4 x 400

Swim? Nope....my run for the day...did a little warm-up / cool-down so ended up running for about 20 minutes....i did the intervals at a 6:15 pace / treadmill / incline 2..........yes, quite the nancy-boy workout but I'm tapering....that's my excuse and I stand by it!
In other news....RAIN , RAIN , and MORE RAIN!! It doesn't seem like there is an end in sight...i'm just glad that this is a bit abnormal (we've moved into 4th in the rankings for wettest January since they have been tracking it in the 40's I think).....I did "winterize" my cross bike......threw on the fenders & training tires and plan to start saddling up here after the marathon this weekend. To that end, I have ordered almost every item in Nike's wet / cold weather cycling apparel line-up.....looks like I'll definitely be needing the waterproof jacket....lots of fun I'm sure! If you see me cruising around Beaverton / Washington County, give me a shout! **peace**

Sun Breaks

The rain and wind were pretty intense last night...I heard that we have officially made it into the top 5 wettest Januarys in Oregon History? In any event....the rain never stops...usually a gentle drizzle but sometimes dropping in buckets....I had an easy 3 mile run planned and it actually coincided with a sun break in the afternoon....as soon as I stepped back into the building from my run it started raining again.....nice. Usually I get stuck with the opposite...it starts raining as I start my run. Run was pretty uneventful except for the fact that my legs felt like crap for some reason....taper is always strange.
I decided to take a swim after work to get in a little recovery...it has always worked in the past....strange but did the math and realized that I haven't swam since IMC 04....i haven't been in the water for over 1.5 years!?!? Where does the time go...i have no excuse with a 10 lap indoor pool at one of the two gyms we have at work...it has mocked me for the last year.....felt good to get in the water again....i swam a 500 out of the blocks, did 250 of TI drills, another 500, 250 TI drills, final 500 before jumping out of the water with some worked arms......definitely feels foreign.....nice to finally break that streak though........consistency Mike....i'm working on it...
**peace**

Me and my trusty steed

testing the picture upload feature..pic taken at IMC 04......I am planning to re-acquaint myself with my bike here real soon....yes, the bike is a bit on the bright side but I figure that is a plus in the perpetually gray weather up here in the Pac Northwest....

Taper time

I am currently in the final week of a marathon taper for the Pacific Shoreline Marathon on 2/5/06. I am hoping to run a sub 3:15 but have doubts of whether I have the current fitness to get there. In any event, I am running 7:15 -7:20's until the wheels fall off! ;-) In the past, I have been hit with calf-cramps around mile 18-19 in a couple marathons which, for me, is entirely "lack of endurance / speedwork - related" vs. dehydration as many people believe. I'm hoping I don't get that familiar twinge in the later stages of the marathon. No pressure for a qualifying time as I am already in for Boston 06 but would be nice to get qualifying out of the way for Boston 07. I am not a pure runner so just seem to barely get under the qualifying time every year....maybe I should start getting serious about some speed work or pace runs!?! Yesterday ran 8 miles kept it in Z1/Z2 with about a 15 minute tempo thrown right into the middle of the run. Today it was an easy run on the treadmill for 35 minutes.....incline 2.0, 8:20 min/mile pace

Hello!

Where to begin...I've been doing long-course triathlon consistently since 1999 before my focus and fitness went off the radar in 2005. I was living / training in Orange County, CA when I received a job offer in Beaverton, OR. This was over the Xmas Holidays in 2004 with a start date of 1/3/05. Timing was a bit intense but I had always wanted to relocate to the Pacific Northwest so I jumped at the chance. Fast forward a couple months, I was trying to get into the groove at work while adapting to everything in Oregon- something had to give and unfortunately it was training. I was able to salvage a Boston-Qualifying marathon (barely) and compete in Boston but that was the extent of my racing in 2005. I had to drop out of Ironman Arizona & Ironman Canada **sigh**
I figured maintaining a training journal in 2006 would motivate me to get back in the groove. I am currently entered in IMC 06 and plan to actually hit the starting line in Lake Okanagan this year!