Iron Jason's Vision Quest

A New Start to an Old Blog

2008-12-16T09:58:00.000-08:00

Boy it has been a while since I have made a post on this Blog. I trained and raced between January 2008 and beginning of June 2008. (A deal I made with my family) I've been busy with work throughout the 2008 year and active with my family over the summer months and fall holidays. During the year we went on 6 or more camping trips with our Motorhome. The girls love to travel and sleep in it. To them, doing anything with the motorhome is always a big adventure. We also went to Sea World 3 or 4 times over two weekend visits and even spent a couple of weekends at Disneyland. One of which was for Syndey's 4th birthday.

My 2008 training and race season was very casual compared to 2007. I carried enough fitness after completing Ironman Cda in 2007 to get me through Wildflower long Course (1/2 ironman distance race), a couple of olympic distance triathlons, a 1/2 marathon and a couple of 100 mile bike events in 2008. With that said, 2008 was very refreshing in regards to training and racing.

However, work was a very different story. In April 2008 I was transfer from my old office in Van Nuys to Downtown L.A.(an extra 20 miles). This change has forced me to wake at 4:15 AM and has caused me to get home just after 7:00 PM. Damn... what is left in the day?......Nada.

I have rolled with the punches regarding these time issues and have put together a plan for next year.... stay tuned to find out.

Bevan Docherty - Heart of a Champion

2008-01-02T19:14:00.001-08:00

A little Heart goes a long Way... and Fast!

Instant Motivation - Team Hoyt - I can Only Imagine

2007-11-29T10:23:00.001-08:00

See the Attached Youtube Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUQeUsqQuVc

I first learned about Dick and Rick Hoyt (Team Hoyt) in the 80's while I was watching an Ironman Hawaii TV broadcast for my first time. I saw a middle aged man (Dick) pulling his adult son (Rick) in a boat through the ocean 2.4 miles. Then Dick carried Rick to his bike and pedal their combined 250 plus pounds of weight 112 miles. And in the end Dick transfered his son once again but to a running stroller and completed a full marathon. I was truly amazed with Dick's physical strength and love for his son Rick. At that time, I thought the Ironman was an impossible event that could only be completed by super-human professional athletes. Today, I know that anything is possible and that anybody can complete an Ironman Distance Event. The only thing a person must do is make the commitment to do it and put a plan in action. This video almost always makes me cry. I love seeing them fly down the finish line chute and cross the finish line. If a person can not find some motivation in this clip .... I don't know what will. Keep watching …. I will.

A Change of Name and Motivation

2007-11-29T08:11:00.000-08:00

Back in July 2006 I started this blog and Titled it "Vision Quest - 2007 Ironman Coeur d'Alene". The title was is a loose reference to the 1985 Movie entitled "Vision Quest". In the Movie, Louden Swain is a man obsessed, trying to shed 23 pounds in a dangerously short time to take on Shute, the undefeated, tough-as-nails Champion who's the best wrestler in the state. In the face of impossible odds, Louden sets his mind to his Vision and his Quest for Victory. He says, "This is the year that I make my mark ... and find my place in the circle... we are born to live and then to die. We all have to do it alone, each in his own way. I guess that is why we have to love those people who deserve it like there is no tomorrow. Because when you get right down to it…there isn’t." 2007 was my year to make my mark. I invited everyone to join me on my 8 month Quest of self discovery through athletic training, mental perseverance and family support to achieve my vision of Completing an IRONMAN TRIATHLON!

I completed Ironman Coeur D'Alene in June and have been enjoying the off-season with my wife and two small girls ever since. In an effort to foster more family time we bought a 32 foot motorhome. To this point we have used it to camp and for day trips to the Ocean. During the next triathlon season I entend to us it at Wildflower and perhaps the World Toughest Half in Auburn.

My goal now is to get my training back on track during this off-season layover. I am currently having a hard time getting motivated. I am the kind of person that needs an epic goal as a carrot to get me through a long stretch of training. Ironman was the perfect carrot last season but this season I don't have an epic goal. So for now, I am just trying to piece together next seasons races, my motivation and how I can keep myself and my family happy.

Marathon- 26.2 Miles of Hope

2007-07-08T15:30:00.001-07:00

The Marathon - 26.2 Mile Run:
The Marathon consisted of two 13.1 mile out and back loops. Throughout the year I have been training on a 6 mile looped course. So mentally I broke the run into 5 parts. Four 6 mile loops followed by a 2.2 mile celebration run. It is easier for me to think of completing loops than a linear stretch of road. For me, a loop means I have brought closure to a distance and can then forget about it.

The fist few miles were tough until I got my legs and heart rate under control. Fortunately, everything got under control and I found my groove. My plan was to take salt tablets every hour, run each mile and to walk the aide stations as I ate and drank. The plan worked beautifully. I was running a comfortable 10 min 15 sec mile pace and walking about 1 min 15 sec through each aide station. My legs felt great until mile 15. About that time I was starting to develop a hint of a cramp on the upper inside part of my left leg. I would stop and do a side stretch for a few seconds and it would be good for a couple more miles.

Boy I’ve got to say the aide stations were GREAT! They had water, Gatorade, cola, chicken broth, gels, bananas, oranges and plenty of happy faces. I used my own gu and took in aid station water and Gatorade until mile 15. After mile 15 I started in on the cola and chicken broth. At some aide stations I had water, Gatorade and chicken broth in one shot. I wasn’t sure if it would all stay down but it did. Others weren’t as lucky. I saw people throwing up and others laying in the grass along the side of the course. I would run by and say … “You ok buddy” and I’d get a no look thumbs up. I thought that was a classic sight. If a guy is feeling like shit, barfing out a lung and he gives you the “good to go thumbs up”. That’s Awesome!!!

Because the route was out and back for two loops I had many chances to see team mates (you know who you are) and family members many times during my 5hr 5 minute run. I continued with the run walk until the mile 24 aide station. Once there, I took a swig of water and washed off my face and arms with sponge and straightened out my race kit in preparation for my finish photo because there was no stopping me now. The last 2.2 miles were heavenly. I’m sure I was having an adrenaline rush because I was running strong and without pain. I could hardly count the number of people I was passing in these last couple of miles. As I made it up the last hill and made the last turn towards the finish line I could see the Ironman arch and finish line chute 400 yards away. The last 400 yards to the finish line is all downhill. As I approached the chute, I was able to give my Dad a high five and waive to my wife and girls. Once in the chute all I could see was arms and faces moving and clapping. The applause and cheering was deafening until I was a few feet from the finish line. Once I was within a few feet of the tape my mind went still and a peaceful feeling set over my body. I slowed to a walk and crossed the finish line with my arms over my head.

Once I hit the tape my body filled with pride, joy and excitement. I then heard those 6 sweet words “Jason Healey you are an Ironman!.” I thought to myself, “I am an Ironman!”…. I could live with that.

I set the goal to do this race and to do this race my way. I decide to pass on having a coach (for good or bad) and decided to live or die with my training decisions. Other than my swim time I was completely happy with my overall race. In hind site, I could have gone faster in places but who know what kind of problems that could have caused later. In the future, I might do some things differently but for this race I wouldn’t have changed a thing. I enjoyed every second of the Journey. My nutrition was right on, my pacing was right on and I’m proud that I had the patience to hold back until the very end of the race. Having my family there to share in the experience was great and seeing them on my last 2 magical miles was priceless.

Transition 2: T2

2007-07-08T14:00:00.000-07:00

T2:
In T2 people were laughing about having to now go out and run a full marathon. I steadily peeled off my bike gear, applied body glide to all the important places and put on dry socks, tri-shorts, sunscreen and a hat and headed out onto the run. As I was changing, I was curious about how my legs were going to feel.

112 Mile Bike

2007-07-08T13:48:00.000-07:00

112 Mile Bike:
Once on the bike I completely put any thoughts of the swim behind me. After I clipped into my pedals and had a chance to look up I was instantly energized by the amount of spectators that were lining the streets.

My plan was to go out slow on the bike and let my stomach and heart rate settle a bit. I planned to ride the first 33 miles in one gear easier than I thought I should be in and concentrated on keeping my cadence in the 90’s. From miles 33 to 66 I planned to go a little over race pace (high zone 2 and into low zone 3 on the hills and from 66-100 hold a steady pace (mid to high zone 2). For the last 13 miles I just wanted to keep my cadence high and my head in the game.

My hydration and nutrition plan for a predicted bike time of 6.5 – 7:25 hr was to drink 24 oz of water for the first hour, Gatorade for the 2nd and 3rd, 16 oz Mountain Dew/ 24 oz R4 recover drink during hour 4th and alternate between water and Gatorade until the end. Food wise I elected to take 2 gu’s every 45 minutes and eat a P.B & J & and a small can of Pringles from my special needs bag at mile 64 along with my Mountain Dew. Additionally I was taking 4 salt pills an hour to help from cramping.

My plan worked great until about mile 76. About this time my right quad wanted to cramp when I tired to climb with a cadence below 65 on the steeper hills or if I tried to apply a lot of force to the pedals with a cadence in the low 80’s. Because of this, I decided to dial back the intensity and keep my cadence in the high 90’s. My first 56 mile loop I averaged about 17 mph and because of my right quad, special needs stop and two bathroom breaks I averaged about 15 mph on the second loop.

