So I'm back in Boulder, and I've spent much of this week rebounding from my trip to Austin. I seem to be pretty tired still, and my muscles have not had too much get-up in them. I just returned from a much needed massage, where Kris pounded out all the knots and adhesions in my quads. I suspect I'll be a bit sore tomorrow, but will be well on the road to a full recovery... just in time for the weekend of training. I am struggling a bit to get used to breathing at altitude again. It seems that ten days is just enough to 'forget' what it's like to be oxygen deprived. Although the hematocrit levels don't dip until twenty days at sea level, that 'feel' sure does go. It'll probably be a few more days before that comes back. In the meantime, I'll be suffering.

On the flip side, I think I made a switch for the better with the weather. Boulder has been sunny and beautiful, with mild temps; whereas Austin is rumored to be in the cool rain now. Good timing with the training trip!

I had better get back to some of my 'around the house' chores: we're still trying to get settled into our new home!

Until next time.

Day 10 of my training trip arrived with some chilly temps. This is about as cold as it gets in Austin: 33 degrees with drizzle, fog and wind. Hmmm... I chose to sleep in rather than join T and B for the start of the half.

I dragged myself out of bed at 8:00am for a 9:00am start to my long run. My goal was to trek down to the course, follow it in reverse (not backwards!) to see as much of the action as I could.

I quickly realized that a lot of dreams and goals were not to be accomplished that morning. I saw many a runner--from elite to back-of-the-packer--suffering through these tough conditions. I was thankful that I was just training that morning.

I found an athlete that I coach around the mile 17 mark, and she was in the process of freezing her way off pace. She just missed her goal of qualifying for Boston, but finished despite the nasty morning temps.

I finished up a really nice long run: 21 miles with enough roads and trails, and ups and downs to keep my happy. It felt very good to get that final bit of sea level mileage in the legs.

I fueled up with about a gallon of Ultragen (best recovery drink ever!) and headed out for day three of the same ride. I somehow found myself in an enjoyable little rut/ patttern, and the ride suited me just fine. I did have to wait a little bit for Todd this time (he had notched a solid 20miler that moring as well). Ah well, it was great to have his company, except on the hills. Come on. Ha!

The trip was nearing its end, and I was pretty much done. I had met all of my training goals, in fact, had exceeded many of them. I had eaten at all my favorite restaurants, and visited with all my good friends. All that was left was one final visit to Jack and Adam's Austin bikes: really the best tri shop I've seen.

We capped the day off with a trip out to Jon and Nancy's place, also known as Casa Hill, or Rancho de Hill. (At least I know it this way.) We pounded back a few glasses of red wine, ate way too much, and laughed quite a bit. It was really a nice end to a great trip.

Bright and early Monday morning, Todd dropped me at the Austin airport where I boarded a flight for Colorado. I'm now back in Boulder, planning my next block of training to ramp myself up for Ironman Arizona.

Check in for more later...

Saturday morning came very early for me. I had decided to part from what had become my norm, and to join a group for a masters swim. The venue was the gorgeous Texas Swim Center, and the Tx Aquatics coach that morning was my favorite, Whitney Hedgepeth. I joined Andrea and Jamie (ok, I was too tired to really join them, but I tried) for my first 5000-yrd workout of the year. I'm really taking a different approach to swimming this year. I've been focusing on correcting a few inefficiencies in my stroke, so I've not really pounded out the big, hard sets. This was a struggle for me, but after about an hour, I found myself warming up a bit.

We then went to the Whole Foods flagship. For fear of spending three hours describing this amazing store, I'll just suggest that anyone in the Austin area make the trip over to 5th and Lamar to see it themselves. I had such a great time eating breakie there that I decided to have lunch, dinner, and several desserts there as well: very delicious.

I then made my way over to Cassie's place to join her for a run workout. The plan down in Texas was to make use of all that extra oxygen by running a bit higher on the intensity. Her workout was twice over the Stratford loop (four miles with the first two being very steep hills, and the second two being flat). Her goal: to push the hills and the flat with recovery on all downs. We notched a very fun, and challenging ten miles, satisfied with our times and efforts; it's really a great run, and the venue for the semi-world-famous Fools' Run!

