A Better Swim

I had a coached swim workout last night. It went much better than my last coached swim 2 weeks ago. (Unfortunately I missed last week's coached session because of last minute changes at work due to a colleague's sick call.) I was a little worried that my swimming will s**k again because I hadn't spent as much time in the pool last week. I actually kept up with my ironteammates in the medium speed lane, at least until I started to fatigue about half hour into the workout. I concentrated on "gliding" and trying to cover more distance per stroke. I also worked on pulling more water per stroke. And I kept my head down. My speed definitely improved.
Towards the end my calves started to cramp up. I had to get out of the pool and stretch for a couple minutes before resuming the swim. Coach stressed the importance of hydration. He recommended that I massage / work out the tension in the calves when I get home.
Today, I'm planning on tackling the hills of PV again for a 90 min ride. I can't wait to get off work and jump on my bike.

Hills of PV

This weekend I took my bike out for my longest ride to date.
Saturday was a scheduled group ride, which was cancelled due to rain and wet roads. I was ready to ride and it was only a light rain in PV. So I ended up taking a quick 1 hour ride, followed by a 90 min run. The run felt good and I'm pretty much recovered from my marathon the week before.
Sunday, an Ironteammate and I went out on a 3 hour ride through the "hills" of PV. Some portions had an 8% grade, but going downhill at 40 mph is an adrenaline rush and makes the uphill portions worthwhile. We covered 48 miles through hilly terrain. Not bad. My legs felt great, but my butt was sore. I don't know how my butt will survive being in the saddle for another 3 to 4 hours on race day.
Unfortunately, I never made it to the pool this weekend. I'll try to go out today after work. Running and Cycling are my strong points, and I can go out anytime for a run or bike workout. Swimming is another matter. It takes that extra effort to get to the pool. If any readers have advice for me on the swim workouts, I would like to hear them. How does one get motivated for swimming? How do you stay interested during those endless drills and repeated laps? I don't get the runner's high or the adrenaline rush I get with cycling. Usually its trying to avoid taking in too much pool water and trying to keep a mental note of what lap I'm on. Real boring stuff.

Post Marathon Recovery

It's back to Ironteam training. I swam and biked on Monday. My legs were sore, and I had a hard time walking. On Tuesday, I ran and also swam. My run was at easy long run pace; my legs were still sore and I could not go faster even if I wanted to. Swimming felt good, and I'm getting a little faster. 1 km in a little over 22 minutes. I still have a long ways to go in terms of being a more efficient swimmer. Wednesday, I biked for 90 minutes, keeping a cadence of 90 rpm. Again the bike felt good. My legs are starting to return to normal. Today, I'm working an unplanned 24 hr shift at the hospital, covering for a sick colleague. So I'll try to get my scheduled Thursday workout in tomorrow. ( run and swim) I have a 3 hour bike ride with my Ironteam scheduled for Saturday. That should be fun.

Rock and Roll Arizona Marathon

     Oops, I did it again.  I snuck down to Arizona and ran another marathon on Sunday.  It's the Maniac in me.  I had signed up for the marathon prior to signing up for the Ironteam.  I thought about cutting back and just running the half, but since I was going to Arizona anyways ( air ticket and hotel reservations already made), I wanted to knock off another state from my list of 50 States.  I still have a long ways to go to complete the 50 states, but I'm still relatively "young".  

This will be my last marathon until after the Ironman in August.  

Now for the race report.  It was a cool morning, perfect for running.  Over 30,000 people ( full + half).  Alot of purple shirts and "Go Team!"  I wore my Team in Training cap with my red running top.  I felt inspired by the other runners, but especially the "Team".  Many had the names of their honored teammates.  Some had pictures attached to their purple running shirts. This reminded me of my honored teammates for the Ironman.  More of this later, at the end of the race.

     I felt good and ran slightly ahead of my pace group for the first half, but then my knees started to hurt.  Soon that was followed by sore legs, especially my calves and hamstrings.  My legs felt very heavy like I had 10 lb weights attached to each of them.  My pace slowed.  I thought about stopping, but since the half and full ran different routes, I was stuck in the middle of "nowhere" ( I think I was in Scottsdale at this point.)  I even came across an elite runner that was walking.  I did not want to risk an injury that would disrupt my Ironteam training.  Yet, I have never quit a race before and did not want this to be my first DNF.  So I stopped at the medical tent, took a salt packet and had 2 Tylenols.  Then I was off again.  I was determined to finish.

