Beer Drinker?.........hey! It's light beer!

Week Review

Okkkkkkkkkk ie Dokie then.... At least my calf is holding up! Yikes JK looks painful!
It has been a rather productive week here. This week I really tried to not force anything and see what kind of schedule comes of it. Surprisingly enough I got a whole hell more done than I had thought! I even got two days of 2 workouts...... I think it is due to me getting up super early and going to bed early allows me more time in the am while the fam is asleep! Sooooooo getting up around 5 has turned into my new "awake" time. I always saw how easily most 'dad's' tend to get up and do their thing; but living it has been rather fun I have to say! I don't mind the change. It is nice to accomplish a ton by 0800, and most of the time I have been eating better and getting more done in each workout as well. TIP!!!! Must go to bed EARLY TO ACCOMPLISH!

So where was I, oh yea my week. Well Tuesday marked my first "team" lift. HOLY SHIT. Sorry was trying to stand to go and get some water. Note to self..... deep squats for a tall person = REALLY sore quads. got it...... Sorry, where was I? Oh yea.. me legs. F#@! sat down again...
The workout was fun and for me I was more interested in seeing what the team was capable of doing. I soon realized I was the one in needing of catching up! I want to make Tuesday morning very productive. So having an early lift session allows for me to lift and the get a run in before I am expected home. This week allowed for no run, but because of my schedule. Wed I was able to try to muster some hill repeats mainly to see if I could. Did pretty well too. Increased my average by 1.5 mph from last Nov when I was doing them for IM. Same HR. I would say that means I am fully recovered and ready for another good beating!!

My HR has come down quite a bit for the amount of time that I have been pounding pavement. I have about 27 miles so far not including tomorrows AM 6 miler before a team ride. Jen said that everyone was going to do the Huntington Beach 1/2 and full Marathon Super Bowl Sunday, so they would not be riding too hard. SO.... that means I can afford this week to show up with some not-so-fresh legs.

As for next week I have some specific schedule commitments that are made. One being to try to add 1 more day in the pool. Thing is I HATE the pool in the morning..... YUCK!

Not drinking as much beer lately, someone is doing it for me!. See above.
Later.....

KiKi BoBo.... 4 Months.

After spending more time than I care to admit I can not find out how to turn the picture around. So what comes to mind is how funny you all will look with your head tilted to the right to view this little girl! Thanks!

Weekend re-cap

So I would say that this weekend was very productive. I was able to make it to the Fleet's Feet by 0800 on Sat to meet with the team. However, after riding for about 22 miles in the rain I encountered a team that seemed skeptical of facing the elements that Saturday morning presented. I decided, that after the first 5 minutes of riding {my feet were soaked} stopping would only lead to colder feet. I knew that I would also have to ride hard to raise my core temp to prevent getting stiff. So hills of Laguna Beach/ Hills would have me at their mercy for the next 1.5 hours while I find my way south through uncharted territory. You see as I have gone through Laguna I have always done so to get further south; San Diego. So just going for a spin was usually spent in other areas. But WOW are there some rather steep hills. I got to Fleet's Feet around 10 till. And almost killed myself 2 times in the process. Once was due to me coming down a hill and realizing how fast that the light's change. Going 30 MPH downhill at 240 lbs means it takes a while to stop. {Another Train like metaphore hu JK?} I realized I could not lock up my breaks if I tried. I was more curious if I was to bust a break cable. After stopping I found myself going slower downhill(s) for the rest of the day.
I did have a great time. And to know that at our "First" ride. I was not the one to call out. Hopefully it was looked at a brave decision to not let weather deter a workout. I was more thankful also while coming through Laguna Caynon I had my first season official "Rocky" moment. I started getting pumped to be feeling back in shape, and with Metallica in my headphones I found myself up out my saddle slamming the hardest gear uphill, seeing how high I cound get my HR. I figured if I did blow up, I could chill going home as I knew that there were few riders. Less to be passed by. Well 192 HR on the watch and I felt great. Kept it up as I changed direction and headed downhill. It felt like I was flying. God I love riding fast like that. Sure do makes it all worth it!

