No time - You will find time

Well this week's numbers are pretty sad for my training due to busy-ness of work, family commitments and work.  Did I say work twice?  I'm blessed to have the ability to provide, so no complaint there!

What it means is that sometimes schedules don't go the way you want them to and we cannot stress on what don't have control of.  That is my point of view and is what keeps me sane into going into a crazy late night/early morning workout.  I believe exercise is important, however should not control your life.....it should be part of your life.

The reminder is that we need to keep this fun, moving forward and rejuvinating.  If we are worn out and putting too much on the plate, we end up getting sick, dis-engaged and burnt out. 

How do you handle the day-to-day schedule?

K-Swiss Kwicky QT2 - How Cutey is it?

Read enough magazines and you end up drooling over products that seem to make you faster, more comfortable and cool lookin'!

I'm in need of new running shoes and my dear Wife had purchased a set of Nike lightweights with foot pod for my birthday in October.  Knowing my race was coming up in less then a month, changing into new shoes didn't seem the right thing to do.

And they were Nike's.  God bless my Wife for even catering to my likes and I do appreciate the love and effort into them.  But they were Nike's.  Don't get me wrong, I trend to Nike for basketball, baseball and running as they are great brand.  But us triathletes would ideally invest in tri-specific gear.

The KSWISS Kwicky QT2 is a shoe that looks rather abnormal - colors are somewhat clashing - the yellow/green does't have that neon pop that some shoes portray, nor is it muted enough to look tame.   I'm not sure, maybe its my monitor.  Looking at it online I'm sure is different then what is going to be in front of you.

The seamless technology is key as us triathletes usually run without socks.  My current shoe, Asics, does well on the cushion/support side of things, but the lace has a hot spot right at the top of my foot/ankle (I'm using lock laces, part of my problem).

It's nice to see a shoe that moves the tension of the lace to the side away from the compression of the upper foot and ankle.  Its lightweight design is a sure thing to accompany you on those long runs.

Kwicky QT2 goes for $144.00 and is available only in the one color shown. 

What shoe(s) brand/models are you looking for and what needs are you trying to fulfill?

3/GO Triathlon Magazine - Click and GO!

If you're looking for some good Triathlon reads, here is a free electronic subscription to 3/GO Triathlon March/April issue.  Usually its a $7.99 issue!

It looks great on the iPad too!

3/GO March/April Issue
January/February Issue

The O.C. Great Park

Today was an awesome Friday to get a lunch ride in.  Just wanted to share a picture of The Great Park Balloon attraction at my halfway point.  Happy Friday!

- Open Thursday-Sunday
- Goes up 400 ft and holds about 20-30 people
- Free
- Have to reserve your spot ahead of time....arrive and go is most likely not an option.
- Doesn't go up on windy days
- The OC Great Park is to be the center of a massive master planned community.  The land was acquired from Lennar by 5 Points Community headed by one of my clients, Emile Haddad.  We hope to secure most of the wiring for the new homes that are being built starting at the end of the year.  Bulldozers are currently grading the first projects now.



Show me some cool destinations on your bike!

Getting off the road - change of pace!

My house can be seen here towards the left!

As I have been doing the specific workouts per month, the road bike has seen little action to avoid the rain/cold.  I was lucky enough to get a 5mi. lunch run in before my 2:00 p.m. sales appointment and then when I got home later on, no one was home yet.  I looked outside and man it looked like it was going to pour any minute.  That meant, I had minutes!  I donned my mountain bike shorts and gear and stomped out to the local mountain trail, 1/2 mile from my front door (me so lucky!).

Very lucky to enjoy this view a
 couple minutes from my door

 The goal was to change it up a bit from the road and still get some leg work in.  It is a 1.5 mi. circuit that has a nice climb in the beginning and then rollers throughout.  The grand finale is a 15% downhill that screams "brakes!".

I was able to squeeze in 3 rounds on the circuit before the rain decided to move in.  I was happy to get on 2 wheels, stay close to home to call it day when it needed to be, and just enjoy the view and nature.  What a great stress reliever to work in!

I want to encourage the thought of ensuing your goals at any given opportunity.  This only took 25 minutes at the end of the day and I burned off about 400 calories (on top of metabolism).

What activities that you squeeze in during the day that are efficient?

Garmin 305 HR/GPS watch review

After all these years of doing my own thing, I never paid attention to using a HR monitor to track my progress or view how my efforts were performing.  It was either go easy or go hard.  I felt like I didn't need something to tell me how hard I was going...I just did it!

