S-L-U-G-G-O

I am not totally sure what happened since Sunday. You see after a great workout weekend I rested up on Monday, did some stretching and core work, nothing really strenuous but I noticed I just seemed tired. My legs were tired, I didn't sleep well and I just didn't have that usual energy.

Now on Tuesday, I slept well throughout the night and woke up ate breakfast and then I just felt totally tired again. I took some time and I looked like this for the morning :

As the morning progressed I just totally kept feeling like a slug and HUNGRY! I ate lunch and some snacks and started preparing for the swim but then I quickly found myself in a nap and then looking like this: (right pic)

So by 5pm I ate an early dinner and WHAM! that did it. Right after dinner I was finally full and I felt much better! I was speaking with CoachLiz and we concluded that I just didn't eat enough this weekend after all the training and my body was in a recovery, sleep and eat mode. I really can't believe how much better I feel and now I just don't feel hungry!

So now I know that after that much training I really need to put the feed bag on and get plenty of food. It's actually hard to eat good clean food in mass amounts as many of you know.

Now that I feel better I am ready for tomorrow as it will be a high level of running day and I am looking to pick up my swim that I bagged today, ugh!

rockon`

Weekend Training & a Newbie's First Triathlon..

OK this is a little long..

Wow, what a week of training it turned out to be since I was slacking during the beginning of the week. Mid-week I decided to get a hair cut so I went along with my dad to the Air Force Base. I guess this should have told me something but I did get my hair cut from there right when I moved here so I thought no worries, right? Well after telling the nice young lady how to cut it, it somehow turned into her own style and well.. it looks like I just in listed! Short all the way around. I kind of had a feeling it was going to be shorter than expected when she touched my head and I could feel it. Well it will grow back, so no worries.. but really sitting in front of a sign that says "We are the Experts in the Military Cut" I should have known they were gonna get me!

After looking around the base and seeing some cool stuff it was back to the house I was able to get a swim in later with some wicked cramping due to poor hydration during the day. So I climbed out of the water with 2000 completed. And I was actually feeling good otherwise, leaving me 500 short on the swim.

On Friday night I was at Forms house as we watch John John Molina go 15-0 with another TKO! John was totally prepared for the fight and although he took some hits, he was able to lay his power on the guy and just take him out in the 2nd Round! Nice job John John!

After the fight we went next door to neighbor Mike who was preparing for his 1st Sprint Triathlon on Saturday afternoon, called the Showdown at Sundown Triathlon. It was a Sprint and Olympic distances. So Form gave me some last minute pointers and he tried the wetsuit on that he was going to be using, then it was back to Forms to get to bed.

Saturday morning I was up early as I had to meet up with Southern Nevada Team in Training marathon group to help out. I got the run place, meet the coach and we got situated on the where I was to go. I was able to speak with some of the participants briefly at the start but was able to really talk with them more after the run. It was fun to be back with TNT and I even got to get in the group picture as I was told I was with the So. NV. Chapter now and had to be in it! They were all very welcoming and I look forward to being involved more with the marathon groups and hopefully as a Triathlon coach later this year!

After TNT was over, Form was riding his way over to the TNT park where they ran and were going to ride some more from there, but I could not get a hold of the speed demon so I left and fortunately I saw him flying down the road and turned around to chase him down. Once we got caught up we went back to his house and rode out from there for a nice painful hil climbing 50 mile experience in what is called Seven Hills.. but really it should be called like 42 hills or something b/c they are never ending in this Vegas subdivision. It was a great ride, I even got called an Asshole by some dipshit in his convertible b/c I had dropped some stuff out of my back pocket and I quickly turned around b/c I was not going to ride to the top of Ass Kicking Hill #X to turn around, come back down, get my stuff before it got ran over and then go back up ass kicking again. So I checked for traffic... dipshit was far off but oncoming.. and I went back down the rode about 100 meters on the wrong side and I guess he got scared or something b/c he slowed as I waited for him to clear and he called me an Asshole.. I just totally laughed as I picked up my stuff and Form told me I had missed the turn anyway so good thing I didn't go up that freakn' hill.. not that it mattered b/c he took me to another hill that was much worse! Thanks Dude! Oh and it was called "Democracy Hill" .. Not sure where that freakn' name came from b/c all I know it should have been called DICTATOR HILL b/c it will own your ass if you don't work your butt off to get to the top of it.. Long steady climb with a nice turn up in grade the last 5oo yards or so.. it sucked! but I did it and then we had super fun flying down the hill !!!