Today I woke early and decided to go for a first season 10 miler'. I felt ok from the night's festival of getting up 3 times with Kiki, seems she wanted to party around 3am. SOOOOO, 0810 came quickly. I woke and hydrated like norm and started getting ready. 0830 departure and a easy 9:30 min/mile came easy at a rather tolerable HR. I again tried JK's advice and increase the 'foot strike' tempo. I got up to 80's and still found it hard to maintain. It did however feel productive on many of the hills that I ran. Overall felt great and stayed dry. Ran an average of an 9:15 with a HR of around 156.

I did have a great rest of the day. We ( Kiki and I ) went to Starbucks for some Java time post-workout. Mama had to make a Yoga class. We had lunch together and then talked about life. Re-connecting with the fam has really turned into a strength point in my life. It makes me feel so productive when I am able to accomplish so much with the support of those around me. I am blessed!

Busy week!!
Hard and early workouts this week!

Week cap....

Well this week has been very productive. I have officially been successful with the schedule now for 2 solid weeks. Bringing Kayden away in the morning and picking her up and somehow incorporating workout when-ever I can seems to be working. Last Monday I went for two runs. One in the morning of around 3.5 miles doing hill work, and a "break-through" run of around 6.4 miles later in the afternoon. I went out just to see how I felt and try some new technique things that JK has asked I try. I will be honest in that my stride length though may be larger than most people, my heart rate was actually lower with a slightly lower cadence around 70-ies. When I increased my cadence to around 80-90..... wow my HR went up by almost 10 bpm. My pace stayed the same and I tried it several times going both up and down grade. I was still able to go out on Tues for a spin. Wed for a run E1 for an hour. Thurs was a good day of 2400m in 50 min and later in the day a 40 mile Caynon run with a buddy who loves to put the hurt on me at any time he can. Well, in the canyon there are a lot of hills. I had my HR high (170-185) for a lot of that beginning until------ we went down hill... Being big has its advantages. Seems Mr. Hicks ran out of gears, and well with my large ass powering a rather large bike on a large hill.... gave me a satisfying large smile as I peddled right on by. We had a blast and covered the course in a blistering 1:40. Norm for me on a average day 1:55. Felt awesome!
Today I ran again for around 5 miles and did some weights.

I have officially been accepted to the Trybuy's Triathlon Team. Thanks to all parties!!
It is really exciting. There seem to be a good number of nice people who so far have some kick ass personalities. Jen does a great job at ordering things in a timely fashion as well as getting back to you in a very timely manner. There is a team ride tomorrow that I am sad to say that I will not be available to make. My wife has her spin class that means the world to her at 10 am. So being back by 9:30 to watch Kiki is important. So I called Jen and asked if anyone was interested in going earlier. Nope. But, she said that once I was done and finished that I should plan on meeting them for some Java. So I will! Going to grab KiKi post ride and give mama a break in the process. I know that the wife would not mind letting me go to meet them however, there will be next week. We have a family BBQ at 3pm so I really do not want to be gone from them all day.

So 3 hour ride tomorrow AM, and yes JK there will be no "f-ing" around. I have a rather strict workout planned with all variation HR ending with some hill repeats.

Later all!

getting down to it..

Allllllll-righty then....... (watching Ace Ventura)

I am officially back on it.

I signed up for the SuperFrog 1/2 Ironman Distance in March. And The Rock and Roll Marathon in May. I think between those two events with different distances I should be able to concentrate on some good base work and even some speed for the half. I am actually curious what I can do in 8 weeks. I started running and swimming last week. Run went surprisingly well. Ran 5-6 miles at around a 10:30 with a low HR. Just trying to 'ease' back into things. Swam on Thursday with a total of 2500m in around 50 minutes. 200 warm 300 kick, 4x 500m alternate between paddles and fins. Felt good. Nice and easy. Averaged 1:30 per 100m / that is pretty good for me, considering I put in little effort.

