Strength + Bike focus

I am very prone to injuries. Sometimes even when I am taking things lightly, I tend to do something stupid like playing soccer in the rain and get injured. Last month I did exactly that, resulting in what I would later diagnose to be a ligament tear in the left big toe. That meant no running and thus no CIM this year. Luckily I was still able to bike and swim.

For the past 4 week I have also started spending ~3 hours/week on strength training. Thanks to the TotalBody class at a Google gym, it helps me stay motivated. I'd like to think that strength training is already showing its benefits, but it is hard to say for sure. I am hoping to see big gains at Oceanside 70.3 in March 2015 where I am determined to break the elusive 5 hr mark.

Coinciding with strength training classes, is the increased bike focus. My longest ride of the week is still ~50 miles but I manage to put in ~150 miles/week. I am feeling tired from the last 2 big weeks and looking forward to recover by the weekend. Unofficially, I am seeing small improvement in biking; specifically ~10W increase in steady power.

Staying in decent shape through the winter becomes easier if things are kept interesting. Easy social rides, cross training, MTB rides, fun swims and lots of rest.

Big Kahuna 70.3 - Race Report

There was a lot of apprehension going into this race. I had never really fully recovered after IMCdA. One of the main reasons was probably because I jumped into training too soon. I was going through a string of injuries in the past 2 months - sprained neck, inflamed VMO, ankle sprain, mild version of plantar fascia - in addition to a week of fever/cold/cough. In hindsight, I think this was my body's way of telling me to take it easy and rest up. I was a bit freaked out and started treatment at Team Clinic, a local physical therapy & sports clinic. Before the race I underwent 6 sessions of cervical traction, stim, ART and stretching. I was keeping the training light and not doing anything that hurt. That meant no runs longer than 4 mi. As a result I was nervous particularly about the 13.1 mi run. I was however able to do a sub 3hr rehearsal ride on the race course 2 week before the race and also a long ride up Mt. Hamilton a week before, which gave me some confidence boost. Thankfully, on race morning, I was injury free and well rested with expectations dialed down which helped me not feel too nervous about the run.

We drove to Santa Cruz on Saturday afternoon for packet pickup, and the plan was to stay at a hotel there. After packet pickup we checked in to the colorful Sea Breeze Inn facing the broadwalk and then stepped out for early dinner at 6PM.

After returning to the hotel we prepped the gear. I hit the sack at 10PM, but couldn't really fall asleep all night. When the alarm went off at 4AM, I was already awake. The usual race morning routine followed - coffee, Granola+Chobani breakfast, Osmo preload, stretching, and hot shower. In the background played my fav triathlon pump up song, Remember the name, which some may find cheesy, but it helps me get in the zone.

FFWD>> next 1.5hrs - drove to transition, setup the spot, hit the port-a-potty downed a gel, and headed to the beach - to get to the meat of it.

I was in the second wave which flagged off at 7:05AM. Couple of minutes before I realized that I had not zipped up my wetsuit, so scrambled a bit there. As usual, I started on the right front side, and for the first time ever, had a smooth running start and high knee jog till the water was deep enough to perform a flawless dolphin dive into the ocean. I quickly found my rhythm and didn't worry too much about finding a pair of feet to draft. The swim was mostly uneventful except that I would realize after the race that my bike jersey hanging outside the wetsuit around the neck had caused intense chafing. I was pleasantly surprised to see 29:xx on my Garmin at the swim exit. High five'd TFers in speedos (Kevin, Andrew) at the swim exit. The swim booties helped subtract the pain from the long run to T1.

I jogged to the bike mount line, did a regular mount and took off. Started easy as I tried settle my HR. Big bummer was that my power meter was dead! Last time I changed the batteries was before IMCdA and I haven't used the TT bike much since then - mostly been using my road bike. I fiddled with the Edge 500 for a few minutes trying to get back power data, but to no avail. Since power was enabled, Edge 500 was trying to derive speed from the power meter data. So I finally turned off the power meter so I could at least see speed from GPS. Knowing the speed was critical to decide when to back off and when to coast. There was some tail wind on the way out, which is why it felt much easier, and I was at the turn around well before the estimated time. I knew it was going to be hard on the way back, and indeed the headwind kicked in right after the turn around. It was pretty strong for ~10 miles after the turn around and then subsided. Without power data, I was going by HR and feel. I made it back to transition in 2:47:xx.

