Nothing huge...

No training notes today but I did see a couple of pics on-line from my sister-in-law that I dig (maybe she won't think this thing is boring if I post her pictures. lol) Thanks go out to Taffy for taking the pics. It's me and my most excellent children! Oh and the little girl sitting between my girls is my beautiful niece Isabella. The twins love her like she's their sister.

It's been awhile but I'm still kickin'!!!

Yep it's been a couple of weeks since I last posted and while I perhaps have not been pursuing the 'training' quite as vigorously as I would like to be I haven't completely forgotten it. Life has definitely gotten in the way lately but I did manage to get out and hit up DVL and completed my first timed lap of the year. I scheduled myself for several to see if I can do any better. I'm hoping that between my first attempt and my last I'll be able to shave a few minutes off it. This month I've got to try and get 36 miles in one ride on the mtn bike for my b-day ride. I'm thinking 5 laps at Southridge but it's going to be hard work and much of my time is going to be taken up with the emergency move of stuff to storage.

I have been a bit lax in the riding and it showed very acutely this past weekend. I got together with my Bro-in-law and we hit up Red Rock Canyon in Vegas on our road bike. We rode the scenic drive through the park. It's a nice 15 mile loop with one killer 7% 2 mile long grade and it kicked my butt. Between being off the bike for nearly 17 days, poor sleep the night before (I can't sleep in a hotel to save my life), bad nutrition, a 2000 foot higher elevation and....well I can come up with more but they're all excuses. In the end I was forced to walk the road bike up a long section of the climb. It was horrible and embarrassing with like 50 riders or more passing me! I have to hand it to my bro-in-law as he did not rub my face in it and did not show the frustration I'm sure he was feeling as he was forced to wait for me to catch up. He's an animal on the bike and rides his ten year old Trek like it's a 09 Madone custom built for him. He rides like 600 miles a month and has a really smooth form. From my perspective it was a great ride that humbled me and made me hungry for more. It was a ride with a good guy amongst great scenery. I had a blast.

I've been lamenting over the fact that I have few trails close by since we moved to the apartment but after my humiliation yesterday I wanted to get back in the saddle quick. So today I suited up and hit the FSR. I explored the local dirt trails that I know about and I think I've figured out a decent route that loops around on itself a couple of times with an OAB climb that's pretty gnarly in sections. It's probably close to 9 miles and I could easily stretch that out to 18 if I HAB over a steep climb to the Farm. I'm pretty stoked to have found it as it'll give me a nice fall back for the mtn bike!

On the positive side I got in 105 miles on the bike last month and 23 miles of running. It's a great start. Taking the first week and a half of March off it'll be hard to hit those numbers in the next 15 days but we'll see what I can do!

Another week down...

Sundays seem to get here faster than ever now-a-days. The older I get the faster these weeks go by. ;-) So this week was fairly successful for me, I started back to work and while that was mildly painless it sucked falling back into the rat race after such a great time off. I was able to get into the groove fairly quickly and it seems like I should be able to balance all the things I have goin' fairly well. I'm pretty stoked by that.

So last monday with it pouring down rain...and I mean pouring, I got in a quick short 2.5 mile run. I wish I had some pictures cuz I was super soaked by the time I got back to the house. I was so wet I had to go into the garage to change out of my running gear. It rocked!

On Thursday I got in a 25 mile road ride. I have been trying to slowly increase my distance and I felt pretty good on this ride. I pushed a faster cadence and pushed myself really hard the last 3 miles or so. I was riding into a head wind most of the way back into Wildomar which sucked my mph down a bit but I felt like I really pushed hard. It was a good ride! I think I'm ready for the DVL ride this week to see if I can do the 22 miles in 2 hours on the FSR. I'm thinking yes but we'll see.
Oh and the fourth picture down shows the construction work they're doing on the sink hole that showed up on the 215 this week and caused some major drama on the roads of Murrieta/Widomar. It's not the greatest picture since its my cell phone but I thought it cool to see it.