In 2007 my friend Mike spent half of his days training for the SOMA Half Ironman in his office, Doing nothing. Ended up beating me by 12 minutes. WTF!!! So, it gives me a bit of confidence knowing that I just came off of an IM and have a good foundation. I should be able to wake the spirit enough to be able to finish with a good time, but I'll have to wait till week 4-6 to be able to determine a what that is exactly. ??

Well it is official I have been asked to join the team "Trybuy's". They sponsor a couple of pretty fast pro's like Craig Alexander, Jeff Keil, You know..... Guys that finish, when you are about to cross the 3-8 mile marker of the Marathon. AKA Super human/ Retard strength.....
MM and I are excited to be on the team together. He was supposed to ride with me this morning but bailed on me last night due to his 'cold'. Can't blame the guy; he's married with a kid, and his wife is pregnant. When it comes down to it KEEP THE WIFE HAPPY! {especially at the beginning of the season} He was afraid that his cold would get worse if he pushed it. SO, you know what that means, I slept in. I plan on leaving for an easy 50 mile spin as soon as my wife gets home. {told you I could not blame him.... I have one of them in my house too} Sometimes letting 'Her' get the workout done first is better than Me being on the road at 6:00 looking at my watch like a Hawk, as so I can predict being home in enough time for her to bounce and make Spin at 24 Hour Fit. MM and I are going to start riding in the morning on Tuesday's. Little training time and for a couple of married guys who both have kids......... It's exciting to be able to commit to that and to be able to match schedules.

Everything else is going pretty smoothly. After this week of Kristin going back to work, our schedule makes some time for me to train enough to do some specific races. No Full's this year though. Next Year for sure!

Excited that things are getting back on track. Schedule is moving almost automatically. By the end of next week things should be pretty clear, almost habitual.

Much excite for 09'!!!!!

Family Pic to sum up the easy going ways of the "Clousing's"

Like I said...Chillin... Notice the Beer bottle and half empty glass in the background?....uh honey? need one more please, looks like I can not move, she's asleep....

new yet old?

Well all...
Starting the New Year with a bang? not here.... We kept things low key and celebrated together!
We have been spending some much needed time hanging as a family. It has been nice.
Our regular schedule has been very simple and easy to keep regular due to the 'Kid'; as I like to crudly refer to Kayden (my Daughter). Keeping her on a specific schedule has given mainly my wife her sanity back. Kayden is sleeping through the night! at 12 weeks roughly 3 months that is rare. Some people have been told that sleeping through the night usually does not happen until 4-7 months. So gentlemen, as all of us married folk understand; Get the wife her sanity back and end any possibility of any "mis-understandings". Things go back 'on' today! We start the routine as we have talked about next Monday. We should see how interesting it will be once the Wife goes back to work. I get 2 days a week to have Kayden to myself. I am looking forward to it.

As for training? I recently asked JK what he thinks? I have done a ton of mileage. I am motivated to always do my best, and now with some experience I need a challenge. Ok before I say that openly, I want to make sure you all understand I am a realist. I don't want to say something that won't even be possible. Yet, I want something just out of my reach. So... Any ideas? I am opening the forum for any ideas from anyone. The one I got about a month ago {that I plan to do later in my life} is swim the Catalina Channel. Aprox 20 miles. You swim from Catalina to Palos Verdes/ North Long Beach. ya right.... not even remotely interested right now. NOW, I don't want to go ape shit here, but I would be down for almost anything. So I am considering Rock and Roll Marathon in San Diego (May) thinking sub 4hr would be attainable, and maybe the Muddy Buddy (June). SOMA Half IM in Oct? Sub 5:40?? Would like to possible do a Century under 5:20? Like I said ideas. Things to think about....

Inviting all silly to serious ideas out there. Any takers?