- Swim 1:31 (5310.87 m)
- Bike 12:57 (230.4 miles)
- Run 3:10 (21.8 miles)
Stay tuned!
Monday, July 7, 2008
Ironman Training...4 Weeks 'Til Race Day!
On August 2nd I'll be attempting my first Ironman triathlon. The 19th Annual Full Vineman, located in Sonoma County, California (wine country!) is one of the longest running iron-distance races in the country. I've been training exclusively for this race since early May (after completing the Wildflower Half Ironman). To date my training has been going fairly well thanks to the guidance of Endurance Nation, my online coaching service that provides my training plan. Last week I was on vacation in Michigan visiting my parents and had some quality time to hit the training hard. It was my biggest training week yet with 9 workouts totaling 17 hours and 46 minutes of total training time:
Stay tuned!
Stay tuned!
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Grandma H's 87th Birthday
After a long day of travel from LA we finally arrived at Coldwater Lake, MI early Saturday morning for a week long visit with my parents. The first item on the agenda was Grandma H's 87th birthday party which my mom was hosting.
It was great to see grandma, aunts and uncles, cousins, second cousins and so on (this family just keeps growing and its been awhile since we've seen them). Everyone was thrilled to finally see Liya and I enjoyed jet skiing and playing in the water with the kids. Below are some photos from the big day.
It was great to see grandma, aunts and uncles, cousins, second cousins and so on (this family just keeps growing and its been awhile since we've seen them). Everyone was thrilled to finally see Liya and I enjoyed jet skiing and playing in the water with the kids. Below are some photos from the big day.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Escape From Alcatraz Race Report
Wow! Alcatraz is simply an incredible race in one of the most beautiful and scenic urban venues anywhere. While San Francisco is known for it's cold summers and foggy mornings, the weather for the 2008 Accenture Escape From Alcatraz Triathlon couldn't have been better--mid-70's, lots of sunshine, and clear blue skies!Kyra, Liya, and I all stayed with Kyra's sister and brother in-law Mike in their beautiful condo in Pacific Heights. Between all my tri-gear and the baby stuff we totally took over their place (thanks guys)!
I awoke early on race day and rode the short 1.5 miles to the transition area to setup my gear. After getting everything situated, I boarded one of the many buses and we headed to the Embarcadero where all 1500+ athletes boarded the San Francisco Belle for the ride out to Alcatraz. After some maneuvering to ensure the boat was in the proper position, the pros started and then all of the age groupers followed like lemmings jumping off a cliff!
With the strong 3.5 mph current, by the time you jumped in the water you were instantly 10 feet or so from the side of the boat.The swim was amazing and very fast with the current pulling us along through the choppy water. I pushed it on the bike (HR was over 85% a lot) and was worried about overdoing it, but probably could have gone out harder had I known the course better. The bike course was beautiful as it went past the Golden Gate bridge, past Baker Beach, and into Golden Gate Park.
I had a stomach cramp during the first couple miles of the run and even walked for a bit to try and work it out. It finally went away as I approached the first climb...not sure if it was the Cytomax which I wasn't used to or what as I haven't had a stitch like that in a long time. The infamous sand ladder was a long steep climb up a sand dune lined with telephone poles linked together with rope. There is a wire railing along both sides of the ladder that you can use to pull yourself up as you go. It was fairly crowded when I approached so I just walked up it along with most of the other athletes. The rest of the run had incredibly scenic views and some fast downhills where I really got rolling. I felt good at the end and finished strong amidst a cheering crowd of spectators.
I finished in 2:41:42 which was good enough for 34th place (top 20%) out of 203 athletes in the Men's 30 - 34 age group. I'd highly recommend this race to anyone and hope to do it again in the future!
Monday, May 12, 2008
Liya's Crawling!!!
Little Liya started crawling this weekend! Now she's starting to crawl all over...time to child-proof the house!
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Avia Wildflower Long Course 2008
What an awesome weekend! I participated in my first Wildflower triathlon this past weekend and had an absolute blast...I only wish I had more time to just hang out and take it all in. Wildflower is a legendary triathlon event that features over 7,500 athletes and combines three races (a half-iron , Olympic , and mountain bike sprint ) with camping, music, and a festival-like atmosphere.
I headed up to the event with my friends Seth and Anne. We got up there early afternoon on Friday, registered, checked out the expo, and went for a quick swim in Lake San Antonio. Friday night was chill just hanging out and chatting with other campers. The campground was crowded by Friday evening, but not as noisy as I expected.
As for my race, I was happy with my results. I was hoping for a sub 5:30 performance and went 5:21. I had a decent swim just staying in the middle of my wave. The bike was very tough right from the start. At mile 2 there is a long steep climb to get out of the park and my hr was still sky high from the swim. 
My bike computer wasn't working, so I just settled into a comfortable hr and went with it. I passed quite a few people, but also had a few minor mechanical issues (dropped a chain and my front hub kept squealing) that I had to stop for which probably cost me a few minutes. I finished the bike in 2:54. Of course the run was hilly as well and running on trails was something I didn't do much of in training. I almost rolled my left ankle on an early descent so was very careful with each step afterwards. There were parts of the run that I walked up because they were so steep and I'd only lose a few feet to the guy ahead of me that tried to jog it. I was pleased with my run of 1:50 given the course.
It's very scenic course that passes Central California vineyards, lakes, and lots of hills. All the climbing make it very tough at times, but they also provide a great opportunity to really push the downhills which I enjoy doing.
