This morning I set out to do some serious climbing on the road bike and climb I did. My guess is I got in somewhere around 12,000 feet of climbing on 3 major climbs. The plan was to meet up with Reto and the Stanford Triathlon Team about 1:45 into my ride but I missed them so I rode pretty hard trying to catch them and didn't manage to meet up with them until 3:30 into my ride. I met up with them at the top of the last major climb, west alpine. My ride was 4:30 and I was pretty beat after it.
We rode back to Stanford to drop the bikes off and do our run. Reto let me know that we were running about 2 k at tempo, which didn't seem too exciting given the state of my legs from my time on the bike. We both pushed through and managed to get in a good tempo effort and then we cruised the rest of the run. After the bike and run we got in the pool for a super mellow swim to loosen up.
So, a long, very good day of training done and in the books. I am super beat but it feels good to have knocked it out.
Oh, I didn't see one stoplight until 4 hours into my ride and when we got back to the cars I had only seen two...now, that is good riding. How people can think it is normal to go on a ride and stop at 40 stoplights is beyond me!
No pictures today...I only had room in the pockets for food =) I will tell you that there are some amazing views in the Santa Cruz Mountains...if you watched the Tour of California you have an idea of the type of roads and terrain I rode today.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Friday, February 27, 2009
Good day
The morning started early as we headed to Stanford to run a transition clinic for the triathlon team. It was a good clinic and Reto and I managed to get in a little swimming in the wetsuits.
After the swim and clinic we got some grub and then took off for a "company ride" in the local mountains...my first ride on the new machine! I think it is at the UCI weight limit...seriously, it is really light!
He showed me a killer climb...one that I am sure we will throw down on in a little while =) Yes, that is a challenge Reto! I love the mountain roads here...tight, twisty, steep, free of traffic, and tree lined.
--View from the top
When we got back it was time to cook up some pizza, have a beer, and build our Skinfit display racks. I thought it was going to be a ton of work but it wasn't too bad...good thing b/c we are both pretty beat.
This weekend will be a busy one. Tomorrow is a swim, long ride, and run. Then on Sunday we will have a Skinfit booth at a local 5k (I might end up running it b/c the coach says so...we'll see about that =) ) and then we will do some other light training in the afternoon.
I will keep you posted as the weekend progresses.
Have fun out there!
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Ride the ride...
Life is full of adventures. Yesterday, I woke up, jumped in the car, and did my run in PQ Canyon...a solid fartlek run that put me in a good frame of mind before my long drive up to Northern CA. After getting my morning workout in and fueling up I set off to Laguna Hills to get my new Cannondale Super Six road bike...it is an amazing bike and I can't wait to ride it!
Why haven't I ridden it? Well, my truck decided to blow smoke out of the heater vents and leak an enormous amount of coolant. Not exactly how I wanted to start my 10 day road trip...I am going up to Los Gatos for a 5k where we will have a Skinfit booth and then I am off to Arizona to represent Skinfit with a booth at Trifest. So, in Ventura I decided I needed to get the rig fixed and I dropped it off at a service station. The guy told me I need a new heater core and it won't be ready until noon the next day.
So, not really sure what to do in Ventura for the night I managed to get in touch with some old friends that I haven't seen in years. I rented a car and drove up to their place in Montecito, we ate a great dinner, and caught up on the last four years...sometimes things happen for a reason and I will just say that my truck having issues made my visit with the Bazzani Family meant to be. Great times in a beautiful place!
I hope to have my truck back by noon today so I can be on my way. Reto and I are doing a transition clinic for the Stanford Tri Team friday morning and we have plenty to do to prep for our first Skinfit booth!!!
On the training front things are good. After Reto's swim analysis I am feeling good in the water...I actually swam 3-4 seconds per 100 faster (a couple days after the analysis and with some drill work) just by making the changes, which is crazy but true (that is 45-60 sec faster over 1500!). I got in a good strength ride up Mt. Soledad and a couple good runs. Today, I have a hard run and mellow swim scheduled, which I will do here in Montecito.
