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Jun 12, 2011    |      0 comments

Del Mar 14 Mile Run

You’d think that after another monter bike ride, especially to San Diego that you’d have the rest of the weekend to have some nice R&R. Nope not us! Not the IronTEAM. We wake up bright and early the next day to run 14 miles! This morning, we did a basic out and back route, from Solona Beach (where we were at) to just north of Encinitas. It was nothing new to us because we pretty much biked through there yesterday – we just had a little more time to soak up the nice ocean views. It was relatively flat with some gradual climbs & descents.

The coaches split our group into two, primarily splitting people who usually run together, which forces most of us to run with someone new. I ran with my teammates Patrick and Annette, which was really fun because I’ve never ran with them before. It was a similar situation for other people as some were pushed further & faster than they have ever before. It was super inspiring to see teammates reach new milestones!

Overall, the run was a nice cap to end the weekend’s training. Thankfully, there was no swim workout! The rest of the day consisted of hanging out at the Amtrak station & pizza place across the street, waiting to pack & load up bikes into some of our coaches cars. It was a logistical challenge because some of the trains only hold 6-12 bikes so we all couldn’t ride home at the same time. Backup plan was to load up as many bikes on cars, then the rest to come back via train. It was my bike, and 2 others that didn’t get to fit in the cars, so we were stuck. First train was 12:30pm, then 1:30, etc. I ended up on the 3:30 train, so the team had a fun time getting to know each other a little more at the restaurant. The train ride went by very quickly because the moment I sat down, I knocked out! I was just glad I didn’t get this kind of train experience:

Jun 11, 2011    |      0 comments

E.T. Goes to San Diego

I first heard about an IronTEAM ride to “San Diego” last year when my roommate Carlos was on the Team. He was documenting his experience, and this video was one of the first to spark my interest in joining the team:

Ever since then I’ve been looking forward to this ride! It’s really crazy to think that we rode our bikes to SAN DIEGO (Del Mar to be exact). Our route took us from Anaheim to Del Mar, passing through parts of the OC ride we did a few weeks ago, to the San Onofre boobies (see below), Camp Pendleton Base, Oceanside, Encinitas, and more.

It was our “recovery week” for the Full Vineman team, so we had to dial back the effort, and made it more of social (but not to social) ride. We rode in packs, but still respecting all the rules of the road. I had my fun using my bike bell here and there, then we tried to have conversations when we can, so the time actually flew by pretty quickly. We had two SAG (Supplies & Gear) stations along the way to switch out any bottles or special needs, so that was a nice break as well. We rode through some neighborhoods near Oceanside which reminded me of E.T. (see the main image of this post) and its chase scene. Since it was technically still training and not some easy ride down south, I still tried to challenge myself and practiced my aero position, letting go more on the downhills, letting the turns take me, and I squeezed in a few speed bursts, especially on the tarmac of Camp Pendleton.

So the actual ride was 80 or so miles, and there was an optional extra 20 miles to the Torrey Pines area near SDSU in La Jolla if we wanted to top off the 100. By the time I got to the turn, I actually felt really good to continue for another century, so I did! 5 minutes into it, my watch beeped to warn me it was time to take in some nutrition. So I reached down to get my second water bottle, and NOPE, it wasn’t there! What?!? Did I drop it along the way? I didn’t hear anything! Hmm… do I keep going without any nutrition? I’m already 80+ , and there’s another SAG at 90. Should I keep going? Well, my sister used to live in La Jolla and I kinda remember how hilly it was. It was a recovery week, so I decided to turn back, and not to push it, especially with no water or Accellerade! That would be stupid. I already passed 100 last week, no need to do it this time. We all eventually made it to the Del Mar Hilton safely, and when I gathered all my gear at the parking lot, guess what was in my bag, the extra bottle full of Accellerade I thought I dropped. Doh!

Jun 10, 2011    |      0 comments

3 Buoy Loops!

This morning, my longest swim in the ocean was 2 buoy loops in Santa Monica near Tower 26, and my goal ever since then was to make it to 3, and this morning I finally made it! 3 loops! My teammate Jasmine and I have been motivating each other to improve every time we go out there and tackle the ocean, and it’s been helping me a lot! I’m a little more comfortable going head on through the waves this time around, but the waves this time were a little more forgiving. They came from every angle this time, and the water past the breakers were a little rocky too. At one point, I thought I was swimming towards the buoy, but I was actually heading back to shore! Oops!

I’m still having a tough time coming back to shore because of my fear of the waves behind me crashing down on me and causing me to tumble, so I took some time there. After 3 loops, I saw it was already time for me to go to get ready for work. I think I still had 1 more loop in me too! Oh well, that will be my goal NEXT week! When I got back to my car, I saw one of my teammates, Dash, with a bloody foot. What?!? He got stung by a stingray! I didn’t even know they would be in these parts. Oh man! I hope it’s nothing too serious.

Our coaches have been trying to get us to go to more ocean swims by sending out 3500-4200 yard swim sets in the pool. Uh… you know how boring it is to do those sets by yourself? No thanks, ocean swims are for me, no matter how terrifying they may be! Next week, 4 loops, bring it!

Jun 7, 2011    |      0 comments

Look at This Stuff, Isn’t It Neat?

