whirlwind weekend

Another weekend of careful universe-balancing moves is in the books. That would be my universe, where family responsibilities meet triathlon dreams, where hot-cakes, cartoons and play time co-exist with obnoxiously long rides and runs, and, now that the weather is nice here in Seattle, swim time with the little fish.

Both Sat and Sun consisted of brick workouts-
Saturday's brick went as follows: a 50mi ride, a 12mi run, followed by lunch, followed by 10min nap, followed by a 1-hr lake swim with the little fish.
Sunday's brick was a little more intense: a 100mi ride, lunch on-the-go, and 1-hr pool swim with the little fish. One thing after the next.

I should add I've been experimenting using considerably less calories, trying to get my body better used to burning fat. So far so good, except yesterday, when I ran out of gas 20mi out, with a nice headwind, a 4-yr old at home, ready to go, and a set pool schedule that waits for no one.

You gotta dig deep sometimes....

jc

Testing, testing, 1, 2, 3... is this thing on?

I'm excited to announce I've started working with the guys at Potentrx to try and improve my training/racing. If you are in Seattle and are looking for physiological, biomechanical, or muscoskeletal testing (and whole lot more), you should consider the services of the Potentrx team headed by Drs. Tripps and Speck. If you have any questions about my own experience, pls shoot me an email.

Warming it up...

So I had the opportunity to go in to get my VO2 tested. I wanted to obtain data to better fine-tune my bike training and racing. Sean and Wes, super professional yet down to earth, got all the Darth Vader hardware on me, put me on my bike, pointed me to the pain cave, and asked that I go in as far as possible. In I went, no lightsaber. Some 15minutes later, I came out a soggy sweaty mess, seeing spots and feeling a little weak. If they had asked me to keep going for another 30sec, no doubt I would have had to use that garbage can next to the bike.

Uh... guys...? Is it me or is it getting awfully dark in here...?

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So what did I learn? While the data shows I've done an ok job bracketing racing/training efforts based on my experience, I learned where my little engine is lacking punch and how to improve and do more with what my parents gave me. All in all, it was a great experience, and I very much look forward to having them in my corner.

See how they enjoy watching others suffer? :o)

Thanks a lot you guys!

JC

Burnout & Rebound

This past weekend I was clearly in the valley of post-IM depression, weighed down even more by the dissapointment of a race gone wrong. Zero motivation to keep pushing through training. Having put my (very patient and supportive) family through the rigors of training, to come up empty handed on the day when it counts, well, it made me question decisions, as well as my time management skills (or lack thereof).

So I got off the bike after hardly any work on Sunday, and did a good amount of house work instead, chores I've been neglecting for a long time. I took back the backyard with the weedwhacker, fending off vicious dandelions. After Donovan's bedtime, I opted for a short ez run. I was ready to quit within the first 2-3minutes, my legs feeling super heavy. I stuck with it and very slowly felt the snappy feeling and fast turnover coming back. 30minutes later, my spirits were lifted, and I was happy to return home and spend time relaxing with my awesome wife, enjoying the sunset from our house. We can see the mountain peaks, both literally and figuratively speaking.

Let's see what next week brings.

Make that Cd'A 3- JC 0

"When you get hurt and all your sacrifice adds up to NOTHING...
are you willing to put it all on the line again?" - Conrad Stoltz

See you in 2011, Cd'A. We're not done here. Not even close...

Thanks to my dear family, friends and my awesome sponsors, for being there for me.

Time to re-focus.

jc

PS-For those who've asked, stomach cramps lasting the *entire* ride and worsening while running-shufling was the kill switch this time. I think it was the few mouthfulls of lake water....

Cd'A 2, JC 0

"Lemme see your hands in the air if you underdog,
If you are not a favorite...."

The van is packed, the team is ready, we're on our way Idaho... it's time to settle the score.

Father's Day Recap

This past weekend we had some really brutal weather here in Seattle to welcome the summer. Team Management shoved me out of bed at the crack of dawn on Sunday, and indicated to go swim in the cold lake. Brrr....

Photo by Zach Hodgson

Greenlake is still cold (specially with just one latex cap on), and the air temperature was ~50F. When I got done swimming, I was ready for some hot breakfast and coffee. I opened the front door to our house, and was greeted by a delicious aroma and a cheerful Donovan screaming, 'Happy Father's Day! We made you CAKE, Papa!' Not only had they made hot cakes, but also super yum coffee cake. It. Was. Awesome. As the rain started to really come down outside, and we were sitting over the cozy warmth of oven-baked goodies, I was one happy papa....

We are all excited to get going and have a nice little vacation in Idaho, hopefully with nice weather. 4 more cold swims, and a couple more rides and runs before show & tell.

jc

México 2 - Francia 0

The sweet taste of victory

¡¡¡ Viva el Tri !!!

Boise 70.3 - 16th MPro

Photo by Idaho Statesman

What better way to end the last big build to an Ironman than with a lot of pain courtesy of super tough race conditions? So thanks, Boise, for kicking my butt.

I drove to pick up fellow pro Michael "Rocket Cheeto" Gordon, and then we were on our way to Boise. The drive was really nice, and we got the chance to catch up, ponder the meaning of life, and trash talk.

The 2pm race start was awesome. More 70.3's should do this. Here's how it went- The water was WAY cold for this dude. I could not keep my hands open to catch water towards the end of the swim, which got more interesting with the the little chop on the way back. I was just wanting to be out of the freezing reservoir. Wasn't a good swim.

Blue Triads racked after a tough tough ride.

On to the bike, we were immediately greeted with absolutely crazy wind conditions on top of heat. Everyone I talked to after the race agreed it was ridiculous. We got blasted the whole ride, having to either lean hard left, or right, to keep the bikes upright. After that kind of riding, there just wasn't a whole lot of running left in anyone. Just look at the run times.

Michael & I chatting it up with our buddy & runner-up Ben Hoffman.
Cuidadito con Ben- el chamaco se ha convertido en dinamita pura, y va por buen camino.

Professor M. Gordon, Doctor A. Jensen, B. Halpin, "the Missoula Click" + 1 Mexican, post-race.

Hey, if you see this guy, please remind him he owes me a beer.

We chatted post-race about what REALLY matters (the World Cup!)

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Before signing off, thanks to Shane and Katie for hosting us. You guys were truly awesome! Thanks to my great sponsors, Blue, Nuun, Blue Seventy, First Endurance and Oomph! for their continued support. Last, but always first, Theresa & Donovan- I missed them so freaking much.

My lats/shoulders are still sore from fighting to keep the bike on the road, my butt is sore from all the driving. Bring on the taper, 13 days to Ironman Coeur d'Alene.

jc