     The miles rolled by and I figured I could even walk the last 6 miles if needed.  I started to feel better as I ran.  The 10 lb weights were off my legs.  I could actually maintain my "marathon" pace again.  I focused on my breathing, and recited my mantras.  I repeated the names of my family and my honored teammate.  The last mile I remembered a co-worker that died last month from cancer. I remembered what a gentleman he was.  How kind, helpful, professional, and sincere he was.  The cancer took him quite suddenly.  One day he was at work, the next at the hospital, then the ICU, then he was dead!  I realized how precious this gift called life really is, and how lucky we are to be able to run through life with joy and love,  effort and determination, a little pain and great rewards.  

     With tears welling up, I sprinted the last mile and finished the marathon on Angels' Wings. The pain I experienced earlier in the race was now replaced by serenity.  A sense of fulfillment engulfed me.  I believe this experience will help me deal with the pain and mental obstacles that I will encounter during the Ironman Triathlon.

My Swimming S**KS

No, I don't wear socks when I'm swimming. That's what my coach said about my swim session yesterday. He said it in a nice way, so I guess its OK. Basically, I'm still struggling with the swim. My head is up too high. I tend to struggle through the water. Coach told me that with my long torso, I should be a good swimmer. I just need to glide. Hopefully I will learn to glide soon. Right now it feels like I'm increasing the number of strokes to try to keep up with my teammates in the lane. This approach is not working. I'm still getting lapped. We had two 10 min swim sessions last night. I managed to cover only 400 yards in that time. I'm pretty sure my lane mates covered 500+ since I got lapped by them twice.
My only consolation is that I will improve between now and August 1st ( Vineman Ironman Distance Triathlon), and even if I give up 30 minutes to them on the swim, I can easily make that up during the 112 mile bike and 26.2 mile run. The run is my strongest element, and I'm also pretty strong on the bike especially in the hills. So I'll keep chugging along, and hopefully not chug down too much pool water.

Windy Brick Workout

Wow. Today we had a 3 hour bike ride at Westlake Village again. This time, in addition to the hills, we had to deal with a strong headwind. The weather advisory warned of wind gusts of 40 to 50 mph. I don't know how strong the gusts were, but I was nearly blown into the opposite traffic lane while coming downhill at 41 mph. That was more thrills than I ever want to experience again. I saw on the evening news that a semi was blown over by wind gusts of 80 mph!!!
After the ride, we had a quick 20 min run. Again the legs were a little heavy and sluggish at first, but I found my running legs after 5 minutes. One of the mentors warned me not to run too fast too quickly off the bike. She's probably right; I can see the potential for injury or cramps.
I felt good about hydration and nutrition today. I used a Camel-bak hydration system, and it worked well. It definitely encouraged me to drink more frequently than I did last week using just the water bottle.
Today I car-pooled to the work-out, and it was nice. I got a chance to meet an Ironteam-mate, and it made the commute more pleasant.
Well, believe it or not, after a quick lunch, I am now at work for a 16 hr shift. This is taking endurance training to the limit.

Brotherly Love

The long and arduous task of becoming an Ironman requires the love and support of family and friends. First off I want to thank everyone who has already supported my fundraising efforts for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Your support gives me the encouragement I need to deal with the 2 a day and 3 a day workouts, 6 days a week. Your support will hopefully help find a cure and treatment for some of these diseases within our lifetime.
Now I want to give special props to my biggest donor and supporter, my brother and sister. As the older brother, I tried to set a good example for my siblings. In some ways, I have succeeded; in other ways, I may have failed. But their unwavering love through the good and the bad has meant so much to me.
This is an excerpt from a recent email from my brother who lives and works in Singapore.

"Hey Alex,
Wow, that's unbelievable! I'm really proud of you. I've been telling everyone that my brother is going to do the Ironman but as far as I can remember he can't swim."

Without support there is no way a non-swimmer can compete in an Ironman Triathlon. But with love and support all things are possible.