Stay tuned as I continue my adventure and we get to marketing Skinfit. Skinfit is growing right in front of our eyes and it is really cool to see. We are getting more and more orders and things will only get better once we start attending races. Pretty sweet to see your hardwork paying off...I mean, Skinfit quality speaks for itself but we have certainly poured a ton of work into getting to this point where we will officially start to market our brand at events.
Have fun out there and ride the ride!
Why haven't I ridden it? Well, my truck decided to blow smoke out of the heater vents and leak an enormous amount of coolant. Not exactly how I wanted to start my 10 day road trip...I am going up to Los Gatos for a 5k where we will have a Skinfit booth and then I am off to Arizona to represent Skinfit with a booth at Trifest. So, in Ventura I decided I needed to get the rig fixed and I dropped it off at a service station. The guy told me I need a new heater core and it won't be ready until noon the next day.
So, not really sure what to do in Ventura for the night I managed to get in touch with some old friends that I haven't seen in years. I rented a car and drove up to their place in Montecito, we ate a great dinner, and caught up on the last four years...sometimes things happen for a reason and I will just say that my truck having issues made my visit with the Bazzani Family meant to be. Great times in a beautiful place!
I hope to have my truck back by noon today so I can be on my way. Reto and I are doing a transition clinic for the Stanford Tri Team friday morning and we have plenty to do to prep for our first Skinfit booth!!!
On the training front things are good. After Reto's swim analysis I am feeling good in the water...I actually swam 3-4 seconds per 100 faster (a couple days after the analysis and with some drill work) just by making the changes, which is crazy but true (that is 45-60 sec faster over 1500!). I got in a good strength ride up Mt. Soledad and a couple good runs. Today, I have a hard run and mellow swim scheduled, which I will do here in Montecito.
Stay tuned as I continue my adventure and we get to marketing Skinfit. Skinfit is growing right in front of our eyes and it is really cool to see. We are getting more and more orders and things will only get better once we start attending races. Pretty sweet to see your hardwork paying off...I mean, Skinfit quality speaks for itself but we have certainly poured a ton of work into getting to this point where we will officially start to market our brand at events.
Have fun out there and ride the ride!
Monday, February 23, 2009
The days fly by...
The last week has been pack with training, Skinfit work, coaching and some fun.
I feel like I have been so busy, which is good but I am always having to do something right now...what happen to relaxing on the couch ;) Seriously though, things have been busy and it is all good because it means we are selling Skinfit (really stoked this is starting to take off!) and my coaching business is flourishing. Oh, and I am getting pretty fit with some solid workouts in the books.
I knocked out my first couple hard runs last week, which felt good. I was so sore but it felt good to really suffer for the first time in a little while. I have been doing plenty of strengthening on the bike and I am feeling much stronger. Swimming was on the lighter side last week because of the increase in intensity on the run and bike. I did get in a few drill sessions, which are always helpful.
Reto came into town this weekend and we had some good times at the local bars/restaurants. Plus, I was lucky enough to have him go to the pool with me and we worked a lot on my stroke and I now have several drills to work on. I already feel an improvement from the work we did...seriously good stuff he has me doing and I am certain I will be swimming faster (I already am.) For a while I have wanted to go swimming in the bay, which is 100 yards from my front door so today I convinced Reto to go out there with me. It was a great swim...we swam from the beach behind my house, out around the Bahia Hotel to Ventura Cove, and then swam the string of bouys to get a feel for distance (Our guess is it is just under 200 meters to one end of the bouys). So, basically, I can throw on my wetsuit, walk 100 yards to the waters edge, swim around the point to the bouys, knock out some hard 400's, and then cruise home logging about 3-4k...perfect! I plan to do this often...if anyone out there wants to join me let me know!
This week is packed with more workouts and I am heading up to Northern CA for several days (we have a Skinfit booth at an event up there) before heading out to Arizona for Trifest. So, a lot of travel on my plate over the next couple weeks....not my favorite thing but I will take it without question over a desk job =) I am just loving being my own boss!
Alright, back to work. Have fun out there!
I feel like I have been so busy, which is good but I am always having to do something right now...what happen to relaxing on the couch ;) Seriously though, things have been busy and it is all good because it means we are selling Skinfit (really stoked this is starting to take off!) and my coaching business is flourishing. Oh, and I am getting pretty fit with some solid workouts in the books.
