Dana Point Turkey Trot

What better way to start off Thanksgiving day, then with a race? This was my second year running at the Dana Point Turkey Trot . Brittany ran the race with me and although she has ran 2 half marathons, this was her first 10K distance race. She wanted to come in under an hour and was a little nervous about achieving her goal. She said that it was more fun doing races before she started setting goals for herself, and I understand. But, I guess that it is inevitable that as we progress, we gauge our progress with benchmarks. So, I said “it is the effort and the training that matters” and not to worry too much about the time. With all that said she came in at 59:31 and she was elated! She looked great and said that she felt fantastic.

Last year my time was 56:56, so I was definitely looking to beat that time. At this time last year, I was knee deep n marathon training and my weekly mileage was averaging over 40 miles a week. Right now I am doing between 20 and 25 miles a week since I am training in 3 different sports. So, I wasn’t entirely sure what I would finish at. I was very pleased with my time of 52:51. I felt really good the whole race. In fact, I felt much better than I remember feeling last year. I guess all of the cross training for Triathlon and the increased fitness does spill over to the other sports disciplines.

There were over 3,000 people at the race. It is a beautiful course along the coast and the race is run very well. My buddy Rich O’Neill was there and he finished in 51:21. What a great day! We plan on making this a Thanksgiving holiday tradition.
After the race, we had an amazing Thanksgiving dinner at my parents house with a TON of food and great times with the family. I wish I had some pictures of everyone that was there (around 20) but I did get a shot of the food or what was left of it. Thanks Mom for another great Thanksgiving. Holidays are always special at my parents house.
My training is going very well. This week breaks down as follows:
2:30 Swim
5:55 Bike
4:05 Run
For a total of 12:30

My biggest challenge has been swimming. I never skate on a scheduled cycling or running workout . But, I have to confess that the same has not been true when it comes to the swim. I would try to figure out why. I would get in the pool and just stand there, trying to get motivated to swim for 45 minutes to an hour. It’s not that I am really bad at it. I have only been swimming for about 6 months and I do okay. I learned fairly quickly and it’s not that dreadful, but still I haven’t found myself looking forward to it like I do the other two sports. After giving it a lot of thought, I figured out that the difference has been the lack of a good way to monitor my progress and stats from my swim sessions. So, I bought an Timex Ironman stopwatch that keeps track of my laps and (due to a recent update to my logging software) I am able to manually enter my swim workouts and keep track of my 100 meter splits and pace. This has made all the difference in the world. I love stats and visually seeing numbers. It’s working and I have kept up with my scheduled swims for the last two weeks and I am actually starting to look forward to my swim sessions. Good thing because the Ironman is less than 20 weeks away and I was starting to get a little worried whether or not I was going to be ready. The plan is to get good enough to survive the swim and finish in about 90 minutes or so, saving plenty of energy for the bike and the run. My 100 meter splits are in line with that goal so I am feeling much better about it.

Next weeks training... 14:30. Man this is getting fun. I have never been happier in my life. Triathlon is the greatest sport.

Paul
http://www.paulboth.net/
http://www.myspace.com/paulboth

Blogging with the iPhone

I love technology. I am on the trainer for a 2 hour ride. Being on the
trainer for that long can get a little boring. So it is really cool
that I can multitask and write this blog entry on my iPhone, email it
to my blog and have it publish almost immediately. Amazing! It Is mind
boggling how far technology has come in such a relatively short period
of time.

This weekend is a pretty hard training weekend as far as miles and time. I
an doing 2 hours on the bike, then an hour swim ( I have to make up a
little time for a couple swim sessions that were cut short this week).
Tomorrow, I will be doing an 18 mile run with Brittany. I am hoping
that it is not too uncomfortable of a run, since I have only done a 14
miler in the last couple of months. I am sure that Brit will do fine
as she has been building her miles and this is 2 miles longer then the
16 miles she did 2 weeks ago. She is right on target.

Man, this multitasking is hard. I am going to sign off for now and
concentrate on one thing, my cycling.

Paul Both
http://web.mac.com/paulboth/
http://www.myspace.com/paulboth

Why do an Ironman?

I have been asked this question along with, “how far is that?” I start out saying “the swim is 2.4 miles” as soon as I say that, I usually get interrupted with “2.4 miles, are you kidding, I can barely get to the other end of the pool......” At which point I say, “wait there’s more, then a 112 mile bike and a marathon at the end”. Most people just shake their heads and say “that’s crazy, I could never do that”. I guess that is the interesting part to me, and what I find fascinating. I now that they can do it if they wanted to. Just about anything (within reason) IS possible, you just have to commit yourself to it, believe and be willing to follow the steps to achieve your goal. You can run, or walk, across the country if you want to. It might take some people a little longer than others, but, IT IS possible. I think where we as humans get hung up is, looking at the whole distance to our goal, whatever it is, and getting overwhelmed and intimidated, then start feeling like we can’t measure up in our current state. I have a couple of areas in my life where I am battling this. I am training for the Ironman to remind myself that the seemingly impossible Is possible.