Oh.. I can talk about the last major long hill climb that Form totally dropped me on with his out of the saddle climbing and me trying to grind it out and real him back in but that didn't happen, I guess b/c I gave it hell on Democracy Hill or something.. But Form did a nice job on that hill and I was surely impressed at Mr. I'm Slow.. in the pool .. on the bike.. and run.. YA WHATEVER! This guy is machine getting ready for IM Cd'A.!!!

So once back at the house we quickly changed and headed for Mikes 1st Triathlon.. He was nervous as any 1st timer and it was great to see him and others like that as it brings back memories to when we were all in that 1st Triathlon position!!! Do you all remember yours? Mine was Americas Triathlon.. aka Capital of Texas Triathlon! So Mike was ready and went off in the last wave of guys and was out of the water in about 12 mins.. he did good and was glad to be done. The T1 was seriously long at Lake Las Vegas but its a nice place so off he went on the bike and we went to the watch the leaders come back on the bike .. where we saw the 2nd place guy totally miss the turn and as we all YELLED at him he kept going only to have the 1st place female who was 3rd on the bike overall follow him. Shit!! that's gotta totally suck! Luckily there was a police officer there with a motorcycle that quickly went after the lady and she quickly returned but the guy was way down the rode and by the time he came back he was in 4th or 5th, I cant remember. Then Form and I started yelling to the others to make the right turn and the cops got some more cones to make the turn more noticeable.. Not sure where the RD was on that one. We saw Mike come back and quickly ran to T2 and got some pics of him off on the run. He ran a quick 5k and got to see him finish as well! Nice job Mike! Afterwards we all went to dinner and enjoyed his post race review. I think we have another triathlete in the making.

Sunday I was out on the bike for a 25 mile windy crazy ride but I got it done and then transitioned to a nice 10k run. It was windy as well but manageable. I planned my run route so that my 10k mark I would basically still have about 4.5 miles back to the house and ran the 10k part a little harder than the last 4.5. Overall it was a good 10.5 mile run for me and it was somewhat hot so that helped in case RAGE is hot that day and/or windy. After I was able to jump in the pool which is now about 60-62*.. cold but very nice for an ice bath!

OK .. that's it for now.. sorry it was so long this time.. but good things are happening!!

Don't forget to jump over to Forms blog and wish him luck at California 70.3 this weekend!!

rockon`

Red Rock Loop Ride..

Now that Hump Day if over it seems like training this week has been next to none and I wonder WTF! The weather this past weekend was totally shitty here, with winds 30mph+ and who knows what the guts were clocked at but Sunday-Tuesday was just not fun weather.

On Saturday I was able to meet up with Formulaic and Stef and get in a good lake swim, cold though but didn't seem to be as cool as Coeur d'Alene last year, but it was close. I remember the burning feeling and once my feet and body got used to the water it was my hands that took longer than normal to adjust but once they did I was off and swimming. It was nice coached workout with Swim Las Vegas and as we stayed together as group it was comforting feeling of swimming with others just as a race plays out once people string out in lines. We practiced drafting, short sprints and long continuous swimming. After we went to spectate at our local clubs mini-Duathlon which turned out to be a good number of participants.

Sunday as I said the wind rolled in and I ended up going to the gym for a good long workout and was satisfied. Monday did some more gym work but no cardio stuff. Tuesday, umm.. not sure what happened.. but Wednesday!!

Wednesday is the famous Red Rock Loop ride which leaves at 6pm from one of the look out points. Form has been asking me to do this ride since I got back to Vegas and since I know Red Rock I have been reluctant to do it, ok, SCARED! Why? Because in the first 4 miles you climb like 2000 ft.! So he finally talked me into it and we plan to ride. Oh, and it gets a little dark or can be totally dark by the time you make the come back down so Head Lights of some sort are highly recommended. Form says, No worries.. I have one for you. Great I said.

