously do intervals and I don't really care what anyone thinks! =) I can actually get my HR quite high, which was a huge surprise. I mean I knew I could get my HR up but I can really get cranking on that thing and I manage to get in some really good workouts. Today I did 6x3 min with 2 min easy between intervals. Me doing intervals on an elliptical is something I never thought I would do but I need to be active, I need to sweat, and I want to retain as much fitness as possible so that when I do return my form comes back quickly. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

So, the waiting game continues and I am trying to fill my time with other things. I am happy to report that for my birthday Reto got me a sodastream....basically I can make my own carbonated water with the push of a button. Most people that know me know I love carbonated water and now I can make it in my own house! So stoked!!!!! You have to get one of these things!


That's it from here. Have fun out there this weekend!

New Skinfit blog post....

Checkout the newest Skinfit blog post...a big race weekend with some solid results!
The Skinfit speedsuit was in full-effect!

The vision of a champion...

"The vision of a champion is a guy who is bent over, gasping for breath, dripping in sweat, when no one is watching."

Great birthday weekend....

I couldn't be in Michigan throwing down, which I was bummed about, but I got to spend my whole birthday weekend with Jess and that made me really happy.
I spent friday and saturday completely resting my knee...no training. I think it was a smart move and my knee is getting better with every passing day. Sunday I tested my knee a bit with a 30 min spin on the trainer...it was good and I had no pain. I tried to jog after my ride and that lasted about 2 minutes before I pulled the plug. I could just feel it wasn't yet ready for the pounding. So, a good first test.
Jess and I then got showered up and went to Saffron to pick up a serious feast. We took the food to the top of Barbara's building to watch the Padres game.

The weather was perfect, the food was amazing, the game was exciting and the beer was flowing. It was truly the perfect way to spend an afternoon...especially when you turn 30! Toward the end of the game a big crew of friends showed up on the roof to hangout and then we got some celebratory beers at a bar down below.

--Pretty horrible view I know ;)

After our adventures downtown Jess and I went to Old Town to grub on some mexican food. I am a total sucker for Old Town mexican food and the meal didn't disappoint. After dinner we rented a movie, relaxed on the couch and then called it a night. It was really a perfect day...thanks Jess for making it so special!

I am hoping this week I will be healed up enough to at least put in some massive time in the water and on my bike. I am doing another test ride here in an hour or so and I am hoping the result is a good one. I have three weeks until my Xterra season gets under way and I just want to be healthy enough to get in a solid build up to the next few races.

Hope you all have a good week out there...have fun!

Emotional ride....

So, as most of you know I crashed on my mountain bike on Sunday and did some pretty serious damage to my knee. As a result, I had to cancel my flight to Michigan and miss my first big race of the year. It has been a challenging time enotionally b/c I am and have been so excited to race and I was really gearing up for this event. It was going to be a good test and let me know what I need to work on over the next few weeks as I build up to my peak races starting June 6th in Idaho. I am not going to lie, I have been really down about all of it until yesterday when I decided to kick myself in the butt and move on. So, I got outside yesterday for some swimming (the only thing I can do at the moment). It really made me feel much better about everything and helped me to put things into perspective. I am sure people are thinking "what's the big deal" but with everything I have sacrificed to get to this point and to have it all come to a hault in the blink of an eye is a bit frustrating and hard to handle.

So, taking the time to think about everything and let it all sink in has allowed me to be more positive about it all. Truthfully, not racing, traveling, etc. will allow me to be really rested and prepared to tackle a very hard 3 week training block in prep for the next 3 races. This is of course assuming I will be 100% come monday, which is still questionable. My knee feels much, much better this morning so I hope to keep this trend and be ready come Monday.

My plan now is to train very hard for the next 3 weeks and then do 3 races in 3 weeks...Idaho, Richmond, Arkansas (this was my original plan...to peak for these 3), return home and then do a 3 week build up to Vermont and Colorado. So, 5 races in 8 weeks and all will be counted toward my series points/ranking (since I will miss the first 3 races). I am in the best shape of my life and I think the next 3 weeks will really take me to the next level that I am looking for. So, that is the plan moving forward and I will just be resting for the next few days until this knee pain is hopefully gone.

Plus, my 30th birthday is this Sunday so Jess and I are going to make the most of me being home. As long as my knee heals up I will call this "hurdle" a blessing in disguise ;)

Here are some pictures from last nights club aquathlon...I just did the swim. Fun event!

a good and bad weekend....

