Monday, February 21, 2011

Training Summary 2/14 - 2/21

Monday

Second week back in the saddle. I sit here and type this instead of actually getting outside because it's raining, blowing, and dark, and I've got a slight sore throat. Yes, I'm a fucking wimp :) I'm going to opt for the indoor routine today, trying out the new kettlebell for swings and get-ups, then finishing up on the TRX, blasting the legs and the core.

1x 5 reps KB getups, 25 lbs. Much harder for the left side than the right. Hmmm.
3x 25 reps KB swings, 35 lbs. Breathing very hard by the end of 25 of these!
3x15 single leg split squats, last 2 sets were plyo. Also gasping for great @ end of these.

Had to bail, sick kids and running late. Tomorrow I'll do upper body and core.

Tuesday

Upper body session, quite a good one. Managed to get completely pumped
Atomic Pushups
1x15 pullups
1x15 single arm talon rows
1x15 single arm tricep extensions
1x20 suspended leg swings
2x15 supermans

Wednesday

3 miles running, followed by kettlebell hell, same as last time. Kettlebell swings getting easier. Maybe my form is getting fucked?

Thursday

Beat. Rest Day

Friday

4 miles run, I'm tired of running slow so I didnt chug up the final set of hills. Worked on really feeling the push off in my core and glutes, and keeping turnover high.

the usual kettlebell/single leg split squats, skipping the kb getup. Was fairly spanked afterward.

Saturday

GPS was out of juice, so I took Shadow out for 6 miles. We kept the pace 'high', i.e. 7:45 - 8:30 on the hills. I was definitely feeling it towards the end. Muscle fatigue was setting in. Still, I do feel a lot more solid and stronger in my core and glutes, and running is starting to feel like floating instead of slogging.

Sunday

Today my back felt...whacked. Not sure if it's the kettlebells, or the hard runs, or sitting funny, or all of the above, but it definitely wasn't groovy. So I thought I'd go out for a little spin. The ride (2 laps, MI, 1:39, SLOW) felt fine, first time out on the new tribar setup, position was essentially unchanged from the previous drop bar setup. at about mile 20 I broke a spoke. I'd say it was the SHEER POWER of my legs, but spoke age and overtensioning might have more to do with it.

Later in the day I felt like a cripple. My lower back was spasming, so I tried to stretch it a little bit (NOTE TO SELF: DONT DO THAT AGAIN) and my upper back spasmed. Fuck, I'm old. My knees also hurt and all in all I was hobbled quite massively.

Monday

Ibuprofen and rest helped me get over being old somewhat. Spent the day boarding with the kids. Right now that means boarding with Leela on green runs. Boring..except it's my little girl and she's rockin the skis right now. And, I'm getting the hand of riding backwards on a directional board. The trick is to not panic and just let the turn....happen. That's right. Just let it happen, don't force it, get in the backseat and let the bitch ride. I actually started laying down some nice carves that way -- switchpants carves, who knew I had it??!? Now I just need to get my jumping mojo back from 10+ years ago, and I'll have come full circle.

Monday, February 14, 2011

Ha! Training Summary, Post Sayulita, 2/7 - 2/13

Jesus. I missed about 3 weeks of consistent training. Week 1 I was sick. Week 2 I was sick in Mexico. Week 3 I was sick in San Jose. Week 4, this week, I got sick of being sick, and decided to hug it out. Seems to have worked. That or the sleep. In any case, I put on a little bit of love during the last week spent in San Jose, the soulless tech capital of the world, eating crap processed food and sitting on my ass in the Strata conference.


Monday


Crazy Train leaves station. 4 (that's right, count em, 4) miles of angry waddling. First run in what felt like a decade. Heel still hurts from strange surfing wipeout. Lungs feel like those of a chain smoker. Love handles and other jiggly pieces are, well, jiggling.

Followed the run with some trx lunges and weights. Yippeee!!


