When in doubt go to Vegas.

This past weekend I took a quick trip up to Vegas to see my parents new house and just get away from things in LA. During the quick trip was able to stop by some of the great places i used to eat at and had fun hanging at but overall it was great trip with some great fun.

First went down to Fremont Street and had lunch at Hennisses, its a good bar with some good food. Then later stop in at the Las Vegas Triathlon Club meeting and see some great people, like Stef and of course the notorious Formulaic. After hanging out for a while and talking, I decided to purchase some new training gear so I ordered up a new bike jersey and triathlon shorts representing LV Tri club!

After the tri club meeting we headed over to Forms house to whip up on him on the Wii. After a couple of quick games of tennis I see where his time is being spent as I didn't even get time to think about returning the ball with his Pete Sampras like serve! We then continued to play all the various balance games and set new records but for some crazy reason Formulaic's Mii seem to have every record! HEY, we were playing under his Mii the whole time. Very clever Mr. Form.

On Sunday I just went to the book store, watched Bangkok Dangerous, and chilled at my parents house, oh and a late lunch before leaving to drive back in the 60mph winds! I did pick up the Inside Triathlon Ironman Issue with Craig Alexander on the cover. It's a nice mag with great pics.

Now let's talk about some training. Last week I was able to get in a few runs and some speed work on the treadmill, running 400s and 800s, yuk! Then I was able to get a short but super up hill ride on Friday out near the Famous Mullholand Drive. Let's just say my avg. grade over 4 miles was 7.8%. It was a zig zag of nothing but uphill and I got to use my early bday gift, 12-27 cassette, it works! So although last week was not as stellar as I had wanted it to be I did accomplish something I had not done in a while so I feel good overall.

rockon`

Living in LA...

Living in LA has proven to be a good thing other than the cost of things, does that make sense? I mean the weather is great, the beach is nice, the traffic sucks, and of course there stars, movie premieres and high speed get away car chases. Really what I mean is after last weekends dealing with the stars and getting back to training I thought it would all be back to normal but it can get better.

First the training: This week was great. I got some good runs in, although they were short I felt very productive. I completed 2 workouts which were also productive. Biking proved to be a little off this week, even after getting a new cassette. So that leaves swimming. As a matter of fact I was back in the pool on Thursday with a new swim coach! I was a little nervous getting back in and not being able to do anything but as I kicked off the wall with the coach telling me to swim 50m so she could see what I was doing or not doing, I actually felt pretty good. You know it’s been 7 months since I was last swimming, can you believe that? Since Cda!! WTH, JT!! Well after a few 50’s I got some instructions and technique corrections and next thing you know I was over 500m. After a few rounds of kicking and doing some 100’s I was finished with 1300m! Holy shit! I cant believe I actually swam that much and didn’t feel totally wiped out. I am glad to be back in the pool and feeling good.

On the weekend I didn’t get my long bike done due to some bike malfunctions that need to be addressed but not really an excuse. I did get a 5k run done at the Mt. Sac Cross Country trail. The trail has a few killer hills and gradual inclines and a nice overall terrain. Its actually the training course for a fire department and Mt. Sac who are ranked high on the cross country circuit of things.

Anyway, the cool thing was I was invited by John Molina, who is a recently signed professional boxer. This guy is very humble, laid back, respectful and a bit of a comedian but takes his training and workouts very seriously on his road to becoming a World Champion. He is preparing for his next fight on Feb 6th, 2009. which will be aired on Showtime, so tune in. I had dinner with John and Danielle on Friday night (which I burned my arm on the stove while helping make chicken) and we were talking about running on Sat. so he invited us out to come run with him. As we started running I could tell he was going to run way faster than I can so I told him to go ahead and I would follow along and that is exactly what I did. I followed from a distance as best I could even though at times John would wait up for me he would still drop me like I was walking. No worries though as I know I could out run him in any long distance stuff, haha! Sorry John. It was a great run and it really opened my lungs up and set a good High HR for me to set some zones with. The overall course took me 33 mins which wasn’t bad considering the hills.

