Big Brick

Today I went out and did what I'm calling a "baseline brick" for The Big Kahuna 70.3 triathlon in Santa Cruz early next month.  First I went out and rode just over 53 miles with OC Velo.  Then I came home, changed and headed straight out for a 10 mile run.  Both are familiar distances on their own, but this is the first time I strung them together to see what would happen.

Laguna Canyon

The ride was south through Newport Beach, Irvine and Laguna Beach.  It was a pretty routine ride and at times a little more mellow than I had hoped for.  One of the highlights of the ride is a 2 mile climb to the height of land on El Toro Road in Laguna Woods and then a gentle 6 or 7 mile descent down El Toro, into Laguna Canyon and on to Pacific Coast Highway.  To me, this particular stretch of the ride affords a perfect view of the classic Southern California landscape.  The south end of El Toro Road is especially wild, running through large areas of coastal chaparral.  Laguna Canyon is a deep, twisty canyon that ends at one of the nicest beach communities around.

The climb and the descent

It's good to have great training partners, and I've got one.  About 15 miles out of Huntington Beach, Craig told me to get on his wheel.  He wanted to hammer but knew I needed to stay as fresh as possible for the run.  We made it back to Huntington Beach pretty quick, hitting 22 or 23 miles an hour when we had the road to do so.  When we got back to town, Craig headed home to get ready to see Cowboys & Aliens with his son.  When I got home, I got ready to run.

Bolsa Chica Beach Path

I was in and out of the house in 15 minutes.  Not quite the transition time I'll want to lay down in Santa Cruz, but then again I won't have to change clothes and check my e-mail on race day.  The route I took is a familiar one - out of the house, west to the beach and then south on the Bolsa Chica beach path.  At about 7 miles, I turned inland and ran back to the house.  It's essentially a big quasi-triangle that circles the Bolsa Chica Wetlands.

It was a pretty typical run, save for miles 2 and 3, where for some reason things got a little rough.  But by the time I hit the beach I had found my legs and finished the run strong.

The Stats:

The Bike - 53.32 miles in 3:08:34; Average speed 17 MPH

The Run - 10 miles in 1:22:27; Average pace 8:14/mile

As I mentioned, I would have liked to have had a faster bike split.  But you know how group rides are sometimes, and all things considered I'm happy to go with the flow.  Luckily, the second half was the fast half and despite drafting off of Craig for the last 15 miles, I definitely felt the ride in my legs when I started running.  I'm happy with the run.  I'll be going for a faster pace on race day but I feel today was aggressive enough to test my ability but not so over the top where recovery is going to take awhile.

Going into this workout, I was pretty sure that things would go fine.  That said, I'm glad to have done it as it was definitely a confidence builder.  So when it comes time to execute the race next month, I'll be building off some experience.

Epic Ride Saturday IV - Shady Canyon & Newport Coast (Plus A Sunday Run)

Here's an interesting fact about Irvine - despite consistently enjoying one of the lowest crime rates in the nation for cities over 100,000 residents, when something goes down in Irvine it goes down big.

Consider Larry C Ford for example.  In 2000, this gynecologist turned biological warfare "expert" tried to have his business partner murdered near the Irvine Spectrum.  The subsequent investigation resulted in the FBI raiding his home in Irvine's Woodbury enclave.  Ford managed to kill himself before the Feds showed up, but a search of his home uncovered Anthrax, C4 explosive and assault rifles, along with other bacterial agents like cholera, botulism and typhoid.  It is speculated that Ford had strong business ties with a covert South African biological weapons program, and I'm pretty sure this case was never closed.

So what does this have to do with Saturday's ride through Shady Canyon in Irvine?  Nothing, actually.  When I went looking around for some history on the canyon, I couldn't find anything.  Instead this little gem came up.  So I figured I'd run with it.

Multi-use path in Shady Canyon

That said, Shady Canyon doesn't really need any history to qualify for awesome status.  Instead, you can create your own in the form of an epic ride through the canyon via the multi-use path that crosses it.  When approached from the east you can expect a short but moderate climb into the canyon, followed by undulating terrain until you exit the path near Turtle Ridge about 3 miles later.  You might as well take in the scenery, because you have to take it slow through here - not only is it a popular trail for cyclists, there are always plenty of runners and walkers around too.

Now back on the streets, we rode another 5 miles before we got to the base of Newport Coast Drive.  Newport Cost Drive starts inland and crosses the coastal hills before intersecting with the  Coast Highway.  It's a good ride in either direction - from the coast it's a steep but relatively short climb.  From the other side it's a more moderate grade but probably twice as long.  We rode up from the inland side.  Perhaps because I was feeling a little cocky from last weeks climb through Laguna Canyon, I didn't mentally prepare my legs for the climb.  So I got off to a slow start.  But once I recovered, I caught up to a group and finished it out feeling OK.  Height of land is at the intersection with San Joaquin Hills Road.  If you turn here, the climbing is rewarded with a fast downhill all the way into Newport's Back Bay.