Tuesday


3 mile angry waddle (I refuse to call what I'm doing, at a 9:00 pace, running. dammit.) Followed by lunges and a kettlebell workout. Hey, that kettlebell stuff (approx 30 lbs) hurts! And it gets my heart a thumpin! I'm going to make a kettlebell and buy some more weight plates.


Wednesday


Upper body day, and, yeah, my ass really hurt from that kettlebell stuff. So it must be working. I'm excited to try it tomorrow! Really, I am. Can you feel the excitement? I also did 35 atomic pushups. The last 5 sucked. The first 30 were not as sucky. I did some other strange core stuff, like
  1. the leaning tower of Pisa,
  2. the strange leg swing thing from pushup position
  3. the sit-down and drive back up with the hips
  4. and more! 
Finally, I did some pullups (like 12), and then immediately followed with single arm rows. So I felt pretty buff, even if my tummy has gotten slightly more rotund than usual in the last couple of weeks.


Thursday

TRX and Kettlebell:

3x 15 single leg split squat plyos
2x 10 single leg front squats
3x 25 kettlebell swings

My pseudo kettlebell -- a dumbell with one plate as a handle is getting slightly dangerous. So it's time to build one. But I'm still getting completely cleaned by these swings. Jesus they're hard. Esp. when followed by split squats.


Friday


3 mile run --new route, up W Mercer Hill and back on trails via headlamp -- so romantic! --  followed by upper body TRX.  The 3 mile route was slow, due to the constant uphills, but fun, due to the trail. I think it's a good warmup for weight session, it gets me slightly sweaty.

TRX:
1x35 atomic pushups
2x10 supermans
1x15 chest flys
2x10 single arm presses
1x15 pullups (forearm still sore, need to lay off the axe handle pullups for a bit)
1x15 single arm rows.


Saturday

6.75 mile base pace run up and over the hill by the swimming pool. My heel is hurting, courtesy of a strange, inconsequential wipeout in Sayulita. It hurts until about mile 2, and really feels stiff in the morning. After I run, however, it feels fine. weird.

avg pace was around 9 minutes. I'm running hella slow right now, which is why I need to get back to basics. My HR is also a lot higher. where I was averaging 134 for a 9 minute mile, I'm now up to 148 or so. Yikes. This is what happens when you dont run for a month and you're 41.


Sunday

Snowboarding w/Leela. The first couple of hours were her lesson, so I rode around a little bit. Snow was much better than it has been lately, which was enjoyable! I finally got a park pass, proceeded to get into the park, and lame-style a couple of jumps. But that I mean approach the lip too slow and barely get any air at all. Jumping, for me, is an exercise in comfort, and I'm going to need to get a lot more comfortable in order to do it well. Not sure if I have that kind of time -- should have done this a _lot_ earlier in the season :) Oh well, there is always next year!

Leela had a bit of a breakthrough on skis today, after class. I had to talk her into going, she really didn't feel good. But after the first couple of runs, when we worked on turning instead of doing pizza all the way down, she really started to like it, and we got in 6-7 more runs!! I love it when the kids have moments like this -- the trick now is to not push them too hard, just let them figure it out at their own pace. They're like their dad, kind of cautious by nature. Sometimes that means you need to push it, but sometimes that means you need to get into it slowly. I'll push myself, and let them get into it slowly.

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Sayulita Report


Yeah, that was paradise. The Surf Trip to Sayulita was a definite highlight, much like Mark M's SnowCat Bachelor Party, or The North Ridge of Stuart, or Orbit+Outer Space in a day, or the Seattle Marathon, or RAMROD. I think I need to have at least one kickass experience like this per year. It reminds me of what life is really about. (hint: _not_ software!)

Of course, my choice of traveling companion pretty much guaranteed the trip would turn out well. Jay is not only the ultimate optimist, but he's incredibly open to trying or doing anything. So what if he's never surfed before? He's been wanting to try it for a while. And his openness extends to everyone and everything around him. It was impossible to walk into a bar or restaurant with Jay and not walk out with some new friends. He is very engaging with everyone, where I am very private, and as a result the trip was a lot more entertaining than it would have been alone. Plus, the added bonus of travelling with a friend that's known me for almost 20 years and gives me shit for all of it makes it that much more fun.