After resting up later Saturday,hooked back up with John and Danielle and went to watch a movie, Notorious, as well as another movie on Sunday afternoon, My Bloody Valentine 3D. It was great to hang out with them this weekend and see how John prepares for his fights in a different training aspect than us endurance athletes. He works for cardiovascular endurance but also explosive power and short bursts of speed. I believe you will be seeing John at the top of the boxing world in the near future!!

This week I will be back in the pool, on the bike and doubling up on the road miles as I need to work on that run, esp. after taking a beating from John on that short run. He really gave me a different type of inspiration to train and focus.!

Rockon’

Paul Blart:Mall Cop (Kevin James) Premiere.

I went to the movie premiere of Paul Blart:Mall Cop staring Kevin James at the Mann's Village Theater - Westwood, CA. I love this guy!! King of Queens totally rocks. Anyway, he was riding the segway up and down the street and slapping hands before the movie.

Once inside the movie I had to sit by myself due to the ticket arrangements but that was no big deal. The movie was funny and of course I recommend it cause I like Kevin. After the movie I was standing by the door and all the stars were walking out, (a lot from King of Queens cast) Leah Remini, Gary Valentine, Nicole Sullivan, and Peter Dante, along with others from the cast of Mall Cop and of course Adam Sandler.

As Kevin walked by I grabbed his shoulder and said Hey Kevin, great job on the movie, As I was shaking his hand. He said thanks! I appreciate that. I said I love your Doug Heffernan stuff!! He then goes.. hey...thank you.!! ( in the Doug Heffernan character!) IT WAS SO AWESOME!

I wish we could have taken cameras but they were pretty strict on that so no luck there. Adam was really low key, he sign his autograph and actually ducked out the side door. I guess he didn't want to steal the lime light away or something. Leah looked totally hot!

Anyway it was a super cool time and I am so glad I got to meet a couple of my favorite actors!!

Hollywood BABY!!!!

rockon`

New Year, New Training, New Times...

Hello fellow bloggers! It's 2009 and good to see ya out there. Since Christmas and New Years I've had a couple of training days, enjoyed my time with friends/family and the TV! I've even had time to read some good training stuff and get ready for the now, new year!

I have started on my training plan for a few different tasks: 1) training for a couple of 1/2 marathons and building up to a marathon with good ol' vegas buddy, Formula-ic as he builds towards his 1st Ironman, as it's a race to see who get's the finish line first, Form or baby. Are we taking bets? It is Vegas ya know..And SWTrigal will be at the starting line too!!..2) training for increasing my biking performance, which means taking on a century ride or two this spring, one of which is with.. yup, you guess it, Formulaic!

Of course there is going to be a triathlon in the mix and that will be 70.3 Rage! I said I would not do it again last year and I'm heading back for more. It's really a great course and challenging and as I meet SWGirl last year on the course and a few other New Mexico Outlaws, I will be once again be meeting up with some others.

RAGE is about 13 1/2 weeks out so It's time to get a little more focused and stop with the lackadaisical training methods. CoachLiz is helping me along and will be sure to bust my chops if I don't get it going.

Last year for IM training I took it serious but could have done better. This year for IMCZ I will take it a lot more serious as I want to improve my overall time in all events! So that mean's I have my work cut out for me. I am actually starting to look forward to the hard grueling workouts and see the sights around California.. so let it begin!!

rockon`

Year End..

Well it's just about that time to put the wraps on 2008. As look back on things it was huge year for me in many ways, physically and personally. Of course the biggest was completing Ironman Coeur d'Alene back in June. A lot of work went into that and although I had a fantastic race day and recovered quickly, I feel my training could have been a little better on my part. (which is what I will take to next years Ironman Cozumel)

The last couple of weeks have been pretty good and getting some running done has seem to work out, even with Christmas thrown in there. Now I have a set plan and I am back at it to start the year off strong!

Along with that I did get a few things for Christmas to help out in the training department and I hear there is more on the way (CoachLiz). I look forward to working and training this spring and getting things set up for the start of IM Training, it will be tough but hey, no one ever said IM Training was easy!!!

