Last week it was Active Recovery week which consisted of:
Mon: Off
Tue: 60 min easy swim
Wed: 60 min easy run
Thu: Weight training (shoulders and back)
Fri: Off
Sat: 60 min easy ride
Sun: Off
And this week I am supposed to start my Competitive Stage. 3 weeks of it and my last week will be taper... so yeah, 4 more weeks until my first 70.3 race.
It's only Monday and I'd have to say this is a crazy week already! I should have done a long swim today but unfortunately I couldn't make it, dammit! According to my training plan tomorrow should be 'day off' but I am going to run at lunch a 6.6 loop near work.
This Wed my two co-workers Ana, Kim and I are flying out from STL to Atlanta and then to Belgium. Our plane lands in Brussels at 8:05AM (local time) on Thu. There is 7 hrs time difference between STL (central time) and Brussels... hopefully it won't be too hard to adjust to it. We are taking a couple of days off to travel a bit and we'll be working from Mon 26 until Fri 29. Returning to the States on Sat the 31st.
The plan is, a friend from work in Brussels is picking us up at the airport, we'll go to the hotel and drop our luggage, get ready and head to Cologne, Germany for the day. Fri morning my friends are actually going to London. I decided to pass that trip and make different plans; I have been there several times since I lived in the UK (Bristol) a while back. I mean, the thought of going back to London was tempting but at the end I decided to go see other places I've never been to. So I am taking a train to Amsterdam... I'll stay there over night and Sat I'll go to Enschede which is still in the Netherlands, east of Amsterdam, right on the border with Germany. I have an old friend from Ecuador who lives there. She just had a baby so it'll be nice to see her, meet her husband and baby. Later, on Sat I'll be going back to Brussels and get ready for the work week... fun.... NOT!.... no, it should be cool. I am actually looking forward to it.
Going back to the 4 more week until my first 70.3 race... hmmm... when am I gonna be able to train?!?!?! I have no idea.... I am hoping I'll be able to somehow manage it. One thing's for sure... it's going to be hard as hell to follow my training plan the way I have all this time.
I'll keep you posted.
Anyway, like my speaking Russian friend Bob says: PAKA! (I guess I should say something in French or Dutch since I'll be going there... oh well.. next time maybe)
PC
Monday, May 19, 2008
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Ironman Cancun 70.3
Ok, it's official. Today I registered: Ironman Cancun 70.3 - September 21st '08.
Should be nice... arriving to Cancun on Fri the 19th, racing on Sun the 21st and taking the following week to hang out at the beach, enjoy the sun, drink a Negra Modelo or two... and simply have a great time there.
Haven't even done my first HIM (Kansas 70.3 on June 15... crap, almost a month away) and I already go and register for another HIM... I know... crazy!
It's just so addictive!!! Gotta love it.
El Adicto :)
Friday, May 9, 2008
Belgium
So I was told at work I am going to Brussels at the end of this month.... awesome! Never been to that part of Europe. Even though it's work it should be good times. I am going with 2 of my co-workers. We leave on May 21st, taking a couple of days to travel a bit and work from Mon the 26th until Fri the 30th, flying back on Sat the 31st.Of course I ask myself.... how is this going to affect my 5+ months of training for Ironman 70.3 Kansas? I mean, don't get me wrong, I am really excited about going to Europe but at the same time I really hope this won't mess the whole thing up.... I am coming back on the 31st, exactly 2 weeks before the event. Man... I have put a ton of time and money on this...
This is my last Endurance Stage week:
Mon: Day Off
Tue: Swim 2,350 meters
Wed: 6.6 mile run
Thu: Bike - 28 miles - hill repeats... lots of hills!
Fri: 13 mile run
Sat: My wife is doing her 2nd 5K and I'll be running with her. Later I'm scheduled to go to the pool and swim 3,000 meters.
Sun: Brick - 20 mile bike ride immediately followed by a 3 mile run, repeat 3 x.
Next week is Active Recovery week and then I have weeks 15 - 17 of Competitive Stage and I finish the training plan with week 18: Taper.
So I'll be in Europe for a week and a half of my Competitive Stage. Of course I am planning on doing as much as I can there... been looking on the internet for running routes and the hotel I am staying at has a nice pool where I can swim. The gym looks pretty decent as well. What I'm worried about is the bike, and yes... the bike is my weakest leg.... great! Hopefully I can find a gym where they have spinning plus whatever I can do at the hotel gym. It'll work out. It always does, right?
Happy Mother's Day to all the madres! :)
PC
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Race for Sight Sprint Tri
Had a pretty good week...
Mon: Off
Tue: Swam 2,000 meters
Wed: Weight training - Triceps and Chest
Thu: Rode outside almost 20 miles then came home and rode for an hour on the trainer.
Fri: Did a 5 mile tempo run
Sat: Was supposed to do 3,500 meters but had to skip it
Sun: Race a sprint tri
Not too bad...
Ultramax Race for Sight Sprint Tri: 440 yard swim – 14 mile bike – 3 mile run
Saturday we drove to Columbia, MO at around noon. In the morning we finished packing and were getting ready to go. I had to take my dog Inti to a friend's house who kindly offered to -last minute - dog-sit. Left to Columbia, got there at around 2, checked in at the Stoney Creek Inn and went to get my packet at a local running store. After that we went back to the hotel, laid around for a bit and left at 6 to the Olive Garden restaurant to meet some guys from the St. Louis Triathlon Club. Ate there and in about an hour we left since we promised the girls we'll go to the pool. Swam for a bit , returned to our room and got ready for bed. Checked the weather for the next day and they said it is going to be between 40 - 45 degrees....brrr!
