This final weekend of training before Vineman was a perfect mix of workouts & social events with the team.

Saturday
It was so great to see the whole team together again after a week apart because of Carmageddon and Vineman 70.3. The scheduled workout was a 45 min swim, 3 hour minimum bike, then a 30 minute run, so we pretty much did a triathlon. We did our usual jog down the sand and swam north. Bike & run intensity was subdued, a more “conversational” pace, which we really did. By the end it didn’t feel like we did a workout, but that’s the purpose of the taper.

At night, we ceelbrated our teammate, Holly’s birthday at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood, watching “It Happened One Night” starring Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert. I was pretty excited to go because it was my first time at a Hollywood Cemetery Cinespia event. There were about 10 of us from the team, set up a little picnic area in the large grassy field of the cemetery. Let me tell you though, cemeteries freak the hell out of me more than anything, and it seriously gave me the creeps and chills walking from my car to the movie site.

Sunday
Sunday morning’s run was a nice easy 60 minute run Amalfi Loop which is our default route in Santa Monica. It’s pretty crazy how I can call this “easy” because this route was super challenging for me prior to joining the IronTEAM. We kept the pace light in the beginning, then on the way down San Vicente, I picked up the pace to a 7:30-8:00/min mile (I wish I could always run like this, but there was a slight downhill).

That night was another first for me as some of us went to The Hollywood Bowl to watch Stevie Wonder and Friends. It was a fun night picnicking at the benches, lounging and socializing to some really good soul music. The vibe was so energetic as people were dancing in their seats, talking to others around them, and all the way to the bus ride home everyone was still dancing and chatting it up. Some good times for sure!

This morning’s workout was the infamous “5/3 Monster Brick” that our coaches have been telling us about (meaning 5 hours bike, 3 hours run). I chose the picture above because you know what? The monster was probably more afraid of the IronTEAM than we were afraid of it. We were a bunch of fearless teammates who will take on whatever the coaches give us!

The coaches intentionally chose Westlake Village because of the expected heat this weekend, which will simulate what it will be like on raceday for us Vineman racers. For the Louisville team, they had to even wear cotton shirts under their normal gear because it will be even more humid & hot over there. Yikes! I was really looking forward to this workout because it was the last major build of the season, plus I installed my new 11/28 cassette last night so I wanted to see what difference it would make (it made a HUGE difference in climbing). The majority of the bike course was all that we’ve seen before, so the biggest variant was the heat, so our hydration strategy had to be dialed in. I actually felt really great on the bike – I even got up to 42mph at one point, a new season high! In the 5 hours, I managed to ride in about 78 miles, which wasn’t too bad considering all the hills 7 heat.

It was the run where everything started to break down. I don’t know exactly what I did wrong. Maybe it was the lack of sleep the previous few days? Maybe it was not enough water? Maybe I didn’t set up the nutrition on the bike well enough to power my run? It just wasn’t my running day. I felt tired early on, and was I really bonking at mile 5?! I did quite a bit of walking, as this was probably my most difficult feeling run of the season. I was so hungry that my stomach was growling. I even yawned at one point. Really?!? I talked to my coaches and they said I probably didn’t have enough carbs. That’s something I’ll have to double check, and it really goes to show how important calculating nutrition is, especially on really hot days, where things can go really bad if not planned correctly. Through the aches and pains, I eventually got through the 16.5 miles with life-saving SAG stops by teammates Traci and Elizabeth, then a moving SAG by Kristi who helped with my hunger with some yams that she had in her bento box. If this was a true taste of what’s to come at Vineman, this definitely humbled me a bit, as I can’t take things for granted and really have to pay attention to the details. Oh, the weekend isn’t over yet! Open water swim + run tomorrow. Bring it!