The bike course was beautiful. The first 30 miles take you through town and along the shoreline of the lake and then back into town on a reverse route. Once back in town the course heads north and into the hills. During each loop there were 4 to 5 decent hills and a total of 2600 feet of climb.

My family and team mates kept my spirits up throughout the entire ride. I saw my Wife, Dad and girls at miles 20, 37 & 76 and one of our team's coaches at mile 85. My girls were so proud of the signs they made for me and displayed them proudly. At mile 76 I stopped to give them all a high five and a kiss before I headed back out onto the course. Doing that easily got me through the next 10 miles pain free. Surprisingly my ass, lower back and legs weren’t in to much pain as I finished the bike course.

At the dismount line I got off my bike, handed it to a volunteer and make my way to my T2 bag and then into the changing tent once again. The volunteers at this race were great! The led me to my bag, offered me liquids, continually told me that I looked great and even offered to help me change my gear.

T1: Transition 1

2007-07-08T12:00:00.001-07:00

T1:

The 40’x 80’ changing tent was packed with athletes and volunteers. Everyone seemed to be happy to have completed the rough swim and eager to start the next leg of the event. I made my way to a nearby chair and nearly sat on the guy next to me. I was still experiencing a little vertigo from being horizontal for so long. I quickly assessed my condition. Even though the swim took me longer than I expected my lower back and hamstrings felt great. I quickly dumped my T1 back in front of my feet and steadily started to change out of my wet swim suit and into my dry bike gear. I put on my helmet, glasses, tri top, cycling shorts, arm warmers (air temp was still in low 50’s), socks, shoes, gloves, road ID, heart rate monitor and heart rate strap. I stuffed a protein bar and salt tablets into the shirt pocket, used the bathroom in the tent and then made my way towards my bike. Once outside of the tent a volunteer painted me with sunscreen and then pointed me to the bike area entrance. I quickly found my bike and shuffled my way to the bike start line.

2.4 Mile Swim

2007-07-08T10:34:00.000-07:00

The 2.4 mile swim:
The swim start cannon went off at 7:00 AM and 2200 plus people poured into the 63 degree water of Lake Coeur d’Alene. The swim course was a two loop 1.2 mile counter clock wise rectangular. I started on the far outside and let most everyone enter the water in front of me. I had no desire to get kicked, punched and swam over for over for my predicted 1hr – 20 min swim. Even thought this was my plan, I still got kicked, punched, swam over and dunked. When these events happened, I stayed calm. The swim out to the far buoy seemed to take forever… because it did. I don’t know what the problem was. Was it the chop? Waves were breaking onto my head and forward moving arms. Was I swimming to wide? Perhaps if I got into the middle of the pack some of the waves could have been flattened out. Was my sighting off and causing me to not swimming straight? I had a hard time seeing the buoys so I sited off the top of a mountain in the background. Who knows but I swam a disappointing 48 minute 1.2 mile split. The month before I swam a 39 minute half ironman distance swim and thought that was slow but this swim was taking the cake. After completing the first loop, I headed out for the second loop. I decide to put the first loop and the miserable time behind me and just take it even easier on the second loop. I kept thinking … the swim is just a warm up ….. you have a long day ahead of you….. swim smart …. stay relaxed. The second loop didn’t feel as long but it took me about 55 minutes to complete. Wow, 1hr-43 minutes for the swim… how embarrassing. I exited the water and headed up to the grassy area near the swim to bike gear bags. Once there, a couple of volunteer stripped off my wetsuit, pulled me to my feet and sent me to my swim to my bike gear bag. Once I found my gear bag I entered the changing tent.

RACE DAY!!!! - GOOD DAY TO BECOME AN IRONMAN!

2007-07-05T15:45:00.000-07:00

Sunday June 24th - Race Day.
I received my wake up call and 3:30 AM and prepared my re-race breakfast. I ate two packets of instant oatmeal, one bagel, a Promax power bar and drank a 16 ounces bottle of Gatorade (approximately 800 calories total).
By 4:30 AM I was finished with my second nature break and was ready to take the short drive to the race venue. The forecast called for high of 62 degrees and a low of 46. My dad and I left Shannon and the girls at the hotel so my daughters could get a good nights rest and watch me later on the bike and then at the finish line. Once I stepped out of the car, I had determined that the forecast was right on. It was cold and starting to get windy. (more news about that later.) I dropped my special needs bags, check my gear bags, got body marked, check my bike, pumped up my tires, visited the bathroom one more time and found a quiet place to collect my thoughts before having to head down to the beach for the start.
With a half hour to the race start I put on my wetsuit, said good by to my Dad and headed out to the swim start. With about 10 minutes until the 7:00 AM race start the wind really picked up and cause white caps and waves in the lake. (Check out the flags and the water surface.... Cold and Windy)

Because of the choppy conditions, the race director offered people the option to skipping or only doing one lap of the swim course if they felt they would not make the swim cut off time of 2 hrs 20 minutes. About 60 people decided to take the offer and avoid the swim. They would be required to sit in the transition tent until 9:30 AM before they could head out onto the bike course.

Saturday June 23rd - RACE WEEK

2007-07-05T15:34:00.000-07:00

Saturday June 23rd .

I dropped off my bike and gear bags at the race venue at 10:00 AM.
The whole family then spent a couple of hours in the Ironman village. The girls make race signs, we all had some lunch and did a little shopping.

We stayed until 1:00 PM and then we went back to the hotel so the girls could nap for a few hours before dinner. Once the girls were up from their naps the whole family went to the Olive Garden for dinner.
After dinner we went back to the hotel so I could prepare for the next morning (Race Morning!). I went to bed by 10:00 PM and slept like a baby ironman.

Friday June 22nd - RACE WEEK

2007-07-05T15:13:00.000-07:00

Friday June 22nd.

We all got out of bed and down to breakfast (inside the hotel) at 7:30 am. The hotel offered cereal, bread, bagels, donuts, biscuits and gravely, oatmeal, fruit, hard boiled eggs, juice coffee and tea for free to all hotel guest from 6am to 10am.

After breakfast, we all piled into the minivan and drove a 25 mile portion of the northern part of the bike course. I then dropped the family off at the hotel’s water park and made my way down to the Ironman Village (10:00 AM) to retrieve my race registration packet and bike from the transport company.
(This picture was taken 2 days after the race.... stay tuned for race day water conditions)

After checking out the swim venue, Ironman village and buying a couple of hats and a sweater at the “Official Merchandise Tent” I headed back to the hotel to make sure my bike was in good working order before having to drop it off in T1 Saturday morning. After checking out my bike, I took a short nap, packed by gear and special needs bags and waited for my Dad to arrive at the hotel. My Dad arrived at 4 PM and we went to the 5:30 PM Athlete welcome dinner and mandatory race meeting in a huge tent near the finish line area by the host hotel & resort.

The dinner and race meeting ended at 9:00 PM and we went back to the hotel.

Thursday June 21 - Race Week

2007-07-05T14:55:00.000-07:00

Thursday June 21st.
After signing up for Ironman Coeur d’Alene, my wife and I decided to extent our stay a couple of days and turn the time after the race into a family vacation. Shannon and I packed up our daughters Katelyn and Sydney and made our way to the Burbank Airport for a 9:00 AM flight to Spokane Washington.

Fortunately, our plane was on time & we made our connecting flight in Las Vegas smoothly. Once we were down in Spokane (about 2:20 pm), we retrieved our minivan from Avis and made the 40 mile drive to the Holiday Inn Express in Hayden, ID. This Holiday Inn is a kids’ dream destination. I has an indoor water park, a bowling alley and an arcade directly connected via a air conditioned bridge.

After settling into our room we ordered a pizza and watched a movie in our room before tuning in early.

1 Week to IRONMAN COEUR D'ALENE !!!!!!

2007-07-05T14:52:00.000-07:00

Week #32 - (3.0 hrs)
Week of 06/18: (01 week until Ironman CDA)

Monday: 2500 yrd swim
Tuesday: 5 mile easy run
Wednesday: 30 minute spin

2 Weeks to Ironman CDA!!

2007-07-05T14:43:00.000-07:00

Week #31 - (2.25 hrs)
Week of 06/11: (02 weeks until Ironman CDA)

Monday: Sick - I woke up with the signs of a sore throat.
Tuesday: Sick - Sore throat is here. I have dicide to rest a couple of days
Wednesday: Sick - Rest Day
Thursday: Sick - Rest Day
Friday: Sick - Still a little tired
Saturday: Sick - Feeling much better
Sunday: Brick: Bike 1.5 hrs + 45 min run

My Goal this week is to make sure I get to Coeur d'Alene with out a Cold. It is better to mess up the taper then to show up really fit but to sick to start the race.

