Longest Run

The Training

My total mileage last week was 31 which was comprised of a four mile run on Monday, eight miles on Wednesday, another four on Friday, and a 15 mile long run on Saturday which was one hilly mother. For the most part it was a nice asphalt trail which followed the road and for a good six miles we were in a forested area away from traffic. Of course there were about four miles that cut through a fairly busy section of, ummmmmm, we'll call it outer Portland, which was on sidewalk and had a few street crossings. This was my longest run ever but that record will be short lived since we have 16 on the schedule for this weekend. It's supposed to rain that afternoon so we're going to try to get the run done in the morning.

The Sore Foot

My foot has been feeling quite a bit better thanks to these guys:

Happy Bouncy Ball is perfect for self foot massage while sitting at my desk:

I haven't had a sore heel in the morning for a few days and during runs it has not been bothering me much at all. I'm going to keep up the rolling and icing to stay on top of any potential return but I'm hopeful that it's not going to get any worse.

The Biking

On Sunday of last week Jen and I drove out to Hood River for a MTB ride on a trail she read about. It was a fairly flat dirt road with a bit of single track mixed with a couple of short semi-technical sections. We both had a great time and ended the day with a drink in Hood River before heading back to Portland for some Godfathers pizza.

This week I have nine miles on Wednesday and five on Friday (as well as the 16 miler this weekend). So far the marathon training has been great - it's really nice to have someone to run with on the long runs and Jen has also been riding her bike along with me on my shorter runs.

I really want to start swimming a couple of times a week but it has been hard to find a pool that is close, not too expensive, and nice/clean. It's probably not too important until next tri season but I know that if I don't go at least five or six times a month to keep up my "form" then I will be back at square one when I start up again in March/April. Cycling is going to be tough to keep up on in the winter but I'm sure I can get in some trainer rides along with some longer MTB rides to keep my legs in shape.

New Bike and the New View

First the runs from this week:

Monday - 4 miles tempo with Jen - 7:49 AP
Tuesday - short bike ride after work
Wednesday - 8 miles solo (Jen rode her bike along with me) - 7:47 AP

My heel is feeling a bit better - I've been rolling a frozen water bottle under my foot in the evenings and have been rolling a bouncy ball under my foot at work to massage my arch. So far I think it is helping. Today on the run I had a pain in my left hamstring for the whole run; I stretched out really well after the run and am planning on rolling it out on the foam roller in a bit.

Last week we bought new mountain bikes and have been riding them around. On Sunday we rode up in Forest Park and got caught out in a big rainstorm. We were soaked by the time we got home but had a GREAT time riding in the mud and rain. Unfortunately my phone was completely drenched and it is now resting in the phone booth in the sky.

Here I am on my new bike:

My new job has been great so far. This week I have just been reading and getting up to speed on the industry and trying to help out where I can. Here are a couple of pictures of my view from where I sit:

Downtown Portland:

The Pearl District w/ the Rose Garden in the foreground. The Red Bridge is the Broadway Bridge:

Catch Up Time

With all the packing, moving, unpacking, getting to know the new area, etc., etc. I haven't been keeping up on my blogging; fortunately I have been keeping up on my running. I can't really say the same for my swimming and biking but that's not a big deal since I'm starting my marathon training and running should be my primary focus.

Let me try to catch up on the last month with some pictures and a few words (this should keep the post short in terms of words but will make it a bit long in terms of pictures):

Last day of work in CA:

Loading up the moving truck in CA - this was one of the hottest days of the summer - I think it was around 108:

My buddy Chris stopped by to help carry a couple of really heavy things down the stairs:

The truck is pretty much full at this point - it went smooth at first while we loaded up boxes. Once we started loading furniture and random crap the going got rough, but we managed to get pretty much everything but the plants in the truck:

Driving North - I was in the Uhaul, Jen drove the car with the cat:

We arrived in Portland around 5pm and unloaded the truck with a little help from a local friend:

After acquiring the basic unpacking essentials we started digging into the boxes and putting our new place together:

Finally after a couple of days of hard work everything was in place and we had a home:

