Squash!

After 4 days off and a killer Thanksgiving dinner last night at JDs house, I was ready to get moving this morning! I spent a couple hrs at Andrew's helping him get some orders out and then he convinced me to joing him on a 20-30min trot along the Rancho golf course. I obliged- warning that the pace would be around 11min/miles. Well clearly the pace didn't matter because either way the 25min shuffle took the life out of me. I get props for being a trooper for Andrew ;)
By then I had some endorphins going and immediately hit the squash courts. It was awesome! After about 20min I got my rythm/feel for the ball again and eventually got recruited into a game with some guys. The short sprints around the court were not very nice to my legs though, so after 2 games I called it. But we're on for tomorrow at 3 and Sunday at 10. Sweet! At least I'll get some good rallies in before I head home on Wednesday.
I have an off season checklist of all the things I stayed away from during the peak of my season: alcohol, a burger, pizza, frozen yogurt, & pumpking pie (dessert). All I have left after today is the pizza which I'll likely have tomorrow :D
From squash I went directly to Berry Happy on Coast Hwy for some fro yo and I don't know if it was the sugar crash that followed or the impact of the little workouts come-too-soon that sent me into a 1hr coma immediately upon getting home.
there were a couple of late nights this week and I'm done with those basically until Xmas and New Yrs. I'm just such a homebody and love being in bed reading or watching movies.
Monday is the start of my juice fast. Since the whole thing lasts 2 weeks it will run into my birthday, Saturday, but who cares, I really want to do this!
I can't wait to be home with my family- 4 more days!!!

what now?!

Well for a while- NOTHING! :D
My plan is to take 1mth off structured/triathlon-focused training. I plan to play quite a bit of squash, dial in on gym work (core, balance, overall weights), and just have fun day by day.
I'll start with one week of absolutely no activity. I'll keep up with swimming especially because that's the easiest thing to do in the winter and I'll have my brother's club team back home to kick my butt- however only max 4x/wk.
My main focus will be running through late March. Although I have no running background, I consider it my strength and would like to give it special attention for a couple mths.
I've got some races in mind for nxt yr- the only two that are set in stone are Vineman which I just registered for and, of course, Kona. I'd like to go do Honu again it just falls at a really good time in the yr and refreshes my mind/body on racing in Hawaii.
I start training for my job late next week and am very excited to contribute to my Stepdad's company- Sun Loan. It will add great balance to my life and keep me at peace with the financial and immigration areas of my future.
Hope everyone has a fab Thanksgiving :D

race day- in short

two glasses of wine in me right now- & without alcohol for months my tolerance is that of a child's so please excuse any sentences that make no sense whatsoever...

swim- didn't feel very sparky the whole swim. got a relatively good start- fight free which was good. spent a good amount of time swimming without draft for safety reasons but it didn't matter because somewhere before the turnaround i got punched in my right eye. i think the cold water aided in me not getting a swollen eye for the remainder of the race :D gotta love swimming in an ice bath!

i got out 2min slower than last yr but was worth it to take it less aggresively because i had no clue if/when either kona in my legs just a month prior or the serious lack of training leading up to it was going to come back and bite me.

changed again in T1- smartest thing ever. was not cold at all. worth the extra minutes. only feet numb for the first loop.

bike was good. was happy to be on pace for 5:30 first loop then 2nd loop and 3rd loop had no flying tailwind after the turnaround :( bummer lol. but still felt good and was happy with it. i did feel a bit depleted which is never the case as i always have the same nutrition plan that has never caused me stoach issues and i never eat anything solid - but i totally craved powerbars and had two...not a good idea

t2- ez, quick. threw up a tiny amount (powerbar issue #1) but not really a biggie, was just like a reflux deal.

got out of there haha and went into porta poty and when i got out actually ran a couple feet in the wrong direction before i got directed to run out...oops!