I did a smooth flying dismount and jogged to my spot. The vaseline in the socks had held up so I didn't bother changing them - quickly slipped on the shoes with EZ laces, grabbed the race belt, bottle and took off. I put on the belt and hat as I jogged out and took it real easy on the small hill immediately out of the transition. Caught up with Jason Hable who had apparently passed me on the bike, and ran 3-4 miles with him. I was trying to cap HR at 165 and the plan was to stay under that cap until mile 9 or so. I finished the Coke by mile 5 and then started filling up with Heed at the aid stations. I was carrying 2 gels which I was saving as a last resort. Just before the turn around, as Monzy passed me, he encouraged me to pick up the pace and break 5. We had 47 mins to break 5 hrs and ~7 miles to go. It seemed impossible to be able to go sub 7 pace for the rest of the run. Given my run training or lack thereof, I was not confident in my ability to hold on to that pace during an HIM run. But I decided to give it a shot and tried to keep up with Monzy. He slowly pulled away from me, but I was still able to see him in front of me until mile 10 or so. The last 5K was extremely painful, and the last 3/4 mile run on the beach was the worst. My quads, calfs, hamstring, glutes, everything was on the verge of cramping, but I managed to stay just under. Crossed the finish line in 5:01:xx, saving that 5 hr mark for Oceanside 2015.

Ironman Coeur D'Alene - Race Report

I will skip all the boring details about travel and pre-race stuff and get to the meat of it right away. The only thing worth mentioning is that I was sick for a few weeks and was starting to feel recovered only a few days before the race. So going in, I was a bit worried how that'd affect my performance. I feel that it didn't affect it much, but it is impossible to know for sure.

I woke up at 3 AM and got the coffee brewing. From past experience, the coffee in the hotel room is crappy, but this time it was actually decent. After finishing a cup of hot coffee, I started sipping on OSMO and also had my usual pre-race Chobani+Granola breakfast. I put on the timing chip and warm morning clothes and was ready to leave.

I reached the race venue at City Park, Coeur D'Alene, at 5AM. We found a parking spot a short walk from the transition. First thing I did before entering transition was getting body marked and then I got in the line to pump up the tires. After a quick final checkup of transition gear, I squeezed into the wetsuit and headed to the swim start. The water was ~60F so I decided to use the neoprene booties for extra comfort.

Swim: 1:06

I seeded myself with the 1:00-1:16 group and we were in the water within 3 minutes from the start. I headed straight for the first buoy and my goal was to swim straight and as close to the buoys as possible. I think the rolling start made the first few minutes feel much more relaxed than they'd have otherwise. I got into an easy rhythm and was constantly scoping out the space around me for a pair of feet to draft. I found a woman swimming roughly my speed and tried to get on her feet, but she was zig-zagging a lot, so I let her go. After 5-10 minutes of solo swimming, I found those perfect pair of feet which I'd follow for most of the remaining swim. I'd lose them at the end of the first loop, but since I now almost recognize the kicking pattern and the shape of the feet, I'd find them again after the turn around and draft to the end of the swim. I was pleasantly surprised at the time, considering the choppy/windy conditions and how easy I went.

T1: 10:32

Upon getting out of the water I was feeling quite fresh. Having wetsuit strippers was a huge help since I usually struggle to get out of the wetsuit. A volunteer handed me my bike gear bag and I rushed into the changing tent. I put on the HRM, sleeveless TriForce jersey and the Giordana aero jersey on top of it. I had the gels already stuffed in the jersey pockets. Quickly checked off other things - apply chamois cream, headband on, helmet on, shoes on - and was off on the bike. It was going to be windy and cold, so I opted to not wear the bike jersey under the wetsuit. I think I had too many things to do in T1 which cost me a few extra minutes.

Bike: 6:28

With two layers and arm warmers I was quite comfortable on the bike. Some would laugh at me, but if I am not warm, I end up miserable on the bike. I started out easy until my legs were warmed up to the pedaling motion, after which I followed my power caps - 150-160W on flats and 180-190W on hills. I wasn't really monitoring my HR. For the whole ride I strictly followed the nutrition plan of 1 Powergel + 1 salt tab every 20 minutes which I think worked out well for me. It was a hard day out there on the bike because of crazy head winds while going south in highway 95. On the second loop, the wind was so bad that I had to pedal even on downhill to keep moving forward. Hydration-wise, drinking to thirst and peeing to pressure worked out well for me. During the last couple of hours I could feel my power wane and it was harder to hold the planned 160W. There has been a definite improvement in my biking endurance, but I still have a long way to go.
T2: 5:xx

Nothing noteworthy about T2. Handed off the bike to the volunteer, and jogged to the changing tent with the run gear bag. Put on running hat, Vaseline-lined socks and running shoes, and fuel/bib belt, and took off.

