20K Time Trial Effort on Fiesta Island, San Diego, CA

I started with my nice looking Kiwami Kings aero jacket and Trisports bibs, and stayed white for a good 2 minutes. It was a fun, hard effort on the island this weekend. The season is off the a good start! 

First Training Block in the Books!

First rest week of the year, so with this I like to think that my first training block is a wrap! What have I been doing? What’s next?

Training really kicked off when we got back from France where I spent my first Christmas with my family since 2011. It was also Mariesa’s first chrismas away from her family, but I think she had a good time. We ate a lot of cheese, completely cheesing out 3 days into our vacation, met my nephews and godson, got spoiled by papa noel, and Mariesa got to ski the Alps. We did get sick, though, and I think the inevitable is happening: living in SoCal weather makes you soft… womp, womp!

Carlsbad 1/2 Marathon

Back to training…

The first 2 weeks were centered around my run as my coach felt like running the Carlsbad ½ marathon 2 weeks into the training was a good thing…but it was! After some hard, short efforts on track,  I ran my first open half marathon in almost three years and did well, given that I don’t have any volume, and I never specifically focused on my run. I crossed the finish line at around 9:10am, and Mariesa drove me to the airport for my 12pm flight to Calgary, Alberta.

Revelstoke, BC

Calgary, Alberta…why? Bachelor week! Some would spend it in Cancun or Las Vegas, but I wanted to spend it ski touring out and about Revelstoke, BC with Brad and Jack. 7 days of awesome skiing, great snow, and some amazing terrain. Being born and raised in the Alps, it takes a lot to impress me with ski terrain, but Revelstoke blew my mind. I will be back!

OC 70.3 Run Course, Oceanside, CA

From Jan 16 to Feb 12, it was all about training. The focus was on getting back on the bike, running, and putting more yards in the pool. After a disastrous long ride attempt where I had to walk most of my brick run because I miscalculated my nutrition, things started to feel slightly better, adjusting my Gatorade Endurance and Clif Gel intake on long rides, and putting more quality time in the pool. Though neither my biking, running, and swimming are where I would like them to be, I think it’s going into the right direction. I’ve put on some good miles, and most importantly, I am stilly injury-free! That’s, without a doubt, thanks to the foam roller, stretching, the great food Mariesa cooks for me, and the KleanAthlete recovery supplements they make.

What's next? 

Looking at the training program for the next few weeks, the "hurtometer" will reach new highs! Oh, and Trisports camp is happening March 2nd through March 5th in Tucson, AZ. That's going to be fun! 

Beautiful January Sunset In Encinitas, CA

Taking a Leap of Faith in Going Pro!

Some of you may know by now, but Mariesa and I decided to give this pro triathlon thing a shot this season and see where it will take us. After a good 2016 season topped with an overall win at Ironman Coeur d'Alene (race report here), and a decent showing at Kona, we earned the opportunity to get a pro card for the 2017 season.

It wasn't an easy decision to make. Well...let me rephrase that...Without any financial limitations, the decision would have been a no-brainer! However, when you take a holistic view of all the implications this decision has, you're inclined to think through it a bit more. Here are some of the pros and cons in the decision:

Pros

§  I've always wanted to be a professional athlete. This was never motivated by fame nor money, but rather by the lifestyle that comes with it: training every day and constantly working on finding the right balance between recovery and intensity to be race ready is an incredibly challenging and fascinating to me.

§  Inspiring people. As I look up to the pros as role models (Jesse Thomas, the Wurtele, the McKenzie, Sebi, Frodo, The Hoff, Heather Jackson, and more!), I hope to become one day an inspiration to some. If I can positively impact someone's life through my triathlon endeavors, I would deem my pro career successful.

§  The challenge. Toeing the line with the pros, getting "spanked" in the water, pushing as hard as my legs will let me on the bike, and trying to hang on for dear life on the run intimidates me, but it excites me even more. I look forward to seeing the gap in fitness, speed, and race tactics between myself and the rest of the pack. It will most likely be a steep learning curve, but I hope that this curve flattens out a bit as I gain more experience.

§  Building meaningful relationships with people and brands/companies. Of course sponsorship funds are crucial, but beyond that, I think the rapport that I would look to build with brands and companies will be even more important. I believe humility, honesty, and hard work are paramount to be successful, and I'm hoping to collaborate with companies/brands in my career with similar values and establish a long and trusted relationship with all the them. 

Now for the not so pros of the decision (aka cons, but I don't like the sound of it)

§  Racing from behind. I will go from racing in the front of the pack of my age group to trailing behind most of the pro pack. Though I'm hoping to get faster and reduce the deficit on each of the 3 legs, I'm fully aware that it will take time to get there. And that's okay. Consistency, patience, and attitude will hopefully pay off. But I can't deny that mentally it will be challenging to race from behind.

§  Financially challenging. I won’t be breaking any news, not a lot of pro triathletes make a decent living out of racing. This is probably going to be one of the most challenging aspect of the decision to go pro. Thankfully my rock, Mariesa, is onboard and very positive about it. She is taking on the financial burden, which I find difficult to cope with. I am working to find ways to make it sustainable. More on this in the coming months!

§  Without a bike or run sponsor, or a title sponsor kind enough to believe in me and support me financially, it is a bit scary to go into this season knowing that if I crack my frame or get into a bike accident, I may not be able to afford a new bike. I’m really hoping that one day I’ll find few brands to back me up!

§  Getting injured. Some injuries due to over training can take some time to recover, and they are part of the game. The scariest injuries are bike-related injuries involving cars. This haunts me. Though the riding conditions in SoCal are phenomenal, there’s always this fear in the back of my head. Let’s think positive and not think too much about this!  