I knocked out my first couple hard runs last week, which felt good. I was so sore but it felt good to really suffer for the first time in a little while. I have been doing plenty of strengthening on the bike and I am feeling much stronger. Swimming was on the lighter side last week because of the increase in intensity on the run and bike. I did get in a few drill sessions, which are always helpful.
Reto came into town this weekend and we had some good times at the local bars/restaurants. Plus, I was lucky enough to have him go to the pool with me and we worked a lot on my stroke and I now have several drills to work on. I already feel an improvement from the work we did...seriously good stuff he has me doing and I am certain I will be swimming faster (I already am.) For a while I have wanted to go swimming in the bay, which is 100 yards from my front door so today I convinced Reto to go out there with me. It was a great swim...we swam from the beach behind my house, out around the Bahia Hotel to Ventura Cove, and then swam the string of bouys to get a feel for distance (Our guess is it is just under 200 meters to one end of the bouys). So, basically, I can throw on my wetsuit, walk 100 yards to the waters edge, swim around the point to the bouys, knock out some hard 400's, and then cruise home logging about 3-4k...perfect! I plan to do this often...if anyone out there wants to join me let me know!
This week is packed with more workouts and I am heading up to Northern CA for several days (we have a Skinfit booth at an event up there) before heading out to Arizona for Trifest. So, a lot of travel on my plate over the next couple weeks....not my favorite thing but I will take it without question over a desk job =) I am just loving being my own boss!
Alright, back to work. Have fun out there!
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Back in action...
Jess and I got back to S.D. Monday night. A long drive but one I am getting kind of used to these days. In fact, I will be driving back up north early next week and will be gone for another couple weeks doing events for Skinfit.
Yesterday, I started back with serious training after a recovery week. I feel good after some downtime...fresh mentally and physically. I did my first hard run with some max HR testing. It felt good to really push myself as I haven't done so in a while. Of course, I am insanely sore from the work on the track...I haven't been struggling like this in a while, which is to be expected since I haven't run that hard in a long time. After my run, I did a recovery swim with some drills and I felt surprisingly good. I wrapped up my day with some time on the trainer. Overall, a great day of training. I am back at it today with a full day of workouts and then tomorrow is fairly mellow with just a swim and some core work.
On another note, Skinfit and 53x11 Coffee are partnering up this year. We will have a Skinfit booth at several California events this year and at everyone of these booths we will be serving 53x11 Coffee. We are really excited about working with 53x11 and we think it is a partnership that both companies will benefit from. In addition, Matisse & Jack's is also on board with us and we will be providing tasty treats at our booth for all those interested in Skinfit. So, we have quite the lineup planned for our scheduled events this year...come by our Skinfit booth, checkout the best sports apparel on the market and grab some 53x11 coffee and a matisse & Jack's snack. We think you will leave our booth loyal to all three brands!
Our first event is the Jenny's Light 5k in Los Gatos and then we are heading to Arizona for Trifest. You can always learn more about our Skinfit plans, happenings, etc. by following our blog.
Have a good day out there and have fun!
Yesterday, I started back with serious training after a recovery week. I feel good after some downtime...fresh mentally and physically. I did my first hard run with some max HR testing. It felt good to really push myself as I haven't done so in a while. Of course, I am insanely sore from the work on the track...I haven't been struggling like this in a while, which is to be expected since I haven't run that hard in a long time. After my run, I did a recovery swim with some drills and I felt surprisingly good. I wrapped up my day with some time on the trainer. Overall, a great day of training. I am back at it today with a full day of workouts and then tomorrow is fairly mellow with just a swim and some core work.
On another note, Skinfit and 53x11 Coffee are partnering up this year. We will have a Skinfit booth at several California events this year and at everyone of these booths we will be serving 53x11 Coffee. We are really excited about working with 53x11 and we think it is a partnership that both companies will benefit from. In addition, Matisse & Jack's is also on board with us and we will be providing tasty treats at our booth for all those interested in Skinfit. So, we have quite the lineup planned for our scheduled events this year...come by our Skinfit booth, checkout the best sports apparel on the market and grab some 53x11 coffee and a matisse & Jack's snack. We think you will leave our booth loyal to all three brands!
