Holidays and Reflections

I almost don't know where to start.  It's been over a month since I posted here.  Sometimes I sit down to write, think about what I've been up to and it seems not worth mentioning.  All I seem to do is stick my nose in physics books, papers about forces on the body, psychology articles and analyses about how to run more efficiently.  Actually, those are all pretty cool to me.  Maybe I've never mentioned it here, but I'm in the process of obtaining my B.S. in Kinesiology with the goal of sharing what I've learned with others.  Two years ago, I fell in love with running, found the sport of triathlon and discovered a passion for healthy eating.  Everything I've done since then has been focused on learning as much as I can about those parts of my life.   

Yeah, I'm still a noob (that's gamer talk for "newbie," funny, I don't even play video games) when it comes to triathlon and there's a whole history about the sport that I love learning about.  It's great reading about the legends of triathlon, like Dave Scott, Mark Allen, Paula Newby-Fraser, Scott Tinley and many others.  Check this out for a bit of tri history Triathlon Legends.  

These were pioneers who were out there pushing their limits.  Not for money or fame but because they knew they had more inside of them to discover.  That is the most appealing aspect of this sport.  No matter your age, experience, PR time, or ability, there is always more to discover within yourself.  Everywhere I look, someone is striving to be more.  They are inspiring, whether they know it or not.  Sure the medals are great but what remains is the memory of digging deep, overcoming obstacles and sharing the experience with friends.  That's why training can be as fulfilling as the race.  How does it go?  "It's not about the destination but the journey."

Huh, this was meant to be a short blurb about a PR in a recent 5k I did and some photos of what I've been up to but it's turned into a bit of reflection.  Upcoming finals can have a strange effect on me.  Since the holiday is right around the corner, I'm thankful for my family who supports my decision to go back to school, strangers who write comprehensive blogs, classmates who help share the load and my great friends who work toward their goals and share their time.  You are all amazing and inspirational people.  Thank you for being you.

Well, I guess I can leave a few photos:

Lake Whatcom

Bellingham Bay

Falls on Stewart Mountain

The Sisters, North Cascades

Beaver chips, Lizard Lake, Blanchard Forest

The Salish Sea & the San Juan Islands

Xterra Harvest Half

Yesterday I took part in the first race of the 2014 Xterra Washington Series.  Even though it is still 2013, the Nationals took place last month in Utah, so the points from this race go toward next year.  Now you may ask, "why should I try to accumulate points in the series when Nationals is open to anybody?"  Well, how about a free entry.  Xterra is giving free entry to all those who win their age group regional series championship and that is what I plan to do.  Who doesn't like free stuff?
On to the report.

It was a crisp Autumn morning.  Fog crept through the valleys, leaving the ground and surrounding foliage wet from its passing.  Men and women clad in fluorescent clothing lined up to receive their bib numbers.  I pinned mine to my shirt, jogged back to the car to drop off my jacket and did a quick warm up.  The race director went over a few rules about the course markings at the start line.  This was a fairly small race, so it was our responsibility to pay attention to the many turns along the course.  I positioned myself on the start line with the assumption that the trails would be narrow and difficult to pass on.  A five-second countdown and we were off.  10k runners would do one lap and the half marathon two.  I went out fairly hard just to get in the front.  The course description called for 2,000 feet of elevation gain over the race but I wasn't sure where and how I'd come across it.

This is what it two loops of it looks like.

Within the first mile I told some walkers there was a big group behind me and in that moment I missed a turn.  Luckily another racer yelled, "Hey, guy in the red!  This way!"  I turned around and laughed to myself a bit. (I thanked him at the end)  The two climbs in each loop were pretty tough.  I was taking little steps to keep my HR down.  Trying to get the legs going on top was difficult.  My quads felt like jelly and my hams were quite tight but they loosened up eventually.  I had a couple of limiters I used to pace myself.  Keep the HR below 190 on the climbs and aim for an average between 170-180.  That pretty much went out the window right at the start but that's ok because I've learned I can go hard for two hours without blowing up.  There was a lot of pressure in the first half with the 10k racers all around.  We were coming down the first descent and I was hot on the heels of two guys, sitting in 7th.  Down at the lake (the only flat portion) I made a move on the guys.  Then the climb started and I immediately slowed down.  It was 40% at one point.  My heart jumped in my throat and I felt like power hiking but didn't want to get passed either.  So I pushed through even though I was burning up energy fast.  They must have slowed down even more because I never saw them again.

Two loop course.