Once back on Coast Highway, the race back to the Huntington Beach pier started (as usual).  Our very own Tri714 from Let's Do This Again gave 5 or 6 of us a long pull, and for about 3 miles we were averaging close to 28 MPH.  Well done Craig, this was one of the best part of the rides.

We rolled up to Main Street for the usual coffee stop, and then Craig and I continued down PCH until our turn-off.

The final tally for the day was 55.8 miles and 1700 feet of climbing.

Finish line - 6 miles ahead.

Today I went out for the last (semi) long run before next week's Surf City Half Marathon.  My plan was to run 8 miles at race pace. I drove down to Sunset Beach so I could run down and back along the beach path.  By the way, the start of today's run is also mile 20 of the Marathon.

The first 4 miles were great, and I was able to hold down a 7:50 per mile pace without any problem.  But at the turn around, the wind kicked up and it started raining.  The best I could manage back was an 8:07 pace.  I finished the run up in just over an hour and I'm feeling good.  The long range forecast for next Sunday is clear and temperate.  So as long as that holds, I think I'll be able to put in a good race.

Hood To Coast - The Movie

Despite the fact that there are over 500 million active Facebook users (which is about 499,999,750 more than Endurance Athlete Project at the moment in case you where wondering), I happened to run into a woman named Anna Campbell online today.  It turns out that Anna is one of the producers of the film Hood To Coast, which will be showing in theaters for one night on January 11th on over 350 screens nationwide.

I'm not sure what the long term distribution plan for the movie is, but the one night premiere they have planned is a pretty awesome idea.  I'm all about big gatherings that celebrate what we love, be it virtual or in real time.  This one's a bit of both - like minded people gathering together in locations across the country to see the film, all more or less at the same time.

The goal of premiere night?  Well, according to Anna in one of her messages:

Our goal is for the event to inspire runners all around the country, uniting the running community for one big night, and hopefully make some new friends along the way. And even for non-runners, the stories are universal... funny, moving and inspirational. If you've ever wanted to explain why you choose to run, this is a great opportunity to share your story! We can't wait for people to see this film.

And I can't wait to see it either.  First off, because I think it's going to be awesome.  Check out the film's synopsis from the website:

HOOD TO COAST follows four unlikely teams on their epic journey to conquer the world's largest relay race. The film captures the love, dedication, and insanity of the every day runner as well as the excitement, pain, and humor of the unprepared first timer. Their stories are reminders that no matter who you are, you can push yourself beyond where you thought your limits were.

Each year 1,000 teams (12,000 runners) in 2,000 vans cover 197 grueling miles as a relay, putting themselves through an arduous physical journey that as an individual would be impossible.

Some run to test their personal limits, some to overcome personal obstacles, and others leap in blindly looking for a way to shake up a complacent life. As we follow four teams from their preparations through the big day, we realize that winning isn't everything in a film that takes a celebratory look at personal motivation and attempting the extraordinary.

Secondly, I want to see it because I was lucky enough to find my way on one of the teams for this years race and I want to see what I've gotten myself into.

Click here to see if it's playing at a theater near you.  And if someone from the blogosphere lives near by, invite them out to see it with you.  So for Craig, that means you and I have to head over to Bella Terra next Tuesday.

Aprés Triathlon + Heroes Of The Week

I ended up going out to a function last night.  And since there is a better chance of this blog falling by the wayside before I have to (semi) dress up again, I figured I'd seize the opportunity and present you with The Road's first and probably only installment of "What's He Wearing?"

There wasn't enough time to get Nigel Barker in for a photo-shoot (not to mention I don't actually know him),  so I had to take the picture with my I-phone.  However, I am pleased to have created this opportunity to refer to myself in the 3rd person and get away with it, so here we go:

Patrick is wearing:

Navy pin-stripe jacket by Geoffery Beene ($ - Don't remember); Traditional oxford cloth shirt by Penguin ($ - Ask Mary); Dark denim skinny jeans from G-Star Raw ($ - Free); Old skool "Gazelle" trainers by Adidas ($70.00).  Not Shown:  Wool cycling socks from Castelli ($15.00)

Moving on.  It's been so freakin' cold here, and as a result I have a new appreciation for all of you who have to train in the colder temperatures.  I bet Craig from Let's Do This Again feels the same way.  So if you live in the following places you are our heroes, because we have no idea how you get out there and do it:

All of Canada
Alaska
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Washington DC
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New York
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Dakota
Utah
Vermont
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
And if you read EMZ's post last week, apparently Arizona can get cold as well.

Well done, people!!