Next up was, of course, lunch at Whole Foods. Yum.

Finally I got out for the same bike ride as Friday: easy yet hilly. This was just right for my tired legs. Todd and Beth were preparing for an early moring at the Austin Marathon and Half, so I headed over to Whole Foods for one final meal, and lots of chocolate!

Friday brought the wind and cold, but it didn't stop us too much. Fortunately, this was to be an easier day for me. I slept in a bit before meeting with Ritchie Cunningham and Luke Dragstra for a short and easy spin. The wind and cooler temps slowed us down a bit, and forced us to choose a more sheltered route up north. We made our way through some nice neighborhoods, and picked up an old route past where Scott and Kathleen used to live (in case the Woods are reading). Hitting 360 we enjoyed a tailwind for the second half of the ride, although we were still freezing our buns off.

Next up for me was a bit of lounging around. I couldn't seem to drag myself off the couch!

I finally dragged myself out for a run: an easy 40 minutes. Although it was getting late by this point, I still managed to jump in for a nice 4000 at Stacy pool. It's really amazing how few people are there on a cold Friday evening. I pretty much had the whole pool to myself.

I capped the day off with a really nice dinner at Curra's with my good friends Doug and Besty, as well as Todd and Beth (my generous hosts). We really enjoyed pounding back the chips, salsa, some tamales and beer, as well as one or two World Famous Enchiladas!

Thursday Feb 16th was an adventruesome day, indeed. My buddy Todd decided to take the day off from work to join me in the life of a professional triathlete. We opted for an early start to get a jump on the pending 83 degree day! Love those Austin winters!

We walked down the hill for a short swim workout at Stacy. Who can beat this commute: three minutes walk across the street to the pool, if you walk slowly! This free city pool is heated and 100ft in length. The city has a couple of these odd length pools, so you have to get used to swimming three laps to the 100. We did a nice 45min dip, and headed--gear in tow--to Austin Java Co for some breakie... and java.

Pancakes and breakfast tacos (and Latte!) on board, we zipped over to our start point. Our goal was to ride long: six hours even. Since leaving Austin, I've not done as many over-distance rides like this, as I found that the intensity was suiting me more these days. This was to be a different ride: long, moderate, and hilly terrain. Me and Todd pushing each other like the old days.

Well, we made about thirty-five miles of this before coming to an abrupt halt. It seems that the extreme quantity of riding I had been logging over the last several days finally caught up to my poor bike frame. My super smooth, superlight, performace CAROBN road bike had met its limit. The folks at Javelin make an incredible line of bikes, but it would appear that this one, as sweet as it is, is not for me. I pushed it to its max, and managed to snap the frame in two! Oops.

I was only stranded for about 90 mintues, as my friend Lon was kind enough to retrieve me. Rather than drive me in, he actually provided me with his back-up bike, so I got to notch another couple hours. The 100+ miler turned into 80 for me. Todd still swung the 6 hours, and we did finish together, with just the break separating us for a while.

In retrospect, the 30 miles I missed on that ride were probably not needed, as I still hit 500miles for the seven days I have had in Texas. Combining that with just under 70 miles running, I think I hit my goal of a solid training camp.

Finishing the ride, I only had about three minutes to spare before I met up with a small group for a run. I had planned on having at least 30-40 minutes to 'transition', but alas, I did not.

Shoes and hat, singlet and shorts, grab a gel and go. I booked it over to the meeting place to find I was one minute inside the 'window' of acceptable lateness. Our session today included some HILLY, and I mean HHHIIILLLYYY mile repeats. Really it was a five-mile tempo run, as there was no rest between each loop.

My goal was to run steady, as this was some of the first faster running I had done all year... actually since pre-Hawaii. The sea level thing kicked in--as did the Latte!--so I felt pretty peppy. I tried to stay strong and to keep Cassie (my marathon trials hopeful and good buddy!) on pace. I think we went out to fast, as the workout was easily a good thirty seconds per mile faster than prescribed. I can't complain myself, as it was just perfect, but we definitely pushed each well. I think that normally Cassie and I have very comparable paces, normally when I'm off the bike, and she moderately fresh. It's a great training partnership.