One of the things I remembered from conversations with last year’s IronTEAM participants was an odd word called “Piuma”. I didn’t know exactly what it was or what it referred to, but I just know it related to one of the practices. Now this morning, I finally knew what it meant. It’s a road out in Westlake (or in the vicinity of), called Piuma Rd. I checked the the bike route the night before and there it presented itself to me, in the elevation chart. What the! 2,000ish feet climb over the course of 8 miles?! Well, last year, people did this climb before Wildflower, so I can see why people complained about it last year. Yes, it was one crazy climb though! It just would never end! This one made Nasty Grade look like a baby. It didn’t get super steep like Nasty, but it was just super long. The descent was fun, but oh so scary! Imagine going down 30+ mph AND having some turns. I’m not that comfortable on the downhills yet, so you know I was pumping my brakes like crazy! Just when I thought the climbing was over, towards the end of the course, we did more climbing! The heat was coming in pretty strong too!

After all that, I felt surprisingly OK, but of course, my legs were heavy. What was next? A 12 mile run! Oh my! The ride took approximately 4:15, then the run, which were 3 loops around Westlake streets circling the lake, took 2:30. I took a bunch of walk breaks on this one, which will probably simulate what I’ll be doing on raceday. Heavy legs and heat are no bueno! This practice was definitely one of the toughest to date!

The Route

Last weekend was a monster one because it finished build week 2 of 3, before we do another recovery week.

On Saturday, we met in Long Beach, not too far from where we met last time, but right at the border near Seal Beach. We were scheduled to do a 5 hour ride with a minimum of 75 miles. The route took us from Long Beach heading south on PCH until we hit Viejo St in Laguna. We turned around to Avocado St which was about 6 miles in Newport Beach. We were to continue that 12 mile loop until it was time to head back. For the most part, the ride was pretty flat, with some rollers near the far parts of the loops. What really took up time during our ride were the stop lights inside the loop, and the heavy traffic near the bars/restaurants/shops. The shopping area in Newport didn’t have any bike lanes so things got really narrow at times with really rude drivers. I even had to make some last minute calls and turn to ride on the sidewalks just so I don’t crash into other cars. Even one of my teammates got clipped by a car (she’s ok though). There were some nice ocean views, as seen in the above photo, and weather wasn’t too bad either. I was able to practice my aero position on the flats and pushed with some intervals. My overall time was about 5:34 with a rolling time of 5:14, and surpassed my previous bike milestone of 72 to 84.4! Once I got back to homebase, the day wasn’t over, since we had to do 30 minute run shortly after, which was about 3 miles for a daily total of 87.7.

We were supposed to do an open water swim in Manhattan Beach on Sunday, but our coaches made a late night decision and called it off because of forecasted 5 foot swells and rough waters. Whew! We met at the Manhattan Beach Pier anyway and ran some loops to Redondo Beach. We did a little of the chip trail, then the rest on The Strand, where heading south was pretty fast, but whenever we came back north, we were faced with some pretty nasty headwinds. Twice the effort, same speed… ugh. Some of us ran with Coach Jason, who gave some nice pointers on running technique, especially talking about the technique I’m learning from the book, Chi Running, where there’s a forward lean from the ankles, and a forefoot strike with higher cadence. He got me aware of my technique and I tried to apply it on the run. Overall, I was very happy because the run added to a milestone weekend – it was the furthest I’ve ran without any walk intervals – 17 miles!

So if this 104.7 mile weekend was Build 2, what’s Build 3? Bring it!

Tonight I was wondering, “Just how far will 70.3 take me?”, so I fired up Google Maps, starting point Santa Monica, then dragged the destination to a familiar spot and 70.3 miles.

Dana Point.

From here on out our team will make making new milestones in training, week by week. This morning’s brick was a monster one. It was approximately 57 miles on the bike, then a 13.5 mile run. It somewhat will simulate Wildflower Long Course coming up, but the hills won’t be as intense (I think).

I felt pretty good for most of the ride along PCH, but I had one problem. I was out of Carbo-Pro, something I usually mix into my drinks. So instead, I offset my carbs by doubling up on the Accelerade, then eating more of the Clif bars. Boy what a mistake that was, the drink was too concentrated, so it tasted too sweet! By this point in training PCH is like home court to us, we pretty much know all the nooks and crannies, but the coaches varied it up with previews of Temescal Canyon, Ensinal Canyon, and Latigo Canyon streets as our major hills. 57 miles. Done. Suprised I felt quite all right!