We Have Lift-off

This morning, as the dreams about rabbits and unicorns faded away and I slid back into consciousness, I automatically started a self diagnostic.  Head?  No pain.  Nose and throat?  Clear.  Limbs and joints?  Fresh.  "Good", I thought to myself, "I am feeling fine".  Then a I fell back into a slumber.

But I didn't stay down for long.  I suddenly realized that I felt FINE.  And feeling fine meant I was going get in some workouts today.  So like an 8 year old at Christmas (no joke), I flung off the covers, rummaged through the closet for a pair of bib shorts and cycling jersey and hit the bathroom.

My plan was for a 15 mile ride to work, a 20 mile lunch ride and then a 5 mile run back home.  Recognizing that there were some holes in the logistics, I asked my wife to drop off a gym bag with some street and running clothes and at my office on her way to work.  That way, I would have something to change into and also have my running stuff for later.  (Note to Big Daddy Diesel:  I was planning on leaving the bike overnight.  Note to Raegun: A combination of wet naps, being the boss and 4 super-cool co-workers is usually enough to keep everyone happy after a bike ride.  I have not tried this with a run, however)

I was out the door at seven thirty for the the first 15 mile ride.  After about a mile there is a short but steep climb which I hit pretty hard.  But at the crest, I settled into an easy, high cadence spin in the small chain ring.  It felt really nice to get the legs moving.  As Craig from Let's Do This Again mentioned today, we had quite a marine layer roll in last night, but by the time I got there the Coast Highway was fairly clear.  That is except for the sketchiest (on a good day) part of the route - the bridge over Anaheim Bay was completely socked in with fog.  It was literally like riding into a wall of mist from some B movie horror flick.  I could see maybe 100 feet, so it was not ideal at all.  I hugged the shoulder and got across as fast as I could.  At the other end of the bridge, I came out of the fog just as quickly as I went in.  That put me in Seal Beach, where I turned inland on the San Gabriel River Trail.  I got off after about a mile and doubled back into Huntington.

When I arrived at the office, the scheduling problems started.  My one o'clock meeting needed later, and a couple of calls got scheduled throughout the morning.  Since it's the job that pays for the bike (and the shoes, the clothing, the race fee's and Lord knows what else), priority clearly lies there.  But with some quick calculations, I figured I could sneak out at four, which would give me time for a 10 mile ride home and then the run.

I left work, and after some awkward surface road maneuvers (many traffic signals and left turns),  I found myself back on the Coast Highway riding south.  I though it was going great - I was holding steady at 21, 22 MPH despite a strong cross wind from the west, and loving every minute of it.  Suddenly, this other guy just tore by me.  Now mind you, it's not like I never get passed.  But I rarely get blown off the road like this when I'm going as fast as I was.  It's usually more like a "conversational" pass, where there is time to say "hello" and "how are you doing?".  Not today, and it was a tick on the wrong side of the ego score card for sure.  I tried to get on his wheel, but realized in about 3 seconds that it was not going to happen.  Eventually, I made the turn inland and rode home with another 10 miles racked up.

I wouldn't say I pulled off a proper "T2", because at a race you don't need to mess with the garage door opener, check your email and pet the dogs.  However, I was changed into evening running kit and back out the door in about 15 minutes.  The first mile was at a nice 8:20 pace, and I was feeling good.  For the second mile, I turned it up and dropped into a 7:30 pace, where I planned to stay for the rest of the run.  It should be noted that this pace was not selected for any training value, rather it is how fast I needed to run to get home in time to pick up Ian.  Everything was going fine until about the 2 1/2 mile mark, where I got a sudden stitch on the left side.  I NEVER cramp here, so I kept running thinking to myself "OK, so this is what these feel like.  And it kind of sucks."  In fact I was so wrapped up in the fact that I had a new kind of cramp that it took me a half mile to realize that not only did it suck, it really HURT.  Badly.  Once the realization of the pain hit me I had to slow down.  I walked a quarter mile and felt fine enough to start running again, albeit at a slower pace.  So since the clock was ticking, I decided I had to cut things short and blew off the last mile.

I picked up Ian with 5 minutes to spare.

So, yeah, my first day back.  Not quite what I planned, but I still got in just under 2 hours of training.  I'll take it.  But the best part about is that it seems that I'm feeling fine. Thanks for all your comments of well wishes yesterday, I appreciate it!!

I Did A Weird Thing Too.

Diana from Diana Tries-A-Tri posted a video of her doing a rotation of Tacfit on her blog today.  The video is awesome primarily because I now know what Tacfit is (I was wondering).  It's also very impressive - 9 rounds of that is most likely very brutal.  Well done, Diana.

Not wanting to be left out of a cool new idea, I quickly made a video of what I was doing.  But for a proper compare and contrast, you should watch Diana's first.

