12.30.09 - Wednesday

Alastair:

Scott:

Paul:

1,250 Meters (400 warm-up, 8x25, 4x50, 2x75, 1x100, 200 warm-down)

Way to go Berto! Thanks for "holding down the fort". It seems the only consistent training that's been happening on my end is at the table. ;-o I'll get back on the program after returning from Sante Fe on the 4th.

12.29.09 - Tuesday

Alastair:

Paul:

Scott:
Swim - 10 minute warmup, then 4 x 200m, then 10 minute warm down

12.28.09 - Monday

Alastair:

Paul:

Scott:
5 mile run - 1 mile warmup - 1 mile "on"- 1 mile "off" - 1 mile "on" - 1 mile warm down.

12.27.09 - Sunday

Alastair:

Paul:

Scott:
nada

12.26.09 - Saturday

Alastair:

Scott:

Paul:

39 miles (29 on the road and 10 on the trainer) It was really fun to ride with my buddy Steve and encourage him in his cycling. Three months into the new hobby and he's still got the "fire in his belly" to take on new challenges. Steve climbed his second and third hill ever, today! Roughly a thousand feet of climbing and the poor guy totally bonked about 2 miles from the car. Thankfully, we had parked next to a Starbucks, so he could grab a quick cinnamon roll and gain some color back in his face. ;-) We've all been there and he was a good sport about "coming back" from his first official bonk.

This last week has been brutal for training and I really don't mind. I've only ridden an additional 18 miles. Instead, I've been seated at the holiday training table, where an incremental five pounds seem to have found their way to my belly. No worries, with the new year comes the return of South Beach and a thoughtful TRI-Geek training plan. By the end of February everything should be back in place and ready to go. Haaa...

12.20.09 - Sunday

Alastair:

Scott:

Paul:

Only pulled off 14 miles on the trainer in a hour. It was good to be vertical again, but not feeling strong just yet.

12.19.09 - Saturday

Alastair:

Scott:
45 minute swim - pyramid again.

Paul:

Sicko and not feeling like venturing outside. :-(

12.18.09 - Friday

Alastair:

Scott:

Nada

Paul:

12 miles on the Cervelo in 52 degrees and sunny... not bad for the middle of December. I'll take the weather, but my legs are lead weights of pooo... not sure what the deal is, but the second week of July is a long way away, so 22 mph over 12 miles is still do-able. Between now and then there just needs to be some speed found along the way. The weekly 10 mile time trial in Davis may need to be an every-other-week measuring stick in the Spring. Either that or Berto needs to come for a month or so and kick my butt.

1.5 run and the knee appears to be fine... now we just have to get the hip and shoulder to co-operate. In the Middle Ages didn't people think the left side of the body was the devil's? Hmmm, knee, hip, shoulder seem to agree.

Off to the pool for some stroke work... psyche, the pool was closed. :-(

12.17.09 - Thursday

Alastair:

Scott:

Paul:

The thermometer on "Weatherbug" couldn't be right, could it? 60 degrees and sunny... really?! So I put on the the Smurf shoe covers, shorts, and a long-sleeve jersey and headed out the door to a much cooler temperature in the shade. But, it may very well have been 60 in the sun, because I actually saw some sweat on my thighs... once they thawed and reached body temperature.

25 comfortable miles on the bike, but after a day off I didn't feel strong at all. It was a hang on and make the best of it kind of ride... even in the sun.

1.5 mile struggle of a run... and then I almost fell asleep prior to the pool.

2,400 meters: 800 warm-up, 200 kick, (cracking headache... must not of drunk enough on the ride), 20x25 in 20 with 20 sec rest, 8x25 in 20, 4x50 in 40, 2x75 in 60, 1x100 in 1:20, 200 stroke, 150 warm-down).

I'm really tired... whaaa... hope tomorrow is better.

12.16.09 - Wednesday

Alastair:

Scott:
Pyramid pool workout. Not sure about distance though. My math isn't that great right now.

Paul:

Schedule imposed rest day.

(Go Berto, tear up the pool!)

12.15.09 - Tuesday

Alastair:

Rumor has it, Tri-Geek #1 has been training in secret... hmmm.