So we get there get ready to go and Form gives me the little head light to clamp to my bike with the batteries. I open to put them in and go hey, Form..! Wrong size batteries, you needed to steal the other size from the office. As he proceeds to die in laughter I am wondering nervously how I will be able to see coming down the mountain at excess speeds blindly! just then the group of cyclists start pulling out and now there is no one really to ask for a lamp, batteries or anything so JT just goes without.

The warm up to the park loop entrance is nice and fast with the help of the wind pushing. Once at the park its an immediate start of climbing for about a mile then a short false down hill and somewhat levelness for about 1/2 mile with the immediate return of uphill. We catch a couple of the other rides, ok, so they were on Mountain Bikes, but we still caught them and they left before us, that counts. Then about mile 3 is a nice 2 or 3 minute down hill recovery which is well needed for due to the next 1.5 miles of continuous climbing at a nice steep grade. I found my rhythm and started to grind away. A few times I worked on climbing out of saddle but my HR went through the roof, not like it wasn't on the top of the ceiling to begin with but it pushed it over board so I sat back down to steady it out. At one point I heard Form yell and I only heard something about a crash, So I briefly looked back and as I did I drifted farther to the right side of the road where the dirt gravel was and Yup, guess what? My tire snuck into the gravel and down I went. Good thing I was going so freakn slow it actually felt like I laid down! LMAO. Now this has a couple of good things really. 1) I was going so slow uphill that I didn't get hurt or even scratch. 2) I was able to get a recovery rest in and being my HR down and 3) I got to take a drink of water. Once back in the saddle its the final 1/4 mile climb to the top where the rest of the group is wait and brings on another nice recovery rest. Form and I don't hang too long b/c it is still light and I don't have a head lamp so we take off knowing the rest of the group will eventually catch us.

The down hill trip was fast and fun. As I said the Pelaton caught us and we jumped in but talk about trusting other rides to lead the way. I stayed with them for quite some time and at one point the first rider to catch me said Hey, jump in! So I got in behind him and we worked together going down the hill but then on one of the flats the rest of the main group caught us and then it was about 6 of us all freakn` haul ass at 40mph in almost darkness! CRAZY!! then we had a good uphill climb and I got dropped! Crap. Now I was the guy in between the lead riders and the main pack, the Lone Guy with NO HEADLAMP any only a blinking red tail light to follow from the ride about 1/4 mile ahead of me. I worked as best I could to catch back up and I finally did but I really think they slowed down. Once back at the car I began to feel like I was going to puke! Not really sure why but there for about an hour after the ride I did not feel well.

Overall a super fun ride and I think I really should have gone sooner when Form suggested it. Light or no Light you can do the ride and be safe. But Form.. Bring the right batteries next time! LMAO!..

rockon`

A week in Vegas..!!

Wow what a week! Lots of good training and getting things done.

With Rage just around the corner I have been able to ride the course a couple of times and even get a brick done this week, although it did kick my butt. It only tells me that I am not fully ready for it but with the 4 weeks to go I will be just fine, I hope!

Formulaic and I were able to catch The Watchmen on IMAX this week and turns out its a pretty good movie. It was an early break in training being as it was at the beginning of the week. Swimming this week has been a little hectic, although I have been getting in the pool I feel a little behind on endurance to get the job done but I think I will come around as long as I keep hitting the water. Saturday I will head to Lake Mead for a lake swim but I am sure it will be choppy as the wind is going to be kicking up a lot! Sunday will be brick again out at Rage Course.

On Saturday the Las Vegas Tri club is having a mini-duathlon so I will help volunteer for that as well being as I will be out at Lake Mead.

Now on to some cool stuff that happened last night. It was the viewing of the movie (documentary) Siliverman Triathlon put on by race director Frank Lowery. Frank has made one of the Toughest if not the Toughest course around when it comes to triathlons. It's not by his intent but it's just what the Las Vegas terrain has to offer as he states in the film. The movie was great, inspirational and motivating. Interviews with Dave "The Man" Scott, Chris McCormack, several of the Challenged Athletes Foundation - Operation Rebound, with one of them being Oscar Sanchez who competed in the ParaOlympics in Beijing and took home a Gold and Bronze! All the athletes were really nice and amazing how they have accomplished so much with so much adversity and all with the Glory of defending our Country.