En Route to the 2016 Ironman World Championships - Kona, HI

So we made it to the big island yesterday, and we've been playing more and more with our GoPro and decided to use the raw footage to make little video clips to share with you!

We're having a blast recording tidbits and Mariesa is getting good at putting it all together!

4 Weeks To Do a Kona Acclimation and Completely changed my nutrition

Training in San Diego is amazing. Sunny, mildly warm (75 degrees on average), and the riding around here is absolutely amazing. However, when it comes to training for Kona, trying to find heat can get tough, so I had to find ways to do it without spending an arm an leg to find heat and humidity.

Objectives

In the last 4 weeks I tried to focus on absorbing twice or thrice as much as I normally do on the bike, or between 2 to 3 bottles an hour (48 to 72 OZ of fluids an hour). In a 5hr ride, that takes the fluid consumption at 10-15 bottles. I never stopped that much to pee (on average every 1 1/2 to 2 hours).
Ultimately, the goal here was to not only be able to compensate for the Kona heat and humidity, but also train my gut to deal with that much fluid.
On the run, I also forced myself to drink more, about 1 gatorade an hour. I also made an effort to take 1 gel every 30 minutes to get used to taking something in. This was something I was not able to do in the 6 IMs I raced.

Overall

It was challenging to drink that much fluid, especially when I trained and raced with 1 bottle/hr for the past 2 years. And taking 1 gel every 35 minutes wasn't easy either. With Kona having Clif gels on the course (but not knowing what flavor will be offered), I've bought a boat load of gels from Trisports.com with all the flavors that Clif has. That way I got my taste buds accustomed to each flavor (the chocolate, raspberry, and vanilla are high on my list, Mocha and double espresso need some work!).
Just like almost anything, we get used to a new routine, and so did I. My body was able to handle a lot more fluid and nutrition as I trained it in the past 4 weeks on all my runs and rides. Below is a breakdown of some of the key training sessions I've done.
In addition to getting used to all this fluid intake, the amount of carbs, calories, and sodium I took in was a LOT more than what I used to do, and my body seemed to have reacted well to all of it. I am really hoping that these changes will pay off at Kona and that I will be able to reproduce on race day what I've done in my t


September 10: 3.5 hour ride
7 bottles (5 bottles of Gatorade Endurance - 2 bottles of water)
5 Clif Gels
How did it feel? I almost threw up after the first hour. As the temps rose, it started to be a bit easier to take in that much fluid, but it was not easy. I knew it would require more practice.

September 14:
1 hour run: I ran with some heavy sweat pants, 1 base layer, a turtle neck tech long sleeve, and a long sleeve shirt.
I drank 1 gatorade and took 1 gel
How did I feel? HORRIBLE! I felt ok for the first 15 min, but as soon as the road started to go up, it got hard. I felt like I was overheating, had to stop to take the gel in, and made it home feeling dizzy. This was a good workout that made me realize that I was not prepared at all for Kona. Work in progress!

September 17: I went to Tucson, AZ for the weekend to train with Dan and get some heat training in. It did not disappoint (see video here). We started in 60f weather and by the time we got off the bike the temps warmed up to 101f.
5.5 hour ride:12 bottles (8 of Gatorade Endurance - 4 of water) - 9 Clif gels
How did I feel? It was a lot easier to take in that much fluid this time around as it got hot really quickly (about 1.2 bottles an hour). There is this inevitable pit stop after the first hour to pee, but after that it was all good. I felt great throughout the entire ride, and surprisingly good running off the bike in a 103+ weather.


September 24: Long training day with 30min straight swim, 6hr bike ride, and 15-20min brick run. It is easy to get some good elevation when riding east-bound, so instead, I tried to find a route that would allow me to spend more time on the aero bars, yet with some climbing (around 5K ft). After a very good swim where my ankle felt okay, I started the ride around 8:30. The temperatures where in the low 70s, but it quickly warmed up. The last 2.5 hours were in the 90s and the last 35 mile stretch had strong headwinds.
How did I feel? It was probably the most accomplished training of the season. After the swim, I had a very strong and consistent ride, similar to the 5+ hour rides that I did before Whistler when I felt like I was at the peak of my bike fitness. I rode at a higher intensity this time, and felt great throughout the ride. I would LOVE to be able to reproduce the same consistency and intensity at Kona, because I felt great on the bike and on my brick run.
I drank 9 bottles of gatorade and 4 bottles of water. After a first pee stop at the 1h20 mark, the route that I took had enough gas stations or stores along the way for me to be able to find water. I carried all my gatorade powder in ziplock bags, 6 ziplock bags, or 1 for each bottle. I also took in 9 gels, and the last 4 gels had caffeine in it. The mocha and double espresso flavors were a bit too much for me. I've completely stopped drinking coffee since September 17, and I could feel the caffeine jolt right away. I was very happy with it, and I also know that I will try to avoid these 2 flavors on the course.

September 25: Long run - 2 hours
There was a hit wave for a few days here in San Diego due to the Santa Ana winds, and with that it allowed me to do my last long run in hot conditions. I chose to wait until 12:30pm to start my run. The temperatures averaged 90f, with a high of 94.
How did I feel?: It was a good test to run on tired legs. I actually felt decent in the first 4 miles, and it got a bit challenging in mile 5 through 10. I focused on my nutrition (3 gels, 2 bottles of gatorade total), and was able to maintain a very consistent pace at around 7:09/min mile. Given the heavy training of the prior and the heat, I was very pleased with my run. It was the last long run before Kona, and the last long run of the season, so time to get some rest and stay healthy for Kona.

...and we finished this last training block with a big, delicious steak from Tip-top Meats!

Next stop is IM World Champs and I cannot wait to be there! 

Happy training all!