Spiraling without structure.

Well that didn’t take long. Two weeks off season and today I fell apart. Ate like a piggy all weekend culminating in a carb bonanza at the in-laws for Rosh Hashana dinner last night and then slept until 9am this morning. My client appointments have been shifting around due to strange communications, then my iPhone didn’t sync to my desktop calendar and for the first time I flaked on a client appointment today. I am a mess.

70.3 in 5:10?!

We had Coach Brian over for dinner the other night and, amongst much laughter and great talk, brought out the preliminary 2009 race schedule for review. He is very excited to see if I can get into Clearwater next year, and also gave me a very helpful mindset about my previous comment of winning my age group. I’m not going to win my age group – at least, not any time soon. This doesn’t mean I can’t qualify for the World Championships – the list rolls down for those who cannot make the trip. However, to win a chance at those spots you’ve got to perform well. How well?

Sea world.

On my third and final lap of this morning’s ocean swim, I stopped swimming a few dozen meters from shore, turned on my back, put my toes in the air, and allowed the perfect waters of the Pacific to create a serene moment of tranquility. This was the final Ocean Speed Circuit of the season, my last group ocean swim until next year. As I watched swimmers’ elbows peaking and descending a pod of a half dozen dolphins leaped in arcs along the current. The morning sun burned through the marine layer, dappling the Santa Monica mountains with light. A fellow triathlete floated up next to me and said in a friendly manner that it didn’t look like I was having a workout. I laughed and said, “my season is over! I’m just enjoying myself.” She laughed, began to swim away, then thought better of it and decided to float around with me. “It sure beats working!” I said, to which she agreed, and we both floated there in the morning surf, watching dolphins and athletes play.

What’s next?

What do the words “off season” mean? And what does it mean to be off season, anyway? For me it means that I’ve raced my last triathlon of the year, it’s time to focus on setting next year’s goals, and creating a periodized schedule to achieve those goals. Periodized what?

What 9.95% body fat looks like (on me, anyway).

Yesterday was my end of season appointment with Matt Mahowald of New Performance. My goal was to reach sub-10% body fat, and I had a thought that it might mean lowering my body weight to sub-170. I crossed my final 2008 finish line on Sunday, and at 3:30pm Wednesday I calipered in at 9.95% body fat and 183 pounds. That morning I had weighed myself at 178, so five pounds of fluid and food isn’t unreasonable. What does that look like?

Photos of celebrities sweating.

For those interested in photos of celebrities doing the Malibu tri, you can search for their names on Brightroom’s official photography page for the event.

Saboteur!

I got up at 5am this morning, ready to hit the Ocean Speed Circuit. I figure the ocean temperature and darkness are going to force an end to ocean training in just a few weeks, so I should take every opportunity to get salty. I got up, ate my PB & applesauce, prepped my coffee and sat down to read email and news. But I couldn’t read words. “No, no, no” I thought. Must be a bad contact lens. Went to the bathroom, adjusted the contact, looked at my shower curtain of the periodic table of elements, and realized I couldn’t read the word “Germanium”. This was a migraine precursor. I went back to the computer, hoping I could will myself out of it. The more I tried to read, the more I realized I was having trouble with all object recognition. I sent text messages to my friends, “woke up with migraine, not safe for me to swim.” Took medication and went back to bed. This is the second migraine I’ve had post-race and I’m not sure how to avoid them. It’s annoying, frustrating, painful, and makes me feel out of control. Frankly, it sucks.

Photos from 2008 Malibu Sprint Triathlon

Photos taken by my wife and father-in-law, and thus heavily focused on yours truly can be seen here. And yes, there are a few photos of Jennifer Lopez, Matthew McConaughey, and Eliza Dushku.

Season change, Triathlon Lab gains a point, avoiding getting fat.

This morning I woke up thinking about getting back on the bike. I don’t have a nutrition plan for the off-season yet, and even though I’m right at the edge of burnout, I can’t pull the plug on my workout plan until I have a new plan that is lighter in volume and avoids packing on fat pounds and losing fitness I just spent 9 months building. I’m definitely doing an evaluation of my first season in the sport, as well as the impact of this blog and my role in the triathlon community. It was with some surprise that I got a letter from one of the owners of Triathlon Lab in Redondo Beach in my inbox this morning!

Malibu Sprint Triathlon Race Report

First and absolutely foremost, a gigantic thank you to everyone who made a donation to Childrens Hospital of Los Angeles. Team CHLA raised $157,000, second only to Team Disney, for an incredible debut fundraising effort this year. The overall total exceeded $950,000 raised for CHLA, with money going towards pediatric cancer research and treatment. I am honored beyond measure to my friends and family, clients, and cohorts who donated on my behalf. Any physical or mental performance is secondary to the amazing participation of these people who supported my charity of choice. Thank you, all of you, because it made my personal victory that much sweeter. And I was victorious, indeed.