Unfortunately, I'm not doing 9 rounds of anything.  I'm watching USC/Oregon.  Despite living in Southern California, I am a huge Oregon fan.  As expected, the game is turning into an epic battle.  As a result, Craig from Let's Do This Again will notice that I look more excited than usual.

P.S. Since this is primarily a endurance sports blog, I should probably mention that I did do a 10 mile run earlier.  I haven't been on the couch the entire day.

Big Rock Olympic Triathlon Race Report

For starters, I managed to finish this race, which is a huge mental win.  Because of last weeks gear problems, I had a few nightmares about races going bad.

Lake Perris is about 65 miles east of me, so it falls into that awkward "middle distance" classification where it can't be considered local, yet is still too close to justify a hotel.  So I went to bed early last night, set the alarm for 3:45 and was out the door by 4:15.

It was a quick trip so early in the morning.  In fact, I don't think I've ever been on the 91 Freeway without having to deal with heavy traffic.  I got to the lake at about 5:15, parked, grabbed my race numbers, set up transition and then enjoyed some very short lines at the porta-potties.  We all know how key this is.

Craig from Let's Do This Again was racing as well.  It was his first race in 15 years, and I was shocked to learn from him that  the last time he suited up, Body Glide didn't exist yet.  I now know how a teenager feels when their parents tell them that when they where kids there was no such thing as text messaging.

Craig and I

The Swim

We headed down to the beach for the 7:30 start.  I was in Wave 2 which went off at 7:33.  Since they where running running sprint and Olympic distance races at the same time, the swim course was a 750 meter box with the sprint racers doing 1 lap and the Olympic racers doing 2.

I want to thank everyone for their comments on yesterday's post about swimming.  As you suggested, I really focused on reach, glide, keeping my core tight and keeping my head down.  My swim time was 28:06.  That's the fastest I've ever swim this distance by 10 minutes.  Too fast, in fact - I wouldn't be surprised if the swim course was a little short.  Regardless, I could tell it was my strongest swim to date.  You guys rule.  Thanks again.

The first lap had more traffic than the second due to the sprint racers, but all in all it was a more mellow swim than some races this year.  My navigation and sighting where fine.  All things considered, I'm pleased with my performance.

Swim - 1500 meters - 28:06 - 1:43 minutes per 100 yards. 

The Bike

The run from the beach to transition was long - not quite a half mile, but more than a quarter mile across a wide beach and then a field.  I hit the run from the water to transition area pretty hard, so my transition time of 4:07 ended up being good against the rest of the field.  But the strong run to transition was at the expense of a elevated heart rate, and when the bike course started climbing almost immediately, I was not a happy camper.

Luckily, it was a short hill and when I crested I started hammering the downhill.  The bike course was two twelve mile loops.  Other than the hill at the start and another more significant hill at the end of the loop, it was mostly flat.  But the road surfaces where not great nor where the roads completely closed to vehicular traffic.  At one point in the first loop, I was riding with two other riders, but one of the guys pulled this lame blocking move in a short stretch of construction (yeah, there was some of that too), so the other guy and I dusted him and rode together most of the rest of the way while trading off on the pacing.  All in all it was a good ride, and I managed the 19th best time on the day.

Bike - 40 kilometers - 1:13:47 - 20.21 MPH

The bike that treated me well today

The Run

I got through T2 in 1:10 and set out on the run.  It was an out and back course, with the first and last mile and a half on a rolling multi-use path and the middle three miles on the top of a dam.

Lake Perris Dam

The first mile and a half was a little rough.  But it always is, so what could I do besides run?  By the time I got to the dam I felt better but I wouldn't say I was running happy without a care in the world.  I got a bit more of a boost at the turnaround point when I saw how many people where behind me coming across the dam.  But the boost didn't last too long - the last mile and a half back on the trail to the finish line was pure torture.  The little rolling hills, which I am sure would be pleasant on a weekend jog, destroyed my hamstrings on the way up and my quads on the way down.  It was pretty brutal.  But I kept running.  And then finally, the finish line.  It wasn't a bad run, but it was definitely a hard one.

Run - 10 kilometers - 48:59 - 7:53 minutes per mile

My time for the race was 2:36:11.  That got me 5th in my age group and 36th overall.  Based on the previous years results, I thought I could get 3rd in my AG but that wasn't in the cards today. 

Still, I'm pleased with the result.  I gave the race everything I had and I think my performance today was a pretty good indication as to where my abilities are at the moment.  So I'll take it, and end the 2010 triathlon season on a high note.

It wasn't a very big race, maybe 250 people.  But the thing I noticed was that it was a very friendly race.  The guy who I had paced with on the bike found me afterwards and introduced himself.  And everyone on the run, whether passing or getting passed, had words of encouragement.  It was a cool atmosphere for sure.  I'm actually pretty glad that last week happened and I did this one instead.