Today (Sunday) I was tired from my first full weekend of getting up at the crack of dawn and I really just wanted to come home and flop on the couch. Instead I bee-lined it to the room and laced up to hit the pavement. I could've copped out and done another short run but I really wanted to get in a good long run (for me anyways) so I pushed myself to do what I'm calling the Santa Rosa Loop (cause it goes around the Santa Rosa Apt not the presrve!). It's 5 miles and either climbs up Nutmeg or or Clinton Keith depending on which way to go. I felt strong and ended up doing the run in 50 minutes which is 5 minutes faster than a week and a half ago. I'm stoked beyond words right now! That's a ten minute mile. I pushed hard the last two miles and really hard the last mile or so to get the run done in the 50 minutes. It was good!

So all in all it was a successfull week and I'm looking forward to another good one next week. With no real rain in the forcast some overcast days and mild temps it's going to be a great week to get out and enjoy the out doors. Have a great one everyone we deserve it!

It's over....

Well this is it; the last night of my vacation. Tomorrow it's back to the grind, I've tried my best to get my wife to not make me go back but it hasn't worked. I've tried it all, cleaned house, done ALL of the laundry (and I hate laundry) but to no avail she won't let me quit! lol. So tomorrow at 1:30pm it's back to the daily politics that is my job. The job is great but the drama surrounding it is really not any fun and I'm not looking forward to getting bogged down in it. Still I must look on the bright side; we have a new place, a new sense of purpose, a new semester, and a slight change in my outlook on life. Perhaps, if I'm lucky, I will be able to sluff off the political drama and just Be. I like to think it'll work.

That is enough of that. It's to depressing and I try to keep this blog a bit more upbeat and positive. I do feel like for the most part the vacation was a success. As mentioned above we got the move 90% completed. I got in 4 runs and 3 rides during the vacation so I feel like I did pretty decent. The flu really kicked our butts and I probably could've gotten 1 more ride in if I didn't come down with it but I'm really not complaining.

I didn't race at all, I have my excuses (and I think they're decent ones) but in the end it just didn't happen. A little bummed about that but I'm not going to beat myself up for it. I have a few key goal rides coming up and I'm looking forward to nailing those. My last two rides though have been great. The 25 miler was awesome and I got in a 17 miler on Saturday morning. It'll be nice when it dries out a bit and I get on the FSR.

I'm feeling pretty strong on the runs right now and I got in a nice 5 miler. The longest since I returned to running. I'm definitely going to be on the road more than when we lived in the Farm so I've started setting a bit of money aside for some road shoes. I'd like to get in a 10 miler before the end of March, we'll see. I have had a bit of knee pain so I don't want to get to crazy with that.

Speaking of knee pain I think in the next week or two I'll be developing a short resistance training regime to do twice a week to try and strengthen both the muscles around the knee and my core so that both the biking and the running will be a bit easier. I don't like any sort of knee discomfort and will do everything I can to prevent it. This is leading me to re-examine the food I'm taking in as well. I don't like some of it and I need some healthier snacks to get me through the day. I'm going to look into buying a blender so that I can blend of some smoothies. They seem like a nice change from Clif Bars and Triscuits & Cheese.

So all in all I went into the vacation stressed and unhappy. I feel like I'm leaving the vacation refreshed and in a new place in life. I think I like it. I've got a nice routine down....now I'll just have to see how things pan out with work added to the mix! It should be fun!

Thanks for reading and as always keep the rubber side down.

Countdown to work....

First off I'd like to thank Allsion for leaving a nice note after my last post. I was pretty bummed I bailed on Fontana but in the end I knew it was the right thing. I just have to keep plugging away. I have some good goals and I think I may be able to add a few more. I think 2009 will be a good year both on and off the bike!

So I have three days until its time to return to work and for the most part things have gone pretty much how we planned. We moved, I unpacked, set-up the new house, ran a couple of times and got in at least one ride (I'd like to get another this weekend). Other than the flu trampling through the household I have to say the vacation was a success.

Now I just have to dig deep and find the motivation to go back. I honestly don't want to for a number of reason but mostly because I have just been having a blast being domestic, watching the kids and getting in my exercising. Having weekends free have been a blast and if I had weekends free I could race to my hearts content and go on group rides! I know the grass is always greener but man it's like a dream to me. Sleeping in relaxing a bit. Wow I've tasted 'normal' life for the first time in 3 years and it was good!