Run: 4:24

I started conservatively at 9 min/mi pace. Since I was also walking through the aid stations, it was putting me at ~9:30 min/mi avg. pace. I was mostly scared about the second half of the marathon, so didn't want to increase my pace. I made the first loop in 2:03, on-track for a 4 hr finish. What I did differently was drink Coke instead of gels+water. The very first gel I had on the run made me feel nauseous. I immediately switched to Coke and popped a salt tab every 20 minutes. I was peeing at every other aid station, which made me think that I might be over-hydrating, so I dialed back on the Coke and started eating some chips and oranges at the aid stations. It seemed to be working very well for me. I hadn't yet had RedBull which they were offering for the first time on the course. I was saving it for the final miles. At mile 15, I started having some pain on the outer side of my right knee. At first I thought that the dreaded had happened - the IT band has given up. But this time it wasn't the IT band; it was something else. I stretched and massaged it a bit, walked for a minute and tried running again. The pain had gone, but only to return after a mile. It wasn't as bad as the IT band injury at IM Louisville last year, but the pain was annoying and keeping me from running my normal gait. I stopped at the next aid station and found a medic. He tied a bandage gauze around my knee and also gave me an Ibuprofen, just in case. The knee strap seemed to be helping, but only partially. After a lot of self debate, I decided to do the unthinkable and popped the Ibuprofen. Like magic, the pain vanished in a few minutes. My mood was elevated again, I was able to focus on my run and enjoy the atmosphere. However, I was also getting really tired and my legs were on the verge of cramping. It suddenly occurred to me that I was so engrossed in fixing the nagging pain, that I forgot to take my salt and nutrition. I immediately popped a couple of salt pills and decided that it was time to give RedBull a shot. I was past mile 20 when I had my first RedBull, and then something magical happened. I could feel a sudden burst of energy and I found myself running an avg. of 8 min/mi pace which I was able to hold all the way to the finish.

The atmosphere at the finish line was electrifying. The crowd was all charged up and cheering like crazy. I saw my wife and daughter and took a few seconds to give them a kiss and continued celebrating toward the finish, high-fiving the crowd. There was a time during the run when I was thinking, "Why the heck did I sign up for this?" But it was only a few minutes after the finish that I knew I wanted to cross that finish line again. With the final time of 12:15, it was a 1:43 PR over IM Louisville last year. A big improvement, but I know that I am not yet even close to my physical limits.

Finisher Certificate

Conclusions:

• Need to put in more focus on bike training if I want to go sub-6 on the bike on my next IM.
• Big focus on the run and do 2 marathons by end of year.
• Swimming once a week + cords is good enough to maintain my swim fitness.
• I had a very weak core and imbalances in muscle groups. Regular strength training helped me get stronger and improve my endurance.
• Getting injured on the marathon (again) goes to show that I still have some muscle imbalance/weakness that I need to shake out.
• I think I have nailed my IM nutrition, and don't intend to change it unless I drastically change my racing strategy.

Wildflower Long Course Triathlon - Race Report

Leading to the race, I had some trepidation about the unusual format of the course and transitions. Due to low water levels in Lake San Antonio the swim leg was moved to Harris Creek, which is 2.3 miles from Lynch ramp, the usual swim location and transition area. Furthermore, the word going around the town was that the water is extremely murky and barely passing the purity levels needed for safe swimming. Because of these reasons, several people had bailed out of WF this year and personally, I wasn't really looking forward to it either. With Oceanside still fresh in my memory, and IM CdA being my "A" race, I was treating WF more like a weekend of intense training. In hindsight, I am extremely glad I did the race, as it was awesome fun and the best WF experience thus far. And Jesse Thomas won again this year! What a comeback after a 1 year hiatus.

Race morning was usual, with a feeling of anxiety and excitement. I beat the alarm by 15 minutes but still lied in the bed waiting for it to go off. The hotel room coffee, the "Dark Rust", tasted awful as usual but it helped with potty round 1. For breakfast, I had the tried and tested Chobani + Granola and sipped on 16oz of Osmo on the way to the race. It was almost 6 AM when I reached at packet pickup. I took my own sweet time to set up T1 before taking the bus to the swim start at Harris Creek. The format of the race was going to be as follows:

1.2 mile swim @ Harris Creek
2.3 miles transition run from T1A (at Harris creek ramp) to T1B (at Lynch ramp)
56 miles bike (same course)
10.8 miles run (The "pit" was cut out, thank God!)