Everyone have a great New Years, Be Safe and I'll see ya in 2009!!!

rockon`

Running Zone

I remember yesterday as I was running, when I hit that certain stride, that certain HR and that certain rhythm, you all know what I'm talking about. When you're totally in the running zone and you feel as if you could run forever. When you don't even realize that you are running anymore and you are thinking about other things and enjoying just being outdoors. When I hit that zone I remembered that it takes work to get to that zone, that you have to work to get into that zone and when you reach it, it's self fulling.

I actually missed that part of training and it's good to have those feelings and memories come back. Not only that it was my first 8 mile run about 5 months! Let's see, I ran a 1/2 marathon back in August and that was without too much training coming off of Ironman in June but it was about 5-6 weeks so I was basically still lucky to hold my training base.

These days the running base is simply nill which means it's time to get it going again and things have been working well. Not only with my continuous running for a couple weeks now and my long run of 8 miles means that I can work on some longer week runs. Also in all this run training I am also back to the weights, core training and even other cross training using the elliptical trainer to burn come extra calories. I have put on a few extra pounds so that doesn't help my running speed but I know that will come back over continuous training so I'm not too worried about.

I am looking forward to this Christmas week and next weekend for a couple of extra days off from work.

rockon'

Sweet!!. No wait, Bitter and Sweet!

On Sunday I was surfing around on the computer and came across some triathlon events listed here in California. As I was checking them out, I noticed the banner for Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon in San Francisco, June 14, 2009. I clicked on the banner and was taken to the home page. I read all the stuff and links and pull downs. When I got to the Registration tab I clicked on it and it said it was a Lottery drawing. I really didn't know it was a lottery type race but thought, what the hell. I filled out my information and clicked the submit button. It then said that the first drawing would be Monday, Dec. 15th and that results would be posted on Tuesday Dec. 16th. and the following:

"Applicants will be entered into each of the different pools that they are eligible for: The first drawing will be for triathletes who have competed in 5 or more years at the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon. Those not selected will be added to the drawing for triathletes who have competed in 3 or more years at the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon. Those not selected will be added to the regular random drawing for triathletes who have not completed at least 3 Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon. There will be special random drawing of one male and one female triathlete from each of the 50 states. There will be an international drawing for those triathletes who presently live outside the United States. All random drawing entries"

After the first drawing there is a second drawing in Feb. for anyone not picked (obviously). Anyway, I thought whatever, like I will get in based on the above criteria, so we shall see what happens but it would be cool to win!

Today in my email:

2009 Escape from Alcatraz- Random Drawing Winner!

Congratulations JOHN VIGIL! You are one of the exceptional triathletes that has been selected as a Random Drawing Winner for the 2009 Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon. As a Random Drawing Winner, you receive a slot in the 2009 Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon to be held in San Francisco on June 14, 2009. You have until January 9, 2009 at 11:59 pm to register for the race and pay your registration fee. Your slot is non-transferable and will be void on January 10th. We recommend that you register right away to make sure that you are able to complete the process, don’t wait until January 9.

On June 14, you will get to jump off a perfectly good boat into the frigid water of the San Francisco Bay, swim with 2000 of your best friends from Alcatraz to Little Marina Green. You will climb out of the water and run (with or without shoes) one half mile to the transition area, jump on your bike and ride 18 miles (most people say that it is all up hill) and then run 8 miles under the Golden Gate Bridge, through the sands of Baker Beach, up the infamous sand ladder and back to Marina Green to the finish line. What a great way to spend the day!

Now as excited I was like, hell yea! Score!!! so I clicked the registration link and all of a sudden every ounce of excitement got sucked out and I slumped over. $400 registration fee! Are you freakn' kidding me? Nope they are not kidding. Now I must say that when I signed up on Sunday for the lotto entry I did not know it was $400. Come on! That's damn near an M-dot fee. I thought maybe $250 but $400.

After considering the options and yes, weighing in the fact that I won a lottery slot and may never win again, it is just crazy for me to pay $400 at this time for this race, so now my excitement of just winning the slot becomes BITTER SWEET! Would I do it if I wasn't doing Cozumel, probably without a doubt. It's close, I could drive up and it would be cool to join the ranks of Bigun himself, although I am not sure I could get the Buzz Light Year look alike pic like him, but it would be cool.