We headed over to the ocean for the day on Jen's Birthday:


Checked out the downtown area around our place:

And spent plenty of time in the rooftop spa:

We've also taken the time to do some hiking - here we are at Angles Rest in the Columbia River Gorge:

We saw a snake (Rubber Boa) on the way down to the car:

So I picked it up:

We also headed down to Silver Falls State Park to check out some waterfalls and do some camping:

So far it has been great living in Portland. We really like the area and have already found some great running routes. I've been out on my bike twice and swimming once but for now the focus will stay on running. We are running a HM on Oct 19 and the marathon is in December. Now that I'm caught up on the last month I'll start posting about running and my marathon training. I start work on Monday after having a month off. It will be nice to get back into a routine and I'm really excited about the new job; however, getting up at 6:30 is going to be a big change from 9:30.

Santa Cruz Pics

So far so good in Portland - more to come on that later - for now here's the Santa Cruz pics:

Hey - the water is salty and I wear contacts

In Between Phase

Now that I've wrapped up my tri training for the season I'm sort of in that in between phase where I don't really have anything specific to work out for so my motivation is at a low point. I am starting to ramp my running back up in preparation for my marathon training which officially starts in mid-September, but after two-a-day tri workouts running once a day doesn't seem like a "workout". I'm sure that once I'm running 18 mile long runs I'll be singing a different tune and will miss the days of a 14 mile bike ride in the morning and 3,000 yard mid-day swim.

Last week I was on a six mile run and at about mile four I was nailed by a painful side cramp - it wasn't really a traditional side ache but more of a muscle issue. It got so bad that I had to walk quite a bit and then ended up cutting my run short by 3/4 of a mile. Since we were in San Diego for the weekend I didn't do any running on Fri, Sat, or Sun but did go Monday morning before work. Once again my side cramped up at around mile three so I stopped and walked a bit; it wasn't as bad as the previous cramp but it still hurt. This morning I ran six miles and started feeling it come on around mile four - I pushed in on the muscle and massaged it as I ran; it never got bad enough to stop so I'm hoping that next run it won't bother me at all. Today in the pool I got a side ache in the same area as the cramps but I couldn't tell if it was a true side cramp or the issue that has been bothering me while running.

Friday is my last day of work then next week we pack up and head out for Portland. I'm looking forward to the move but there are definitely some things I will miss about California. I'll keep up on the running throughout the move and am planning on finding a pool once I'm up there for Jen and I to swim at. We'll also try to get in some rides before the days get too short (and rainy!) in Oregon. I suppose I'll be getting quite a bit of use out of my trainer this winter (gotta get my legs in shape for skiing after their six year hiatus in CA).

Santa Cruz Sprint Race Report

Sunday morning I was up at 4:45 and had a piece of toast with peanut butter and jelly along with a small glass of chocolate milk. I had put everything together the night before so I just grabbed my bags and bike and was out the door at 5:05. I arrived in Santa Cruz at 6:20 and was checked in and setting up my transition by 6:35; I was able to set up on the outside end of a rack right in the middle of the run in, bike out, run back out exits. After eating a Power Bar and hitting up the port-o-john I put on my wetsuit and make the quarter mile walk down to the beach – yeah, that’s right, quarter mile walk. When I was crossing the last street before the beach I looked to my left and saw Jen coming across the street with a coffee which I am holding in this picture:

I headed down to the water and zipped up, put my goggles and cap on, and jumped in the water for a quick warm up swim – holy crap was that water cold. My forehead went numb after a couple minutes so I got out of the water for the pre-race meeting. After five minutes of trying to hear what was being said the meeting was over and I was walking back down to the beach to get back in the water; suddenly I heard a countdown and then people were shouting go, go, go. I ran into the water with five or six other guys and started swimming. As I rounded the first buoy I got stuck in a bit of a jam because there was someone that must have gone out too fast and was now clinging to the buoy for dear life. I navigated my way around him and a couple other guys and swam on. A few moments later I looked up to sight and noticed that I was on the outside of the pack 6-10 feet away from the nearest swimmer. This was the only time in the swim I thought about sharks and within four strokes I was back in the pack with a safety in numbers mentality. After rounding the second buoy I tried to pick up the pace a bit and pushed for shore – I believe I was in sixth place in my AG after the swim – total swim time 12:05, including the .25 mile run up to transition, so my swim was most likely around 9:30.