I was happy that the final run leg was only 10.8 miles, but I had my qualms about the long transition from swim to bike. The plan was to take it easy on this part. In hind sight, I may have gone a bit too easy, but considering my final time I have nothing to complain.

At 7:30AM I paid a second visit to the port-a-potty and then setup my spot on the Harris ramp. I had a pair of old running shoes for the long transition run and a couple of bags to stuff my swim and morning gear in. After washing down a gulp of gel with water at 8:00 AM, I waited intently for the race to begin.

Swim

As usual, I started on the far right-front of my wave. I had to make special efforts to not swallow any of the nasty murky water closer to the shore. Usually even murky water is diffusely lit by sunlight, but here, the water was black, and looking under the water was like staring into deep, dark nothingness. Luckily, it cleared up as we headed inward. It was one of the worst swims I've had. For some reason I kept zigzagging a LOT, which I never usually do. Shoulders were also hurting probably because there was no chance to warmup. I tried to follow a pair of feet for 5 minutes, but mostly swam by myself. As I exited, I was pleasantly surprised to see a time of 29:xx, only to find out later that the swim times were low overall and that I had swum ~150 yards extra due to all the zigzagging and swimming a wider loop (leaving a lot of space between me and buoys.)

T1-A

Stripped off the wetsuit, stuffed the swim gear in the bag, put on socks and shoes and started walking up the long boat ramp while gulping down another gel with water at the aid station at the top of the ramp. I am glad I walked up and saved the legs, and also glad that I decided to put on socks. The 2.3 miles run was basically through the dry lake bed, with parts of it through loose sand. To add to it, the run was not exactly flat. There were two steep and long boat ramps to climb in addition to a few smaller climbs along the way. I kept it real easy in order to not negatively affect the bike leg. Switching into biking gear felt quick and easy since the wetsuit was already off, but looking at the time, I was slow as a tortoise. What the heck was I doing for 8 minutes!? Maybe I took a nap and forgot about it. But seriously, I need to work on my transitions. Even the slower transitions were around 5 minutes, so clearly I did something wrong. Nothing obvious comes to mind, but I think it is combination of small things that add up - jogging vs. walking to the bike out, applying TriSlide and changing socks in the transition, verifying twice that I have all the nutrition, etc.

Bike

I think I pretty much nailed the bike leg. Lots of coasting helped save the legs for the climbs later on. Capped power at 180W as planned, and at 225W on hills. Nutrition consisted of 1 gel + salt tab every 20 minutes, which comes to ~300 cals/hr. I was drinking more since it was hot, with temps reaching 85+F toward the end of the ride. At each aid station, I'd refill the aero bottle and pick a second bottle to douse myself. Unlike Oceanside, I knew was processing the fluids well as I never felt full/bloated and I peed 3 times on the bike. That's got to be a TriForce record! Since I was passing a lot of people, it was easier to find opportunities to safely pee on the bike when nobody was approaching me from behind. Compared to last year, the nasty grade seemed to get over very quickly and I was passing people there as well. I was feeling pretty strong throughout and felt like I got off the bike with fresh running legs. 

T2

It went pretty well with the flying dismount and jogging to my transition spot. But right after that, I got into this laid back routine where I put on all the running gear right there at my spot instead of grabbing everything and working it on while jogging out. Also wasted a minute to pee in the port-a-potty at the run out. Again, a very slow transition compared to even some of the slower ones out there.

Run

Not as fast as I’d have liked it to be, but felt good throughout without experiencing any cramping. Was able to hammer down Lynch hill at sub-6 pace and finish strong just like I had hoped. I was having a gel every 30 minutes and a salt tab a little more frequently. The only issue I had on the run was with gels - seems like solid food does not suit me for running. After an hour or so, I was having trouble keeping the gels down. Using gels for running nutrition during the IM might not be such a good idea. Unfortunately, liquid calories (e.g. Coke, Perform) result into bloating, especially if the temps are on the cooler side. Something to figure out before IMCdA.