Only recently when I signed up for my first timed event, that I took training a bit more seriously (and organized) that I found that heart rate meant many things to me to perform appropriately.  There are days of rest, days of intervals and days of endurance training.  Using the HR monitor keeps me in check and gives me goals on paper that helps me to build upon.  Using one of my favorite analytical tactics; reading Amazon.com reviews on products, I picked a Garmin 305 Forerunner w/GPS.  Amazon has a return policy and also it shipped quick....Kudos!

When I received the unit, the form factor was a little on the large side, yet it wasn't "bulky".  The commonly used buttons, start-top and lap are large buttons on the front and easy to hit (good and bad?).  The others are enter, up/down on the right, and mode and power on the left.








The first setup involved was pairing up the heart strap and then fitting it on myself.  At first if felt awkward, but I quickly got used to it and even forgot it was even there during my excercise.  Secondly, I setup the screens the way I wanted to see them for each individual sport - running and biking.  I'm a numbers guy, so the large screen and the ability to go 4,3,2 and 1 options is awesome.  I currently run with 4 options on my main screen - Average Pace, Current Pace, Distance and Time.  You can scroll to other "run" screens to see other items in which I have Elevation, Time and Speed setup.  By toggling the up and down arrows, you can satisfy the numbers junkie in you.  The one odd thing that sticks out is that it takes about a minute of non-movement to get the GPS locked in.  I usually set it down somewhere when it does this in the beginning and I will do my warmup stretches.

For the bike, I strap it to my handlebars for ease of view and it does fine using the strap that it comes with.  The cool accessories available are: replacement band for bike mounting and velcro strap, wireless cadence and speed sensor.  Another is the footpod sensor to track your running on a treadmill/indoor/cruise ship!.

It comes with a USB dock that allows for transfer of information as well as charging it.  I rarely run out of battery as long as I dock it every other day.  Any longer then 3 days of training, the 4th day is probably in jeopardy.  I would rate the battery life to be above-average.

The current design upgrades from the 305 (405 etc..) has had quite a few of negative reviews from form factor to GPS accuracy.  The touch bezel apparently does not work very well with sweaty/wet fingers.  Many have reported going back to their old 305 as they were much happier with the results.

Here are my pros and cons:  Remember this is my first HR watch, so I really don't have much to compare against. 

Pros:
-GPS accuracy - It seems dead on while running comparing markers, at races etc. as long as you don't continually run under a bridge/tunnel.

- Ease of use - 6 buttons give you much of what you need easily.  Nothing fancy, simple.

- Large screen with options - Let's you customize what you want to see and still read it easily on the 4 option version.

- Distance/pace/hr alerts are audible -  I can still hear it with my headphones and music playing.  There are plenty of alerts that you can activate.

- Backlight - Very even toned and bright enough to view in the darkest run.

- Easy dock for charging - charges and downloads/uploads information at the same time.

- Virtual Partner - race against yourself or others to keep things lively.  I find running boring if I'm on my normal route and these little nuggets keep you going.

Cons:
- No auto power off - Remember to turn it off or no worky for you next time out!

- A few times during biking the HR monitor was reading erractically - It would show me having a 234 bpm on a ride at the beginning.  I would be dead!  A reset or rescan seems to fix this.  I also changed the watch battery in the strap to ensure it wasn't a power problem.  It has happened maybe 3-4 times in the past 6 months.  It is a bit annoying but it seems to clear up soon.  Maybe its a skin contact issue?

- GPS will auto pause while under a bridge - of course is there a way around this?  It is looking for a satellite, so I don't think there really is a solution to this.

- Uploading software - The software that comes with the watch for your computer stinks and seems antique. I don't use it personally and instead upload to connect.garmin.com.  A much more improved interface and updated maps, it gives a nice calendar to work with.  The only thing is sorting data is either slow, or doesn't exisist.  You have to use the PC software for that.

I want to pass this information on so that if you are interested in either upgrading or getting a new watch, hopefully this info will help you choose one that will fit your needs.

What do you own that you like or don't like about your watch? 

Incycle Saturday Morning Ride - You In?

If you are from around here in Chino Hills, every Saturday morning between 8-9:30, you will find a very large peleton zooming through the hills and pastures at times with smiles, jokes and grunting.  The InCycle Chino bike store facilitates this ride every Saturday with an 8:00 a.m. sharp rollout.  Click here for a MAP/Stats

Brian and I had planned to ride to the beach via SCART and meet up with the wives for breakfast and hitch a ride home.  However my sick daughter (Judah) and Brian's son (Braden) kept that from happening - so we decided to ride local.
You meet up first at the Incycle bike shop parking lot and you get a chance to say "Hi" and "good morning" as you check out each other's ride.  Usually the carbon 80mm wheels are the difference among the group as well as an occasional vintage bike with downtube shifters.  This ride is about your legs and the ability to attack up the hills, bar none.  If you can keep up with the pack that trolls around 21-24 mph on the flats, you are in good standing.