The next guy came into my sights around the end of the first loop.  I sat on his shoulder for about 4 miles.  He put in some surges on the rollers and the downhill sections that I had to push for.   As soon as we hit that first climb, I saw him touch his hand to his stomach and that's when I made my move.  I consider myself a decent climber and being the second half, I put some pesto in my step going up.  On the top I actively tried to shorten my step and increase my leg turnover to flush some of the lactic out.  It helped, if only psychologically.  

After that I had to push myself down and up a few more times.  I kept my ears open for anyone coming up but no one did.  My calves were starting to cramp up a little but I pushed through knowing I was almost done.  In the end I came in at 1:44:37 for fourth place.  I missed third by 25 seconds and first by 14 minutes.  It's crazy to think someone ran that course that fast.  Incredible!

Since I was first in my age group, that's 100 points for me going into next year.  Woo hoo!  Now, time for more stretching.

Race Weekend

Want to know how excited I am for the Ironman World Championship tomorrow?

• In the past week I've watched enough YouTube videos to equal the amount of time for me to finish one. 

So in spirit of racing, I'm running in the Xterra Harvest Half Marathon.  It's being held partially on the greens of Bastyr U. in St. Edward state park and apparently there a few hills as the total elevation is listed at 2150ft.  Not too shabby for a park sitting on the shore of Lake Washington.

I'm curious how my body holds up.  I have some small growing pains in my knees and hips.  Some of you would call them repetitive-use injuries from ramping up volume too quickly and I would agree.  So I've taken it very easy the last couple of weeks.  Not really the taper I planned for but my body is telling me to lay off.  I hope that when I call on it tomorrow it'll feel ready to rise to the occasion.

Side note:  Running Totals this year.
Jan      46mi
Feb      17mi
Mar     40mi
Apr      56mi
May    52mi
Jun      41mi
Jul.      50mi
Aug     77mi
Sept  116 mi
Oct.      8 mi

See that three-digit number in September?  It shouldn't be that big.  Ask any coach or seasoned athlete and they'll tell you the same.  I'm proud of it but I'm paying for it too.  85 would've been right on target but 116 is asking for some pain.  Sometimes pushing the limit is what life is all about.  It's how we learn what we're capable of and become aware of our strengths and weaknesses.  Opportunities for failure are all around but knowing where they lie gives us the power to steer clear and move further down the road.   On that note, time to get that last IM video in before the weekend starts.

Spinning

Holy spin class Batman!  I forgot how kick ass these classes can be.  The rec center at Western offers a variety of hour-long classes throughout the year.  I think it's great how they provide structured workouts that introduce students to new ways of staying active, like yoga, Pilates, crossfit, and other sculpting classes. I thought this was going to be a typical spin class where we do hill climbs, endurance intervals and up-downs for an hour.  So I planned to make it a tough bike workout for myself, based on HR zones but, after 30 minutes the instructor had us put the bikes away and grab mats.  She proceeded to destroy our quads and core with a HIIT workout consisting of jumping lunges, burpees, planks, pulsing squats and mountain climbers.

Now I've mostly been logging long runs and lactate-threshold runs lately, so this blew me up big time.  It was amazing and I'm still riding the endorphin high hours later.  Seeing a double rainbow through the liquid sunshine and changing leaves also had an impact.  I made sure to tell the instructor how tough and fun the session was.  Taking a day off from running is what I needed as my IT has been finicky the last couple of days.  I'm probably gonna feel it tomorrow.  So I'll probably stick to a long swim and a yoga class or two.  

Marathon Build

I'm sitting here during my lunch break thinking about my run yesterday.  It was a south-north route along the eastern side of Baker Lake.  I've been wanting to get on this trail all summer but the mountains with their peaks and views pull me another way.  It seemed fitting that this trail is 15 miles one-way and I had a 20 miler planned.  I started out with the intention of going 10 and turning around. At my turn-around there was this trail heading upslope called Noisy Creek.  I had to see what it was about.  One mile and 1,000 ft later I found the inspiration for its name.  The slow moving creek must have encountered a rock slide at some point in time because there I found a dam of trees, limbs and boulders.  Water like life, finds a way (cue Jeff Goldbloom.)  The falls wasn't grandiose like Niagra but it contained power nonetheless.  I welcomed the break from running and listened to its sound for awhile before gathering my energies for the return trip.  I haven't checked off half of the places I planned on seeing this summer but a friend once told me, we leave reasons to come back. Next Spring I'll do the whole trail and report back.  