We cooled down, and I mean this literally, as we were all sweating buckets in this February weather: 83 degrees, no joke!

Next up was a dip in Deep Eddy pool: another 100-footer, but this one is a crisp 72 degrees the whole year 'round. It's the perfect way to finish a run: soak and splash. I notched another 500 yards after linking back up with Todd.

We were done for the day, minus a fun dinner at Ztejas: margaritas, steak and a lot of laughs.

Friday will be a down day for some recovery and rest: moderate workouts in all three, plus more mexican food!

Until next time.

So I finally got out the door on Wednesday, after a productive morining around the computer. I have been doing residential mortgage lending as a part-time employment opportunity, and I had a few items that required my attention early that day. It caused me to miss a scheduled ride with some friends, but that proved to be the only drawback to my noon start time.

I ended up linking up with my good friend Jon Hill for a very hilly spin around his neighborhood. I love Austin for it's steep hills; no wonder there have been so many great cyclists out of this area with these climbs!

After about 90 minutes with Jon, I headed out to wrap up the remainder of a 4:30 ride. I found a couple of doozies to add to my quad burning hill ride, before settling into a flatter section of town.

I didn't manage to get the early run in pre-ride, so I opted for an easy 5miler off the bike. I had the energy and the gumption, so I headed down to the lake to shake the old legs out. I still have that sea-level advantage, so the run was pretty fun, and a tick peppier than it would have been up in Boulder.

Last up for the exercise portion of the day was a dip in Stacy pool. I might not be swimming a lot this week, but I sure am swimming frequently!

I capped off the day by attending a birthday celebration at a unique natural restaurant called Casa de Luz. They are all organic and vegetarian. Due to the meatlessness of my meal, I found the need to refuel with three heaping plates of deliciously prepared veggies and grains: what a meal. The glass of wine and dessert were welcome treats at this palace of health food, so we all toasted Rip's birthday, and enjoyed some great conversation.

So far my goals are all being me: swim, bike, run, eat, and catch up with all the good Austin folk!

Tuesday was VD: Valentine's Day. Not so fun to have Feb 14 roll around being separated from your Valentine. I had arranged for some tulips to be delivered to Amanda, so at least my lovely wife knew she was in my thoughts.

I began the day a bit behind schedule, due to my latte stop. I love a latte early in the morning! I met up with a crew of guys for a long ride. After strating out pretty slow, due to a pretty solid headwind, our group gradually got smaller and smaller, as we got faster and faster. Toward the end of the ride, just Jamie Cleveland and Luke Dragstra and I remained. We did one of my favorite loops in reverse direction: Austin to San Marcos, San Marcos to Wimberley on 12, on through Dripping Springs to Hamilton Pool road, back 71 to Bee Caves and 360. It was exactly 100 miles, and the end result was another nice long ride. The weather was ideal, and I think we nearly hit 80 degrees! The other highlight, besides the great company, was the fact that many of these roads were newly paved! It's a wonder what they can do in a year's time!

Off the bike I opted for a short run. Again that sea level thing kicked in, and I felt great. It didn't take me long to talk myself into running ten miles. It felt so effortless, who i am to argue.

After finishing off six+ solid hours of training, I jumped in Stacy Pool for a 40-min dip.

That really topped me off, or tapped me out, as it was truly time to eat. I called up my friend Cassie, and met her for a delicious--and all you Austin folks know what I'm talking about--Mangia Pizza. We polished that off, and my day was done.

It's now day seven-ish of my trip, and I had better sign off, as I've got another ride planned here in about... ten, make that five, minutes.

Until next time.

Oops, I fell off the wagon a bit... slacking with the updates.

After a slow start to the day Monday: latte with Zane, Terra, and Brad at the local coffee house, I did a bit of mortgage work on the phone and computer. It was actually a nice way to spend the morning: catching up with friends, and being productive in other another area, other than training. However, this trip is for training primarily, so I followed that up with one of my best rids of the year.