Wouldn’t you think my collection’s complete? Ok, I thought I’ve seen all of the pool drills our coaches had to offer, but tonight they threw in a curveball. Most of the sets were drills, so at the very end, they gave us something to tie our feet together! Yes, no kicking. It’s not like swimming with a pool buoy because your legs just sink! The object is to use all upper body for forward momentum, and good body position and balance. The whole time I was sinking and had to grab on to the lane dividers. After a good 15 minutes, coach Brad saw I wasn’t really improving, so he gave me a pool buoy to cheat and finish the sets. The whole time I was thinking Little Mermaid (without the fins to keep us afloat). I’m sure the coaches had a good laugh at their struggling participants trying to figure this out. Some people eventually got it and swim pretty well with them on. Me? Well, I can’t even swim WITHOUT them, so how could you expect me to swim with them on?

Jun 5, 2011    |      0 comments

OWS + 19 Mile Run

The waves this morning during our Open Water Swim (OWS) were pretty scary at Tower 26 in Santa Monica… I just remember having to look up as if I was looking up at a building, then tumble under a double wave. Took even more tries than usual because those waves were bigger than I’ve ever encountered. I was coming into the practice feeling confident because Friday was such a huge milestone, but I guess you can’t have it all. Was able to make 1 loop to the buoy though with the help of one of our coaches. I was happy to even just do 1, because at one point, I was already about to walk back to the car. It was so rough out there!

After the swim, we all changed to our running gear and went on to our longest run of the IronTEAM season- 19 miles! It’s nothing new to me, but it was a big milestone for some of my teammates, as it marked some personal bests in terms of mileage. What was new to me was the fact that I just did 100+ miles on the bike, so running this distance on not-so-fresh legs was such a challenge! The route started near our swim meetup spot, and headed north to a place called “Troll Bridge” (you’d have to go through parts of the Amalfi neighborhood to get there), and do 2 out and backs. Tried to run the whole time, but those hills near the end of the loop took so much out of us that walking was a better option if we wanted to finish the distance. It’s all about pacing! I practiced more of my running technique and form on the flats. This special route was trying to simulate the Vineman out and back type of course where the course is 3 loops, and that can really mess with your mind!

Jun 4, 2011    |      0 comments

First 100+ Mile Ride

Just last week, I hit my 100 Mile Weekend milestone, but this morning, I hit 100 miles on a bike in a single practice! 102 to be exact, in 6:02. The schedule was to do 90 mile minimum or 6 hours, whichever comes last. We started on Ocean and San Vicente, odd birthday years went first, even numbers went up to 4th st on San Vicente (a little backward), just to break up the chunks of groups. The route took us from Santa Monica up PCH, a little detour up Encinal Canyon for a mile, continue north on PCH until it pretty much ended as a small highway (it begins to be a major freeway after thaht), exited Los Robles, headed east towards the Camarillo Outlets, then back.

I felt really great throughout the ride – it’s probably a combination of what I ate last night (chicken & brown rice), planned nutrition, and my improvement in overall fitness week by week. I was able to push myself by speeding up with intervals, and take advantage of the downhills. It’s scary but exciting that I feel more comfortable just letting go and enjoying the ride. As far as nutrition, I didn’t change anything I consumed, but I did change a setting on my watch where it would beep every 15 minutes to remind me to drink and/or eat. The worst part of the ride was in the Los Robles area, where nasty headwinds occurred heading back to PCH. I was wondering why I was going 30mph outbound, but going against the headwinds held me back to 11mph-ish. The ride back on PCH felt like it went by pretty quickly, as it felt a little routine. At times I would just enjoy the views of the ocean, birds flying in formation, cars zipping by – the whole experience of it.

By the time I got back to Santa Monica, we did our usual Amalfi Loop (Amalfi is a famous bike/run street here). After riding 90 or so miles, those hills were just torture, but we handled it. We circled the Brentwood Golf Course, and did a few out and backs to top over 100 miles! Oh but wait! Practice was not over. A 30 minute run immediately followed, and man oh man, my legs were not cooperating! I was running at a pretty quick pace at first (around 9 min), then 11, then 12ish. Here was my one and only thought: “How am I supposed to do 26.2 miles after a 112 mile bike ride?!” Things eventually stabilized, and it wasn’t too bad after all. It’s so weird I tell ya… but loving every minute of it!

May 30, 2011    |      1 comment

First 100+ Mile Weekend

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!

May 26, 2011    |      0 comments

The Kindle Trainer

It’s no question that being on a trainer is very boring, so we tend to multitask by either firing up some Netflix, Hulu, ESPN, or whatever on the TV. Not this time, it just so happens that my Amazon Kindle rests perfectly in between my aerobars! It’s kinda funny though that I was reading a running book (Chi Running) while riding, but it proved to be productive!

May 25, 2011    |      0 comments

Just Kidding

What do you do when you’re in the pool and follow the swim set, line by line? You do them… somehow a few of us thought the “Just Kidding” part was referring to the “Shuttle Race” part, not the whole 1000 to that line item. Oops, and yes, some of us did the 1000 last night at our team swim at the Culver City Plunge. By the end of the night, I thought I was off by 400 yards, when in fact, I went well above the prescribed 3050 yards. A good mistake, I guess?

Oh, and here’s a picture of me in action (I’m the one with the happy face swimcap!)

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