Scott:

Nada

Paul:

14 mile bike ride - with a climb out of Lucas Valley. My butious minimus is feeling like it needs to expand to be more glutious maximus. It is funny how the road bike works some of the same muscles from the TT bike, but also a heck of a lot of other muscles join in the fun. The only downside is that the hip flexers are dwindling.

1.5 mile run - my kingdom for a new hip and knee, that works like when I was 20... still I'm hopeful to get all this business sorted so that 2010 will be fast and fun!

2,200 meters - 800 warm-up (13:17, one minute and 17 seconds to go), 200 kick, 8x25 in 20, 4x50 in 40, 2x75 in 60, 1x100 in 120, 300 stroke work (elbow pause, quick catch, hip shift), 150 warm-down.

The thing that is blowing my mind is the idea that the "arm pull" starts with the transfer of the higher hip downward, which drags the arm with it. The videos keep saying the "it's all connected" but I'm still moving in two pieces... no wonder the 14 year olds in the next lane are perpetually kicking my butt! ... of course they went to the junior olympics last week. ;-o

12.14.09 - Monday

Alastair: Must have been abducted by aliens. ;-o

Scott:

Hampster wheel for 30 minutes.

Paul:

12 mile bike ride outside! Oh I love the road, even when it is slick vs. the hamster wheel. ;-)

1.5 mile run, nice pace but definitely training and feeling it.

2,100 meters swim: 800 warm-up, 200 kick, 10x50m, 3x100m on the 1:20, 2x50 on the 40, 200 warm-down. Still working on the relaxed long stroke ideal, with loose hand at the water entry point and a gliding pause when fully outstretched. It is a little different to concentrate on the hydrodynamic extension as the most important part of the stroke, instead of the pull. Thus far, it is getting to be equally as fast with half the effort... hmmm, good equation.

12.13.09 - Sunday

Alastair:

Scott:

Paul:

8 meager miles on the trainer... ugh, my legs are tired from Saturdays class session.

1.5 mile trot in the rain

12.12.09 - Saturday

Alastair:

Scott:

Paul:

15 Miles - Or at least that's what we'll call it after an hour and a half of spin class. M2 Revolution is the name of a spinning center run by a former Ironman Canada Winner. These Cycleops 300PT trainers are killer, with wattage and so many cool measurements its not even funny. Of course I drenched the instrument panel in sweat and killed it halfway through the training session... so don't really know how far I spun. Awesome class and a real butt-kicker.

1.5 Mile run at 8:45 pace. Whew 6:30 seems like a very long way away... patience... fix the knee first.

12.11.09 - Friday

Alastair:

Scott:

Paul:

12 Mile Trainer Ride, ask me how I know? Well guess what, when you put a cadence and cyclometer on the rear wheel, then all of a sudden there becomes measured benchmarks for trainer riding. The crazy thing is that it took 50 minutes to ride 12 miles! Outside, this is between a 34 and 36 minute effort. No wonder the trainer is kicking my butt lately!

1700 Swim: 800 warm-up, 200 kick, 8x25 on the 22, 4x50 on the 44, 2x75 on the 1:06, 1x100 on the 1:28, 50 warm-down. The pool closed early... what these swim team kids don't like exercising in the middle of a monsoon?

Huge learning today on the swimming front. I was purposefully about 2 seconds slower per 25, but readily only putting out half the effort. Watching open water stroke videos on You Tube is amazing. Learning how to implement the stream lined glide with each stroke has made comfortable speed an option. Watch out Seafair... a 12 minute swim may be in the cards in 2010. ;-0

12.10.09 - Thursday

Alastair:

Scott:

Paul:

12 mile ride outside in the 38 degree weather was chilly, but I eventually warmed up enough to enjoy fighting the winds. There is a big storm brewing and winds are blowing in all kinds of crazy directions. I was definitely Mr. Slow today and didn't really care.

1.5 mile run... yep run. The knee must have been frozen because I actually ran today, nothing crazy but faster than a jog. :-) Today, I prefer to think of running a mile and a half as completing just shy of half the Seafair Sprint Triathlon, as opposed to just over one-tenth of a half marathon... haaa.

