WOW….it has been a crazy couple of weeks!!

This last weekend was our first Book Camp. It included seven hours of training on Saturday followed by seven hours of training on Sunday. I already knew this but this weekend highlighted how inspiring my teammates are. You really learn a lot about someone after 14 hours of a kick your butt program….I couldn’t imagine being on this journey with a better group of people.

I won’t bore you with all of my training details during the week…just the highlights…you know…the part that makes me curl up in a ball and say “WHY.”

Saturday:
8:30 am: Our first open water swim in Lake Delle Valle, Livermore…..can you say COOOOLD!! If it weren’t for my wetsuit I’d still be out there floating like a block of ice waiting for summer. I’m really not sure how far we swam but it really didn’t matter because that was just the beginning of a very long weekend.

Once we got out of the water it was time for a 33 mile bike ride which included two very difficult hills. I pretty much stayed with BK (Brian Kinion for those of you who don’t know) the whole way…which isn’t always easy since he really doesn’t know how to slow down or stop. The last hill (toward the end of the ride) really was challenging but we made it.

Once we got off the bike, we refueled and then it was time for a 6-mile trail run. Again, I tried staying with BK but I started to fade toward the end and watched him pull away. Just when we thought it was over, Coach Doug thought it would fun to do a little stretching….in the past I would have thought, great…time to stretch. Well, with Coach Doug, it can be a bit painful. However, the next day I was thankful for all that stretching….thanks coach!!

We headed home around 4:00pm. We figured since we’re training for an Ironman…we need to eat like one. That’s right…we hit In-N-Out on the way home baby!!! Man was it good and exactly what the doctor ordered. Got home late afternoon and was useless the rest of the night. However, my wife made this killer pork tenderloin….yes I said killer….what can I say…I was born in the 60’s, raised in the 70’s, influenced by the 80’s survived the 90’s and have been just enjoying the last decade.

Sunday:
8:00 am: Triathlons are supposed to be swim, bike and run….Sunday was a bit different. It was swim, bike, run, bike, run, bike, run and swim….another 7 hour day…ouch!!

The first bike ride was on the road and the following two were on our trainers…which is not always easy. Since it rained all day I decided not to change during the transitions…I figured what’s the point…I will only be soaking wet again in about 30 seconds. I shouldn’t say this because I’m sure I’ll jinx myself….I’m still waiting for my first flat…there, I said it!!!

The first 6-mile run was normal except the coaches thought it would be fun to make us do squats and sit-ups every ten minutes…yes in the rain/mud. The last two runs were on the track and again the coaches thought it would be interesting to add bleacher runs, squats, sit-ups and a few other things whose names escape me. The final program was back in the pool for about 45-minutes.

Headed home around 4:00pm....no In-N-Out today.

I use to say TGIF…Now it’s TGIM…thank god it’s Monday…no training!!

I don’t have too…I want too!!

It has been a while since my last post…had a few issues with my bog…but I’m back!!!

The past couple weeks have been very interesting. Every morning when the alarm goes off, I say to myself, “I have to get up.” I’m actually finding myself getting excited about working out…“I want too.” My body seems to be craving some of the workouts…Please understand that I don’t enjoy them all and at times I feel like I’m going to collapse. Having some of my Iron teammates around me has really helped…so I want to send out a big thanks to Brian, Phil, Rocky, Chris and all my other teammates….couldn’t do it without you!! And a special thanks to all the coaches for taking time out of their busy lives to help us achieve this goal.

Our training has really been stepped up a bit. This last Saturday we had a coach’s workout and we were instructed to bring our wetsuits. The coaches pulled up all the lanes and gave us drills to simulate open water swimming…..meaning…get ready to swallow lots of water. We then headed to the track for a few running drills (Indian drills, side to side, horse run and kick your butt….can’t remember the names but I can tell you it hurt.) Just when you thought it was over, coach Dave topped everything off with 30 minutes of core/strength training.

The next day Tony led us on a 31 mile bike ride and there were a few really tough hills along the way. I stayed with Brian most of the way which was a good thing…I forgot to print out the ride directions and would have been lost for days:) I did lose Brian at one point. We were coming down a nice long steep grade…and Brian was gone. At one point I thought I missed a turn because he was nowhere in sight. So I pulled over and asked some guy if he saw a rider go buy wearing the same type of jersey as me. He said, “dude, I sure did. That guy flew by here going at least forty.” He used a few other words that I’ll leave out...you get the idea. Yep, there was Brian at the bottom of the hill waiting for me with a big smile…he said he hit about 43….crazy!

Monday was a rest day…very nice!!

Bring on week 14!!!!