Let’s see, things are going great in the training world. Claire and I went down to Big Basin for three days to do some camping. I went out and ran for 2 hours and 20 minutes. I figure I did about 15 or 16 miles since I did a 11 mile trail loop in an hour and 40 minutes, and then did some more running to get in the extra time. We went out for a couple of bike rides one of them we went up China Grade, which I did years ago during “Mr. Bill’s Nightmare”, which was one of my favorite organized rides.
I went out last night, but experienced a little tightness in my right calf so I turned back early. I think I will have to add in some more stretching. I have been neglecting the swimming portion of my training, but I will start swimming today at the SSU pool. Hopefully I can hit it 2 or 3 times a week.
It is only 29 days till the Death ride and 50 days till the Vineman. I feel like everything is going according to plans. My weight is down right where I want it, and my runing is feeling great. I need to get a couple of more nice long bike rides in before the Deathride, but otherwise…

I went out for a good, tough ride this morning. I got to do one of my favorite loops not just once, but three times. It is the Sweetwater loop, which turns out to be exactly 23 miles. It takes me roughly an hour and a half for a loop. This morning I went 1:22 on the first lap, 1:24 on the second, and 1:28 on the third. I was hurting pretty good on the final time up. It was also getting a little windy. I had my zone on my heart rate monitor set between 130 and 170 beats per minute. I ended up being below my zone for 34 minutes, above my zone for 34 and in my zone for 3 hours. I think those were the numbers. I don’t know the elevation gain of Sweetwater, but I do know that it is steep.
I was planning to run as soon as I got back, but it felt more satisfying to make some homemade bread and do some house cleaning. I will get in a couple of long runs this week.

Well, I went out yesterday and did a half ironman, without the swimming. Claire and I did the Vineman loop on our tandem, and then I went and ran for two hours. I felt great until the last half hour, but even then it wasn’t too bad. I really feel like training is going well. I probably need to do some more work in the aero position, but otherwise… I did hop in our pool on Monday and swim for half an hour with the bungee cords tied to my feet. I know its not the same as a good open water swim, but my shoulders were a tiny bit sore the next day, which is a good sign. The bike shop is starting to swing into high gear, so I need to make sure I find the time to train. I am also quite happy with my weight loss, only half a stone to go.

I had big plans on Monday to do a half ironman distance on my own, or should I say with a little help from Claire, but alas, I came down with a 48 hour flu. Instead of out on the road enjoying the beautiful weather, I was under some blankets on the couch with a 102 degree temperature. I didn’t feel much better on Tuesday. On Wednesday evening I ran for 70 minutes up in Anadel. I felt great and kept up a good pace. I had a little tightness in the calves at the hour mark, but nothing I couldn’t live with. Claire came along on her mountain bike so that she could get some fresh air also. It is tough being motivated at the end of the work day sometimes. Today we should hopefully get out of the shop a couple of minutes early and do some hill riding.

I rode my yellow Cannondale into work yesterday with my aerobars and forward seat position. It was uncomfortable for the first half an hour, but felt pretty good by the time I got into Cotati. The ride home was very comfortable except for some tiredness in the legs from a day in the work area. I feel like I have a pretty good cycling base right now, and I am going to start concentrating more on my time trialling. I plan on doing my own half ironman around here on Tuesday. I am experiencing a bit of tendon pain in my left calf which goes away after I get warmed up.

Claire and I just got back from doing the TUC (Tour of the Unknown Coast) and then spending some time up in Oregon with my parents. We did the 100 km route with Mathilda the dog in our trailer. We seemed to brighten up many people’s days, and Mathilda got plenty of cookies at the rest stops. The ride starts out of Ferndale and goes out through the Avenue of the Giants. There are three pretty good climbs at the beginning and then again at the end since the 100 km is an out-and-back loop. The hills were especially tough with Mathilda in the trailer. The 100 mile version which we have done many times before is a challenging ride with almost 10,000 feet of climbing. Since it is a mass start event, there are plenty of people who like to race the whole thing. I also got in some great runs up on the Oregon Coast. Claire organized a couple of hikes at Cape Perpetua, and I was able to do some trail running. It was like running in “Nerf World”.

Yesterday was bike to work day, and everyone at the shop biked in. Paul bikes everyday, but he added some extra miles. Nelson rode in his Giant downhill bike, to prove that it was possible, and I rode in my fixed gear from Forestville. I met Claire after work for some more riding, and she and I rode over every steep grade we could find on the way home.

Went out on a great ride on Saturday. I needed some alone time, so I did one of my favorite loops in West County. It ended up being 98 miles and took me 6 hours. I ended up getting caught up in the Wine Country Century for about 20 miles. There were lots and lots of riders taking up the road. I ran into a couple of old friends and chatted for a while with them, and then headed out from lake Sonoma on my own. Here is a link to a map (hopefully). I felt pretty good the whole way, but was ready to be home by the end. The weather was perfect, not to hot or cool. I even had enough energy at the end to play some horseshoes and drink some beer with some friends

I went out for a 10 mile run on Wednesday evening in Annadel State Park. It was fantastic. The weather was perfect, and I felt great. I ended up running up Rough-Go and then making my way over to Burma and back down Marsh Trail. I wasn’t wearing a watch, so I don’t know how long it took me, but I was keeping up a pretty good pace.

On a different note, I just received a new pair of cycling shoes from Cannondale. They are carrying the Diadora brand. I haven’t had a new pair of road shoes in probably close to 10 years. These are beautiful, and retail for $350. I can’t wait to take them out for a ride. I got the Prorace Carbons in black.

Claire and I went out for a great 50 miler today. Our route took us out to Jenner, and then down the coast and over Bay Hill Road. There were a couple of drops of rain near Cazadero, but otherwise it was perfect. We had a great tailwind down the coast, and averaged about 25 mph on that section. The tandem is great for that kind of terrain. I ran for an hour yesterday. I was going to try to run longer, but my calf was feeling tender. I will definitely need to work on increasing the lengths of my runs. I haven’t been swimming lately since our swim teacher at the JC has decided to have us play water polo instead of swimming.

The third race of the grasshopper series was Saturday. The weather conditions were perfect, it was dumping rain, howling wind, and very cold. It took us out over King’s Ridge, which is very hilly and consists of narrow winding roads with plenty of gravel and cattle guards. Over two-thirds of the pack didn’t finish the race. I rode the entire event with Eric from Oakland. It was his first Grasshopper race, and his first race since 1988. In hindsight, he thought it was a great time. It was his wife’s birthday, so they had come up together for a weekend in Healdsburg. We went out with them last night (Sunday) for a couple of pints (Pliney the Elder at Russian River Brewery) and some Indian food. We have the next couple of days off, and the weather is going to be sunny and in the 70’s. Tomorrow we will get out for a nice long bike ride, today is running and swimming. Training has been going good, I’ve taken some time off from running, but will get back into it today.