3 Week to Ironman CDA!

2007-06-05T15:18:00.000-07:00

Week #30 - (10.0 hrs)
Week of 06/04: (03 weeks until Ironman CDA)

Monday: 4500 yrd swim (BT)
Tuesday: Off
Wednesday: 2 hr-15 min bike + 45 min Tempo Run
Thursday: Off
Friday: 1500 yrd swim
Saturday: 3 hr bike + 60 min Tempo Run
Sunday: Off- Family Day

4 Week to Ironman CDA!

2007-06-05T15:17:00.003-07:00

Week #29 - (11.0 hrs)
Week of 05/28: (04 weeks until Ironman CDA)

Monday: 4000 yrd swim (BT)
Tuesday:
Wednesday: 5 mile run
Thursday: 2000 yrd swim
Friday: Off
Saturday: Ojai Century - 100 mile bike + 30 minute run
Sunday: Off- Family Day

5 Weeks to Ironman CDA - Recovery Week

2007-06-05T15:17:00.001-07:00

Week #28 - (6.0 hrs)
Week of 05/21: (05 weeks until Ironman CDA)

Monday: Off - Travel day back to L.A.
Tuesday: Off - Very tired
Wednesday: Off - Still tired
Thursday: Off
Friday: 3000 yrd swim
Saturday: 50 bike + 3 mile run
Sunday: Off - Family Day

6 Weeks to Ironman CDA: World's Toughest Half Race Week!

2007-05-07T15:20:00.000-07:00

Week #27 - (13.0 hrs)
Week of 05/14: (06 weeks until Ironman CDA)

Monday: Workout #1: 4000 yrd swim (BT)
Tuesday: Workout #1: Brick: 1 hr hill ride + 4 mile skill run
Wednesday: Workout #1: 5 mile Tempo Run
Thursday: Workout #1: 2000 yrd swim
Friday: Off- Travel Day
Saturday: Off - Light training pick Race Packet
Sunday: Race Day: World's Toughest Half Ironman

7 Weeks to Ironman CDA!

2007-05-07T10:53:00.000-07:00

Week #26 - (12.0 hrs)
Week of 05/07: (07 weeks until Ironman CDA)

Monday: Workout #1: 3800 yrd swim (BT)
Tuesday: Workout #1: 5 mile skill run
Wednesday: Workout #1: 1 hr hill ride
Thursday: Workout #1: 2hr Run (BT)
Friday: Workout #1: 2000 yrd swim
Saturday: Workout #1: 4 hr bike + 1 hr endurance run
Sunday: Off- Family Day

8 Weeks to Ironman CDA!

2007-05-02T08:42:00.000-07:00

Week #25 - (10.0 hrs)
Week of 04/30: (08 weeks until Ironman CDA)

Monday: Workout #1: Off - Home Projects
Tuesday: Workout #1: 1500 yrd swim: 200 warm up + 400 drills + 3x 300yrds
Wednesday: Workout #1: 30 min CP on bike with 30 min warmup and 20 min cool down.
Thursday: Workout #1: 4-5 mile Run
Friday: Workout #1: 3500 yrd swim
Saturday: Workout #1: 5 hr bike. 60 min easy+2 x (40min steady + 20 min *Main Set)+20 min (moderate to hard)+40 minutes cool down. *Main sets #1: 5x3min build to hard pace, *Main set #2: 5x3min low cad large gear
Sunday: Off- Family Day

9 Weeks to Ironman CDA!

2007-04-24T08:00:00.000-07:00

Week #24 - (11.0 hrs)
Week of 04/23: (09 weeks until Ironman CDA)

Monday: Workout #1: Swim Lesson & 4200 yrd Swim
Tuesday: Workout #1: 20 Mile Bike
Wednesday: Workout #1: 5 Mile Run
Thursday: Workout #1: 2500 yrd Swim
Friday: Workout #1: 20 mile Bike + 3 mile run
Saturday: Workout #1: 5 March of Dimes Walk
Sunday: 13 Mile Hill Run

10 Weeks until Ironman CDA!

2007-04-15T18:48:00.000-07:00

Week #23 - (12.0 hrs)
Week of 04/16: (10 weeks until Ironman CDA)

Monday: Workout #1: 20 mile Run
Tuesday: off
Wednesday: Workout #1: 2400 yrd swim
Thursday: Workout #1: 20 mile bike + 3 mile run
Friday: Off - Brother's wife gave birth to Brooke ... My brothers a DAD.
Saturday: Workout #1: 56 Mile Hill Ride (7500 ft climb) with 2 mile Transition run
Sunday: Off

Week #22 - Workouts

2007-04-11T14:54:00.000-07:00

Week #22 - (15.0 hrs)
Week of 04/09: (11 weeks until Ironman CDA)

Monday: Workout #1: 5 mile Skill Run, Workout #2: SM - Gym
Tuesday: Workout #1: 4000 yrd swim
Wednesday: Workout #1: 15 ME bike With 2 mile brick run
Thursday: Workout #1: 7 Mile Hill Run
Friday: Workout #1: 1500 yrd swim with drills
Saturday: Workout #1: 110 Mile Areo Ride with 2 mile Transition run
Sunday: Day Off

Week #21 - Sick Week "Nice"

2007-04-11T14:50:00.000-07:00

Week #21 - (0.0 hrs)
Week of 04/02: (12 weeks until Ironman CDA)

Monday: Sick
Tuesday: Sick
Wednesday: Sick
Thursday: Sick
Friday: Sick
Saturday: Sick
Sunday: Sick

Week #20 - Recovery Week

2007-04-11T14:46:00.000-07:00

Week #20 - (3.0 hrs)
Week of 03/26: (13 weeks until Ironman CDA)

Monday: Off
Tuesday: Workout #1: Run Marker
Wednesday: Off
Thursday: Workout #1: Bike Marker - Power Test
Friday: Workout #1: 1000 yrd Swim marker
Saturday: Sick
Sunday: Even Sicker

2007-03-19T20:21:00.000-07:00

Week #19 - (14.0 hrs)
Week of 03/19: (14 weeks until Ironman CDA)

Monday: Workout #1: 40 mile bike - Hill ride with 5000 ft of verticle Climb.
Tuesday: Workout #1: 2000 yrd swim
Wednesday: Workout #1: 20 bike, Workout #2: 2 mile run
Thursday: Workout #1: 5 mile run
Friday: Workout #1: 2000 yrd swim, Workout #2: Gym - SM
Saturday: Workout #1: 55 mile aero bike ride, Workout #2: 3 mile run
Sunday: Strawberry field Sprint Triathlon - 400 yrd swim, 18 mile bike, 3 mile run

Week #18 - Workouts

2007-03-14T22:22:00.000-07:00

Week #18 - (6.0 hrs)
Week of 03/12: (15 weeks until Ironman CDA)

Monday: Off - I felt really tired today. Perhaps I am still recovering from the Solvang Century, the drive to and from, daylight savings or all of the above?
Tuesday: Workout #1: 5 mile flat skills run
Wednesday: Workout #1: 3500 yrd swim
Thursday: Workout #1: 10 mile hill run
Friday: Off - Rest day and My wife Shannon's birthday... time for some cake!
Saturday: Day Off - (Have to watch kids because Wife is out of town for B-day)
Sunday: 6 mile skill run (including 2 mile hill).

Week #17 - Workouts

2007-03-04T16:01:00.000-08:00

Week #17 - (16.0 hrs)
Week of 03/05: (16 weeks until Ironman CDA)

Monday: Workout #1: 4000 yrd swim, Workout #2: 10 mile run
Tuesday: Workout #1: 20 mile bike on the computrainer
Wednesday: Workout #1: 2000 yrd swim, Workout #2: gym - SM
Thursday: Workout #1: 10 mile run
Friday: Off - Rest day
Saturday: Workout #1: 100 mile bike ride - Solvang Century

Sunday: Off - Family Day

Week #16 - Workouts (Recovery Week)

2007-02-26T16:07:00.000-08:00

Week #16 - (7.0 hrs)
Week of 02/26: (17 weeks until Ironman CDA)

Monday: Workout #1: 1500 yrds: 500 warm up with drills + 1000 yrd time trial (19:15)
Tuesday: Off Rest day
Wednesday: Workout #1: 30 minute Bike TT (CP 30) with 20 min warm up and 10 min cool down.
Thursday: Off Rest day
Friday: Workout #1: 3 mile Run
Saturday: Workout #1: 35 mile easy ride + 3 mi transition Run.
Sunday: 20K Time Trial Race at Piru California.

Week #15 - Workouts

2007-02-21T13:18:00.000-08:00

Week #15 - (13.0 hrs)
Week of 02/019: (18 weeks until Ironman CDA)

Monday: Off - Pool was closed due to the Presidents Holiday and I still needed to recover a bit from my 85 mile bike ride I did last Saturday.
Tuesday: Workout #1: 20 mile Run
Wednesday: Work out #1: 2000 yrd Swim - Swim Golf
Thursday: Workout #1: 20 mile bike on the compu-trainer with spin ups
Friday: Workout #1: 2000 yard swim
Saturday: Workout #1: 60 - 70 mile long flat bike in Aero position + 6 mi transition Run.
Sunday: Off - Family Day

Weel #14 - Workouts

2007-02-13T21:33:00.000-08:00

Week #14 - (12.5 hrs)
Week of 02/12: (19 weeks until Ironman CDA)

Monday: Workout #1: 1 Hour of Weights and Stretching. I have the beginning of a cold and don't want to over due it. My goals is stay healthy enough to effectively complete my two Key workouts. (3600 yard swim on Thursday and my 85 mile long bike on Saturday.)
Tuesday: Work out #1: 3 mile drill run (I want to work on my run frequency this week. Three relatively short runs is preparation for next Mondays 18 mile endurance run).
Wednesday: Workout #1: 20 mile bike on the compu-trainer
Thursday: Workout #1: 3600 yard swim
Friday: Workout #1: 5 mile run
Saturday: Workout #1: 85 mile long flat bike from Santa Clarita to Ventura and back + 2 mi transition Run.