Jasmine is doing GREAT with her swimming. We went Monday night and she did 10 laps. There was a coach at the pool that coaches at Marina High school. She gave Jasmine a couple of pointers and couldn’t believe that this was only her second time swimming. She seemed a little discouraged at first and said “by the time I do my 1280 laps, no one will even want an IPhone anymore” I thought that was pretty funny and cute. By the end of our session she seemed more encouraged and I told her that I think she will get up to 30-40 laps per session and at that rate, if we go 3 times a week it will only take 10 weeks or so. That sounds much more manageable. And that, I think. is the trick. Break any goal down to manageable tasks and do them. Just do them, anything to get you towards the finish line. But, you gotta start the race.

So to answer the question “Why do an Ironman?” I guess the real answer is that I think I am not training as much for the Ironman distance as I am training to remember that I can truly reach any goal that I set out to accomplish. So after IMAZ, I will apply this to those other two areas of my life. That is why I’m doing the Ironman.

Running Scared 5K

I am sorry that this blog entry is so late, but I have been extremely busy at work and training, that I haven’t had a chance to sit down and write it. Brittany and I ran a 5K in Long Beach on Saturday Oct. 27th. It was put on by the Long Beach Police Dept. and it was called “The Running Scared 5K.”

It was a beautiful morning and I picked Brit up at her dorm around 6:15 am. I really enjoy race mornings. I have never been a morning person since I spent a good portion of my life playing music and that usually meant staying up late at night rehearsing, playing gigs or “promoting” in clubs. Since I began running, and now doing triathlons, my internal clock has had to readjust to the morning training schedule. I have found it much easier to stay on schedule by doing my training in the mornings. Something always seem to come up in the afternoon and evenings that can derail even the best of plans. Not to mention being tired from the days stresses, or in my case, sessions with clients running long or mixes that need to get done. So, I train in the morning. I usually get up around 5:30, eat breakfast and I’m off. It is usually just around sunrise when I leave my house and it is really peaceful outside. I have really come to enjoy it.

Back to the 5K. I picked Brittany up at her dorm. We got a little lost on the way to Eldorado Park, where the race was held, but we eventually found it and got there around 7:15. The race started at 8:00. I generally like to get there a little earlier than that so we can relax, check in and get our race bibs and not have to rush to the starting line. But, today we were a bit behind. We got in line to get our race bibs and when we got to the front we were told we were not on the list. I registered us 2 days prior to the race, but apparently the Active headquarters that is based in San Diego had to evacuate due to the Southern California fires and the list that was at the race did not reflect our paid registration. The Lady who was handling the registration was fantastic and said that we were fine and go to the other line and we would be given our race bibs.

By now it was about 7:45 and we had our bags that needed to go back to the car. I like to do a warmup run before a race so I did a brisk run to the car and back with about 5 minutes to spare before the gun went off. When I say gun, I mean gun! Most races use an air horn to signal the start of the race. The Ironman uses a cannon, but this race used a gun! A very loud gun! It scared the crap out of most everyone. Maybe that’s why it is called “The Running Scared 5K”. I mean we were in Long Beach.

With that we were off and running. I asked Brittany what her goal time was. She said she didn’t want to say a time, I figured that she would come in under her previous PR of 31:00, but I had no idea how much under. She has been putting in a ton of miles, training for her Marathon in February. And one of the great advantages to that kind of volume is faster paces without much more perceived effort. I on the other hand have cut down on my running mileage due to training in three disciplines. Boy did this show in our finish times. Brittany absolutely rocked it. She finished in 26:50! I finished in 25:51. Man the numbers just don’t lie, and goes to show that you get out what you put in. The look on Brittany’s face when she saw the clock was priceless. I was VERY proud of her. I was disappointed in my time, but it is understandable considering my current training. I had a bit of a problem breathing during the race and felt like my lungs were on fire. I am guessing it was due to all the smoke in the air from the fires but I am not sure since Brittany didn’t have that problem. I have only felt that one time before and that was in Iceland, and that was due to the cold weather, (I think). Nonetheless, I better get some speed work in at least once a week or my Daughter is gonna smoke me. But that wouldn’t be so bad, it would just mean more pictures of me crossing the finish line, since she would get there first.

Man, I love it when a good plan comes together!

Paul

Swim for the iPhone

Becoming an athlete has changed my life. I have always been pretty motivated, but I have always been motivated in creative endeavors, which are hard to benchmark, and rely on other people to assess “value” or achievement. Being a Triathlete is not like that. I run my own race, for the most part, and I am always striving to beat my last PR. The amount of work that I do in training directly relates to my success. It is pretty scientific, you can see it in a graph, absolute. I like that. There are variables, but you define the variables and the constants and then experiment. There is not a lot left to chance. It is empowering and I wish more people were like that these days (If you ever wonder how many “victims” we have in our society, just take a look at how many lawsuits are clogging our court system, sad.) Most importantly, being an athlete is about setting a goal, working towards it and seeing tangible results from your efforts. Cause and effect. It is a constant reminder for me that I get back what I put in. I have learned this and this is what I want for my Daughters!