run- felt awesoem the first loop. stomach was not bad at all. second loop started getting some irritation not bloating but like i dindt want anything but desperately needed it. stopped 2 times to try and ***WARNING** foul descriptions ahead......go #2 but that didn't happen unfortunately. loops 3 slowed down significantly stopped 4 times to try and go again. the3rd and 4th were horrible as i had already crapped my pants but when i would go in to the porta potty nothing would happen it's like i was meant for public embarrasment :/ thankfully i had black shorts on. but at that point i had less than 10km to go so i was just holding on for dear life.

came in in 10:30 a min faster than last yr and broke my course record but given all the circumstances, i had a solid race and am happy to start the off season this way :D :D

had a yummy steak dinner with sierra her husband and dad, and two VERY deserved glasses of wine.

now hoping the wine puts me to sleep. up early to claim my slot and get awards before heading back to SD.

thanks for the support and congrats, looking forward to a fun and successful 2010. lots lots lots learned this yr. i'm a whole new athlete and person because of the miles of trials and trials of miles.

nothing compares to the multisport community and i'm blessed to be able to share this journey with all of you!

IMAZ #2

Well, albeit sickness, I made it to Tempe for my second go at the Ford Ironman Arizona. About a week and a half ago I was 100% healthy and left with the choice of continuing tiny workouts or try to cram and explode. It's one thing to do a heavy short build up and then taper slightly less like I had planned (say 5 days) but it's down right retarded to try and cram volume and/or high intensity a week and a half before an IM.
In the end though, being sick was a blessing. Ironically, I'm feeling much more rested and in turn, energized/motivated now than I was before Kona. I had to face reality when 3hrs on the bike would wipe me out and I kept wanting to cut masters short that I really did have deep fgatigue and rest was more impotant than any sort of "key" workout my mind had convinced me of.
I have the base, the mental fortitude I gained after 3 IMs- particularly the most recent, and the will to succeed. It's just a matter of staying relaxed and having a smooth day without petty mistakes. Everything I can control I believe I have under control so now it's in the hands of God.
Staying with my friend Sierra, who also did Kona this yr, has been great. We've had some funny conversations regarding what we're up to tomorrow- all in good spirit!
A shout out to the peeps from Ironmex (Mexico's Ironman Club) and the founder, Luis Alvarez who's on his way to his 62nd IM tomorrow!!! Holy smokes!!
Best of luck to everyone racing, and to those first timers- there's only one day where you'll hear those special words, and it's worth every sacrifice you made to get to that start line.
I've recently been reminded of what it means to race and what keeps things in the right perspective. At the Iron Prayer service yesterday, where Sierra shared a great story on how belief has helped her through sport, the head guy of FCA said something that stuck with me- he replayed the evening of his first IM and how he thought something dramatic would evolve from his finishing such a task, but when he opened the drawer that held his finisher's medal the next morning, he looked around and saw that nothing had changed- he still tied his shoes the same way, his friends and family were still there; life went on with or without IM, with or without a finish, or a win, or capturing a goal time. When we line up it's important we know who we are outside of triathlon, and how blessed we are to just be able to hear the gun and GO!!!

BOOM!

That's the sound of my "Ironman Experiment" blowing up in my face late last week :(
Since I got sick again, my awesome 2wk high volume build into a tiny taper and a stellar race sort of went out the window as I found myself with fever, chills, and frightened at the thought of walking two steps Friday night.
I even considered having to pull out of the race. But here I am, now Monday evening, cured I hope for good and thinking again that Ironman in less than 14 days is possible, and if it's meant for me to have ONE FREAKIN GOOD RACE this yr, then that could happen too :D
Now my schedule resembles cramming for a final the night before. Riding and running are feeling quite good, surprisingly, and I can't complain about the couple of lbs I lost over the weekend. Had trouble doing that all yr, should've gotten sick sooner.
I was never a fan of cramming for things, I hate procrastinating. School was always so easy just from going to class and doing things early; that way while everyone gathered at the library days before an exam, I'd be home watching movies...or training.
Swimming feels terrible. I can't hold the slowest interval at masters and my arms feel like they are loaded with bricks. Hopefully that too shall pass and by the week's end I'll have my confidence back and be gunning to race.
I just want a good end to the season and (icing on the cake) to break 10hrs- is that really too much to ask for?!?!