This isn't me in the following picture but it gives an idea of what we had to run on from the beach to transition - my feet are still a bit sore today:

T1 was pretty smooth - I pulled on my socks, shoes, helmet, and sunglasses then grabbed my bike and ran to the mount line - T1 1:28.

The bike ride was pretty much flat for the first three miles of the loop then curvy with a very slight incline for the second three miles – we did this twice. I was passed by three guys on tri bikes and passed three guys myself. After the first couple miles the moisture from the fog started building up on my sunglasses making it difficult to see very well. I tried riding with them pulled down on my nose but then my contacts started drying out. Finally I pushed them back over my eyes and settled for running my finger over the lenses every few minutes to clear away the moisture buildup which actually worked pretty well. On the flat part of the ride I was averaging around 22/23 mph but on the curvy/incline section I was averaging around 18//19 mph for an overall average of 20.5 for the 12 mile ride. Total bike time 33:38. Here I am coming to the dismount line – it came up very quickly and we were flying downhill on a wet slippery road so I was only able to get one foot out of my shoe – I just clicked out of the left pedal and ran into transition with one shoe on:

I ran my bike into T2, pulled off my one shoe, took off my helmet, threw on my shoes, grabbed my hat and race belt and hit the road – total T2, 0:47.

The beginning of the run was a small uphill then it was basically a flat out and back. I kept a strong pace and passed two guys within the first mile. A few minutes later I was passed by one person but he was 50 so I didn’t stress on AG competition. A little bit later I saw the leaders coming back from the turn around and of course they all looked like they were 25-29. I hit the turn around and picked up the pace a little bit but didn’t want to push too hard and die out at the end. Once I reached the downhill before the finish I took a glance over my shoulder and saw one guy coming up on me. I pushed hard but he passed me near the end and I couldn’t catch back up. So this is the point in our story where we run into a bit of a snag – since I crossed the finish line basically right after the guy who passed me the timing equipment didn’t pick me up and I didn’t get a run time. Luckily I talked to the guy who passed me right after the race and Jen had a picture of us together so I have his race number and name. I talked to the race director and she is going to check the system manually to find me at the checkpoint before the finish, or something like that, and update the results. UPDATE - race director contacted me and let me know that she found me and my overall time was 1:09:05 which put me 3rd in my AG and 21st overall. Turns out the guy who was third in my group was actually in another AG so that moved me into third and she will be sending my award! I was under the impression that my total time was 1:09:41 but even if that was the case I would still be third in my AG so it's a time issue, not a place issue which is a bit of a relief for me.

Total time: 1:09:05 - 3rd in AG, 21st Overall, 19th Overall Male

Overall Male Results

Another Month in the Books

July totals:

Swim: 42,500 yards
Bike: 331.5 miles
Run: 49.35

Clearly I have not been running all that much this month even with a half marathon thrown into the mix, but whatever. I have on the other hand been swimming quite a bit and I am eager to see how it impacts my swim this weekend at the Santa Cruz Sprint. The highlight of the month was my new PR at the Jungle Run Half Marathon on July 13th - 1:40:42.

This week I've been taking it easy due to the pending race but I've still managed to get in a brick w/ a fast run on Sunday (3mi, 6:53 average), a fast run Monday evening (4mi, 7:12 average, last mile 6:15), a swim yesterday, and an easy 14mi ride this morning.

The race this weekend is a 650m (approx) swim, a 12 mile bike, and a 5k. I haven't thought too much about my goals but I think the course is fairly flat so I hope to have a pretty fast bike and run. The swim is always up in the air for me but if the distance is around 650m (they say it's variable due to the current, tide, etc) I would be happy with a time around 11 minutes. I would like to average around 19/20 mph on the bike and have an average pace in the low 7's for the run.