Breath of Life Ventura Triathlon

Yesterday was the Dina La Vigna Breath of Life Triathlon in Ventura, Ca. It was my first Olympic distance triathlon and first race in the ocean. The last month and a half I have been training pretty hard in hopes that I could break 2 hours and 10 minutes.

When it was all said and done, I smashed my goal by over 10 minutes. I was shocked to see that my time was well under 2 hours, 1:58:22. I placed 8th overall out of 422 competitors and 2nd in my age group behind Agoura High School cross country and track alum and current UPenn runner Chris Baird. You can read more about my race report on the Slowtwitch forums.

I will now be taking a few days off before ramping the running volume back up for cross country. Our team is looking really good for this Fall which is awesome, but that means I will likely be fighting for my position as one of the top-7 again. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

As triathlons go, I will definitely be doing more. Yesterday’s results have me really excited for my future in triathlons. The plan is still to put all my focus into running until I have exhausted my eligibility. After that, who knows…

Dina La Vigna Breath of Life Triathlon Results | Pictures (via brightroom event photography or Facebook)

Time Trial and Brick Action

These last few days I have done some tough workouts that should be good indicators of where my fitness is at. Monday I decided to go for a 1650 yard time trial in the pool (~1500m which is my race distance). The goal pace was 26:00 and I was happy to see that it wasn’t too bad to hold this pace. I finished at 25:55 with some energy to spare.

Tuesday I decided it was time to see where my run fitness is at with a 10k tempo. I ran 32:53 (5:18 pace) and felt decent at the end. I am hoping that I can run at least 34 minutes with an all out effort at the end of the race.

Today I did a modified workout that we do at NAU a couple times of year. It consists of 4×400, 10 minute LT (a bit easier than tempo), 4×400, 10min LT, 4×400. The idea is that both systems, aerobic and anarobic get worked. In the triathlon spirit, I modified this workout to make it a brick. After a 2 mile warm up, I went for a 10 mile bike. Once back at the track, I ran 3×800, headed out for about 12-13 minutes on the bike, 3×800, 12-13 minutes on the bike, and 3 more 800s. It was hot, but I was really happy with how my legs felt coming off the bike. 800s were 2:27-2:29 with a 2:18 last one.

I am going for a long run with teammate Myles Kloer tomorrow off Mulholland drive near UCLA. I have never been there, but I have heard it is a nice place to run. Other than that, next week should look pretty easy. A couple bike rides with some “race pace” riding, maybe some strides or shorter reps for running, and in the pool a few times.

Pay it Forward

As I sit with family watching the Lakers game I thought I would share an anecdote about my ride today.

Around noon today I set out toward Camarillo on my bike for my longest ride yet — 50 miles. The sun was shining (finally!) and I was excited for my long ride.

Shortly after 30 miles I heard that dreaded sound of a popped tire. Shit. I started to phone home when another biker came along. He asked if I had a tube and I told him I didn’t. He immediately offered me his extra, tools and a hand pump.

On the side of Pleasant Valley Rd in Camarillo a stranger named Doug helped me change my tire. We had a short little chat… He lives in Camarillo and was actually going to be on his way to Simi Valley after his ride to take his children to a birthday party. Before we parted ways I thanked him and he said, “Pay it forward to someone else.”

That really made my day. It wouldn’t have been a big deal for someone to pick me up, but I was just so impressed by his  generosity.

What a great day!

19 Days!

I am down to less than 20 days until the Breath of Life Ventura Triathlon. I am getting a little anxious, especially when I think about that 1500m ocean swim. I hope sharks sleep in on Sunday mornings.

Training has been going pretty well as I have been hitting it pretty hard. My swimming is really starting to come around. My goal of 26:00 is looking more and more attainable with each session in the pool… and I am still not doing flip turns! (I really need to get on that)

Biking is not progressing quite like the swimming, but I think that is simply because I don’t spend enough time on the bike. I have been looking at what some other triathletes do in terms of training, and they tend to spend the most time on the bike. As of right now, I’m looking at about 47% running, 26% swimming, and 27% biking. I have done a couple 40 mile rides (which is long for me) and plan on doing at least one 50 miler before the race.

I have mostly been doing easy runs with only a few workouts on a whim. Last week Charlie Serrano was preparing for a track 10k with 10 400s with 2 minutes rest. I thought, “What the hell,” and jumped in with him. I averaged about 63 seconds which was a little faster than I expected. Great news as it seems I haven’t lost much run fitness since my season ended. That means I need to make sure I take a little break after this triathlon before I jump into the summer mileage.

Shout out to former teammate Marten Bostrom for winning the Fontana Days Half Marathon in a PR of 1:03:41. Marten is headed home to Finland after spending four years studying and running at NAU. One of my current teammates, Ben Ashkettle, finished just behind Marten.

Long Weekend

I have a new sister: Gina Pedersen. My brother’s wedding was a ton of fun! It was a really long weekend and I am glad to be back home getting the training in.

I swam Thursday morning before we drove up to Davis. After dinner, my brother had an Ultimate Frisbee game on campus and I was able to get in 5 miles or so before his game.

After a nice 10-miler around Davis Friday morning, we went to Cache Creek Casino in Brooks. Pretty cool little casino. Lots of 3,000 slot machines (boring) and over 100 tables (more on that later). In the afternoon we went to the rehearsal and then the rehearsal dinner at R.H. Phillips Winery. Great food and wine (I’m more of a beer guy, but I had a nice glass of chardonnay).

My family in front of some vineyards

Saturday was the big day. My brother was to get married and I was to give a best man speech in front of 160 people. Oh shit.

As I said, the wedding was great. Beautiful setting at Taber Ranch. I gave my speech without too many screw ups (I accidentally threw in a line saying Gina was my brother’s “first wife.” Not good.). Food, dancing, cake, mingling with friends and family, and of course booze made it a great event.

Gina, Andrew, Me, and the rest of the groomsmen

Me and Hudson... Cerveza Mas Fina!

When the festivities were over, most people returned to the hotel to do some gambling! Friday night I had my biggest winnings ever of $125. Saturday was more of the same as I left the hotel $263 richer by Sunday. Blackjack is where it is at. Maybe I should have played a little more Sunday morning because I was hot?

About an hours drive Sunday morning put us in beautiful Napa. There I was able to get in an hour bike ride at sunset (yes, I brought my bike to my brother’s wedding) and about 6.5 miles on the treadmill.

We went to a total of four wineries between Sunday and Monday. Two were really beautiful with great wine (Mondavi and Rubicon), one was beautiful with mediocre wine (Castillo di Amorosa), and one was just a tasting room with pretty good wine (Hill Family Estates). My parents have done the Napa thing a couple times now and have drank a lot more wine than I have so they offered some advice. I have started to acquire a taste for wines… I don’t have to be the only one drinking beer at nice restaurants anymore.

Me and Tina at Castillo di Amorosa

Monday I ran 10 in the morning. Tuesday I ran 5 in the morning. Biked about an hour and ran ~2 miles in the late afternoon after we got back home.