12.09.09 - Wednesday

Alastair:

Scott:

Paul:

Another estimated 14 miles on the trainer, after an hour and ten minutes of pedal pushing and pulling. Thank goodness for Run Across the Sahara, a documentary, to keep my brain occupied in the 8 minute spin interval between the 2 minutes pushes.

12.08.09 - Tuesday

Alastair:

Scott:

Another VERY cold 5 miler - gonna bust out the trainer and pedal indoors.

Paul:

1 hour, 10 minutes on the trainer, guessing at least 14 miles. This trainer business is tough! (8 mins spin and 2 mins of big ring grind, repeat) Totally spoiled, as this is only the second day on the trainer this year. As soon as the temps get back into the 40's and the rain goes away, I'm definitely headed outdoors again.

12.07.09 - Monday

Alastair:

Scott:

VERY COLD 5 miler - right knee issues due to the cold temps.

Paul:

13 Miles - One hour on the trainer with 2 minutes of low gear stand-up grind it out every ten minutes. I'm just guessing at the miles, because there is no cyclometer on this bike. It could be anywhere from 13 to 15 miles, as I was cranking pretty hard. One hour on the trainer feels like two on the road. ;-o

12.06.09 - Sunday

Alastair:

Scott:

Paul:

12 mile spin on the bike, dodging the mid-40 degree rain drops. The new Look bike is so comfy that it might be hard to get back "down into" the Cervelo aero position in a few months. I may need to take the ol' plastic rocket out for a spin every now and then just to keep in touch.

1 mile trot with no knee pain today. :-)

12.05.09 - Saturday

Alastair:

Scott:

Paul:

40 Mile Bike Ride, with 3,287 vertical feet of climbing to the top of Mt. Tamalpais. A 35 degree start to the morning was just a little chilly and we never really shook the chill. It was challenging on the descent, when we couldn't feel our hands on the break levers. Still, I'm ready to do it again, because it was so amazingly beautiful, climbing past an alpine lake and through the redwood groves. It would be awesome to do this ride with the Berto's and Peter sometime!

12.04.09 - Friday

Alastair:

Scott:

Paul:

1,600 Meters swim (800 warm-up in 14:18, 200 kick, 200 stroke, 8x25 on the 20, 4x50 on the 40... ooops they closed the pool early.)

12.03.09 - Thursday

Alastair:

Scott:

4 mile hill/stair run. Gaak, that was good work, but different. Feels better than just flailing on the flats though.

Paul:

42 Miles on the Bike today. Where was Bill Cosby, because my legs were J-E-LL-O.

1.5 Mile Jog

400 Meter Swim - Total bonkage and being disgusted with the gross pool equals next to no distance. I'm headed back up North tomorrow and hope to put in a couple K.

12.02.09 - Wednesday

Alastair:

Scott: 5 mile run. Still working on a plan to swim at the local community pool.

Paul:

38 Mile bike ride, including an unfortunate duck incident by the lake... poor ducky... he almost "took me out" but unfortunately I think I returned the favor. :-(

1.5 Mile Run (One-tenth of a half marathon is better than no-tenths.)

1,000 Meters: 800m warm-up in 14:28, 100 kick, 100 catch-up stroke before my 20 minute lane limit at 24 Hr Fitness expired. Still working on the left-side ease of breathing... Coming off the wall, I'm trying to take the first stroke left-handed, with the first and second breath on the left side. This should increase the left-side strength, keeping me from making that nasty overshot of the buoy during races, because of a stronger right-side pull than left.

12.01.09 - Tuesday

Alastair:

Burning calories by waving a baton furiously around.

Scott:

5 mile run in 49 minutes. New swimsuit arrived from Speedo - want to try it out.

Paul:

12 mile bike ride

1 mile run

Just can't seem to get psyched to swim in the nasty San Jose 24 Hour Fitness pool.

(Go Berto! Shred up the water with your new gear.)

11.30.09 - Monday

Alastair:

Flying to Memphis

Scott:

5 mile run in about 47 minutes

Paul:

12 miles on the bike

2,200 Meters in the pool (800 warm-up, 200 catch-up stroke, 200 kick, 8x25 @ 20sec, 4x50 @40sec, 2x75 @60, 1x100 @1:22, 50 cool down, 200 catch-up stroke, 200 warm-down)

11.29.09 - Sunday

Alastair:
Packing for Memphis...

