Weekly Training Log: Week of May 25th, 2015 - Week #19: BolderBoulder, Beth's birthday, and a sprint tri

In Life: Summer vacation is here and life is better because of it.  Memorial day was Monday, and my sister and family were in town for it.  I got up and did the race, then went back to the start line to do the race again with all of them.  My son did the whole thing - the whole 10k by himself, and I could not have been more proud.  Walking/jogging a 10k at 4.5 years old is just awesome!

We did our annual post BB10k BBQ and had a great time with food, beer, and friends to celebrate my favorite day of the year.  Beth's birthday was then on Friday... We did dinner on Thursday evening instead to celebrate.

Finally, I did a sprint tri on Sunday and we had a nice little pool day after that with Aiden and one of Beth's friends.  It was an awesome start to the summer break.

In Training:  The week kicked off with a hard 10k race.

The Bolder Boulder was on Monday (memorial day) and I was going to see what I could do.  My run training has been MUCH more sporadic and has varied more in speed and intensity than ever before, so I wasn't hoping for much.
I did have a Bolder Boulder course PR in 35:31.  I ran a good race and was very happy with my result.  Oddly, I was very sore for the two days after the race.  I don't know if it was the intensity or the course that made me sore, but its really weird to have a 10k make me as sore as doing a Half Iron distance triathlon.

I also started to train with the Apex group this past week and had some of the longest swims that I have done in a long time.  It will be awesome to work with a coach and I hope to see some good improvement this season because of it.

Weekly Totals
Swim: 10,150 yds
Bike: 575 TSS - 160 miles (trainer and outdoors)
Run: 34.5 miles

All of us at the start of the Bolder Boulder

Action picture from the citizens race that started at 6:55

Splits from the BB - It's not an easy 10k course.  Fair amount of ups and downs, lots of turns, and at altitude.  I would estimate to be a minute to minute and half faster on easier sea level course.

We had signs on the kids backs to ask for encouragement - Their names were there and people yelled for them.  I think this helped get them through it.

Aiden in his first complete Bolder Boulder.  Im going to have to frame this one.

My Sister and Niece, Meadow.  She took a nice nap while her mother carried her for the 6.2 miles

Happy birthday to my beautiful wife

Action from the Colorado Sprint Triathlon on Sunday

After sprint tri - Sunday fun day

Weekly Training Log: Week of May 18th, 2015 - Week #18: BOLDER BOULDER Weekend 2015!

In Life:  The School I work at was out for summer on Thursday afternoon, then I went to help out with the Columbine Elementary "Mile Marathon" on Friday morning.  It's a mile race that is the Friday before the BolderBoulder.  It's a way to get elementary students excited about running.

I did the run with the third grade, then talked to the fourth grade class with Ryan Van Duzer - the biggest/most awesome Boulder celebrity.  It was a real honor.

My sister and her family came into town on Friday evening and we had a great dinner up at Gold Hill Inn (up in mountains above Boulder) on Saturday night.

The weekend of the Bolder Boulder (Memorial day weekend) is my favorite of the year.  Growing up in this town, the weekend was always a huge deal, and has only gained more importance as the years have passed.  This weekend is my Christmas, and the Bolder Boulder is why I am an endurance athlete.



In Training:  This past week was my largest week of bike training so far this year.  Power seems to be climbing, and I am able to throw in more threshold and intensity.  I thought that I had hit a wall, but I am pretty certain that I can still make some gains before lots of racing starts.
I kept my run volume lower than usual to make up for getting in the time on the bike.  I also wanted to keep my run semi "fresh" for that race on memorial day.


Weekly Totals:
Swim: 7,100 yds 
Bike: 731 TSS - All on trainer
Run: 26.1 miles 

Speaking to 4th graders at Columbine Elementary about running/life

Got the real one in the mail.  Immediately replaced that old "adult" one in my wallet

Aiden and Autumn (my niece)

Aiden and River (my nephew) up at Gold Hill

Meadow - my other niece

Weekly Training Log: Week of May 11th, 2015 - Week #17: A Completely New Way of Looking at the Sport

In Life:  We got flooded again in the basement (the room that I get almost all of my training in) on the Saturday before this week and I was worried that it would screw up the floors and walls.  It didn't (as far as I know).
It was also the second to last week of school for our kids, so behaviors have been crap at work.

All in all, Im just getting through these last weeks right now and looking forward to the summer break in so many glorious ways.  Working in Education is great.



In Training:  After three weeks of some down and fairly laid back training, I am back at it and ready to push things again.  I was actually ready last week to really press go, but the flood on Saturday screwed that all up.
My power is back up on the bike and I am looking to make some small gains before the real race season begins.  My run also turned this week and feels like it is ready to be improved again.

The last few weeks gave me a mental break and a new way to look at things before I take the start line at my first professional race in four weeks.  I watched the whole broadcast of of Ironman Texas (some while doing a trainer/treadmill workout) and was inspired by how the pro races work and unfold.  I'm pretty excited to start this whole thing.

Weekly Totals:
Swim: 5,100 yds 
Bike: 543 TSS - 6.5+ hours on trainer/outside
Run: 32 miles 

My sister dropped in town for an interview - It would mean the WORLD to me if she moved back to Colorado.

Went over to Avery Brewing for a few beers with my new coach Friday.  Ill get into that next week.

Proud to be coaching a fine group of athletes in IPA

The things that saved the flooded floors and walls

Aiden helping clean up the water from flooding

Racing as a Pro: Day One

Today I received my card from USA Triathlon.  I am going to race as a professional for at least the next three years.

I wanted to mark this one down on the blog so that I can remember exactly what day I got it.

I will be resuming my training log (including last weeks work) and will do a short write-up on NOLA 70.3 in the coming days.


Thank you to everyone who helped me get here.  I'm really looking forward to racing and learning from the big guys.