Back in January, Apple announced the IPhone. Brittany, Jasmine and I were sitting around the table gawking at the video explaining all of it’s amazing features. We all wanted one. So I devised a plan. I told them that if they started running, I would pay them for their miles. I came up with a nice round number, 250 miles for the $500 iPhone. $2 dollars a mile. It sounded like a lot to them and it was, but I knew that if they stuck with it that long they would be hooked and learn a great lesson at the same time. So, I bought them each an IPod Nano and the Nike + IPod sports kit, which tracks your miles and pace. The “Run for the iPhone” challenge was born.

Brittany and Jasmine were off and running. The iPhone came out at the end of June. At that time I was the only one who had completed my miles but Brittany was not far behind. Jasmine developed pain in her hips, but more about that later. Brittany completed her 250 miles in August. She opted to not get the iPhone and instead take cash, which was an option. She spent her money on clothes. You know how women are. I am happy to report that she is now a “real runner.” She has close to 500 miles logged and is training for her first marathon in February ’08 having done several other races including 2, 1/2 marathons.

Jasmine was sidelined with hip problems, so we needed to figure out another challenge for her. Her Doctor said that swimming would be great therapy and it is a low impact sport. So, she is now “Swimming for the iPhone.” Based on the original challenge, I figured that they could comfortably run a 12:00 mile which is 5 miles an hour. So 250 miles would translate to 50 hours of running. Luckily for Jasmine, the iPhone price has come down to $400 for the 8 GiG model so she only needs to do 40 hours of swimming. I figure that she can work up to and swim 1 MPH comfortably. One mile in a 25 meter pool is roughly 32 laps. So, the math is, $10 an hour per 1 mile of swimming for a total of 40 miles. Or .31 cents a lap for 1280 laps. It sounds like a lot but we will be going 3 times a week for an hour a session so it should only take about 13 weeks. We started last night and we had a great time. Jasmine looks like a natural. She looks very comfortable in the water. She watched the “Total Immersion” DVD and did a few drills and swam a few laps.

Man, I love it when a good plan comes together!

Stay tuned for updates on Jasmine's progress.

Paul

Dirty Dealin’ on Sirius

I got a call from my friend Kevin this morning. Apparently when he was getting into his truck this morning, he saw Dirty Dealin’ on the scroll bar of his Sirius satellite radio. I guess they have our music over at “Hair Nation.” Even though we were a 90’s band, we did sound a little 80’s. Seeing as how 80’s music seems to be finding a new audience recently, it would be cool if these songs could find a new life.

If you have a moment and you like a particular Dirty Dealin’ song, then head over here and you can request it.

Hmm... with all of these bands doing reunions, you never know.

L.B. Half Marathon race results

What an awesome day! Brittany ROCKED! the 1/2 with a time of 2:21:34. But as great as that time was, it could have been better. She had to stop and go to the bathroom and got stuck in line for 7 minutes. So, if you were to take that into account, she really ran a 2:14. Amazing. Her last 1/2 was 2:30 so she pr’d by a good 16 minutes. Her training is really paying off. She also took a spill and scraped up her elbow and knees. She said a few people helped her up and she kept on running. Way to go! I couldn’t have been more proud.



Time: 2:21:34
overall 2935 out of 6076 48%
div 20-24 103 out of 228 45%
sex place 1271 out of 3449 36%

My Dad did great on the bike tour. He finished in 2:25. He only had to stop and pee once. And if you knew my Dad you would know how surprising that is. He is really stoked about cycling now and wants to do the Los Angeles bike tour that is held the day of the LA Marathon. I love it when a good plan comes together.

Jasel did great on her 5k. She didn’t look at the clock when she finished so we are waiting for the official results for her time.
*UPDATE*
Jasel finished in 29:57 which is a 9:39 pace! That’s a great time and she is joining cross country so it is bound to get even better. Congratulations!

I was ok with my time. I finished at 2 hours even. I haven’t been putting in nearly as many running miles as usual since I am training for the Ironman and my training time gets split up between 3 disciplines. So I can’t complain with 4 minutes slower than my PR. I was dealing with some stomach issues, which I usually don’t have. Brit and I had a rather large dinner and I think I had half of it still in my stomach for most of the race. The weather was great. It was a little chilly at the start, but of course once you get going it was perfect.



Time: 2:00:00
overall 1280 out of 6076 21%
div 40-44 142 out of 355 40%
sex place 878 out of 2627 33%

The race was really cool. The event was well organized and the volunteers were great. It was really cool not having to drive to the race and deal with parking, since I live right up the street. It was also a lot less stressful than doing a triathlon, since you only have to run.

My Mom was there cheering us on and said that “it was tiring just being a spectator”. Which brings up something that doesn’t get mentioned nearly enough. And that is how important it is too have people that love you enough and are willing to support this endeavor of ours. It is tiring going to a race and deal with all the traffic and the people. Getting up so early and, In the case of my Mother, making breakfast for everyone, washing race clothes and standing in the hot sun waiting for us to cross the finish line. So, thanks Mom and everyone that supports us.

What a great day!

Paul