Oh yeah, almost forgot to mention.  I'm tackling my first marathon this year.  I haven't nailed down which one but it'll be in December.  Either the Seattle or the Yukon Do It.  The training has been fun and it's great having an excuse to explore new trails in the area.

Summer Riding

It's been almost a month since I updated the blog and for a good reason.  A few days after finishing the Ocean Shores Half-Iron a friend visited me in Bham.  We took a drive up to Artist Point to get a view of Mount Baker in all its up-close glory.  We hiked around, threw rocks off cliffs and even did some butt-sledding down a few snowy slopes.  One of them was extremely steep and long.  Below is a clip of Brett sliding down after me.

You see that big rock on the right, sticking out through the snow?  Well, I started drifting toward it, so I used my hands to direct myself away from it.  In the process I hyper-extended my elbow and I've been in pain since.  Even now I can barely curl a ten-pound weight without some pain.  Needless to say, I haven't swam once since and I'm just now getting out of my depressed funk.

Since I can't swim, I've been really focusing on my bike and run workouts.  In the past I always had a hard time dialing back the intensity on long rides/runs but, lately I've taken a more disciplined approach to my training regimen.  Oh I still skip days when I'm not feeling up to it or when my legs don't have the zip.  I think it's a good thing to not blindly follow a training plan.  Duties get in the way and stress occurs.  In the end it's better to enjoy the workouts than have them be sub-par.  Which brings me to two bike rides I did this week.

Tuesday I drove down the North Cascades Highway (SR 20).  It's an stunning road, traveling from Sedro-Wooley, through wilderness and eventually making its way to the Methow Valley.

I parked my truck in Newhalem and made my turnaround at Rainy Pass.  It's 38 miles one-way and it climbs about 5,000 ft in elevation.  Every way you look there are mountains, waterfalls, rivers and lakes.

Diablo Lake

Frisco Mountain.  Rainy Lake is tucked in off to the right.

Don't know the name but this is just from the road.

Newhalem to Rainy Pass and back.

The ride was beautiful but also difficult.  There are two climbs on the route.  The first one is through the Skagit gorge and tops out at Ross Lake.  It's only 15 miles of 2-3% grade.  It's a nice warm up and the views of Diablo Lake are distracting from the work.  The second climb is a doozy.  It's about 20 miles with an average 3% grade.  There are a few short sections of 6% and 7% grade tossed in there.  The length of the climb is really the tough aspect.  If you're training like me, staying mentally strong and keeping a steady rhythm is difficult.  If you're on a leisure through the park, a a break or two at one of the many trailheads would help.  I definitely recommend cruising through the park.  Try a weekday when there are fewer cars.  Remember to bring plenty of water.  More than you think you'll need.  I ran out at the top of the pass.  Luckily, a hiker I was talking to at the trailhead filled all four of my bottles up.  They barely made it back to the truck.  I'll bring my camelback next time.  All said, the total trip was 75 miles with over 11,000 feet of elevation gain.  Easily the biggest training day of my life.  I was feeling so good the next day, I was dreaming of the next adventure.

And it happened during yesterday's sufferfest up to Mount Baker.  This glaciated volcano in the upper North Cascades lies at the end of SR 542 from Bellingham.  I parked my car at Silver Lake, which is a few miles north of Maple Falls.  It's rolling hills along the Nooksack River until the beginning of the Mount Baker climb.  It's 10 miles of switchbacks with an average 6% grade.  There's a few 10% sections from Heather Meadows to Artist's Point.  At the top, you're treated to some close views of Mount Shuksan to the East and Mount Baker to the West.  Tough stuff, that's for sure.  Since I rode easy early on I wanted to give this climb a good effort.  I was spent once I reached the top but, it's all downhill from there.  I now know what it feels like to bomb down a mountain like the pros in Tour de France.  Finding the right line speeding down a switchback takes a hard nerve and lots of focus.  Don't let the bugs distract you because the slope on the other side of the guardrail looked very unforgiving.

Mount Shuksan

Silver Lake to Artist's Point and back.

There will be some more epic rides like these before Summer ends, that's for sure.  But before those I gotta see what Idaho has to offer next weekend.  Five days of golfing, trail running, mt biking, oh yeah and a wedding thrown in there too.  I'm pretty excited to meet up with a bunch of HS buddies for the celebration of my friends Kyle and Katie.  Let the dance battle begin, if my legs hold up.