Week #13 - Workouts

2007-02-06T11:43:00.000-08:00

Week #13 - (12.0 hrs)
Week of 02/05: (20 weeks until Ironman CDA)

Monday: Workout #1: 9 mile Hill Run with baby stroller & 30lb daughter
Tuesday: Work out #1: 3400 yrd Swim
Wednesday: Workout #1: 5 mile Run
Thursday: Workout #1: 20 mile bike with spin ups
Friday: Took a rest day... felt tired today.
Saturday: Workout #1: 63 mile Hill Bike Ride (6706 ft of verticle Climb)+ 2 mi transition Run

We road through the valley and along Mulholland Drive before reaching the 8 1/2 mile Climb up Piuma.

After reaching the top of the Climb (3500ft overall at this point), we stopped for a few minutes to regroup. (That's me in the yellow wind breaker.)

In the back ground you can see Piuma as it switch backs long the mountain's face. Piuma has an average slope of 5 to 7 percent with sections of 10-12 percent. After we descended to Mulholland Drive, the others went back to the starting point in the Valley and I decided to do another 18 mile loop with an additional climb up Piuma.

The Total trip was 63 Miles and took 4 hrs - 52 min. Mostly a Zone 2 effort with moments in Zone 3 above (157 bmp). My Max Heart rate was 168bpm.

Overall, this ride had most verticle climbing that I've ever done. Even more than the "World toughest Half Triathlon which had approximately 5700 ft of climb over 56 miles. I climbed 6700 ft over this 63 mile course. My legs ached during the last 10 miles of flat road as I returned to the valley and the starting point.

Sunday: Day Off - I think I feel a cold coming on... lets hope not.

Week #12 - Recovery Week Workouts

2007-01-29T11:02:00.000-08:00

Week #12 - (8.5 hrs)
Week of 01/29: (21 weeks until Ironman CDA)

Monday: Workout #1: 2000 yrd swim with drills, Workout #2: 3 mile Run with drills
Tuesday: Work out #1: 45 min easy bike
Wednesday: Workout #1: 3 mile Run with 1 mile time trial in the middle
Thursday: Workout #1: 45 min easy bike
Friday: Workout #1: 1500 yrd swim (500 yrd warmup/drills + 1000 yrd TT) + ME (Gym)
Saturday: Workout #1: 40 mile Bike + 2 mi transition Run
Sunday: Off

Week #11 - Proposed Workouts

2007-01-21T22:05:00.000-08:00

Week #11 - (13.0 hrs)
Week of 01/21: (22 weeks until Ironman CDA)

Monday: Workout #1: 2000 yrd swim with drills, Workout #2: 16 mile Run

The 2000 yard swim was a bit of a rush. I jumped into the pool at 8:20 am and only had 40 minutes to finish my workout before the Aqua-Super-Sizers would took over the pool. If you are not done by 9:00am on the nose the students will come into your lane and take down the lane markers as you are swimming. They don't mess around. Their pool time is their pool time. I don't know if you have ever seen these classes in session but the pool gets rock-in. It actually turns into rough water conditions from the up and down motion of all their bodies. I often wonder if they world let me test these indoor ocean conditions for practice.

The 16 mile run went GREAT! The weather was sunny and 60 degrees with only light wind. I ran 16 nine minute miles and walked a minute in-between each mile. I took two five minute re-fueling breaks to refill my bottles and Gu flask. The total time of the run with walks and breaks turn out to be 2 hrs - 51 minutes. No cramping... and nutrition went great.

Afterwards, my legs felt great. I kept the entire run with-in zone 2 (120 - 140 bpm).

Tuesday: Family Night
Wednesday: Workout #1: 3200 yrd Swim, Workout #2: ME Week 4
Thursday: Workout #1: 20 mi Bike - (85-95 rpm with a few 3 minute Z3 pickups)
Friday: Workout #1: 5 mile Run with drills
Saturday: Workout #1: 60 mile Bike + 3 mi transition Run
SunDay: Off

Week #10 - Workouts

2007-01-12T16:34:00.000-08:00

Week #10 - (12.5 hrs)
Week of 01/15: (23 weeks until Ironman CDA)

Monday: Workout #1: 40 mile Bike Ride 20 mi flats + 20 mile hills (total ascent 3320 ft)
Tuesday: Workout #1: ME - Gym (AM)
Wednesday: Workout #1: 3000 yrd Swim
Thursday: Workout #1: 7 mile run (PM)
Friday: Day Off
Saturday: Workout #1: 75 mile Bike + 2 mi transition Run

Ride Distance: 75.5 miles, Total time out on ride: 6:05, Total rolling Time: 5:05, Total Elevation Climbed: 5137 ft, Average Speed: 14.8, Average Watts: 150

Sunday: Day Off

Week #9 - Workouts

2007-01-07T13:34:00.001-08:00

Base period #2

Week #9 - (10.5 hrs)
Week of 01/08: (24 weeks until Ironman CDA)

Monday: Workout #1: 9 mile Run (AM) & Workout #2: 2800 yrd swim (drills + swim) (AM)
Tuesday: Workout #1: ME - Gym (AM)
Wednesday: Workout #1: ME workout on Bike (PM) on Computrainer: 35 min warmup then five 3minute high intensity intervals (HR Zone upper 3 to middle 4) with a minute of recovery riding inbetween.
Thursday: Brick Workout #1: 20 mile bike on Computrainer (140 Watt Ave) + 3.5 mile hill run right after.
Friday: Off- Family Issues
Saturday: Workout #1: Swim 2000 yrds
Sunday: Workout #1: 8.5 mile Run

Week #8 - Workouts

2007-01-07T13:33:00.001-08:00

Base period #1

Week #8 - ( 8.0 hrs)
Week of 01/01/2007: (25 weeks until Ironman CDA)

Monday: Workout #1: 2600 yrd endurance swim (PM) + Workout #2: Gym - ME week #1
Tuesday: Workout #1: Off
Wednesday: Workout #1: Bike 30 min warm up + Test Power vs Heart Rate (VT) test on Computrainer (PM)
Thursday: Off
Friday: Workout #1: 3.0 mile warmup + Run Test on treadmill - (Speed vs. Heart Rate to determine VT)
Saturday: Workout #1: 53 mile Bike Valley loop with Mulholland + 1.5 mi transition Run
Sunday: Day Off

This was my recovery week eventhought the previous week was very light. I am trying to stick to my overall time schedule and volume increases. This will pick back up next week and I should be back to normal. As a side note... I am still feeling like I could be getting a cold. Maybe it is just nerves... My wife and two daughter have been sick for the last 2 week. I'm still health... we will see how next week turns out.

Week #7 - Workouts

2007-01-07T13:32:00.000-08:00

Base period #1

Week #7 - ( 5.5 hrs)
Week of 12/25: (26 weeks until Ironman CDA)

Monday: Off - Christmas Day with family
Tuesday: Off - Watched my daughters while my Wife, Sister in-law & Mother went shopping.
Wednesday: Off - Travel day from Granite Bay to Home (L.A.)
Thursday: Workout #1: 14 mile run (PM) – Balboa Park (felt great no major soreness)
Friday: Workout #1: Off
Saturday: Workout #1: 42 mile Bike
Sunday: Day Off

This week was all out of wack... Christmas, travel days and travel jet lag. The workouts that I completed felt great! Next week is a scheduled recovery week.

Week #6 - Workouts

2007-01-07T13:30:00.000-08:00

Base period #1

Week #6 - ( 9.25 hrs)
Week of 12/18: (27 weeks until Ironman CDA)

Monday: Workout #1: 5.0 mile (PM)
Tuesday: Workout #1: PW - GYM (PM) - Felt tired possible sick
Wednesday: Workout #1: Off - Still Tired ... decide to take rest day
Thursday: Workout #1: PW - Gym (PM) - still taking it easy worried about full blown cold.
Friday: Workout #1: 2400 yard Swim
Saturday: Travel day to Granite Bay, CA for X-mas with family
Sunday: Workout #1: 71 mile bike from Granite bay to Old Sacramento & back. (Legs started to ache at mile 60 but felt better on standing climbs.) Overall great ride dispite cold weather. 4hrs - 40 min

Overall I felt rundown and almost sick during the entire week. I decided to rest and not over stress my body to the point of catch a cold for sure. This seemed to work well. Hopefully the reduction in volume will not hurt me in the weeks to come.

Week #5 - Workouts

2006-12-11T08:57:00.000-08:00

Base period #1

Week #5 - ( 10.0 hrs)
Week of 12/11: (28 weeks until Ironman CDA)

Monday: Workout #1: 10 mile (PM)
Tuesday: Workout #1: 1850 yard swim (Drills + Swim)
Wednesday: Workout #1: PW -Gym (AM) week 3 of 4
Thursday: Workout #1: 5 mile run (PM) – Balboa Park during lunch hour
Friday: Workout #1: 2200 yard Swim (PW) + Workout #2: Gym (PM) Power exercised week 3 of 4)
Saturday: Workout #1: 56 mile Bike (IM CDA on the Compu-Trainer due to rain)
Sunday: Day Off

Week #4 - Recovery Week Recap

2006-12-10T19:55:00.000-08:00

When it comes to strength training, I’m in the second week of my power phase. I am planning to do a total of 5 weeks of power exercises. These exercises include leg squats, leg curls, lat pull downs, rows and dumbell press. Each exercise is done with three set of 8-15 reps with a load of 30%-60% maximum determined in the Maximum strength phase. So far, I am feeling strong.