Oh it was not over. The run was a double “Amalfi Loop” which each loop consisted of a 3.5 mile incline through the Palisades residential area of Santa Monica then a nice downhill through San Vicente. I felt really good the first loop, ran the whole way, then second loop was considerably slower. I was actually good until mile 12, then that’s where my nutrition failed me. I was out of Gu, and out of Accelerade. The weather was hot, and I could feel myself hitting “The Wall”, or some may say “Bonking”. It definitely felt like I was on that last leg of the marathon, out of energy, and the water fountains just wasn’t enough – I had to walk. I was feeling a little dizzy, then my teammate who passed by was a life saver and gave me some shot blocks to help with my energy.

That was the longest mile ever! I eventually made it, but man! I learned the hard way that nutrition is something I should not overlook. I knew right there and then though that I am capable of doing such a distance, but the big unknowns will be the energy spent on the swim, and the intensity levels on the bike and run. I’m a little nervous, but I can’t wait!!!

Since the rainstorm foiled our training plans at Wildflower last weekend, our coaches put together a “Wildflower Long Course” simulation ride. Although not as hilly as WIldflower, they wanted to add in a pretty nasty (hence the nickname “Nasty Grade”) climb after 45 or so miles. Check the elevation chart above. Yes, that steep! The ride down was scary fun though! There were a few Category 5(see definitions here) climbs sprinkled in there as well. We had a time limit of 5 hours, so if we were back at home base (Zuma Parking Lot) before that, we had to continue riding south and estimate a turnaround spot to make the 5 hours. The great thing about coming back early was that we had an opportunity to make this the longest ride yet this season. The downside? More hills! Yes, hills at the 65 mile mark! My total bike mileage of the day was 72! Woohoo!

Practice wasn’t over yet! There was an hour more of running, which equates to about 6 miles! Luckily, I didn’t expend all my energy on the bike, so my run was pretty normal – started off very quick (~8:15 pace) with high cadence, then stabilized at around 9:15 pace. I was surprised at how much energy I still had by the end. I think my nutrition plan was working for me really well, and thankfully the weather wasn’t too warm outside. I’m just so happy how far the team has come. We’re all getting that much closer to our goal, plus we’re all bonding so well. I love my team! Go TEAM!

• San Diego Rock ‘N’ Roll Marathon and Half Marathon- May 31st
• Mayor’s Marathon and Half Marathon Alaska- June 20th
• Seattle Rock ‘N’ Roll Marathon and Half Marathon- June 27th

Please join us for one of our upcoming information meetings to learn more about our fundraising and training program.

Upcoming information meetings:

Tuesday, January 13th at 7:00 pm
Sporteve
3849 Main St, Culver City

Sunday, January 18th at 10:30 am
Niketown
9560 Wilshire Blvd, Beverly Hills

Wednesday, January 21st at 6:30 pm
Will and Ariel Durant Library
7140 W. Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood

Sunday, January 24th at 10:30 am
Montana Branch Library
1704 Montana Ave, Santa Monica

If you cannot attend the meeting or would like more information about Team In Training please contact Kristen McManus at (310) 846-4727.

Together we are saving lives one mile at a time!

Today, I started the program with their Initial Test. The site says:

To perform the test, simply execute as many good-form push ups as you can. Don’t cut corners and please don’t cheat – the last thing you want to do is end up in the wrong level of the training program! The results may be humbling, but trust me, honesty is the best policy if you want to maximize your strength gains!

My initial test = 23 push ups, which puts me at rank 3 of 7 (higher the number, the better). I’m cool with that. This rank tells me what column in the chart to follow. I will then have to do a certain number of push ups three times a week, slowly increasing for the next 6 weeks to come. I gotta start somewhere right? I can compare this to my marathon training because at first I was a little shocked I couldn’t do 3 miles in the first practice, but in due time I was able to do 26.2. So I have to be patient, and trust that this training program will help me meet my goals. Baby steps, I know.

We’ll see how it goes – I will record my training on this blog (see? it’s much more than a running blog), and see my progress from there to see if this really works.

Want to try it too? Visit Hundred Pushups.