Our first event is the Jenny's Light 5k in Los Gatos and then we are heading to Arizona for Trifest. You can always learn more about our Skinfit plans, happenings, etc. by following our blog.
Have a good day out there and have fun!
Sunday, February 15, 2009
A day of rest...
Today is another day off for me before returning to full-blown training tomorrow. It has been a good rest week and I am sure today will be another relaxing day (we are heading to SLO to rehash some good'ol memories from our college days!).
This week I got plenty of rest, met up with friends, drank plenty of local wine and beer, and spent some quality time with Jess and family. I managed to get in a little bit of training to keep the body loose and the muscles firing but the main goal was REST physically and mentally. Mission accomplished and now it is time to get back to work! Tomorrow I will start to incorporate some harder workouts and I am excited to see how my body responds.
My guess is we will head back to S.D. tomorrow after some early morning training. I think the weather might be a little better down there or at least not so cold =)
Hope all is well out there. Have a good day!
FYI-I will try to update my blog more often moving forward. A lot will be happening in my life over the next several months so I want to keep everyone updated. You can also follow me on twitter (which is linked to my blog) to get updates throughout the day. A bunch of exciting stuff with Skinfit, coaching and training/racing!
This week I got plenty of rest, met up with friends, drank plenty of local wine and beer, and spent some quality time with Jess and family. I managed to get in a little bit of training to keep the body loose and the muscles firing but the main goal was REST physically and mentally. Mission accomplished and now it is time to get back to work! Tomorrow I will start to incorporate some harder workouts and I am excited to see how my body responds.
My guess is we will head back to S.D. tomorrow after some early morning training. I think the weather might be a little better down there or at least not so cold =)
Hope all is well out there. Have a good day!
FYI-I will try to update my blog more often moving forward. A lot will be happening in my life over the next several months so I want to keep everyone updated. You can also follow me on twitter (which is linked to my blog) to get updates throughout the day. A bunch of exciting stuff with Skinfit, coaching and training/racing!
Friday, February 13, 2009
Good times!
Yesterday was a day off from training for me so Jess and I set out to do some beer and wine tasting on the central coast. Always good times and yesterday didn't disappoint!
--That is one BIG beer!
Luckily for us, the Firestone Walker Brewery is only about 5 miles from where we are staying =)So, we went over there first to "brainstorm" where we wanted to taste some wine.
--They were bottling, which was fun to see.
We decided to head over to Jessica's old place of employment, Robert Hall Winery. We still have close friends working there so it was great to catch up with the old crew and see all the work they have done. We spent a while there so it was actually the only winery we made it to yesterday =) We were told that there is a really cool new place in town that we should go checkout so we went over to "level 4" to see the new hotspot. Fun place but we didn't stay long as we needed to back for dinner with the fam. As usual, a huge meal that tasted amazing! After dinner we just hungout and watched a movie. So, overall, a great day off and good times with Jess, family and old friends.
--Perhaps the wine affected my aim ;)
Today I have some light training on tap and some more rest. Happy friday! Have fun out there.
--That is one BIG beer!
Luckily for us, the Firestone Walker Brewery is only about 5 miles from where we are staying =)So, we went over there first to "brainstorm" where we wanted to taste some wine.
--They were bottling, which was fun to see.
We decided to head over to Jessica's old place of employment, Robert Hall Winery. We still have close friends working there so it was great to catch up with the old crew and see all the work they have done. We spent a while there so it was actually the only winery we made it to yesterday =) We were told that there is a really cool new place in town that we should go checkout so we went over to "level 4" to see the new hotspot. Fun place but we didn't stay long as we needed to back for dinner with the fam. As usual, a huge meal that tasted amazing! After dinner we just hungout and watched a movie. So, overall, a great day off and good times with Jess, family and old friends.
--Perhaps the wine affected my aim ;)
Today I have some light training on tap and some more rest. Happy friday! Have fun out there.
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