The swim is starting to pick up a little. I am currently swimming twice a week and doing a lot of drill work. The second workout during the week is where I am working on my endurance.

The run is going well. I did a 1 mile time trial on the treadmill (forgot cold weather cloths). I was able to pull out a 6:30 mile. At a max heart rate of 158 bpm.

The bike is also progressing. I completed the 30 minute time trial (CP30) with a sustained average of 165 WATTS.

Overall, I feel the recovery week went well. I kept my frequency, lowered the volume and because of that I feel stronger and refreshed.

Week #4 - Recovery Week (Proposed Workouts)

2006-12-04T11:05:00.000-08:00

Base period #1

Week #4 - Approx (8hrs)
Week of 12/04: (29 weeks until Ironman CDA)

Proposed Workouts: Approx 25% reduction with the same frequency.

Monday: Workout #1: 1850 yrdswim-drill work (PM) #2: Run Marker (1 Mile Test @ zone 3 or P.R.E.) (PM)
Tuesday: Workout #1: Gym - Week 2 of Power exercises (4:30 AM)
Wednesday: Workout #1: 5 Mile run (Run drills) (PM)
Thursday: Workout #1: Bike Marker (40 min warm up + 30 minute (TT) CP30-Critical Power Marker (PM)
Friday: Workout #1: Day Off - Watch Girls while Mom is at a Seminar
Saturday: Workout #1: Swim Marker 1850 yrds (PM) + Gym Power exercises after swim
Sunday: Workout #1: Bike easy 25 miles (AM)

Week 3

2006-12-03T18:36:00.000-08:00

Base period #1

Week #3 - ( 11.0 hrs)
Week of 11/27: (30 weeks until Ironman CDA)

Monday: Workout #1: 8mile easy Run in the cold AM rain Workout #2: 2000 yard swim
Tuesday: Workout #1: PW –Gym (AM) week 1
Wednesday: Workout #1: 33 mile Bike (PM) - 20 mi flat + 13 mi hills (3000 ft ascent)
Thursday: Workout #1: 5 mile run (PM) – Old Road Loop
Friday: Workout #1: 2200 yard swim (PM)
Saturday: Workout #1: 55 mile Bike (Tour de Valley+Mulholland) + 2 mi transition Run
Sunday: Day Off - Family Day (Xmas lights)

Week 2

2006-11-24T14:53:00.000-08:00

Base period #1

Week #2 - (11 hrs)
Week of 11/20: (31 weeks until Ironman CDA)

Monday: Workout #1: 6mile easy Run Workout #2: 1300 yard swim
Tuesday: Workout #1: MS –Gym (AM) week 5
Wednesday: Workout #1: 4 mile run (AM) – Chuck E. Cheese & back
Thursday: Workout #1: 20 mile Bike (Thanksgiving Day) – (AM)
Friday: Workout #1: MS – Gym (AM) Workout #2: 2000 yard swim
Saturday: Workout #1: 57 mile Bike (Tour de Valley+Mulholland)
Sunday: Off

My Heart Rate Zones & Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) Zones

2006-11-21T07:56:00.000-08:00

My heart rate zones by age (not by testing of Max heart rate or VO2 Max):

My age in 2007: 36 yrs
My average resting heart rate (RHR): 51 bpm (beats per minute)
My Heart Rate Reserve (HRR): 220 - 36 (age) - 51 bpm (RHR) = 133 bpm
My ___% Heart Rate = [HHR X ____%] + (RHR)

50% Calculation: [133 bpm x 0.50] + 51 bpm (RHR) = 118 bpm
65% Calculation: [133 bpm x 0.65] + 51 bpm (RHR) = 138 bpm
80% Calculation: [133 bpm x 0.80] + 51 bpm (RHR) = 157 bpm
87% Calculation: [133 bpm x 0.87] + 51 bpm (RHR) = 167 bpm
92% Calculation: [133 bpm x 0.92] + 51 bpm (RHR) = 173 bpm

Zone 1: (50%-65%) ------ (>118 - 138) bpm------RPE: Warm up-ability to talk easy.
Zone 2: (>65%-80%)------ (>138 - 157) bpm------RPE: Go all day-(3-5) word sentences
Zone 3: (>80%-87%)------ (>157 - 167) bpm------RPE: Race pace-(1-2) word sentences
Zone 4: (>87%-92%)------ (>167 - 173) bpm------RPE: Hard pace- Only Grunts sounds
Zone 5: (>92%-100%)------ (>173 - 184) bpm------RPE: All out pace- Only wheezing

The Start - Base Period #1 - Week 1

2006-11-13T08:17:00.000-08:00

When constructing my Annual Training Plan I broke my season into the following categories:

1) Transition Period: Off season
2) Preparation Period
3) Base Periods
4) Build Periods
5) Peak/Taper Period
6) Race Period
7) Transition Period: Next Off season

I started my Transition period off season period after racing “Breath of life” Olympic distance triathlon on June 24th 2006.

Two months later, I started my 13 week Preparation period on August 14. I keep my overall volume low and concentrated on easing myself back into structured training. I initially focused on 5 hours of training a week and slowly stretched it to increase my endurance. During this period, I spend one hour in the gym twice a week developing my strength. I spent 4 weeks doing Anatomical Adaptation “A” exercises and 4 weeks doing Anatomical Adaptation “B” exercises. The purpose of these two phases are to strengthen tendons, ligaments and small stabilizer muscles. After the Anatomical phases, I started my 6 week Maximum Strength phase after being sick for 2 weeks.

This phase is used by athletes to build up to a maximum strength is some of the key large muscle groups. These exercised include Squats (legs), Leg Curls, Standing Lat Pull Downs (back), Rows (back), Dumbbell Press for the chest.

This long preparation period allowed me to smoothly transition to my Base 1 period.

I started my 8 week Base 1 period on Monday November 13th. Week (1 of 32) until Ironman CDA.

My first week looked like this:

Week of 11/13: (32 weeks until Ironman CDA) - week #1 (9.5 hrs)

Monday: Workout #1: 5mile easy Run Workout #2: 1500 yard swim
Tuesday: Workout #1: MS –Gym (AM)
Wednesday: Workout #1: 18 mile Bike (PM-Computrainer)
Thursday: Workout #1: 3 mile easy Run (PM)
Friday: Workout #1: MS – Gym (AM) Workout #2: 2000 yard swim
Saturday: Workout #1: 43 mile Bike (Tour de Valley) with 2 mile transition run.
Sunday: Off

PumpkinMan Club Championship with my Dad

2006-10-30T14:01:00.000-08:00

On October 15th, my (60-64) year old age group Father and I participated in the 2006 Land Rover PumpkinMan Olympic Distance Triathlon. This race was also slated to be the 2006 Club National Championship venue. My TRI Club made a GREAT showing by producing nearly 180 participants from L.A., but we came up a little short to a TRI Club out of Missouri called COLUMBIA MULTISPORT.

After the race, the L.A. TriClub had a party at the Hard Rock Casino's Pink Taco restaurant.

This was the view from my 7th floor room at the Hard Rock Hotel.

This is My Dad and I just after he finished. He was 4th in his age group.

Doesn't the sky look heavenly. This is Lake Mead at 6:45am. One hour prior to our mass swim start. How often does a guy get to do such a challenging event with his father? What a treat for me!

This race was all about my Dad. I raced while having a 3 week old lingering cold and completely sucked ass. One the other hand, my Dad kicked ass! He had a consistent swim, a solid bike ride and a predicted run. The clock doesn't tell the story... he finished with a time of 4:48. Way to go POP!

Now that this Race and season is over, my NEW FOCUS will now be on Ironman CDA. My official Base level training period starts on November 1st. The game is on.....!

My Inspirational Heroes - My Motivational Flames

2006-10-24T20:04:00.000-07:00

I have two inspirational Heroes. My first hero is my oldest daughter Katelyn and my second hero is my Cousin Seth. These heroes stoke my internal motivational flame and give me the inner strength to push through difficult times, overcome the seemingly impossible and to persevere in whatever challenge I take on or whatever challenge life throws at me.

Today, Katelyn is a beautiful and healthy three year old Girl full of life, love and innocent wonder. Unfortunately, her life didn't start out that way.

Each year about 2% of this countries birth population or about 500,000 babies are born premature (<37 weeks gestation). 6% of these 500,000 babies or less than 1% of all births in this country are before 28 weeks gestation. UNFORTUNATELY, for my family, this is where Katelyn's amazing story begins.

Katelyn was born on August 10, 2003 at 27 weeks Gestation and weighed a mere 2 pounds 9 ounces. In layman terms, she was born 3 months early.

A lot of development is lost by being three months early. Three months is the length of a child’s summer break. With three months remaining to an expected due date, most parents are spending their time thinking about baby names or what colors to paint their child's room.