So I realized the fantasy isn't going to come true so I re looked at goals and set some new ones. I've decided that I'm going to go out and attempt to race this weekend assuming it doesn't just open up and dump. I've gotten wet lube for the chain and will apply it tomorrow. I don't have any expectations (I've only ridden Vail once and that was nearly 2 years ago) I just want to get out and ride with others and see how hard I can push myself.

I did get a really nice road ride in this week. It was cold and I got decked out in my long sleeve Fox jacket and hit the pavement. The jacket is probably way hotter than I needed but it did keep the wind off of me and kept my body temp up so while I was bit sweatier than normal when I got home it was nice to not be shivering while on the bike. I wore the leg warmers which I still think are amazing considering they're just spandex. They work like a charm every time. I ended up pedalling roughly 25 miles according to Google and did it in about 1 hour 40 minutes. Not speedy but it wasn't a bad pace. The first part of the ride was hilly as I stuck to the North of the 15 up in the homes. Lots of steep ups followed by steep downs. I spun over to Railroad Canyon road and down around Lake Elsinore. I ended up on the other side of the Lake and followed Grand Ave all the way back to Clinton Keith. I felt pretty good for most of the ride. The backside was a bit sore as I've only been doing about 60 minutes in the saddle and had an extended down time due to the move. Today I'm a bit sore but not to bad! Here are some pics...





Check out the spokes on the first picture. I'm really hoping that's just an optical illusion and not the state of my spokes (they feel pretty normal right now). As you'll see I rode with an iPod for only the second time in several years. I have a small shuffle and it was nice to have a little music to keep the mind off the pain. It was a bit weird to not 'hear' the bike working but it was a nice distraction. Unfortunately the battery died half way through. I think I'll be using it again.

In other news I got a really pretty decent run in last Sunday. It's a nice loop that goes around the area I live. To be precise it climbs part of Nutmeg which is far steeper when you run it than when you drive it! I'm horrible with figuring grades and have no fancy Garmin to tell me that altitude change but I'm guessing a 10% grade over a mile or so. (Anyone know the grade of Nutmeg in Murrieta?) I ran through the rain and a run I thought was 4 miles in 55 minutes turned out to be 5 miles when I clocked it in my car. Im not fast by any stretch of the imagination but I'm pretty stoked none-the-less!

Well I'll be watching the weather reports closely for the next day or so. I really hope Saturday stays at least semi-clear. I do feel some butterfly's as there aren't any people I know racing at the Racers and Chasers. I have a feeling that its going to be easy to come up with an excuse not to go! lol.

One goal missed....

Well as I sit here I'm feeling a bit depressed. I had told myself that I was going to race the Southridge winter series again this year but by mid-November I realized that this wasn't going to happen. Between financial tightness and a more restrictive work schedule this year I re-imagined my goal and was resigned to race just one, maybe two, of the races. As the race #3 passes me by today and really no real chance of making races #4 or 5 I realized that it sucks to let yourself miss a goal. It's like breaking a promise to yourself and it feels like a kick in the gut! I of course have my excuses for missing today's race and they are (in no particular order; 1.) Rain, 2.) Recovering from the flu,3.)Spending a rare weekend off w/family, and finally 4.)Unpacking from the move! They are legitimate excuses but I really wanted to race. Waking up to semi-sunny skies didn't help. To be honest though I ran yesterday for 40 minutes and for about 4 hours after felt a little...off. Not sick per se but, honestly, not great.

So now I am determined to make the Racers & Chasers XC race out at Vail next weekend. I just saw that WeatherChannels long range forecast calls for rain but I think I'm gonna race regardless. It's not quite the original goal but it'll be a new experience for sure. With that race over I'll concentrate on getting the DVL ride in so I can get an idea of where I stand on speed/strength/stamina. I'd really like to do the 22 mile fairly level trail in two hours. I did it two years ago on the Bullit (built up for AM riding) in just over two hours in the dead of summer.
The yellow Bullit!

Most of the parts on this frame are on the Chameleon now.

From there my goal is to do 36 miles on the Mtn Bike in March. I'm also seriously thinking of doing the June 12 hour event at Vail. We'll see.

So packing is almost done. The upside of the rainy weather and not racing is that I've been able to really dig in and get stuff unpacked and set up. The video game consoles are all plugged in and the DVD's are all out. The only really important item, besides my collectibles, at the old house is the road bike. Monday I should be getting that!