Scott:

In-transit (sitting on a plane), so nuthin.

Paul:

12 Miles Bike Ride

11.28.09 - Saturday

Alastair:

Horizontal

Scott:

Zilch

Paul:

37 glorious miles on the bike today! Perfect weather and a smooth as silk ride out of the Look 566 full carbon frame. Don't tell my Cervelo, but there may be two-wheeled competition for the love of my biking heart.

11.27.09 - Black Friday

Alastair:

Zzzz...

Scott:

Nope

Paul:

The mobile couch got all the exercise today... driving to Auburn to pike up my new Look 566! Yipee, I'm looking forward to some non-TT Bike miles. :-)

11.26.09 - Thursday

In honor of the national day of gorging, no training was had... unless Alastair snuck some in. ;-o

11.25.09 - Wednesday

Alastair:

Scott:

Nada

Paul:

14.5 Miles on the bike. Tired legs. A break may be in store and guess what?... tomorrow's Thanksgiving!

11.24.09 - Tuesday

Alastair AND Scott:

Ran 5.5 in 53 mins, in Seattle, at 8am, joined by Francoise. We are not going to gloat.

Paul:

I'm going to gloat... 63 degrees Fahrenheit and not a cloud in the sky!

Who knew one could be wearing shorts and no gloves this late in November. :-)

26 Miles of casual biking were in order today. Down here in San Jose, city riding is stinky versus the open roads of Marin. There were all the classics: nearly getting hit by a right turning ding-bat talking on the phone in her Benz (What part of the hands-free law don't you understand Maria?), disappearing bike lanes dumping into expressways (doh), diagonal ungraded train track, massive pot hots, etc. Even after all that, it was a great day for a ride!

1.0 Mile plod. The knee is more sensitive again... bummer.

Heading to the pool shortly, for my 20 Minutes of lane time at 24 Hour Fitness. You know, Marin doesn't look so bad from a training ground perspective. ;-o

11.23.09 - Monday

Scott:

Ran 5.5 mi in about 53min.

Alastair:

Swam 1900m.

250 warm, 250 legs, 500 arms, then 5 x 100 at 1.40 with 20 seconds rest. Rested for about 2 minutes before 4 x 50 at .45 with 15 seconds rest. 200 cool down. I had fun!

Using legs (float board for arms) I can't seem to break 35 seconds for 25m. I must be doing it wrong!?! What's weird, is that I can do the breast stroke kick (with float board) also in 35 seconds!? You'd think the freestyle kick would be considerably faster...

Paul:

What a gorgeous sunny and roughly 60 degree day! Too bad I only manager 15 very casual miles on the bike in the twilight... doh. Tempting the knee, a one mile trot was had, then a very abbreviated swim. During the lackadaisical ride, of course I was making mental "training deals" with myself, basically trading riding effort for swimming to come. Once at the 24 Hr Fitness Pool in San Jose, they have a 20 minute max, which equates to just getting things started when at home. So, 800 warm-up, 100 kick, 100 stroke, two 25's on the 16 and a 50 warm-down just to say there was one. Yikes... just 1,100 meters. Oh well, there are months to go!

Big "A", ditch the kick-board my man. Work on doing 5 butterfly kicks under water, come up for a breast stroke breath, then repeat. On the way back, do 4 breast stroke kicks under water (without arms), breath and repeat. Breaking the kicking up into 25 meter chunks, switching strokes allows for maximum focus and a more consistent effort. If you want to work on free-style kicking, put in an extra strong kicking effort when doing "catch-up" arm drills. It will help you roll from side to side, increasing your glide, as you switch arm pulls. I love that you are having fun!... and your interval times rock. :-)

11.22.09 - Sunday

Alastair:

Ran 5.2 miles. Meant to do 6 x 400m speed repeats on the track, but track was closed. So after a slow 2 mile warm up in cold and wet conditions, I ran 6 x 90 seconds, with 90 seconds recovery in between each. The final 90 seconds was fastest (I know this as my GPS watch said I went furthest). Mile cool down.