That wasn’t the case for me and my wife Shannon. We found ourselves speeding down the 405 freeway towards Holy Cross Hospital in Mission Hills From Santa Clarita. The 15 minute drive felt more like 30 minutes. Shannon cried continuously and was doubled over in pain in the front seat of my truck as she experienced the premature labor pains. Once at the hospital, I scooped her up and ran past the emergency room to the labor and delivery department. Once there, the doctors quickly determined the labor was unstoppable. Our worst fears were becoming a reality… baby Katelyn would be delivered that day. Katelyn's heart rate was quickly dropping and because a natural birth would be taxing for her stature, the doctors quickly decided on an emergency caesarian section surgery.

Before they rushed my wife into surgery they called the NICU at Saint Joseph's Hospital in Burbank and summoned a team to come to Holy Cross Hospital to care for and transfer baby Katelyn to their NICU after she was delivered. Holy Cross did not have its own NICU.

The doctors were very stressed as they prepared my wife for the surgery. They requested that I did not attend the delivery and hurried me to a nearby waiting room adjacent to the hospital's nursery. As I spent a few minutes in the quiet waiting room, my head started to spin. I thought to myself …”what in the hell is going on. This can not be really happening to us. Thirty minutes earlier I was sitting at our breakfast table eating cereal and thinking about how nice a day it was outside and to now find myself all alone in a waiting room worrying about the well being of both my wife and my very early first daughter.” After a few minutes, I left the waiting room and sat in a chair in the hallway. And just as I did, one of the doctors came out of the operating room and ran past me with my daughter cradled in his arms and entered a secured area of the nursery that I couldn't see into or access.

Shortly after the doctor, a nurse came out of the operating room to inform me that I could see my wife in the recovery room. Shannon was still coming off of the anesthesia and was understandably very emotional about what she and the baby had been through.

After spending a few minutes with my wife, the NICU doctor pulled me away to the nursery to talk over my daughter’s situation. He showed me two chest x-rays. One x-ray was completely dark in color and the second was dark in color with a light colored area inside. He told me the second x-ray was of a normal chest and that the light areas where the lungs. He then explained that the first x-ray was my daughter’s and that her lungs were not visible. The x-rays pick up the differences between tissue densities. Normal lung tissue should have a different density than the surrounding tissue but my daughter's weren't. Because her lungs were underdeveloped, the doctor was forced to intubate here.

A couple of hours after Katelyn was transported to the NICU, Saint Joseph’s Hospital called my cell and urged me to the come to the NICU as quickly as I could. A doctor explained that they were having a hard time getting her stable.

Once I arrived, I’d say no less than a six person team was frantically working on her. One doctor took me into a side waiting room. He sat me down like you see on TV and told me, "Right now we have 25 premature babies here and your daughter is by far the sickest one. We are doing everything that we can for her but we are having a hard time keeping her stable. I don't know if you are a religious person or not but if you are and want to baptize her, I would suggest you do it sooner than later." I thought to myself ... “Holy Shit... did this doctor just say she is going to die?” I asked, "Are you doing all you can for her." He said, “We are and we will continue to give her excellent care except right now we have to see how she will responds to what we have done thus far.” Then he said, "Right now everything is in her hands. It’s up to her at this point." I thought, "WOW!... what a thing to say. It's up to her... what a burden to put on a newborn premature baby." Do babies know how to fight or even what they are fighting for?..(I feel that they do.) I asked if I could stay after visiting hours and he said, "You can stay as long as you want." I understood that to mean, we can bend the rules for you because I doubt your daughter will make it through the night.

As I sat by her side, I asked one of her nurses if I could touch her arm or hand and if I did would it bother her machine settings. She informed me that it would be ok and that they gave her a medication to keep her still by paralyzing her body and that she wouldn’t be able to move. When the nurse left, I ran my finger down her arm to the palm of her hand. When my finger reached her hand it closed around my finger tip. For the first time in her short life, she knew she was not alone. We had made a connnection. I told her I felt guilty for wanting her to live if the fight was to painful. Right then, I made her a promise. I told her that she has a family that loves her and wants her to win this fight for her life. I also told her that if the fight was to hard that I would understand and promised stay by her side until the very end. I stayed until 6am the next morning.

By 6 am she had been stable for a few hours. From that point on, I knew she was a fighter and would give it everything she could.

During Katelyn’s near 3 month stay in the NICU, we learned that all premature babies have to fight for their lives and battle through a whole slew of physical obstacles. During her total stay she had 7 blood transfusions. Within the first week, Katelyn had to have a heart surgery to close a valve so she could properly circulate her own blood. Katelyn suffered from respiratory distress syndrome. Because her lungs were underdeveloped, she lacked a protein that would kept her lungs from sticking together. Because of that doctors used ventilator pressure for nearly 4 weeks to keep her lungs open and to breathe for her. Parents quickly learn that the ventilators are a double edged sword. They are good in the beginning because they help keep your child alive but they can also cause injuries as well. Because of the initial high pressure, Katelyn suffered a collapsed lung. Other worries included Lung scaring, chronic lung disease, possible blindness and hearing loss. Fortunately, for all of us, Katelyn came off one of the mightiest ventilators without any problems. Today, we joke that she has hearing problems but in reality it’s just her being a typical hard of hearing three year old. The doctors thought for sure she would need glasses but her eye problems cleared up by age two.

During the first few weeks in the NICU the doctors check your child for brain bleeding with an ultrasound machine. Apparently, some bleeding is ok and the brain can absorb it but excessive bleeding can cause pressure on the brain and in turn can cause brain damage or cerebral palsy. Luckily for us, we never experience brain bleeds. Other babies unfortunately weren't as luck. Some that appeared to be doing well would take turns for the worst and never recover.

As things settled down for us, the NICU become our second home after a long day at work. We often stayed late into the night to read and talk to her as she rested.

As she got stronger, we were finally able to hold her after a month of the ventilator.

When she finally can home she also came home with sleep apnea and medication to help control it.

When a child is born prematurely, the portion of the brain that triggers the breathing response is underdeveloped. And we learned that until the brain fully develops, your child get to sleep with apnea monitor electrodes attached to her chest for almost a year. The monitor sounds like a smoke detector when it goes off. And it only seemed to go off at 3am. You haven't lived until you have been jolted out of bed by that booming sound and realize that in two seconds you are fully awake and running for your child's room ready to do C.P.R. until she comes back to life or until paramedics arrive. Fortunately, for us the alarm did its job and we never had to do C.P.R. I never knew what to expect as I entered her room. Conversely, after I left her room, I knew to expect no sleep... I’m talking about a complete adrenaline rush and a pounding heart rate for hours after the fact.

Today, Katelyn is a healthy and happy 3 year old. She is a head strong girl that likes things done her way. I am proud of her! She fought for her life and because she was successful there is a BIG WORLD out their waiting for her to make her mark it.

She has taught me that none of us have real problems if we have our health and the love and support of our families. She has given me perspective on what it means to have a bad day. When she was in the hospital, a bad day wasn’t failing to finish a race or getting a desired finishing time... a bad day would have been if Katelyn couldn't keep up the fight to live. I remember sitting next to her bed at night when she was in the hospital. I would say, "Come on Katelyn... you can do it!"

Ironically, these are the same words she uses when she see me during a race. She says, "come on Daddy... you can to it. Go Daddy go.... you can do it" And Boy... I've got to tell you.... Life doesn't get much better that! THANK YOU KATELYN!!!

My second inspirational hero is my cousin Seth(lower middle)who is in the U.S. Army. Seth has been in the Army for many years and is preparing for is second deployment to Iraq or the like. During his first tour in Iraq, I learned about the extreme climate conditions (hot and cold) he had to face as well as his live and death combat situations. (Due to reasons of National Security and my Aunt I can not disclose any specific information about him. That includes what he does or where he is or might be going). To me, none of that really effects his hero status anyway.

As a Soldier in the U.S. Army, he doesn’t get the option of going or not going to a hostile zone. He doesn’t get the option of avoiding deadly missions. He has literally no control over his immediate day to day life. He has accepted his duty to the United States and is doing his job without complaint.

He is up early, out late, in the cold, in the heat, no shower, army food, no food, bunk, no bunk, mission or no mission. Because Seth accepts these unpleasant conditions without complaint, I feel that I shouldn't have any complaints when it come to my triathlon training and the conditions that surround it. He is the one who get me out of my warm bed at 3am to train before work when I’m tired. Seth is the one that gets me to do all the other seemly unpleasant things like heading out on a cold bike ride or jumping into a cold pool or Pacific Ocean. When I am facing these unpleasantries, I think to myself... don’t be a PUSS! Get your butt out of bed, and get your ass on your bike or into that water. A little voice will say to me, "You think you are to cold or tired. It must be nice to feel sorry for yourself. Seth doesn’t have the option of being to cold or tired. Get up, get going, jump to it."

In closing, each hero motivates me in a different way and I thank them for that. Seth motivates me to get started when events are uncomfortable and Katelyn's life and death struggle keeps me motivated during difficult patches while training, racing and living life.

Ford Ironman CDA Countdown

2006-09-26T09:19:00.000-07:00

I'm sure as the Race get closer I will start to look for a snooze bar on this watch.