2013 Ocean Shores Half Iron Triathlon

My race at the 2013 Ocean Shores Half-Iron Triathlon is by far the hardest I have ever pushed myself.  The headwinds on the bike were a curse and a blessing.  They put my head into a hole I wasn't sure I could get out of but left me with a lot of energy for the run.  When people talk about breakthrough performances, I now know what they mean.  A five-hour event leaves a lot of room for disaster to strike, but it's how those unpredictable events are handled that let us learn something deep about ourselves.  

Swim 1.2 miles: 37:47

This was an out-and-back course in Duck Lake.  Funny how a race on a peninsula in the ocean has a freshwater swim.  Though I didn't hear anyone complain, including myself.  I was really hoping for a better time but I was having a hard time getting back into a rhythm after the turn-around.  Plain and simple, I was tired, so my form fell apart.  Sounds like a pattern here?  Well it is.  Biking and running are just more fun.  "Go to the pool!," is what my inner competitor yells at me all the time.  

T1: 1:17

Stripping the wetsuit off was quick and my shoes were already clipped in.  Said hi to my dad and off I went.

Bike 56 miles: 2:41:43 (20.9mph)

Like I said earlier, the headwinds were killer.  This was an 2-loop out-and-back course.  Every time I turned West or North, I watched my speed drop from 22-24 mph down to 17-19.  It was very discouraging.  My lower back was tight during the first out and I wasn't sure if it was going to ease up but after the turnaround the pain went away and never came back.  More than likely it was from holding my legs up near the surface during the swim.  I counted nine bikers in front of me during the first lap and I passed one right before the end of the second lap but in the last 10 miles a couple of aero-wheel/helmet guys cruised past.  Every 15-20 minutes I ate 100 calories of either a Honey Stinger Gel or a Stinger Waffle followed by two big swigs off my water bottle.  The Stinger gels are my favorite for hard efforts because they go down so easy.  They have that honey sweetness and aren't thick like other gels, so they wash down quickly with water.  The second lap was similar in pace but I could feel my hips and upper thighs starting to fatigue.  I began to get discouraged and I found myself standing up a lot in order to find some power in my legs.  Prior to the race I aimed keep my HR between 155-170.  I averaged low 150s instead.  There are a lot of factors that could have caused a low HR.  Most likely, the effort just wasn't there.  The last five miles felt like an eternity.

T2: 1:35

 My armpit felt a little chafed from the swim so I opted to run without my shirt.  Slipped the shoes on, grabbed my hat, said hi to my dad again and took off.

Run 13.2 miles: 1:29:43 (6:44min/mile)

As usual the legs felt stiff and wobbly for the first mile though I was surprised by my pace.  Just like the bike leg, this was an out-and-back with turnarounds for all three races.  Prior to the race I expected to hold a 7:30min/mi pace for the first 5k to let the legs warm up and make sure I don't blow up later on.  It is a half-marathon and all.  But I was rocking a 6:30 pace and it felt good, so I rolled with that.  At mile 2, I passed a couple of guys who overtook me at the end of the bike.  We exchanged positive words then I continued on my merry way.  Seriously though, I was feeling strong.  It was a huge confidence booster knocking out those fast miles.  My calves were a bit sore and crampy but on I sped.  

Around mile 4 the lead runner and I crossed paths.  Racers 2, 3 and 4 weren't far behind.  Down the straight 2/3 of the run I saw number 5 coming towards me.  I noted the time and place we crossed.  After turning around and coming to the sign where we passed one another, I realized he had about 4 minutes on me.  This isn't much time in a race this long so I figured I'd try and catch him.  Where I would overtake him, I wasn't sure, but I put my head down and dug deep to maintain that 6:30 pace.  The phrases, "reel him in, reel him in," "keep it up," and "stay strong and light" kept flowing in and out of my head.  I was saying them out loud too.  I didn't care if the other races thought anything about it because it worked!  It took 3 miles and a lot of self-motivation to catch up.  A mile after passing him I let myself look back, he was way back there.  I knew I had fifth place locked up, bearing in mind nothing catastrophic occurred.  I could feel my hamstrings and quads starting to seize up and my calves were burning bad at this point.  The sand wasn't making it any easier.  With 2 miles left I did some math and thought if I stay under 7 min/mi I might be able to log a sub 1:30 run and give myself a better chance of achieving my true goal of coming in under 5 hours.  The next 13 minutes was all out.  Foaming at the mouth, gasping for breath, fire in my legs all out.  Oh but was it worth it.  A fist pump across the finish line and I was done!  I couldn't believe what I had just done.  A huge PR of 55 minutes on the race and a PR of 4 minutes in the half-marathon.  Cloud nine. 

Total 4:52:02  Fifth OA, Second AG