After the movie everyone was invited to hang out at The Blue Martini Lounge. A really nice place that is quite the happening spot. It was fun to hang out with all the athletes and even meet some locals athletes that were featured in the movie, race director Joyce of Calico Racing who is very nice and truly a great RD who listens as well as a great athlete herself and newly movie star Stef! But of course I cannot forget about THE MAN.

As I am ready to leave Dave is talking with a few people and I quickly tap him on the should, introduce myself and thank him for all he's done. It was quick and short. Nice guy. But wait.. theres more. As I was leaving Dave and Frank were walking out ahead of me and when they got to the entrance there was a table with Silverman info and CAF info that needed to be packed up. Frank quickly got it together and I offered my assistance, well why not! Dave was helping. So we grab all the boxes and stuff and head outside, go down the escalators and then have to wait a few minutes to see which direction the car is. As I am waiting, with Dave.. he starts talking about how busy and nice the Blue Martini place is and cant believe there is that many people out on a Thursday night, even though it was almost Friday Morning, HA! I said yeah, its Vegas always something to do. I asked, Dave so are you training for anything right now (well I had to take my shot in asking quickly) He said no not really specific but just staying in the game of things and his business is busy. He did remark about how the training session scheduled at 5:30am was going to go over being as it was late and he had just got into town in the mid afternoon. By this time we had picked up the boxes and headed to valet to load up. Once loaded I said bye to Frank and Dave and thanked them for an awesome movie. (Dave was the main narrator, btw)

So I didn't get any pictures but it was great to see and meet all these people!! I had a great time and look forward to seeing the locals around training.

OK speaking of training.. I have a ride to get in..

rockon`

When 1 Thing changes..

it's interesting how everything changes. Since moving back to Vegas a lot has changed. Some small changes, some big changes. Some mental changes and some physical changes. All have been good, even though I didn't want the change, who am I to say that change is not going to happen, Do I think I'm God or something trying to control things?

As things have unwound this past couple of weeks I have notice a different me. Actually maybe not different but the that person that used to be there long ago when I was training for CdA. That person that used to feel different about things and who used to read the Bible and pay attention to things. I welcome it back with open arms and put forth the extra effort to enjoy the mental clarity that I believe I need right now.

With this comes a focus on different things in Life. On Training, on feeling better about me. I guess you could say it's "ME TIME" as CoachLiz will know what I'm talking about. haha! As you can see to the right on the counter for my training, the numbers are going UP! Which is very welcomed!! I have been able to get some decent rides in this week, as well as swim with the new found fishy Formulaic, joined the gym and lifted some weights along with my strength plan and even pound the pavement in my new shoes! All invigorating and once again Welcomed!

I'm training like twice a day, like I don't have a job, oh wait, I don't at the moment.. haha.. now only I would get paid to do that but far from being anywhere close to fast for that to happen.

I look forward to the next week for more training and any other changes!!

Hey Stef when are we going riding..???

rockon`

Welcome Back to Vegas..

The recent change in things has been quite fast but settling back in to Vegas fun. To make a long story short, it was just time to make a change for myself and make life a little less confusing and stressful.

Since I have been back I have been able to get a 6 mile run in, swim with Formulaic and break in some new bike tires on a 63 mile ride yesterday. It was great to be back in the saddle and be out there with no worries for a few hours. Today, I am looking at getting back in the pool and maybe a run but just trying to determine how I feel as I didn't get much sleep last night with the time change and going to bed late and recoverying from the ride.

It's nice to be back in it's on aspect as the change in terrain with mountains is nice to ride in. Don't get me wrong the Beach and ocean, sun are totally nice and it's great to be out there but the cost of living and expenses are just crazy. I will miss it in its own right and I will miss Jenn.

I have officially signed up for Rage 70.3 in have some serious training to get done in the next 6 weeks. Along with a couple of centry bike rides with Form I should be able to do OK there. I have some friends that I met in Coeur d'Alene coming in and it will be great to hang out and race together. I'm looking forward to it!!

rockon'

Long Story Short..

I'm back in VEGAS!!! more on that later, super tired and need to destress!!

rockon`