Ford Ironman CDA Countdown

CompuTrainer - Indoor Bike Training

2006-09-01T15:48:00.000-07:00

I would like to introduce you to the two newest gadgets in my arsenal of triathlon training tools. With many thanks to the Triathlon Gods, I have been blessed with a CompuTrainer bicycle trainer and an Edge 305 Garmin GPS bike computer.

You might be asking yourself, what is a bicycle trainer?... let alone a CumpuTrainer? A bicycle trainer is a rear wheel bike stand with a load generator that engages the slightly elevated rear tire of your personal bike. The load generator provides spinning resistance to simulate riding on the street. The trainer essentially allows any bike to be used as an indoor stationary bike. The amount of spinning resistance produced from this type of trainer is a function of the gear size being pedaled and the riders cadence (RPMs).

Conversely, the CompuTrainer's load generator is controlled entirely by a home computer and product specific software. The 3-D CompuTriainer software allows a rider to select from a complete menu of pre-loaded courses. There are short and long courses with many kinds of terrain and even famous race courses such as Ironman Hawaii and Tour de France Stages. After a particular course is selected and launched within the program, you are ready to ride or race the course by yourself or against a ghost rider. The ghost rider can be programmed to ride next to you like a friend. Or the rider can be programmed to perform at a certain Watt level or can be programmed to be your previously saved effort on the same course.

While ride a course, you are able to see the course unfold in front of you on a TV or computer monitor. The screen displays the profile of the course, watts, heart rate, cadence, % grade, speed, distance, & overall time. The ride feels very realistic since you are on your own bike. As you start up a hill the load generator increases its resistance just like a riding a real hill. When the terrain flattens out the resistance becomes easier. This continual change in load requires you to change gears like riding outside on the street.

As an added bonus the 3-D software has a split screen Spin Scan that analyzes your pedal stroke efficiency. "SpinScanTM Pedal Stroke Analyzer is an exclusive feature of CompuTrainer that helps you increase power and efficiency. The multi-color torque graph represents one full 360° revolution divided into 15° segments. The left/right leg percentage power splits give you the feedback needed to pedal in "circles". It will identify "flat" or "dead" spots in the pedal stroke where optimal power is not transferred to the drive train. The ATA (Average Torque Angle) displayed on the Polar Graph helps you adjust your position for optimum power."

My second training gadget is the Edge 305 GPS bike computer by Garmin. The Edge 305 GPS computer can be used to record key training routes and or courses from either a bike or from a car. After the GPS information is captured, it can then be down loaded into onto a computer and then saved as a course file that can be ridden anytime you want from the comfort of your home. This is a nice benefit to have if the course is far away or if the weather outside is foul.

I will use the bike computer in the near future to record the "World's Toughest Half" 56mi bike course in Auburn California (350 miles from my house). Next years race will be on May 20th. Having this course on my computer will allow me to train in Auburn anytime I want during the cold winter months from my warm L.A. home. Additionally, I will also be training on the pre-loaded Ironman Coeur d'Alene course in preparation for that race on June 24, 2007.

Food for Thought & Inspirational Quotes

2006-08-30T07:12:00.000-07:00

Before you can accomplish something huge you must first see yourself doing it.
The Toughest distance you must travel in any triathlon is the distance located between your ears.
When faced with physical challenges, do you see your limitations or do you see your possibilities for improvement.
There are no shortcuts to fitness; it takes a long time to get good.
Overall, ironman-distance racing is not about being fast. It's about being able to swim smart, ride strong, and run tough.
Superior race performance results from what you do, not how much you do.
Success is correlated to the duration and intensity of your key sessions, no your total volume.
Work smarter not harder.

Hansen Dam 2nd Annual Sprint Triathlon - Relay

2006-08-13T12:05:00.000-07:00

The Hawthorne Placers (Shannon, Richard and I) showed up at the 2nd Annual Hansen Dam Sprint Triathlon at 6:15am (approximately 1 hour before the race start).

Shannon and I are posing by the the "Swim start" sign. If you look over my right shoulder you can see a Huge shark fin... do you see it ... look again.... psych.

Shannon & Richard work out their pre-race stratagy.... Ride fast, Run Fast.

Another look at the swim venue. The swim was listed as a 500 yrd swim, however my swim split time suggested more like 600 to 650 yrds. I completed the swim in 13 minutes.

The water was a reported 83 degrees so I elected to swim without my wetsuit. You may need to put on sunglasses if the glare from my white skin is to much.

Richard took on the bike leg with honor and valor. He finished his first race in style and with a little energy in reserve. Way to go Richard!

Shannon made up the final leg of the race and finished strong. She tells me that she wants to do the complete race all by herself next year. Bring it on Shannon!

Piuma Route - 45 Mile Hill Ride

2006-08-12T20:40:00.000-07:00

Some of the Usual Saturday Morning Valley Ride Suspects: William, Aram, Me & Pix.

We were also accompanied by a new Valley Ride Suspect named Kerri. Kerri was a great sport throughout this very long and seemly never ending hill ride. She never gave up the fight, even when she thought she couldn't go any further up the hill. This was also a new ride for me and I quickly learned that Piuma Road is a continuous 7 mile climb at 4% grade. This scenic canyon road snakes its way to the top of a mountain that over looks the Ocean.

After climbing to the top of Piuma Road we were rewarded with views like the one shown above. The blue area just beyond the far hill is the Pacific Ocean and I think the road directly below that is cuts into the hillside is Topanga Canyon. (I could be wrong)

After completing this ride, I traveled over to the Hansen Dam Aquatic Park to pick up the "Hawthorne Placers" Relay Race packet. The "Hawthorne Placers" - Me, Richard & Shannon will be racing tomorrow morning and will be at the race site by 6:15 am for the 2nd annual Hansen Dam Sprint Triathlon.

Hansen Dam Triathlon - Bike & Swim RECON

2006-08-06T15:29:00.000-07:00

Saturday morning at 08:00, my Neighbor Richard and I performed a recon mission and scoped out the Hansen Dam Triathlon Swim Venue and 11 mile bike course. The swim will take place in a small man made lake that appears to be used for boating or sailing lessons (not really sure?). As you can see in the picture below, the water is dead still, no current, no sand and no waves ... unless you count next weekends start waves. The race experience should feel like swimming 500 yrds in a big swimming pool with a bunch of my closest friends.

Please don't turn me into the bike police... I don't normally leave it like that.

After scoping out the swim venue, Richard and I rode the 11 mile bike course. The course is mostly flat, with a couple of rollers, a couple of fast downhill sections and a couple of small climbs. Overall, this should prove to be a very fast course.

The course is essentially one big loop and never back tracks onto itself ...(duh...hence the word loop). After leaving the swim venue, you zig zag on the Hansen Dam Park property until you reach the right hand turn at Osborne St. After a flat section on Osborne, you take a right onto foothill and descend until your reach an easy 2 mile climb that takes you to Wentworth. At Wentworth, you take a right and go down a steep section that goes under the 210 freeway then levels off. Through this section you should be able to carry a lot of speed for the next couple of miles. (note: carry tire changing equipment because the bike lane is very bumpy, pitted and could cause pinch flats. This area also has a lot of sticker bushes on the side of the road so thorns may be an issue as well. Don't be surprised if you see people changing tires along Wentworth.) After one small climb on Wentworth, you head down a 1/4 mile section to a right hand turn at the beginning of the "Dam" bike trail. Once on the bike trail, you climb to a completely flat section on top of the Dam. Once on the Dam, you should be able to carry a lot of speed until you exit the dam area and head back into the Park and T2 area.

My neighbor Richard on his smokin Red Felt Roady

Richard did a great job on the course and is sure to burn up the field on Sunday! Go Richard!!!!!!

Todays Workout: 800 yrd open water swim in Lake Castaic

Still in Transition - (Triathlon Off Season)

2006-08-04T11:29:00.000-07:00

Todays workout: 5:00am - (1000 Yard Swim)

Warm up: 200 yards easy
Drills: 2 x 25 under skate , 1 x 50 String finger/fist
Main Set: 1x500 steady
Cool down: 8 x 25 Bi-lateral Breathing

A typical triathlon season usually runs from March through October and sometimes into November. By November, athletes have been training and racing for over 8 months and are ready for a well deserved break. During the following 4 month off season (Transition Period), athletes do various things. Some hang up all their gear and enjoy the winter holiday foods and take shelter from the cooler winter training conditions before starting back up sometime after January 1st. Others are the classical diehards that push on strong and don’t take any time off for mental and physical recovery. Since races don’t typically start until March, athlete will usually start focusing on limiters and weight training (Preparation Period) roughly 8 weeks before starting their base level training for a specific race or series of races.

I have decided to have a 8 week preparation period prior to starting my base training on January 1st. This will leave me approximately 6 month to dedicate to my base, build and peak periods.

In order to get some kind of mental and physical break, I have decided to be very low key with my training and racing between now and October 1st. This two month period is the only time I have to rejuvenate my body and mentally gear up for Ironman CDA (Coeur d’Alene) next June.

During this two month period, I have the two following "Fun" races scheduled:
1) Hansen Dam Triathlon - Sprint Relay.
2) Pumpkinman Olympic Triathlon in Las Vegas - Club Championship.