Boxes...Boxes...everywhere I look I see boxes!!!!!!



Hahaha it's not quite as bad as the pics make it look but it's close. Most of the boxes are narrowed down to one room and the rest of the house is pretty clear. We found out that we probably didn't need to move for about 3 to 4 more months. We could've saved a butt load of money but man since moving to the new place I feel like a huge weight has been taken off my shoulders. I'll take this feeling freedom and contentment over the extra money we could've saved any day of the week!

A quick comment...

In the process of our move we switched cable providers and thus our email adresses have changed. Unfourtanatly, I have no idea how to access the old account remotely. I had a few emails to respond to (Justin's was the main one) but right now I can't. As soon as I figure out to get to everything I'll take care of it! Thanks.

And the flu rips through the family...

Man what a couple of rough days! So last week was a horrible week from a workout P.O.V.! I got out on the bike on Monday and I got a run in on Sunday morning. In between all of that I packed and moved the family! We are now living in a nice 3 bedroom apartment about 10 miles of where we were living. Losing the house is a drag but I have to say that this new place is...well...new! The mobile we left was 23 years old and showing it (one of the reasons we were forced to leave it), this new place is only 8 months old and has the feel of a real house. It's only about 300 sqft smaller and we're saving a bundle of money a month. This is going to sound bad but since making the decision to move about 4 weeks ago we've not argued over money so I guess that's something. It is an amazing thing to go from barely keeping your head above water to hving that water lap at your waist. Our credit rating is going to suck but the immediate financial situation is really awesome.
So on top of moving we had the Flu come ripping through the family. First one daughter, than my son and then my wife. I started feeling it on Thursday before we were scheduled to move and I just got the mindset that I refused to get sick....and it worked...for a time! My stomach hurt like the dickens on the day of the move (saturday) but by the end of the day I felt pretty good. Sunday morning I woke up in the new place feeling great. I was stoked...I had dodged the flu. To celebrate and start this new chapter in our lives off right I dressed in my running gear and went out to see what was in the area to run on.
I'd run near the new place once or twice (the gym is down the street) so I had an idea of where to go. I hit a decent pace and was feeling pretty good. I didn't spot any real good mtn bike stuff so I was a little bummed but with the Santa Rosa Plateau just up the street about 10 miles I'll just be loadin' the bike in the truck a lot more. So I finished my run (3ish miles in around 45 minutes) and felt really good. That is, I felt good for an hour or so, then my stomach started doing flips. total sour stomach indigestion feeling. I felt weak and the stomach discomfort last all day...right up until aroun 10pm and then I spent the night in the restroom! Whew it's been a rough 20 hours or so.
I have two weeks left of vacation and I'm hoping by the end of the week I'll be able to get a ride in. I don't know how long to lay off the riding/running but I'm figuring a good two to three days after my symptoms subside. I'm feeling a bit better but not even close to 100% more like 40%. (which is better than last night when I didn't think morning was going to get here!)
Well enough of my sad story. I'm going to go surf blogs to get a taste of riding at least. ;-) Take care and keep the rubber side down.

hmmmm...part 2!!!

I just finished an email on training that has me really thinking hard about where I want to take my mtn biking. On the one hand I would really like to be the in-shape race guy who rides 5 days of the week and can just hammer the crap out of anyone who dares ride with me (I said can not would! lol). On the other hand I'm not sure if I have the energy to do this on a regular basis. I think I'm using my kids as an excuse to keep from really getting into the training thing. This might be legit and it might not be. I feel that I must really persue this line of thinking over the next few days.
Another idea that the email brought mind is, if I train...what am I training for? I really can't race the way the average person does because getting the time off is not always a possibility. I work weekends and weekends are when the races are. Last year I made four races at Southridge and I'm finding out from this year that that may have been a fluke. Right now I'm looking at racing the next Southridge race and then not race again until November. So are my own personal goals enough to keep me going? Are goals like riding 36 miles on my birthday enough to keep me pushing. Can little goals replace the milestones and deadlines of a race? This is an interesting question to me and one I've been pondering since I read the email.