Total Time: 5:25:15
Age group rank: 25
Overall Rank: 141

Overall I am pretty happy with how WF went and I am so glad I decided to do this race in spite of the looming cloud of uncertainly about the modified course. It was a big confidence booster for IMCdA, with several take-aways:

1. Need to do longer and more frequent OW swims in wetsuit.
2. Need to work on transitions.
3. OSMO preload works wonders for me; allows me to drink and pee more during the race.
4. Aggressive coasting on the bike is a no-brainer
5. Mixing my own gel instead of carrying separate packets would be more convenient. Maybe this won’t be an issue for an IM since they have gels at the aid stations.
6. Need to figure out a nutrition strategy for the run.
7. Peeing on the bike saves a LOT of time, especially if you are outputting 1 pee/hr.

Oceanside 70.3 Race Report

I was feeling good going into the race in spite of going down with flu just 10 days prior. Eased in into training after the flu and kept it mellow. I had hit CTL of 80 just before the flu, so I was confident I was in decent shape. I was hoping to finish in 5:20.

Official Results
Time: 05:11:31
M35-39: 46th/333

Flight to San Diego landed at 1:30PM. I picked up the rental car at Hertz, which was a terrible experience, BTW. They have a rather low frequency service :P. Driving to the expo for athlete check-in took like an hour due to traffic. Thu and Fri were leisurely with some pre-race sharpening with the team on Friday.

Surprisingly, I slept pretty well the night before the race and was woken up by the alarm at 4AM. Had some black coffee from the hotel room which tasted like grease. Nevertheless, it helped get my bowels moving. Had the usual Granola+Chobani and bagel breakfast worth 250 cals which I had to literally force down my throat. Drive to Oceanside was quick and I reached T2 just before 6AM. Yes, T1 and T2 were separate, which is kind of a pain to setup, but it turned out to be OK. It was a short 1 mile ride to T1 after setting up run gear at T2. Soon got T1 setup, took another dump and ate a gel 30mins before the swim start. The pros started at 6:50AM followed by AG waves.

Swim: 00:31:07
It was a wet start and we got barely 3 minutes to warm up after the previous wave was flagged off. Water was in high 50s, so I was wearing booties and skull cap. Swim was an out and back single loop in the Oceanside harbor. The water was a bit choppy on the way back, but overall it was an uneventful swim. Didn’t find any feet to follow, so pretty much swam by myself the whole way.

T1: 00:05:34
It was a short jog in T1 which I used to take off the wetsuit to the waist and reset my 910XT. Transition was slow as I had to take off booties, put on socks, and walk/jog to bike-out in biking shoes. Really need to work on fast transitions. Could have easily shaved 2 mins here.

Bike: 02:47:30
Unexpectedly fast split on the bike! From the rehearsals, I was expecting to go just under 3 hours. Interestingly I hit my power and HR numbers according to plan, but I was much more aero compared to the rehearsals, which probably saved me some time. Felt strong all the way on the bike. HR was a bit up toward the end, but no sign of fatigue in the legs or anywhere else. Religiously followed the strategy to back off power at >24mph, and coast at >28mph which helped save a lot of energy. Last 10 miles were a bit uncomfortable since I had to pee pretty badly, but didn’t have it in me to do the deed on the bike. One small hiccup was that I took my feet out a bit to early and had to go up a short stinger which feet planted on top of the shoes. Nutrition went well with IM Perform and gel summing to ~300 cals/hr. Only downside of using Perform was that I was consuming more liquid than I should. Bike power and HR was on spot as per my plan.

T2: 00:02:58
Did a smooth flying dismount and jogged to my transition spot. Sprayed some TriSlide, put on shoes, hat, and off on the run. Changing socks, putting on TriSlide cost me time. Also, since I never practiced transitions, I needed to think to make sure I was not forgetting something. As you may have experienced, logical reasoning and memory recall does not go well with intense physical activity. In short, I need to practice quick transitions to the point that it becomes mechanical and the brain doesn’t need to get involved.

Run: 01:44:22
Went out at the goal pace of 7:15 min/mi, but started cramping in the quads after 5 minutes. Felt a short spang in the right quad and then in the left. Shit. I thought that that was the end of my race. So much for a good bike split. I walked, stretched and allowed the cramps to subside and then started jogging again. Immediately popped a salt tab and sipped on some Coke to get in some calories. I was sure that I was cramping only because I was low on fuel. Coke helped a bit, but it also made me feel bloated and sloshy. I finally decided to switch to gel and within minutes after downing a gel, I felt my legs come back. I think however the damage was made, so I couldn’t get back up to the intended pace. Kept pushing through the run trying to hold good form and managed to finish with a respectable time.

