Motivational Movie Monday

The Tour is coming! Enjoy this celebration video from 2007.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6KMZJb-puA

T Minus Five!

Today is June 21st.  Exactly five months until Ironman Arizona!

Next weekend I have my first Triathlon of the season - the Breath of Life Olympic Tri in Ventura.  I did the sprint triathlon there a few years ago and it was a great event. I'm looking forward to doing the Olympic Distance event this year.

Last year I did just one Olympic distance triathlon in 2:39:29 so I guess I'll shoot for a better time next weekend.  This will also be my first open water swim of the year. Unfortunately I haven't had a chance to get out to the beach to do some open water swimming.  But I've got several open water swims under my belt from previous seasons so it should not be a problem.

The main thing I hope to accomplish is to make sure all my equipment is still functioning well and get a baseline time for this distance. If I have any equipment issues or need to make any purchases this will give me plenty of time to take care of them and get used to whatever I buy.

In about a month, I've got the Strawberry Fields Olympic Triathlon on July 18th so I'll have an opportunity to make some adjustments and focus on a faster time if needed.

July 5th, I start my 20 week IM training plan and two-a-day workouts become a regular part of life.

Motivational Movie Monday

Inspirational Video On Increasing Your Confidence!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1k08yxu57NA

(Embedding is disabled for this video so you have to click the link)

Motivational Movie Monday

Never Give Up: An Inspirational story

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcLvPkn1i_U

Motivational Movie Monday

Training 24/7 The Life of a Triathlete

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8RrtppCAeM

Training transition

With less than 24 weeks to go until Ironman Arizona, it's time for my training to make a transition.  So far, I've filled the year with generic endurance training and endurance events like centuries and half-marathons.  My focus has been on building fitness, but not specifically on triathlon training.

Now it's time to transition into Ironman specific training. 

It's time to start spending more time in the pool. 

It's time to start running after every bike ride. 

It's time to bring out the wetsuit and get some ocean swims done.

Goodbye road bike.  Thank you for your service this year.

It's time for you to take a break so I can focus on riding my tri bike

and goodbye hair-pants.  It's time for silky smooth triathlete legs.

Motivational Movie Monday

Steve Jobs Stanford Commencement Speech 2005

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1R-jKKp3NA

T Minus Six

Only six months to go until Ironman Arizona!  Does it seem close to you?  It certainly does to me.

I've found myself searching for and reading DNF (Did Not Finish) Ironman stories on the web lately. Not to be negative or pessimistic about my chances of finishing IMAZ in November.  I just found I can learn more from folks who had races that didn't go so well.  Sometimes the picture perfect race reports aren't very informing or even that interesting.  It does tend to create a little bit of paranoia though.  The more stories I read, the more I see how many things can go wrong - especially on the bike.  Even though I expect the run to be difficult, it will be nice when I get off the bike and onto my own two feet where the chance of an equipment failure ruining my day diminishes significantly.

On a more immediate note, this weekend is the San Diego Century.  I'm driving down to Encinitas CA tonight after work, for an early morning start tomorrow. I completed this ride last year so I know exactly what to expect. It's a challenging course with a fair amount of climbing, but nothing out of the ordinary. I expect it to be a fun training day.

Motivational Movie Monday

From Service Dog to surf-ice dog.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGODurRfVv4

Upcoming events

It's a little bit more than 6 months until IMAZ, and I've got some endurance events on the upcoming calendar.

On May 22 I've got the San Diego Century.  I did this ride last year.  It's a challenging century ride with a good amount of climbing.  It should be a good training day.

June 13th is the Valley Crest Half Marathon.  I haven't signed up yet, but I probably will. I've done this race before too.  It's not the flat and fast half marathon I'm looking for, so I don't expect to be anywhere near a PR, but it's a very hilly trail half marathon, and should help build strong legs for Ironman Arizona in November.

And my first Tri of the season will be on June 27th at the Breath of Life triathlon in Ventura.

But most importantly, I'm taking this weekend off from training to go camping with my son and his Cub Scout Pack.  It should be a great weekend.

Motivational Movie Monday

Running on the Sun


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-e4bOLAuXg

Feeling Sluggish

For almost two weeks I was feeling really sluggish on my run workouts.  Even on short runs I'd feel like I was running a minute or two faster per mile than I actually was.

I think it had to be lack of sleep, because the last two nights I went to bed earlier, and sure enough, on my run today I felt great and my pace was back up where it should be.

Motivational Movie Monday

Never give up

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bx796zSg5gs

Motivational Movie Monday

The Triathlon Song


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1Fw1GdRKkc

T Minus 7

Ironman Arizona - November 21, 2010 is only 7 months away!

Over the last month I've logged a half marathon and a hilly century into the IM training bank.

I'd still like to find a good, fast half marathon course so I can try to set a new PR this year.

I've got the San Diego Century coming up on May 22, and my first triathlon of the season is at the end of June.