It is raining and I am content staring out the window and sipping on jasmine tea - muscle milk warm in my stomach. It's a good day! I got up this morning and got to the pool by 7. I swam my longest swim distance yet - 2250 yds (45 laps)! Felt awesome - Could have had something to do with the massage I had last night. Got out of the gym on time and headed out onto the 805 - NO traffic! It was a gift from the traffic gods! It was raining and there was no traffic! Then I had a nice conversation with my brother during the short commute in. Now I'm at work - My computer crashed again - I am waiting for the repair guy and in on the guest station unable to work on my report which is saved only on my computer and the CD which is trapped inside the computer.... Drats.

Yesterday was all right - Got up and headed to the pool only to remember en route that the pool is closed on Mondays at 7 for cleaning - Doh!! So did my bike workout instead. My body was completely sore from the weekend so I took some advice and went and got a massage last night - So awesome. I left feeling so relaxed! :0)

Sunday, I finally got on my bike at about 2. Biked through Torrey Pines - No Tiger sightings, but plenty of people to get in my way and slow me down! Biked out to Encinitas (~21 miles) and then turned around for fear of getting caught in the dark heading back down the Torrey Pines hill with all the crazy drivers. Made it back safe and sound (and after being honked at in La Jolla by some asshole in a mercedes - mercedes drivers do not have a good track record wtih me and my bike)... So got in only 43 miles, but oh well. 7 short. I'll do better this weekend.

So that is it. Better get back to trying to re-write report until computer is fixed. Hope all is well and YAY for the rain!!

I am humbled by the ocean. So yesterday starts a phase of optional Saturday swim workouts. Why not? I had a mellow Friday night - Cooked some dinner and crashed watching a movie. Got up on Saturday and had coerced Brad B. into swimming with me - I thought I should practice in the ocean. After all, the race itself is in the ocean and I had a few ocean swims in Hawaii. How bad can it be? I've been swimming a few thousand yards a week and so I felt ready. We dragged our asses to the ocean by 10am yesterday morning - by Crystal Pier in Pacific Beach. Looking back, this was probably not the best place to go and try to swim laps, but moving on... I put on (with great difficulty) my wetsuit (first time since Wildflower last May), swim cap and grabbed my goggles. Into the cold, cold water we headed (about 50 degrees). It was cold. My feet and hands went numb. Then there were the waves. Everytime I dove under one, there was another right behind it. If I tried to go over, I was caught in the wave and rolled, losing air and my googles. This went on for what seemed like an hour, but was actually probably closer to 5 or 10 minutes. I grew super tired and so did Brad and I realized that I it was probably not the best idea to stay out much longer - I couldn't seem to get past the breaking point and there was no hope of swimming freestyle with all of the waves. We decided to head in - I was super tired and thought I might drown. WE eventually made it, short one pair of goggles :-( but two bodies intact :-) Came back here and cooked some breakfast and then I passed out on the couch for a few hours. Then it was time to get up and go running. Yesterday was 80 minutes. I got in about 8 or 9ish miles. Then watched the MSU v. OSU game. SO disappointing - Almost pulled out an upset. After disappointing game, 2 beers and 3 pieces of Hoboken pizza, fell asleep on chair watching movie. Awoke at 12:30 and headed to bed - EXCITMENT!

The past two weeks of training went well - Week 8 was recovery week so workouts were pretty mellow. This week (9) was pretty tough - I swam my first 2000 yd workout on Tuesday and then ran 7 miles that night. Nothing too eventful with training this week. Feeling super tired and body sore. Need a personal massuese (can't spell for shit. Sorry).

My old roomie, Alex, and his friend Matt came down and surprised me on Tuesday night and stayed until Thursday. Had lots of fun catching up with them. On Wednesday when I was at work, they fixed up my road bike so it is good as new (and has new red handlebars - woo hoo!). Lots of fun. Can't wait to ride it (if that didn't involve energy - something I am severely lacking right now).

Currently I'm sitting in my bed eating chocolate macademia nuts from Hawaii and too lazy to get up. I need to get up and go biking. I am supposed to bike 50 miles today, but my legs are so tired and my body aches.... Ahhh. I guess I had better do it. No time like the present.

Hope all is well. Ta Ta for now!

JELLO. That is how my legs feel tonight. I haven't gotten up off my couch except to take some laundry downstairs - I'm sure I'm walking like I'm about 80. Oh well.

Yesterday I worked (blah) and then ran about 9 miles (on the beach as usual). Nothing interesting to say about it, except it was beautiful. I watched the sun set on the ocean as I was running on a rather empty beach (too dang cold)! I'm pretty spoiled!

So I biked 45 miles today - Same as last week. Boring I know, but I'm a creature of habit. I have an entire book of nothing but bike routes through San Diego, but there's something about riding by the ocean. It makes me feel so peaceful and at ease. Today's ride seemed to take a really long time... I kept zoning out and thinking about the most random events. Strangely, I was thinking about ice storms and the time I slipped at my Dad's house in Michigan and we thought I had broken my arm. Tonight I was on the phone talking to my Dad - He mentioned that they had an ice storm and then he brought up the same incident...I don't think it had been mentioned since I was about ten! Is it some sort of cosmic connection, am I psychic?? ha ha ha ha!

So I am beginning Week 8, which is RECOVERY WEEK! WOo Hoo! That means the workouts are backed down a bit just for the week! I am so happy about that. Tomorrow I have to go to work - It is a holiday at our company, but I have a huge (and poorly-scheduled) workshop on Tuesday. Bah. I should be at home or pledging some sort of humanitarian service in honor of Dr. King, but alas I am working on the MBR project. Such is life. I guess I will have to volunteer another day.