End of Yr Juice Fast

I'm sick again- cold returned Thursday morning after a great training day wed where Caroline G and I had a solid AM swim, followed by a 3hr strong ride out to the Base end & back, & finished off with a trun. I thought I was golden on that day's end but it turns out my body is too weak.
Ever since I stopped eating like crap in high school my junior yr I've been focused on living as healthy a lifestyle as possible. That's one of the reasons I got into triathlon in the first place. However, it can be argued that long term endurance training and Ironman racing is not exactly healthy.
At the end of the yr, if not by the middle of a heavy season, our immune system, adrenals, and hormones get places under a lot of stress and get totally out of balance. That's why it's so important that we recover right- eat good foods, get good sleep, have ez or days off, etc.
It's been a while since I got a cold- and this year I've had two less than 3 months apart- the most recent lasting now 10 days and not going away!
So that's it! Enough is enough! I've wanted to do a juice fast for a loooong time. In fact I event tried it one time with my mom only to last 2 days. This time however, I see a much greater need and long term benefit associated with finishing the fast.
I plan to do it after Thanksgiving, first because I love Thanksgiving food, and second because it falls a couple of days after IMAZ.
My body would really appreciate it right now but there's no way I could properly carry it out so close to AZ.
The fast will go like this: 4 days of only raw vegetables & fruits, 4 days raw fruit & veg juice fast, 4 days of reintroducins fruits & vegetables in solid form, and then gradually over the course of 3-5 days introducing bland foods like brown rice, quinoa, beans, yogurt, eggs, etc.
In total it's about 2wks including the adaptation before and after periods so you can see why it's important that I do it at a time when I won't be nearly as physically active. Plus there'd be no point in fasting right now only to load my body with gu, bars, sports drinks, coke, caffeine, etc on race day- YUK!
If anyone wants to join me let me know- moral support always helps ;)

My Ironman Experiment

For me this will definitely be a first, and it goes against popular Ironman protocol. Sure you have your Biscays of the world- the superhumans who can do an Ironman and a wknd later do another and not just DO it, but WIN it. But that's not me.
So what is my awesome little experiment to which I will be the guinea pig you ask?? It's a 5 day taper leading into Arizona :D Brilliant, I know. No, but seriously, this could prove to be awesome....then again it could also prove to be down right stupid. We'll see.
The reason I'm feeling optimistic about this approach is two fold. One, I know from experience it doesn't take weeks and weeks to get IM fit (granted that you've been consistent in training and haven't gone into complete off-mode). In fact, I notice that in roughly 2 weeks of high volume with some key IM specific sessions, I feel invincible. There's a lot of fatigue I'm carrying at that point, but a high amount of fitness. I also know that following such a block, if I take say a day off and like 2 recovery days, my next solid session is phenomenal.
The second reason I'm gunning for this approach is that, honestly, after what I experienced in Honu 70.3 this May- where I had basically just been swimming for 1 month and only trying out tiny runs/rides with an f'd up knee- there's no way in hell I want to go to another race undertrained. The old sayind "better undertrained than over".....uhhm, I'll take the latter, thanks! I've got nothing to lose at this point. If there's one thing I learned this season is that in the end, all the pressure I put on my self, all the hype I gave to one race (Hawaii), all the things I thought would come crumbling down if I failed, they're all in my head. A week or two later, I opened my eyes and saw that my friends and family are still there, I'm healthy, I have a wonderful life, and little problems are simply obstacles, you go through them and move on. Win or lose, I'm still me and I have a lifetime ahead of me to succeed.
OK soap opera aside, what I'm trying to say is that, I want to go into this race with a risk, a risk that could yield a great reward. I hate being cautious, I don't like the easy way. Sometimes that screws me over, but sometimes it gives me great things.
Then there's also the timeline issue, haha. I might not have taken this route had I not gotten a cold last week. After a weekend spent in bed sneezing and coughing, I finally managed to feel human yesterday and got back into training. That leaves me 3wks out from race day. A week, really 5 days, of taper= 2wks for training. Rephrase: Ironman training, because you could argue I've been training a crapload longer than that.
So here goes! :D