A Life Saved and Post-Call Brick

Yesterday was a "rest" day. That means working a 24 hr shift in the hospital. I think working these long hours helps my body and mind prepare for endurance events. Pacing is crucial. The ability to rev up your body and mind at a moments notice to handle the most stressful and life-threatening situations is also paramount. Running a marathon in many respects is about pacing and then pushing forwards during those crucial moments such as "the Wall" and the Finish. Competing in an Ironman just magnifies everything. Preparation, Pacing, Nutrition, Mental Fortitude, Physical Stamina, Rest... all elements to a successful call day or race day.
Last night at 1am, just as my body is starting to wind down and getting ready to rest, an urgent call to rescue a man with angioedema from an anaphylactic reaction to an ACE Inhibitor. This gentleman's tongue was swollen to triple size and was protruding out of his mouth. Saliva was drooling out of his mouth. His airway was severely compromised. "Death and All His Friends" were waiting for him. Fortunately by inserting a breathing tube using a fiberoptic scope through his nose, I was able to secure and protect his airway and deny Mr. Death, et al.
A few hours later it was placing epidurals in moms-to-be. Before I knew it morning had arrived and it was time for a quick nap at home followed by my Ironman workout.
Today I did a "Brick" workout, which consists of a bike ride followed immediately by a run. This will prepare me for the actual triathlon ( swim, bike, and a Marathon at the end! ) I don't know if this is true, but I heard they call it a brick workout because your legs feel like bricks after getting off the bike and starting the run. So I rode for an hour, quickly transitioned in 3 minutes to my running gear and refilled my water, then it was off for a quick 5 miler ( 46 min run). As I get closer to race day the rides will get longer and the runs will get longer. Yikes!
After taking care of errands around the house, I will have a coached swim workout tonight. Yep, the life of an Ironman wanna-be.

Pain in the Butt

My Ironteam had a 2.5 hr bike ride at Westlake Village yesterday morning.  Beautiful scenery.  Reminded me of Northern California.  I use to ride my Mountain Bike in SF, East Bay, Marin, Sonoma, and Napa.  I could go on 5 or 6 hour rides.  Of course when I was tired, I would take a break off the bike.  I'm not quite use to riding continuously for more than 2 hours without getting off the bike.  I notice yesterday my butt was really sore.  Standing while pedaling helped relieve some of the pressure.  But after a while the pain in the butt returned.  I am hoping that with training my Gluts will get accustomed to it.  Perhaps I might develop some muscles back there.  Otherwise I might have to try a different seat, perhaps one with thicker cushioning.

 I really enjoy riding my Cervelo S1.  Its the best bike ( and most expensive bike) I've ever had.  I averaged almost 16mph on the course which consisted of rolling hills with a few steep climbs.  My top speed was almost 39mph during the descent.  I'm hoping these times will improve as I get accustomed to road cycling.  

Well afterwards I was tired.  I felt like I had run a half marathon.  I ate, took a nap, and watched some NFL playoff action.  I also ended up taking a couple Advils for my pain in the butt!

I felt better this morning and ran a hilly 9 miles in Palos Verdes.  I have a swim workout planned for this evening.  More about running and swimming in a future post.

New Year's day Rose Parade Run

I started off 2009 with a 10 miler this morning along the Rose Parade route in Pasadena, CA.  I found out about this run from my Iron teammate Louis Kwan's blog.  Apparently this run was started a few years ago by "Godfather" Sean and Jimmy Dean.  Starting at about 5am from the end of the Rose Parade route, we run to the start of the parade route in Downtown Pasadena.  We check out all the floats before the parade start and then return along the route to where we began the run a few hours earlier.  (  the end of the actual Parade route)

This was my first time running this route.  In fact this was my first time at the Rose Parade despite living in So Cal for over 10 years.  I was amazed to see so many people sleeping on the sidewalks in sleeping bags.  Many groups had a fire over a grill to keep warm during the night.  When we started at 5am, most people were still sleeping.  A few people cheered us on and encouraged us to run faster.  As I passed the numerous Starbucks, I noticed long lines.  Many of the Reserved bleachers were still empty.  When we got to the start where the floats were lined up, we walked, took pictures, and just marveled at the beauty that surr ounded us.  The flowers were so colorful and vibrant.  It made me glad to be out there this early on New Year's Day.  

The return trip was a little anti-climatic.  The streets were more crowded.  The reserved bleachers were filling up.  There was more traffic congestion.  Most people ignored me as I ran by.  I did get a few smiles that cheered me up.  By the end I was a little tired, but I felt energized about 2009.  This will be the year that I become an Ironman!  How cool is that?