Gearing up for the ride at the InCycle Chino shop

The warm up consists of mainly flat surface with minimal road roughness, and light traffic for a rather busy street at any other time (Shaeffer).  After crossing the 71 underpass, you will enjoying the quietness of the Shoppes of Chino Hills as most stores are closed at this time.  You will then briefly notice a slight uphill roll up Peyton as you enjoy the timeline of Chino Hills - The old and new Sheriff station, post office, Ayala HS, horse ranches on your right, and the relocation of Community Park.  Brian and I kept an easy pace but stayed close to the upper half of the group.

Once you cross Chino Hills Parkway, you will then notice the first attack from the peleton.  You are delivered a modest Cat5 climb that last about 5 minutes with rollers in between.  This is where you get put into place....go too hard in the beginning, you will find yourself falling in the ranks - start too slow-find yourself weaving through traffic of slower riders.  Brian and I maintained a good spot in the upper 1/3 of the group.  Thankfully everyone waits up on top (reasonably) for the group to "re-group".  Then a quick roll through the trees of Woodview, farms and a golf course keeps you on edge as you avoid potholes, wandering pedestrians, and parked cars.

The peleton regrouping at the top of Peyton

The more enjoyable part of the route as in smoothness of the road is enjoyed going down Butterfield ranch.  As a large group, we easily take up the whole lane for about 1 mile, pissing off plenty of drivers!  When the group crosses Soquel Canyon, the peleton once again lines up for a chase.  I've led this chase before and man, when you are alone in the front, the group catches you quick!

After rolling through Butterfield, you will cross over the 71 freeway as it turns into Euclid Avenue.  This part is subject to be open; if there is heavy rain, this section may be flooded out.  That happened last year for about 3 weeks and a different route onto Soquel was the result.  The last part of the ride is a slight increase in elevation all the way back to the shop.  Euclid is a fast moving pace street with trucks going along with you.  The only thing that is sane is the "bike" lane is super wide so you have room to work with. 



Enjoying a brief downhill breather before heading north to the beginning.

 In the end, we end up with about 24 miles of riding and it goes by pretty quick with the engagement of riding with a large group.  Talk with others, meet new friends and compare gear....go bike nuts!

What rides have you done with groups that you would like to share?

Massage...oh massage!

It is week three of picking up the pieces and here are the numbers for Jan-22 to Jan-28 (7 days).  Do remember this month is focused on running.
Sun- 5 mi. run
Mon- 5 mi. run
Tues- 4.5 mi. run
Wed - 20 mi. BIKE
Thurs - 14 mi. BIKE, 4.5 mi. run (BRICK)
Friday - 5 mi. run
Saturday - 15 mi. BIKE
Sunday - REST / MASSAGE
Totals: 24 mi. RUN (9:30 pace) / 49 mi. BIKE (18.5 mph avg)

So Sunday we went to a "Jump House" for Bradyn's schoolmate's birthday party.  Kicking off your shoes and chase after your boys is another great workout.  I had to catch my breath a few times climbing over obstacles made for humans shorter then 4'10".  After chasing and tumbling around, I felt my shoulder blade muscles tighten up and was limited in motion.  I realized my whole body was sore...So Jessikah gave me the green light and dropped me off at a place that offered foot massage and body treatment. 

 Rejuvenation Spa in Chino Hills has prices from $15 and up.  I settled for the $30 version and I believe it was worth the money.  And MAN did I forget the power of a good massage during training!  I had a magnificent lady, Ella, that took her time (20 min on both feet up to my kneecap) and hit the right spots.  It hurt a little bit on the pressure points, but oh it was good pain.  Soon after her waking me up from my lost in space feeling, she took me to massage table and quickly she noticed the tight spots without me telling her.  She then worked her way around to help loosen it and she even found a few that I didn't realize was tender!  I left the spa in a daze, not knowing what hit me...I was feeling like a sore loose noodle, but it was a good sore.  After looking at the price list again, I noticed...$15 for 60 min. of foot massage?!? Count me in!

Today I'm feeling looser and seem to be fresh, ready to hit my last week of running focus.  Is it time to treat your body to a refresher?

2012 Resolutions - still here? Anyone? Anyone?

So it is the last week of January.....how has your New Year's resolutions fared out?  It's funny how we are creatures of habits and change demands your full attention and commitment.  Do you find yourself slipping back to where you were before?  Or are you still trekking along, but are not seeing much results or are lacking some motivation?