Overall I was happy with the time, but my run could have definitely been better. It was a major confidence booster.

1. Felt strong on the bike all the way.
2. Religiously followed the power strategy for the bike.
3. Was able to salvage the run without panicking.
4. No injuries or ITB woes.
5. Held good run form (at least I think so) throughout.

Lessons learned:

1. Practice transitions. This could have saved me 3 more minutes.
2. Liquid calories don’t work well for me. Gel for calories and drinking water to thirst is the way to go, even if it means consuming a total of 25-30 gels during an IM.
3. Running with good form (landing under the hips + good backlift) is critical for a good injury-free run.

Kaiser Permanente Half Marathon

Got a new half marathon PR today at the Kaiser Permanente Half Marathon: 1:24:14. It is a very fast course, but weather today was cold and unfriendly with rain and wind. Half of the race goes along the coastal highway which helps distract one's mind from the pain. Pacing wasn't as well as it could have been. Started a bit too fast and realized that it'd be hard to hold that pace for long. So backed off a bit in the middle. Started feeling it by mile 8, and was scared my hamstrings would seize on me. 3 hours trainer ride on Friday night didn't leave my legs exactly fresh. Not that I could have gone any faster, but it could have been less painful if I wasn't running on tired legs. Thankfully all muscle groups held on and I was able to finish strong. Nutrition-wise, 1 gel and 2 salt tabs with a little bit of water as needed, agrees with me for a half marathon. I am pretty sore now and will be taking it easy this week. Overall a great fun race. Looking forward to Oceanside 70.3.

The elusive bike power

So, I did a 3 hr indoor bike ride today. I tried to cap my HR to 140bmp for the first two hours. Power looked OK-ish, hovering ~165W in the beginning, but then started to fall under 160W towards the end. After 2 hours I was like, "To heck with HR," and I switched from 20s to 10s while trying to keep power ~170W. HR was in low 150s. How people put out 200+W at 140bmp, is beyond me.

I hear ya, absolute power doesn't mean much; W/kg is what matters. For me, currently at 135 lbs, that'll be a measly 2.63W/kg, compared to a beastly 3.0W/kg my coach outputs at steady pace. And if these numbers don't mean much to you, that difference translates to a 3hr Vs. a 2:20hr HIM bike. HUGE difference, and something I can only dream of achieving. 2.8W/kg @ steady pace will be a respectable number to which I can get with a lot of hard work and consistency.

Find that next step, believe in it, and strive for it.

2014 Season Begins

Winter can be quite gloomy and boring, but this year it was different. Not having rain sucks in a way because most reservoirs are under capacity, but sunny weather helps to stay positive, cheered up and motivated to train. Or maybe it was a great 2013 season that motivated me to train through the winter, so that 2014 can be even better. We are always on a quest to beat our past self and excel, and I am no different. It is January, and I am already in a decent biking shape. I am at 135 lbs at the beginning of the season, which has never happened before. I usually balloon up in the winter, affecting my training and it takes a few months to shed that insulation. Half marathon PR at San Jose Rock N Roll motivated me to continue running. Although I am not in best of shapes, I am in a position to not embarrass self at Kaiser Half Marathon on Feb 2.

'Nuf braggin'. Truthfully, I couldn't have done this without TriForce. Even though it took discipline and consistency, I owe it to TriForce for keeping me on the heels, always motivated, and honest to myself. It is an excellent group of speedo-donned triathletes who share a penchant for all things triathlon. If you lack motivation, find a local triathlon club or an active online groups where you can talk with like-minded triathletes and push each other. Knowing that your buddies have already put in those 3000 yards in the pool or endured 2 hours in the pain cave will motivate you to work in those works in your daily schedule. There are times when we are truly busy and it is hard to find an hour everyday to train. But in most cases it is the state of ignorance and denial that you need to train, that you need the pain. Once we are in a habit to train daily, it becomes an addiction; a healthy addiction. I have read that there is a chemical thing going on in the body during and after workout that slowly makes you addicted to it. The key is to be consistent long enough for the habit to take over, after which all things like managing training, family and work, and finding that 1 hour daily will happen automatically.

I hope we all find the time and motivation to get ready for our next race. For me next up is Kaiser Half Marathon in Feb and Oceanside 70.3 HIM in March.