This makes the week's total running mileage 23.4 (most I've logged in a week in almost a year). Won't be running much before Seattle's half marathon next Sunday. Maybe a swim or two. And if Berto calls me, maybe a bike ride or two on the indoor trainer...

Paul: REST DAY ... hmmm ... off season. ;-)

11.21.09 - Saturday

Scott:

Alastair:

Here goes - my first blog.

Inspired by Paul's swim, I went for 2000m today. Longest I've ever swum in a pool - and it's taken me 3 weeks to work up to this distance.

250 warm up, 250 legs (25m fastest was 38 mins - how do you go so fast, Paul), 250 arms.

Then two ladders:

100 (on 1.40), 150 (on 2.35), 200 (on 3.30), 150, 100.

Rested, then second ladder:

50 (on .45), 100 (on 1.35), 200 (on 3.25), 100, 50. (Last 50 was on .40 totally flat out).

No time for cool down, as lane swim ended.

I'm happy with my visible improvement since my first ever swimming lesson 3 years ago (!) and yet recognize the clear need for more technical instruction so I can sound as cool as Paul talking about relaxing and stroke and technique (whaaaat?)

Paul:

39 degrees is just plain cold for cycling! I was spinning at 20 mph trying to get warmed up, while watching biker after biker head the opposite direction obviously freezing. One guy just road "hands free" hugging himself to attempt to collect warmth. In the midst of this, some crazy dude in boxer shorts and a long-sleeve t-shirt came flying past me, as if I were standing still. This guy was so nuts I thought it must be an apparition of Bob Roll. Talking with some bike friends this evening, apparently this guy if famous for his antics, including not wearing a helmet. Apparently, he's even more eccentric since crashing a year or so ago, including bouncing his unprotected melon off the tarmac. God speed dude!

On the workout front, it was only a 12 mile ride day and painfully slow. Time to just spin. In this "chill factor" time of year. 60 miles a week outside may just have to do for now.

11.20.09 - Friday

Scott & Paul at the 2009 Seattle Sea Fair Sprint Triathlon. Sadly, no Alastair pic.

(We need one of you big man!)

Scott:

Alastair:

Paul:

"Captain Excuses" decided that running in cold rain just didn't sound like much fun, so waited till the pool opened and did 2,000 Meters in the water, which somehow felt better... go figure. 800 warm-up, 200 kick, 8x25 (target 22 secs), 4x50 (target 44 secs), 200 catch-up stroke, 4x25 (target 20 secs), 2x50 (target 40 secs), 200 warm-down.

The hard part is trying to envision and execute smooth & loose. Whenever I start to "work" my times get slower... work on stroke technique and being loose and times are fast. Hmmm...

Thanks Lobster

I've been running somewhat regularly, plus Alastair took me to the indoor pool last week, and I'm liking it.

Bought a real swimsuit on speedo.com - half price too!

The bikes are in storage for the rest of the monsoon season.

I am going to buy a copy of Joe Friel's book on Triathlon, and I am happy to share.

Berto

11.19.09 - Thursday

Scott:

Thanks Lobster!

I've been running somewhat regularly, plus Alastair took me to the indoor pool last week, and I'm liking it.

Bought a real swimsuit on speedo.com - half price too!

The bikes are in storage for the rest of the monsoon season.

I am going to buy a copy of Joe Friel's book on Triathlon, and I am happy to share.

Berto

Alastair:

Paul:

A fridged 14.75 miles on the bike, including climbing out of Lucas Valley. Brrr... somebody thought it would be smart to wear shorts in 50 degree and shady weather.

Jogged 0.75 miles. The knee is holding together, but this is really pathetic. It must get better!!!

Swim in about an hour, likely an 800 meter warm-up, 500 of stroke work and 200 warm-down.

It is hard to feel like I'm training for anything in particular. Being the off season, Spring seems like a long time away, but Alastair has scared the poo out of me again with upping the ante to a 70.3 by mid-summer. Yikes! I mean Yipee!

And then there was life!

Someone asked, "Hey, wouldn't it be great to have a place where we could all keep track of our training?" ... that way we could encourage each other (or lay down the gauntlet) towards our 2010 goals. Where he we go! The 3trigeeks are Scott, Alastair, and Paul. This is our collective training log / blog.