Leaving Zane's house, I headed straight out to one of the Austin area's greatest roads: Lime Creek. It's just one of those roads. You see very little traffic, it's hilly, pretty, fairly smooth, and very fun. I zipped in and out of all the curves and turns, and was enjoying myself (and my caffeine buzz) so much that I didn't realize I had quickly made it to the moderately famous (not quite world famous) Triple Bitch. This half-mile pitch is split into three segments--all quite steep--thus the name. I realized why training at altitude can be such a benefit, while climbing these hills. I felt great.

During a lovely three and a half hour ride the only coversation I had was with the bleach-blonde, red-camero-driving woman who pleasantly screamed at me: "do you have a fuckin' death wish?!" I didn't think the road I was on was particularly dangerous, but evidently she did.

Next up was a short swim at Stacy, and dinner with Jamie and Andrea. After a long day, that was pretty much the best hamburger and tortilla soup (and oatmeal heath cookie) I have ever eaten.

Oops, I fell off the wagon a bit... slacking with the updates.

After a slow start to the day Monday: latte with Zane, Terra, and Brad at the local coffee house, I did a bit of mortgage work on the phone and computer. It was actually a nice way to spend the morning: catching up with friends, and being productive in other another area, other than training. However, this trip is for training primarily, so I followed that up with one of my best rids of the year.

Leaving Zane's house, I headed straight out to one of the Austin area's greatest roads: Lime Creek. It's just one of those roads. You see very little traffic, it's hilly, pretty, fairly smooth, and very fun. I zipped in and out of all the curves and turns, and was enjoying myself (and my caffeine buzz) so much that I didn't realize I had quickly made it to the moderately famous (not quite world famous) Triple Bitch. This half-mile pitch is split into three segments--all quite steep--thus the name. I realized why training at altitude can be such a benefit, while climbing these hills. I felt great.

During a lovely three and a half hour ride the only coversation I had was with the bleach-blonde, red-camero-driving woman who pleasantly screamed at me: "do you have a fuckin' death wish?!" I didn't think the road I was on was particularly dangerous, but evidently she did.

Next up was a short swim at Stacy, and dinner with Jamie and Andrea. After a long day, that was pretty much the best hamburger and tortilla soup (and oatmeal heath cookie) I have ever eaten.

Oops, I fell off the wagon a bit... slacking with the updates.

After a slow start to the day Monday: latte with Zane, Terra, and Brad at the local coffee house, I did a bit of mortgage work on the phone and computer. It was actually a nice way to spend the morning: catching up with friends, and being productive in other another area, other than training. However, this trip is for training primarily, so I followed that up with one of my best rids of the year.

Leaving Zane's house, I headed straight out to one of the Austin area's greatest roads: Lime Creek. It's just one of those roads. You see very little traffic, it's hilly, pretty, fairly smooth, and very fun. I zipped in and out of all the curves and turns, and was enjoying myself (and my caffeine buzz) so much that I didn't realize I had quickly made it to the moderately famous (not quite world famous) Triple Bitch. This half-mile pitch is split into three segments--all quite steep--thus the name. I realized why training at altitude can be such a benefit, while climbing these hills. I felt great.

During a lovely three and a half hour ride the only coversation I had was with the bleach-blonde, red-camero-driving woman who pleasantly screamed at me: "do you have a fuckin' death wish?!" I didn't think the road I was on was particularly dangerous, but evidently she did.

Next up was a short swim at Stacy, and dinner with Jamie and Andrea. After a long day, that was pretty much the best hamburger and tortilla soup (and oatmeal heath cookie) I have ever eaten.

I'm back on borad with the updates: two in two days!

I finished up the day with a nice 'easy' ride, over hills with a solid wind in my face. Gotta love that wind: a necessary evil, for sure. I thougtht I was going to finish the ride without a stop (the rest stop is something I generally avoid when riding in Boulder), but no luck. I find that the more I ride down in Austin, the more I look forward to the convenience stores. It's my way of making a 'vaction' out of these training trips. I'm working hard, but getting a little break along the way. Halfway through the ride, I found myself enjoying a quick Snicker Bar, yes, King Size. Anyway, the legs were pretty tired from the long ride and run, so I pretty must just made it through 2:30, and got home for some food.