I'm stuck in between the 2 myself and I believe I'm getting around the hump of a lackluster start to the New Year.  Part of the issue was I really enjoyed the off season, a bit too much.  The food was good, the sleeping was joyful and staying warm was inviting.  Add to the part of traveling 2000 miles back and forth via driving to Colorado in the last week of December sure added to the slack-off.

Part of re-igniting the fuel was to really look at the calendar and notice how much time I really had before my next race.  I also decided to work on my training regimen and scheduling it out (see my previous post about per sport training).  Eating properly has gone from 50% of the time, to about 70%.  I believe we should be in the 80-85% eating properly, allowing the 15-20% of enjoying and rewarding yourself with savory tastes.

What is keeping you from maintaining your fitness goals? Are you skipping out on workouts? Take a look at this checklist and see what you can incorporate into your daily life to maintain your goals and avoid getting sabatoged into the "excuse land".
- Register for an event.  Whatever it is....and then set a goal.  Doing a 5k? Post on facebook that you have signed up for a 5k, invite others to join you and set a realistic goal that you are going to be accountable for (sub 24 minutes?).
- Pack your gear ahead of time.  If you plan to workout before/lunch/after work, be sure to have all the essentials ready to go in a backpack
- Squeeze in workouts where you can.  I am blessed to have a job that has me at my desk at times so I can go for a bike ride or run during lunch and I can follow up with a small meal while at my desk working afterwards.  If you drive for work, invest in a bike rack or put it in tow and go for the same lunch ride.  Start by the nearest park so that when you are done, you can change and do the "sink shower".
- Pack your lunch ahead of time.  This goes with the first point.
- Incorporate bike rides into your daily appointments.  I once rode my bike to church with a backpack.  I changed at church and the wife and kids showed up in the car (with the bike rack).  I hitched the ride home afterwards.  This Saturday I am going to ride my bike to my grandparents for a party and the wife and kids will show up with vehicle to join in the fun.
- Incorporate bike / runs with your kids-pets.  Bradyn and Titus gets to ride their bikes while I run.  Last saturday, I did a 4 mile run while Bradyn rode his motorized razor scooter.  Instead of just taking Hadyn, our golden doodle dog, for walk, we usually go for a 5k run.
- Wake up earlier then normal to do morning workouts.  It is really hard at first, but by week 2 you will use to it.  But buyer beware, ensure you go to bed earlier to catch the 7-8 hours of beauty sleep.  You need it.
- Drink lots of water.  I used to be good at this by carrying the jug with me wherever I went.  Be sure to use good water (not tap), so that you enjoy the refreshing taste and not have to gag at it.  You will feel so much better and it will motivate you to continue working at your goals.
- Avoid driving somewhere to go workout.  That creates excuses and time lost.  Run from your office.  Bike from home.

These are the few elements that keep me in check and strive to continue on.  Some days are great, some are hard, but with a good plan-backbone, we shall see results coming our way. 

Happy New Year's resolutions and stay on TARGET!

Triathlon Training - one sport at a time

There comes a day when you reflect on something you read on the WORLD WIDE WEB and wish you had bookmarked it.  Well this day came late last year as I was trying to figure out how my training was going to be done in the following months leading up to my first 2012 tri race.

Somewhere in the www, I read an article that mentioned focusing primarily on one sport at a time and then combining them together.  The idea is that sometimes in the mix of tight schedules, we try to do each sport a little here, a little there, combined.  That's the result of what happened last year at my first triathlon, the Turkey Tri.  My swim was non-competitive and the energy sapped from me carried over to the bike and eventually on the run (my lower back was killing me!).  The article recommended working on each specific sport to create a good foundation in which we could build upon.

In Southern California, January is usually the month that we get most of our heavy rain.  I decided to focus on running in January so that I could keep the bike home and not worry about keeping it clean (or crash!).  Typical running techniques are now put into place; working on maintaining an anaerobic heart rate endurance, speed workouts (intervals,fartleks) and elevation gains/loss.  I am still riding the bike at least once a week to maintain that base fitness, although I have not put any pool time in yet.  I plan to change that soon by renewing my gym membership (eck!) as I will be switching to swimming in Feb.

My overall goal looks like this:
January - Running: Improve 5k time, run 20 miles in 6 days, improve form/foundation
February - Swimming: Understand proper stroke technique, breathing regimens, endurance
March - Cycling: Focus on intervals to increase speed, complete at least (1) 75 mile ride

I have "planned" a race in late March if all this training goes appropriately and as cycling is my strongest asset, I have saved it for last to allow the muscle groups that involve running and swimming repair themselves.

Thoughts?  I'll let you know how this goes in April!