The village of Sayulita is sort of built up, but nothing like Puerto Vallarta. The roads are still dirt, the roosters are still game for the 3am wake up, and the vibe is supremely mellow. Despite the whole narcoterrorista thing in Mexico, Sayulita felt very safe. I saw lots of couples with infants and toddlers tooling around. And the dogs were well fed, mellow, and plentiful.

The food is killer. We found many restaurants that were incredibly simple, El Bicho, La Casita, Fish Taco, etc, but whose food was amazingly fresh and tasty. All for about $6 per person. Most of our money went on froofy drinks, next time I'm going to just drink beer and save a lot of $$.

We fell into a good rhythm. Wake up, get coffee, check out the waves, get a board for an hour session in the AM, ride/get thumped until we were exhausted (yep, about an hour), catch a great brunch somewhere in town, head back to the casita, pass out, wake up, get an afternoon session in, shower up, head out for a sunset viewing (see above picture), get a good buzz on, fall asleep, wake up at 3AM to roosters, mating cats, rowdy dogs, and pass in and out of unconsciousness until 9am, where we hit the repeat button. It was like a very good version of Groundhog Day.

The week started out out with some _thumping_ waves, steep, big (overhead), fast, and relentless. Not good for a guy who hasn't been surfing for 6 years :) And poor Jay was getting hammered out there. Of course, this is nothing compared to ultra running or an ironman, so he was just having a good time. After 3 days of getting cleaned, the next 3 days were good for the soul. The waves backed off, built more slowly, and broke predictably. I know that an experienced surfer would have been thriving in the first three days, but it was an ass kicking, in the funnest sense of the word.

After the waves backed off, our senses were so ninja honed by the steep and fast sets of the past couple of days, that riding the mellower waves was deliciously easy. I can't actually describe what riding a wave feels like, other than timeless. Wait. Let me try:

When it all goes right, I see the wave coming, I'm in the right spot, the wave picks me up and I slide down the face. I'm arching back and paddling, putting all of my weight in my belly to make sure the board doesn't pearl or fall off the back of the wave (this is where my natural weight distribution may have favored me :) The board starts to glide faster and something inside of me says to stand up, so I do. Then, I'm moving across the face of the wave. I hear a slight ripping sound as the wave breaks behind me and to my side. For that brief moment everything stops and I'm standing there, and the world moves around me. I ride the face of the wave, it's better than the deepest endless pow day in the mountains because it's truly bottomless. Sometimes I ride past, between, around people, they all smile up at me, they know the stoke. Then it's over. All sound comes back, the wave is done, it's time to kick out, or just fall off the board, so I do. I paddle back out, and wait for the next one.

I love the vibe around Sayulita. The people are extremely friendly. They take my hacked up Spanish and body language and make the best of it. We rented our boards from Sayulita Surf Camp, which is a bunch of local hardcore surfers trying to make a go of it. It felt good to support locals, and they were very, very cool to us.

Coming back has been rough. I picked up a cold before I went down, and the January water temp and cold air temp (down to mid 50s at night and in the am) didn't help. I also picked up a bit of a stomach virus, ironically by eating fast food in the airport. And then I spent a week in lame ass Santa Clara at the Strata Conference, a great conference where I didn't get outside for 3 days because the information inside was so good (I'm not being sarcastic, it was a kickass conference).

Sometimes I wonder if I should actually figure out a way to head down there instead of grinding it out up here. I don't know. I might get bored in paradise. I have this mental itch that needs scratching, quite a bit. Oh, and then there's the family....they've got a life up here, I cant just change it up like that and assume they are on board. But I do want to get down there again with Lopa and the kids. Maybe when they're a little older, so she won't be so stressed about everything going perfect.

There. That's all my thoughts for now. Other than the fact that I haven't run for about 3 weeks, have put on about 5 lbs of goo from eating conference food, and am still working some crud out of my lungs. The next month is going to be all about rebuilding. But it was so, so worth it!