The rest of the evening consisted of hanging out with my buddies, Jack and Stacy. They have two brand new puppies, so we spent a good while enjoying getting licked by happy little puppy tongues: love that puppy breath! We also enjoyed a stop at World Famouns Chuy's (of Laura and Jenna Bush fame), for some delicious tex-mex. Love that as well.

So far Monday has consisted of squaring away a bunch of business stuff. I'm about to wrap it all up, and will soon be enjoying this gorgeous sixty-degree day. I'll check in later with updates, should I find something interesting to report.

until then.

Ok, it's been a long time since my last update--a really long time--and I apologize to those of you who have checked in for reports, only to find no updates. I'm now going to attempt more regular updates (famous words).

So, after taking the majority of December, and the last part of November completely off from training, I dove back into things on January 1st. Being the day after our one-year anniversary, it was a tough day back in the saddle, as I was a tad hung over. I've since turned things around, and feel that I've got a nice fitness base going.

After a busy January with buying a house, moving, starting jobs with new companies, I felt I needed a break from Boulder to get in a nice focused training block. I've been down in Austin now for the past four days, and will be here for another eight. It's great to come back down here to see all my friends, and to ride, run, and swim at all my old stomping grounds.

With an easy day on Thursday, I decided to plunge right into some good hard work on Friday. Unfortunately, that warm weather I was looking for arrived with a bunch of rain, so my first good run was a bit of a challenge. Before I look like to much of a nimrod, please note that those who have run on these trails in the rain know just how slick these rocks can be, and they can back me up on this one. Anyway, the short story is that I took a mean fall, and landed right on my knee. Ouch. I was too banged up to even get up off the ground. Normally my pride forces me to jump up immediately to avoid being seen in the prone position. However, this time was too painful for me, and all I could do was writhe in pain on the slick spot where I landed. Ouch. Next thing I know I'm running angry, like a mad-mad, with blood streaking down my leg. I think this incident was reposnible for me bettering my pace over the course of the next five miles, but it nontheless hurt me, and continues to hurt me. I'm tough, I'll survive.

The conclusion of that very run was a good one. I ended up climbing MtBonnell--a 500-meter-long hill with a nasty pitch. It's one of my tried and true routes, so it brought back many fond memories, as well as provided me with a hell of a workout. I felt that, in spite of the fall, this first workout boded well for a solid training week.

I followed that up with a nice, easy 1:45 on the bike, finishing up the day with a 4K swim set with my buddy Todd Gerlach. I did have to cajole him a bit to convince him we should stay in that long. It was getting late.

And in true throw-back fashion (to my days of old), I strapped on some lights, and rode home, through downtown, along my old Post Office route. I ended the day tired, a bit banged up , but ready to have some fun.

Saturday morning meant an early start, in order to accommodate Todd's schedule. We started at a chilly 7:00am, and completed most of the very pleasant--and hilly--Fitzhugh ride (toward Johnson City). Todd had to return early, so I added a bit on my return route: the bit was Courtyard and Jester with a bit of Spicewood Springs thrown in for good measure. For those not familiar with these roads, see shortened versions of St. Croix's the Beast. These hills in Austin are tough, and it's no wonder Austin has produced a few solid cyclists in recent years.

After a long 100 miles, I returned home to strap on the running shoes. I decided to make use of the 20mph wind from the north, and did a point-to-point run from hom to Jack and Adam's bike shop: 6.5 miles over rolling hills with a tailwind: up-tempo the whole way!

Day four has begun with a long run. After a four-mile warm up , I met with my good friend Cassie Heinkel, a pro runner just making the switch to the marathon. We did an enjoyable 12 together , and I finished up with my final four solo: a great 20 miles!

I'd better sign off, as it is getting later in the day, and I'd like to put in a coupoe hours on the bike prior to settling down for the day. Not to mention that it's become quite a lengthy post. Until next time...