For the time I will enjoy the thought of winning a slot and hope that some day it will come around again and in the mean time continue to train on. As far as that goes, things are finally moving along and I have things working. I will be getting with my new swim coach on Jan 3rd and am excited to kick off the new year with some awesome hard grueling workouts to come.

rockon`

Smooth South Paw.

The week is going good. Monday was a nice 3 mile run and although it seemed tough at first I just kept going. On Tuesday I was not sore any thing so I decided it I would run about 2 miles outside around the neighborhood and then head to the treadmill for some repeats.

It was weird at first running from outside to treadmill but I got used to it and was focusing on my times and working the machine. I ran 6 x 400's and was gassed by the 5th! Once finished I could feel my legs heavy and tired.

Today, I hit the weights and some elliptical trainer and after about an hour I was ready to be finished. Then I had this amazing idea to use this waxing product on my arms that I bought about 2 months ago.

I being with the left arm and everything is going good, super sticky of course and not so fun feeling when I have to rip the hair off myself (much better to pay to have this done as I ususally do but hey the kit was on sale for $5.) I quickly notice that I am going to run out of the rabid cloth they gave me in the kit and am left thinking Shit! But I am half way done with my left arm so I finish up and sure enough, No more Rabid cloths. I now have one nice smooth South Paw and Hairy right arm. Kind of funny really. Oh well, I will pick some more rabid cloths up tomorrow.

I have been attempting to wake up at 4am (i'm usually up by 4:45am) and head down to do some cardio but every time the alarm goes off at 4am I hit the snooze and dont wake up till 5:10am! then I am running late! Tonight I will set 2 alarms just in case b/c I want to head down and 20-30 mins on the elliptical again.

rockon'

Who is that..

Hi everyone. Yes, I am still alive.. in some aspects..

The other day I heard this voice...

JTVoice: Hey JT, are you ever going to train again? Cuz I feel like crap these days and somethings not right..

JT: What.. who is that? GOD? Forumalic.. is that you calling me.. Hello..????

JTV: No silly, it's me, I'm right here. Just look. See. Right here....

JT: Hey! I see you! Where did you come from? How are you? wait.. Why are you talking to me?

JTV: Listen JT, all that is not important right now. If you must know, I have been here the whole time. Watching, listening, seeing, sleeping, resting. Everything you do, I DO. or more lately Everything YOU DON'T DO, I DON'T Do. And I have been wondering when are things going to change because we're putting weight on here and it's only going to make you slower than you already are?

JT: HEY!! OK, well, I know I have been saying I am going to change things but humm.. well.. Yeah, Your Right! It's time.

JVT: So what's the plan? Any thoughts?

JT: Yeah, I am thinking that Ironman Cozumel is something we need to do. And in training for that I need to work on losing that extra weight and getting overall faster. Which means I need to start now! Let's start today! Let's do it. I remember when training was fun and I liked it, come to think of I miss it. It's time! I want to do it now and enjoy it then we can start working toward some shorter run events and 1/2 marathons and full marathons. So this is it, we Start today!! No matter what. Things are changing now.

JVT: Yes! I like the plan and I like that you are thinking straight again. You were beginning to worry me there. I mean I understand a short break but come on! not months! We can't and will not do that again, especially if we are going to do Ironman Cozumel. Besides, don't you remember that a certain someone is coming after your time and when he gets it you will have to redeem it in Cozumel. So we start today! I'll be watching and taking notes so no slacking

JT: Sounds great.

rockon`

Tic Tok..

As you can see by the count down on the right to IMCZ, today is 368 days but in JT reality it's 365 days from today that packing and leaving begins, most likely tomorrow (364 days) puts the real spin on the Ironman once again.

After seeing the IMAZ peeps rock it out, it only brings back memories that are still fresh on when I was 365 days out from CdA and the truth is it will go by so fast and be here before you and I both know it.

So instead of "its all down hill from here" my reality is "it's all UP HILL from here" for the next few months!

rockon`