These were two pretty cool moments (finishing my first race ever and making the podium...even if it was next to the podium on the last race of the year) last year and I'm wondering if completing my first 100 miler (on road bike or mtn bike) will feel quite the same?

hmmm

Well here I was sitting all Quasimodo like over the laptop writing emails and reading blogs about riding. I had told myself I was going to ride this morning and yet there I was coming up with excuse after excuse. (It's cold outside, I'm tired, my work day is going to suck, my week is going to bite!) Then a light bulb went off and I got changed. I threw on the Lycra (I haven't worn Lycra on mtn bike in two years) and the leg warmers a long sleeve jersey and hit the dirt on the FSR. It was a good ride and I tried to push myself a bit up the hills. I stayed in the middle ring a few minutes longer and nearly cleared two short steep rocky ascents I usually have to HAB. It was a 70 minute ride and I probably did 8 miles. Not much compared to some of the folks I read about but right now it was good for me and started the week off right. No pics though cuz I had a short amount of time. Now I'm scarfing down a couple of PB&J sandwich's and am heading out the door for work. I'm happy that I pushed myself and now I can go to my first day back of the Spring semester knowing I didn't slack off. Life is good...well it will be until I get to work! LOL til my next post...keep the rubber side down folks!

News of the Day....

So it's thursday or sunday if you work Friday thru Tuesday like me. I didn't get a chance to get out yesterday 'cause a daughter was down sick...again! So this morning I forced myself to do something. I dropped everyone off came home, changed and went for a run. Today I didn't care how long I ran I just ran. I ended up doing 4 miles in about 50minutes. I did the road thang for a bit and then hit the dirt. It felt good and I kept a steady but comfortable pace. It was probably a 5 for most of the way. Lot's of climbing though and I'm sure I'll feel it tomorrow. Took a few shots and here they are, the last one is the approaching storm that I dodged by about 2 minutes. I don't mind running in the rain but it was nice to stay dry.





In other news on this gloriously overcast day is that I'm returning to a love I left about a year after I got this job of mine. That love is Aikido. After speaking to my Sensei about some issues I am returning to the dojo. I have mixed feelings about this as it takes me out of the house on my Sunday. I get back at around 8pm and I have an early morning every Friday. Yet, despite that I know I miss it something fierce. When I stopped going due to time constraints and cash flow I felt as if something was missing. I had invested a lot of my time and energy into my training in the last 6 years and to just stop was tough. The information I accumulated and the books I had loved sort of just sat there mocking me. So now nearly a year later I'm looking to return to the training because I feel my life is lacking a certain balance and spirutality that my Aikido training can provide. I'm scare and apprehensive but excited at the same time. We'll see how it goes. Here's a few pics of me and of the dojo with some of my training partners. It's actually quite a blast and a lot harder than the critics of Aikido could ever know.

A light week...

It wasn't a bad week but it was a bit...off. I didn't work my normal schedule at work and instead got caught in jury duty on Monday, a day shift on Tuesday and just a busy day that started out at court (for work) on Wednesday. Thursday was a quiet stay at home day that should've been a ride day but with a sick daughter it was time to put rides/runs and exercise worries out to pasture and take care of her. Friday was apartment signing time and that took all evening. So what did I end up doing for the week? Glad that you asked! lol

I got a run in on Monday afternoon and it felt decent. I stuck around the 30 minute mark and pushed myself a bit harder than I have on the previous few runs. I got up to a good 7 (on a scale of 1 to 10 w/10 being all out) and felt good enough to slow down, recover, and then push again without walking. After Monday there was nothing to speak of until....

Saturday, I raced home from work, changed and tok off on the FSR. I pushed myself several times and took full advantage of the settings on the rear shock. I pushed down hill along Scott Rd. I went South on Haun and then up and around the water tower to the Nursery. I remember a time when the dirt road to the nursery was nearly impossible but yesterday I pushed it and made it up. It wasn't fast but it was steady and it felt good. From there I did my normal run down into the small valley and then back out to the farm. I rode well, felt strong and had a really good time! All in all I was out for 95 minutes w/about 15 miles. Not a swift pace but a good solid pace for me. Next week I'm hoping for two rides and a run. We'll see if life/family will let me!










Just a few pics of the ride. I was trying for some different shots but its not easy to hold a camera phone, balance and ride over a rutted road with one hand! LOL. I really need to get better shots/camera so I can get better scenic shots. Until next time keep the rubber side down!