The Hansen Dam race is going to be GREAT FUN. The relay team is made up of me, Shannon and my neighbor Richard. I am doing the 500 yrd open water swim, Richard will be racing the 11 mile bike coarse and Shannon with finish up the race with a 3 mile trail run. I can’t wait to see the excitement on their faces as the race unfolds. I’m going to do my best to get some pictures of the event.... stay tuned.

My last race this season is the "Pumpkinman" - Club Championship in Las Vegas. I normally wouldn’t be doing such a late season race with my Ironman race so early in the following season but my Dad is competing in it. This will be our second race together and first Olympic race together. My Dad is soon to be 60 and placed 2nd in his age group in his first Olympic distance triathlon. Truth be told... there were only two people in his age group and he was one of them. With that said, I am very proud of his accomplishments in triathlon. Less than a year ago, he couldn’t swim 25 yards and after countless lessons and hours in the water he is now able to navigate near mile open water swims with relative ease. Way to go pop! So without a doubt, I wouldn’t miss this race for the world.

In Transition

2006-08-01T10:16:00.000-07:00

After completing the "World Toughest Half" Triathlon on 5/20/2006, I elected to take a couple of weeks off from training (5/21-6/4) to recuperate from "burnout" and spend some much needed time with my family. The last two months of training leading up to this race were very hard on the family and especially Shannon. I was gone on 4-5 hr bike rides on Saturdays, 1 mile ocean swims and transition runs on Sundays. During the work week, I was in bed by 9pm, up three days at 4am to either swim or run and up one day at 3 am to get in a two hour bike ride. To say the least, we were all ready for a break.

After this short break, I spent two weeks doing light base-transition training (6/5-6/18) and one week tapering for my next race called "Breath of Life" on 6/25. I approached this Olympic distance race (1.5K swim, 40K bike, 10K run) in a relaxed nature and decided to just have fun and not worry about my split times. The race went well and afterwards, the whole family spent a couple of fun hours at the beach.

After the race I spent the next week doing lite active recovery/transition training (6/26-7/2).

The following week I was on Vacation. My parents came down from Sacramento and we spent some time at Disneyland. (7/3-7/10). During this time I did absolutely no training. I forgot how nice is was to sleep more that 6 hours a night.

After my parents when home and the vacation was over, I caught a goofy cold (Disney Joke). I felt run down and had a sore throat for a few days. Blah...blah... blah... you know typical story. After I felt better, I went for a run... then the cold came back for a few more days. Again, I felt better..... went for a run ... then it came back a third time. Dang......What a pain in the butt... I was not use to being sick and missing exercise.

By the week of 7/24, I finally kicked the cold and was ready for full duty. My workouts went as listed below:
7/25 - 5 Mi Easy Run
7/27 - 1000 Yard Drill Swim
7/29 - 35 Mi Easy Bike Ride
7/31 - 5 Mi Easy Run

Race Report 5/20/06 - "Worlds Toughest Half"

2006-07-25T15:57:00.000-07:00

Overall finish: 6:59:30 - (189 out of 282) Not including the 30 DNF's.
This is possible evidence of a strong field and even tougher race. Or maybe it just shows that I finished after half of the field.

Age group finish: 28 out of 40 (not any better I suppose)

"First name" in age group finish:
"Jason" Division: 2nd out of 2 (ok....ok... still no improvement)

Swim: 1.2 Mi - 0:41:27 - (34 of of 40)
The water temperature at the start of the race was a perfectly balmy 68 degrees. The swim course began in the water (go figure) at the bottom of a narrow boat ramp. The course heads straight out 150 yards to a buoy at which point you turn left into a 200 yard wide channel of water surrounded by steep canyon walls. You then swim along the near side of the canyon for about 800 yards before you reach the turn around buoy and head back along the far side of the canyon another 900 yard. After you reach the final and third buoy, you turn right and head into shore another 200 yards to the swim entrance/exit area.

I elected to start on land and gave my wave a good 30 second head start. (Why would I do that... well, that's just the kind of guy I am I guess.) This tactic allowed me to have clear and clean water for most of the swim or at least until the second wave caught me from behind about half way through the course. There were no major incidents to report.... just the typical minute or two of bumping, punching & pulling. (And that's only what I was doing) At the exit of the swim I felt Great! I was able to kept my head clear throughout the entire swim and stuck to my race plan of going out easy and staying aerobic.

T1: 0:05:00
I steadily made it to my bike. I shed my wetsuit, put on my bike gear, collected my nutrition & packed my swim gear into my T1 bag so the race volunteers could transport my things cleanly to the T2/finish area for post race retrieval.

Bike: 56Mi - 3:44:00 - (27 out of 40)
The "World's Toughest Half" course tests all of your skills.(it did mine) It has long climbs, short steep climbs (including one .4 mile climb at 12% grade at the infamous "LeMond Walked" hill), roller coaster sections and seemingly no flats. This ride is very tough and very Scenic. The overall elevation gain is ~6,000' before you finish the full 56 miles.

The course climbs steadily for the first 21 miles as you pass the T2/finish area at mile 8 and Aid Station #1 at mile 13.6. The next 5 miles are comprised of a down and up section where you can pick up some speed until you reach the 6 mile Bear River loop. The loop takes you down a steep and technical descent to a short flat section adjacent to the ragging Bear River. After you reach this flat section, you have to climb back out of the pit you just descended into. Once out, you back track the course to the finish line with the addition of a 5 mile out and back sections at mile 43. I felt good throughout the entire bike course. My bike training was spot on.

My hydration & nutrition plan was to drink water for the first 30 minutes and then switch to my Accelerade sports drink. I planned to drink a quarter of a 24 oz bottle of fluids every 15 minutes, gu every 45min to an hour, take sodium tablets every hour & eat a power bar if I needed extra calories. Before the race, I decided to carry two bottles on the bike: one of water and another for Accelerade. I primarily trained with Accelerade and planned on retrieving two fresh bottles of Accelerade from my special needs bag at mile 21. The race was dispensing Cytomax .... a product that I've never used.

My nutrition plan began to unravel at the Special needs/Aid Station #2 at mile 21. My Special needs bag never made it from the registration tent. Wow!...now I have lost 480 calories of Accelerade and was faced with having to switch to Cytomax or stick with water and gu. Faced with the dilemma of trying something new on race day, I elected to gamble. What else could I do? I drank the Cytomax and survived. At mile 30, I decided to start on my power bar but to my surprise ... it was gone. I must have left it in T1.... there goes another 270 calories. Oh well I thought and continued to ride strong with an average cadence in the high eighties and low nineties. Between miles 35 and 48, my lower back started to ache a bit. After stretching a little on the bike, I caught my second wind and stayed strong all the way to T2.

T2: 5min
Racked my bike, change into run gear, headed out on run.... and forgot sodium tablets.

Run: 13 Mi - 2:24:03 (24 out of 40) Total run climb is 1,325'

The 13.1-mile run is described as a "scenic and challenging 50/50 trail & pavement mix in the Auburn State Park." The entire course is completely closed to auto traffic and includes stunning views of surrounding mountains, canyons and the river below. The run is broken into two loops.

Loop 1: 1:25:00
Loop 1 is approximately 7 miles long and finishes adjacent to the finish line. (You actually run right next to it .... so close that you can touch the finish line arch). As you leave T2 you head down to a wooded single track trail that opens up to a wider rolling trail that exposes you to the hot sun. (at least it was hot when I came thru). The run was going great until I reached mile two where I believed I started feeling the affects of the direct sun exposure. I started to feel lightheaded and overheated. I made the conscious decision to walk the hills, run the flats and down sections and keep hydrating and "gu"ing. I did that until I reached the aid station near mile 5. Once there, I stopped for about 5 minutes and poured ice water over my head, body and into my hat. By now I've realized that my sodium tablets were keeping my bike company at T2 so I helped myself to some pretzels... actually I helped myself to a lot of pretzels. Once I got my core temperature down .... I felt like it was time to rock and roll. I cruised down the next half mile until I reached the first of two tough climbs. This first climb is called "Dam Wall" (mile 5.5-7) (400' vert climb). This "Dam Wall" is a paved service road that many walked up (including me). The walkers were just slightly slower than the runners through this stretch. My goal was to conserve my energy for the second loop and not to Blow up 6 miles out.

Loop 2: 0:59:03
Once I started the second loop, I felt strong again. The second loop leads you away from T2 in a different direction and straight down a sometimes paved, mostly gravel and dirt road into an area call "The Pit". After you reach the bottom of "The Pit", you head back up the same road then turn left onto a stretch that takes you to the second major climb called "Cardiac Bypass" (10-11.2mi)... (don't you just love these names... there is an actual trailhead marker that reads "Cardiac Bypass".) Once you're revived from heart failure, the rest of the course is essentially flat & mild with minimal elevation change. I felt really good near the end of this final loop after practically running the entire way. The last two miles are a real treat. You get to run on a beautifully shaded water canal trail which is completely flat. It was during this time that I figured I could maybe break the 7 hour mark. I decided to turn up the juice and pushed for two sub 8 min miles and I did it! I came in at 6:59:30. What a feeling to complete such a race! Especially after 5 solid months of training.... all those early morning swims, tough hill runs and occasional 3 am bike rides.