All right - I'm heading to grab my laundry and get some sleep. Hope everyone is well!

Week 7! I know you're all enthralled to read about week 7. It's Friday night. I'm home from a heinous day at work and I'm tired and grumpy. I should just give up and go to bed, but I will write instead. Acccording to my training program "By the end of the base building phase, some of you may start to get a little grumpy and irritable". This must explain my crappy mood. Anyways, excuses, excuses - everybody's got one...
Here is how this week went.

Saturday: I was supposed to run 70 minutes. I was still recovering from a crappy cold I had again last week (I have a shitty immune system - Thanks Mom!). Anyways, I went out down to my favorite Saturday afternoon running spot - the beach! I felt like crap. I ended up making it only 40 minutes before I crapped out and had to stop. I guess it's better than nothing. I spent the rest of Saturday killing the bug with alcohol in the form of Bud from my new friend - our local Bud rep whose job it is to buy people Bud in the bar :-) It was a fun afternoon and I had fun razzling all the Cowboys fans while we watched the Seahawks win :-)

Sunday: Sunday was so fabulously sunny and warm! I woke up early after my premature (alcohol-induced) bed time on Saturday night. I threw my Lemond on the back of the car and drove to Torrey Pines. I parked the car and took off on my bike. I ended up biking up the Pacific Coast Highway to Oceanside almost to Camp Pendleton. It was such an awesome day - The waves were just about perfect so there were a ton of surfers out and about. On the way back I stopped on the beach to watch (see pic above). I google earthed the distance when I got back - It was almost right on what I was supposed to bike (45 miles)!

Monday: Alarm goes off at 5. Decide I can't get up - too tired. Go back to sleep. Wake up for work at 7 - Mad at self for not getting up at 5 to swim. Go to work. Skip lunch to head to gym to swim. Lunch is apparently a popular time to swim. Had to wait 15 minutes for a lane. Swam 1200 yds. Showered, headed back to work. Worked until 6:30 after record conference call on thrust restraint design problem (headache). Head to guitar. After guitar (8:30) head to La Jolla to gym. Bike 25 miles on stationary bike (completely bored). Hit mile 23, time = 10:30 pm, Completely tired, sweaty, look like shit. Low and behold an un-named ex-friend and lovely girlfriend and backup friend enter completely empty gym. Swap "looks". Finish last two miles while being gawked at by stupid girlfriend and backup Barbie friend on ellipticals. Leave gym pissed off. Head home and watch Sex in the City re-run. Feel better - endorphins finally kick in.

Tuesday: Alarm goes off at 6. Drag ass out of bed. Head to pool. Hop in and freeze ass off as sun is rising. Swim 1750 yds (35 laps/70 lengths). This is extremely boring. Amuse self by creating rhymes with lap number (i.e. "Eight is great, Eight is great, Eight is great - for the entire eighth lap - Seven, just like heaven, etc. (lame, yes)). Finish up, stretch, shower, head to work. Work. Finish up at 7ish. Head to gym. Run on treadmill for 60 minutes. Running was fabulous - Kept up a good pace - increased rate and incline every 10 minutes. David Grohl and Korn were especially helpful tonight :-) Stretched, and headed home!

Wednesday: Had site visits in Corona and Redlands so had people to meet by 8:30 up north. Finished up somewhat early. Came home and decided to do bike workout on the Lemond with the trainer. Set it all up and popped in a movie (Thanks Blockbuster online!). Watched "Invincible". Biked for entire movie - 100 minutes. Not sure how far as computer is not set up on bike and front tire does not move anyways. Felt pretty good. Headed to bed early.

Thursday: Alarm at 6:00 (so wish I was a morning person). Headed to pool and swam 1500 yds. Not bad. Felt pretty good. Headed to work. Worked. Left work at 6:30 and headed to La Jolla gym. Ran 45 minutes on treadmill. Run was fine. Saw stupid Tibor again. So unlucky. Stretched and headed home. Fell asleep by 10. I lead such an exciting life!

Friday (today)! My rest day! Hurray! I should make the most of it, but oh well. Actually think I will go to bed. I am tired (and grumpy), but at least I have an excuse! Tomorrow there is more to do!

Ta Ta for now!

Ok - It has been over a month now. Very sad. I haven't updated, but I have been training away. Yesterday was a wasted day - Too hungover to leave the comforts of my new couch and my cuddling companion (the irresistible Calvin).

So over the past few weeks I have done alot of traveling. I spent a week up in the Bay area for work which meant I got to swim under the stars at my favorite pool - Stanford (see the left)...

Then went to Hawaii over Christmas. This was extremely pleasant. Training there consisted of a bike ride with the Johnson-Moore family from Honolulu to the North Shore - (~45 miles). We also did swims in the ocean to Flat Island (saw a huge sea turtle!!) and at Waikiki. Running was also in abundance with runs along the North Shore (looking for Jack Johnson) and on the beaches. Ahh Paradise!! Perhaps I will have to break my rule and go for a full ironman just for the hopes of qualifying for Kona - Another reason to return to Hawaii! Aloha!


I returned to SD on the red eye on Saturday. I was then useless.. I completed a six-mile run along Pacific and Mission Beach (pathetically slow) and on New Year's Eve I biked about 40 miles along the coast up to Carlsbad - It was a beautiful ride, but I started a little late in the day, thus finishing up after dark - This freaks me out, especially on a night like NYE where there are pleny of drunks on the road. Not to mention the rides just aren't as fun without any of my riding buddies around. Drats. Anyways, New Year's festivities left me crippled for yesterday. Tonight I am back to it, though I am not feeling 100%. 3 months to go!! Woo HOO!!!