It's just one of those days....

So I woke up this morning all gung-ho to get things done. Yesterday ended up being a write-off of a day and today I was gonna get up take the kids to school/sitters and hit the road bike for a quick run around Elsinore. I figured about 20 miles today and some good times. I was planning on following that up with a nice healthy lunch and some packing!

Instead I got up to a sick daughter followed by too much time on the computer followed by....well its still early but I figure I'm gonna end up on the Wii for at least an hour! With the ride snatched away I seem to be lacking the motivation to do much of anything.

I know I need some cheese with my whine but hey that is what blogs are for...right! ;-) Alrighty it's off to try and salvage this morning and see if I can't get a couple of boxes packed up. Here's a pic...just because!

Week in review...

Overall it wasn't a bad week to be honest. I got in a run, some rides and a bit of daddy daughter time. A downer/upper popped up at the end of the week with the decision for the family to leave the house we've been in for five years and move into an apartment. I also just got an interesting offer from an old friend that I don't think I'll be able to pass up.

I've got some pictures too.

I started the week out with a run that was nice. It was about 40 minutes and it was good to start the week off with exercise, especially when that was my goal.

Wednesday was spent with the girls since we were all out of work/school. We spent the day having goofy fun and visited the Lake Skinner playgrounds which they love. That is where I took a picture of them at.

Thursday I got in a 50 minute bike ride on the road. It was amazing how out of shape I am in when it comes to the road bike. I did what I consider to be the Farm Crit which consists of a 3.5 mile loop through the Farm. I did three laps in 50 minutes. I was going to push for a fourth but I had a date with my wife at noon and it was 11:50. To be honest though my legs were shot and I probably would've bonked half way through.




Finally on Sunday, unable to take watching the Chargers get beat by the Steelers, I took the Heckler out for a spin through the dirt roads around the house. It was a decent ride but I sucked wind a bit due to my poor shape and a head/chest cold I've been fighting off.






So the weekly tally was 2.5 miles running and 21 miles riding. Not great by the standards of a guy in shape but pretty good for a guy who had a three month lay off and who has been fighting off a cold for the past week and a half! I do apologize for the quality of the pics, they were take on my Katana cell phone. But I do love having pics on my blog!

Ugghhh

Man I feel like crude. I have this head cold that is really kicking my butt. I felt okay yesterday and got a nice jog in before work but as the day wore on I just kept feeling worse. Now I'm sitting here facing another 8 hours of work in the cold and not wanting to go in at all.

You know I sit here and I read the blogs of folks like Luke, Allison, and Kerkove and I boil with envy at their form, physique and ability to ride for hours on end while I sit here and feel as if I'm pushing myself with an hour in the saddle! I know that pushing much more than that right now could lead to injury but it can be frusterating...especially when you know you've done way more time on the bike in the past. Stupid school for getting me off my riding! lol Running for 35 minutes is a start but man I can hardly wait to get my times up into somthing somewhat close to 'epic'!

I'm supposed to ride tomorrow but I think with the kids off I'm going to spend the day with them which then leads me to the hard truth, I need a trainer! I could get a good hour spin in and spend the time with the girls instead of an either/or situation. hmmm

It's a new year...

So it's a Friday and I'm off...not only am I off but the whoe family is off!!! Crazy. So I slept in this morning and then ot up and hit the bike for the first ride of 09! It was a decent ride on the normal trails. Having been off the bike since about November I wanted to take it super easy just as I've been doing with the running. Nice and easy to regain the lost base fitness. So I kept it to about an hour...70 minutes to be precise.

I felt a bit off for the first mile or so but then settled in. I can't believe that I out of the whole 1000 acres or so of land I ride through I picked the one spot of dog poo to dismount on!!! Lucky me, so after cleaning it off the best I could I was back on the bike. The skills came back slowly and by the end of the ride I felt pretty good. I hit up VA hill but only rode the lower quarter and the upper quarter. The real steep middle section was a no go but gave me a good idea of where I stand in the over all fitness.

I tried to take a couple of pics with the camera so I'll upload those and see how they look. Hope everyone had a pleasant and safe new years!





Not bad. I'll have to keep doing this as I like Blogs w/pics!