I'm planning on taking it easy this week as I recover before I get back on the horse in prep for Vineman...my first full Ironman in early August!
I headed up to the event with my friends Seth and Anne. We got up there early afternoon on Friday, registered, checked out the expo, and went for a quick swim in Lake San Antonio. Friday night was chill just hanging out and chatting with other campers. The campground was crowded by Friday evening, but not as noisy as I expected.
As for my race, I was happy with my results. I was hoping for a sub 5:30 performance and went 5:21. I had a decent swim just staying in the middle of my wave. The bike was very tough right from the start. At mile 2 there is a long steep climb to get out of the park and my hr was still sky high from the swim. 
My bike computer wasn't working, so I just settled into a comfortable hr and went with it. I passed quite a few people, but also had a few minor mechanical issues (dropped a chain and my front hub kept squealing) that I had to stop for which probably cost me a few minutes. I finished the bike in 2:54. Of course the run was hilly as well and running on trails was something I didn't do much of in training. I almost rolled my left ankle on an early descent so was very careful with each step afterwards. There were parts of the run that I walked up because they were so steep and I'd only lose a few feet to the guy ahead of me that tried to jog it. I was pleased with my run of 1:50 given the course.
It's very scenic course that passes Central California vineyards, lakes, and lots of hills. All the climbing make it very tough at times, but they also provide a great opportunity to really push the downhills which I enjoy doing.I'm planning on taking it easy this week as I recover before I get back on the horse in prep for Vineman...my first full Ironman in early August!
Monday, April 21, 2008
Grandma Meets Liya
After much waiting and anticipation the weekend of our big trip to Phoenix to visit Grandma Gilbert arrived. After bailing from work on Thursday afternoon, we loaded up the car and headed out of the city in an attempt to miss most of the evening traffic. Our plan went fairly well, but the 91-West was horrible (as usual) and we lost about 40-minutes sitting in stop and go traffic because we were too cheap to take the toll road (and didn't think traffic would be so bad so early in the day). Lesson learned.We stopped once to refuel and once for dinner at McDonalds (a very rare occasion for this health-conscious family). The 383-mile drive took us right at 7-hours including both stops. Liya was a roadtrip champ, sleeping and playing most of the trip. Upon our arrival we were greeted by Grandma who was ecstatic to see her first and only grandchild. Liya seemed equally excited to be out of the car and see Grandma for the first time.
We also got together with Uncle Matt and Aunt Beth for dinner several nights. Fortunately, Liya was in a great mood the entire visit. Everyone who saw her had to squeeze her chubby legs and ask all about her. Liya almost always greeted these inquisitive faces with smiles and her excited kicking.
We had a wonderful time visiting Grandma, Matt, and Beth and can't wait to see them again soon. Though after another 7-hour drive home...we'll look into flying next time!
Friday, April 4, 2008
First Race of '08...Ironman California 70.3
Ironman California 70.3 was my first triathlon of 2008. A huge thank you to my friends and family for supporting my fund raising efforts for CAF's Operation Rebound. With their contribution I was able to meet my goal and raise over $1,500 to help troops permanently injured in Iraq and Afghanistan. In total 61 Ironman California 70.3 participants raised over $168k for Operation Rebound!
The Friday before the race I had the opportunity to go to the Operation Rebound pre-race luncheon and not only meet many of the wounded soldiers who would compete with me on race day, but hear their emotional stories of injury, fear, and ultimately recovery through the help of CA. It was very a very inspiring experience that would continue on race day as several of the injured troops blew by me on the bike and run! Here's a story from the OC Register about Evan Morgan, one of the guy's I met that has benefited from Operation Rebound.
As for my race, despite the forecast it turned out to be a beautiful sunny day in Oceanside. I started in the third wave and had a good swim in the rolling waves of Oceanside Harbor.
After a quick transition I headed out on the bike. The first 30 miles were mostly rolling hills, but the last 26 had a couple of major climbs. In addition to the climbs, the wind picked up during the second half of the bike and we faced a headwind back into transition.
Onto the run...the two loop course is very flat and right along the beach. It was a beautiful scene and I had one of my better runs averaging just under 8 minute miles for the half marathon.
When it was all said and done, I cut 18 minutes off last year's time to finish in 5hrs 15mins. I had hoped to go closer to 5hrs, but need to work on my bike if that's going to happen anytime soon!
The Friday before the race I had the opportunity to go to the Operation Rebound pre-race luncheon and not only meet many of the wounded soldiers who would compete with me on race day, but hear their emotional stories of injury, fear, and ultimately recovery through the help of CA. It was very a very inspiring experience that would continue on race day as several of the injured troops blew by me on the bike and run! Here's a story from the OC Register about Evan Morgan, one of the guy's I met that has benefited from Operation Rebound.
As for my race, despite the forecast it turned out to be a beautiful sunny day in Oceanside. I started in the third wave and had a good swim in the rolling waves of Oceanside Harbor.
After a quick transition I headed out on the bike. The first 30 miles were mostly rolling hills, but the last 26 had a couple of major climbs. In addition to the climbs, the wind picked up during the second half of the bike and we faced a headwind back into transition.
Onto the run...the two loop course is very flat and right along the beach. It was a beautiful scene and I had one of my better runs averaging just under 8 minute miles for the half marathon.
When it was all said and done, I cut 18 minutes off last year's time to finish in 5hrs 15mins. I had hoped to go closer to 5hrs, but need to work on my bike if that's going to happen anytime soon!
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