Saturday I woke up super early and went down to Coronado for my first triathlon in just about 11 months. It was the club race put on by the Tri Club of San Diego. It was a good event to test the body and to get my head on straight before this weekends race in Michigan. The format was 800 meter swim, 12 mile bike, 3 mile run.
The swim went well for me and was rather uneventful...I just sat on the feet of the fastest swimmer (Philippe)and came out of the water in second. I went out onto the bike in first and was joined by another rider. We rode in first and second the entire bike. However, no one was at the bike turnaround so we (along with 2-3 other athletes) ended up riding four extra miles. It was just a training day so no big deal but it was a bit frustrating to see everyone in front of us when we finally got back on course. The run was okay but nothing great...didn't quite have the "punch" I will need in the coming weeks but, to be honest, it was somewhat expected since I haven't raced in so long. Plus, I didn't have anyone to push me on the run. So, overall it was a good training day and Skinfit was well represented by several athletes at the event!
Sunday, I was up really early again to pick up Renata Bucher and meet Lesley Paterson for a mountain bike ride. It was a good ride until I decided to crash hard...probably the worst crash I have ever had on the mountain bike. I lost traction on my front tire through a loose corner (going pretty fast) and went down hard. I actually tried to get up right away and couldn't so I just laid there for a while to get back to normal. I was actually quite worried at that point b/c normally I just bounce right back but I couldn't and I started to get pretty sick to my stomach, which is a sign that my body was going into a bit of shock. So, I was pretty beat up and out of it so the ride was cut a bit short and we rode back to the cars.

--my life at the moment

I spent the rest of the day cleaning the wounds (ouch! It was super painful!), icing, taking alleve, etc. Plus, we cooked a mother's Day meal for Barbara and decided to enjoy the day and watch the Red Bull air races from Barbara's roof top downtown, which was very cool. To finish up the day (and to take my mind off the pain) we went to the tap room and spent some time with friends and had some cold beers. So, the day started off really rough and progressively got better, hence, the good and bad weekend title.
I am trying to heal/rest up so I can be ready for my race this weekend. I just hope it happens quickly b/c I want to be ready to go on Sunday for my return to Xterra. Talk about horrible timing but I am just trying to roll with it and think about it as an opportunity to really rest up this week. I will keep you posted on my progress. I fly out on Thursday so hopefully all systems are a go by Wednesday.
Have a good week out there and have some fun!

This week and my first triathlon in nearly 11 months...

--This years race kit...a red speedsuit.

This week started out a little slow as it took me a while to recover from Wildflower. I did manage to get in a hard track session, a hard bike with some hill intervals, and some masters swim workouts (none of which proved to be fast but that's what happens when the bike and run intensity goes way up). Right now it is all about quality, not quantity and fluff miles.
So, a solid week thus far and tomorrow I will do my first triathlon since last June...wow, it has been a while. I have done some bike racing and training has been going very well but I haven't really tested myself in a multisport event since Xterra Richmond last June. Most of you know my season got derailed last year due to some outside factors so let's just say I am beyond motivated and excited to race. The club race tomorrow is simply a tune-up for my first important race in Michigan May 17th. It will be good to really blow out the pipes and get the rust off before it is time to really test myself on the Xterra circuit.

--The rig ready for tomorrows race...no more TT bike so the road bike will have to do.

So, that is it from here. Off for a short recovery ride and run. Have fun out there and stay tuned to hear about my adventures this weekend.

New Skinfit blog post...

Check it out!

Wildflower and this week...

Wildflower has come and gone and, overall, it was a huge success for Skinfit. We made sales, contacts and had a great time. That isn't to say we didn't work really hard and are still feeling the effects of all the running around (standing for 3 days is no bueno!).

--Me and my buddy Shane...he did his first triathlon!

I got in some training but very little. This week I am back at it with some very hard workouts planned. I have my first important race of the year May 17th in Michigan so I am preparing for that. I am doing the club race this weekend as a tune-up...haven't done a triathlon since last June so time to get the "rust" off! I am excited to go hard and see what I have built over the past few months. So, this post will be pretty boring as I have tons to do and I am off for a run right now. I will have more to share later in the week after some tough sessions tomorrow and leading into the weekend.
Stay tuned and have fun out there!

--Stanford Triathlon Team...Skinfit is now their official apparel sponsor