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

The weekend...

The weekend was pretty good. The week of training leading into saturday was solid...I can confidently say that I am in the best shape of my life and come my first peak race of the year (Idaho) I will be ready!
I spent the first few days recovering from Sea Otter and then by the end of the week I was feeling much better in all three sports. I tried to swim as much as I could this past week to try to get back up to speed after several weeks of bike and run focus.
Hopefully this week I can build off of the work I put in last week.
On Saturday, James, Lesley, I went out to Mission Trails for a race simulation workout...we did 3, 5 mile laps at race pace with 5 min easy spin between laps. It was a tough little course with a lot of steep climbs and technical descending...good practice for sure. My lap times started at 26:30 and my last one was a bit under 28 min...certainly not the ideal drop in times but too be expected I think b/c the effort was high and descending gets a bit tougher the more tired you are. After the bike we put the running shoes on and set out for 30 min with the first 20 min at a hard tempo. Great session with great training partners...a perfect morning.
Sunday I woke up WAYYYY too early to head up to L.A. where we had a Skinfit Booth at a local triathlon. It was a good event and I met a lot of athletes/fellow vendors. It certainly made for a long day and I was really happy to get home so I could see Jess. Hadn't seen her in over two weeks! She is off again to the East Coast for 4 days so our visit was short but better then nothing.


--Our new tent!

This week is loaded with hard training and then I am up to Wildflower...we will have a booth there.
Well, that is it from here. Off to the pool.
Have fun out there.

--The new Avia kicks showed up...really like them. Can't wait to try them out.

Life back in S.D.

Training has been great since getting back from my 3 week "road trip." Being back in S.D. feels good and I am going to enjoy the next week b/c then I am off again...up to Wildflower and doing my first Xterra race in about 10 months (Del Valle).

It took me two full days to recover from Sea Otter. Well, I am actually still recovering but there is work to be done and I am up for it. So, Monday and Tuesday were lighter days with some swimming and running. I had a big day yesterday...did the swami's Wednesday group ride (just under 4 hrs and plenty of intensity) plus a run with James and crew in the evening. It was a tempo run on a hilly course and it was good. Today, I swam noon masters...main set was 4x400, which is always painful and never at all enjoyable. However, it is a necessary evil and certainly my weakness so I just "turned my mind off" and did the workout. The rest of the day I took care of other things so that I can log some quality training over the next few days.

Today I cruised over to Xterra wetsuits to pick up my gear...so stoked! I got a lot of great stuff including the 2009 Vendetta (so comfy and fast!) and the Velocity 0.02 (for non-wetsuit swims). I will give the vendetta it first splash tomorrow afternoon...can't wait!

This weekend will include a super hard day on Saturday with some race simulation mountain biking and running and then Sunday we will have a Skinfit booth at the L.A. Triathlon Series (Bonelli Park). I will do my long run after the race on Sunday and maybe hop in for an open water swim while I am there.

The day ended with some vino, pizza and a big salad. Jess, sorry, there was only good wine left =)

That is all I ave to report from down south. Hope all is well out there...have a good friday and weekend!