Woke up at 5am... got ready and left to the Missouri University Campus (Stankowski Field). Got there, head to the transition area and got on line for body marking... got my number 306 and went to a number designated area... got all set up and waited with a couple of people I knew. It was pretty chilly... wasn't really looking forward to the bike part all wet....
At 6:45 waked to the pool, a brand new competition olympic sized pool at MU, very nice. The elite group started at bit later than scheduled and then we all went in. We did the typical pool "snake-style". The run from the pool to the TA was pretty long.. stairs....a path.... and finally the turf, which was nice and soft. Got all my stuff and and went out.... nice and hilly 2 loop bike course. Thank God the sun was out and it felt pretty nice actually. Came back to the TA, changed shoes, took helmet off, grabbed a visor and ran the last 3 miles in the MU Campus.
Just got an email from Ultramax with the official results as I was typing this. Here's what I got:
- 440 yards swim: 8min 21sec
- T1: 1min 48sec
- 14 mile bike: 43min 46sec
- T2: 1min 49sec
- 3 mile run: 21min 07sec
- TOTAL TIME: 1:16:52
I REALLY need to work on my transitions... I was comparing my T times with other people and man, mine s.u.c.k. I take way too much time. Still... happy with my time!
41 days and counting for my first HIM....
PC
Mon: Off
Tue: Swam 2,000 meters
Wed: Weight training - Triceps and Chest
Thu: Rode outside almost 20 miles then came home and rode for an hour on the trainer.
Fri: Did a 5 mile tempo run
Sat: Was supposed to do 3,500 meters but had to skip it
Sun: Race a sprint tri
Not too bad...
Ultramax Race for Sight Sprint Tri: 440 yard swim – 14 mile bike – 3 mile run
Saturday we drove to Columbia, MO at around noon. In the morning we finished packing and were getting ready to go. I had to take my dog Inti to a friend's house who kindly offered to -last minute - dog-sit. Left to Columbia, got there at around 2, checked in at the Stoney Creek Inn and went to get my packet at a local running store. After that we went back to the hotel, laid around for a bit and left at 6 to the Olive Garden restaurant to meet some guys from the St. Louis Triathlon Club. Ate there and in about an hour we left since we promised the girls we'll go to the pool. Swam for a bit , returned to our room and got ready for bed. Checked the weather for the next day and they said it is going to be between 40 - 45 degrees....brrr!
Woke up at 5am... got ready and left to the Missouri University Campus (Stankowski Field). Got there, head to the transition area and got on line for body marking... got my number 306 and went to a number designated area... got all set up and waited with a couple of people I knew. It was pretty chilly... wasn't really looking forward to the bike part all wet....
At 6:45 waked to the pool, a brand new competition olympic sized pool at MU, very nice. The elite group started at bit later than scheduled and then we all went in. We did the typical pool "snake-style". The run from the pool to the TA was pretty long.. stairs....a path.... and finally the turf, which was nice and soft. Got all my stuff and and went out.... nice and hilly 2 loop bike course. Thank God the sun was out and it felt pretty nice actually. Came back to the TA, changed shoes, took helmet off, grabbed a visor and ran the last 3 miles in the MU Campus.
Just got an email from Ultramax with the official results as I was typing this. Here's what I got:
- 440 yards swim: 8min 21sec
- T1: 1min 48sec
- 14 mile bike: 43min 46sec
- T2: 1min 49sec
- 3 mile run: 21min 07sec
- TOTAL TIME: 1:16:52
I REALLY need to work on my transitions... I was comparing my T times with other people and man, mine s.u.c.k. I take way too much time. Still... happy with my time!
41 days and counting for my first HIM....
PC
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Decisions, decisions!
Just finished my Endurance Stage week 2 of 4. Here's what I got:
Mon: Day Off
Tue: 1,850 meters swim
Wed: Weight training - Legs and Biceps
Thu: 1 hr spinning class
Fri: 5 mile tempo run
Sat: Was supposed to do a 3,000 swim but did a 5k race instead (details below)
Sun: Was supposed to do a brick work out 1.5-2 hrs ride followed by a 4-5 mile run. I rode my trainer for 1.5 hrs.
Kinda stinks I had to modify it a bit but sometimes we gotta do it, right?
My wife decided she wanted to run her first 5K on Sat, the: March of Dimes 5k run/walk at Forest Park (St. Louis, MO). We went and ran it together. Me and my 2 daughters ran with her, I had them in my double running stroller. It ended up being a perfect day, awesome weather, lots of people, a well organized race and a great cause. My wife did fantastic, she handled the couple of hills the course had really well, never stopped to walk (not that walking is a bad thing) and crossed the finish line at 30min 40secs! We were so happy and proud of her. As you can imagine she's hooked and the first thing she did when we got back home was get online to look for her next race. We're doing the Race for Miracles 5K in 2 more weeks :)
I know I could have gone to the gym after the race but we had a ton of things to do before 5, when we had a gathering to attend to. We were invited over to our friends' house, The Olmedos for some food, drinks and good company. We celebrated Byron's 35th birthday.
And today we had to go to Illinois to visit some of my wife's family. So instead of doing the brick my training plan had, I quickly installed my CycleOps Fluid 2 Trainer and rode it for 1.5 hrs. I had the trainer for about a week and a half all boxed up since I've been able to ride outside. I liked it and it was a really good work out.
We (the familia) will be going to Cancun, Mexico in Sept. There is a big tri there the weekend we arrive, the Ironman Cancun 70.3 and I am pretty sure I'll do it (or at least I want to). Only thing I'm trying to figure out is the whole bike transportation deal. Thing is, we arrive in Cancun on Fri.... so that part is pretty straight forward, I'll rent a box at my local bike shop, pay the fee for the extra big luggage and take it with me. Now here comes the crappy part... after the race we are staying in Cancun until Wed. and then we are flying from Cancun to a city called Puebla; one of my best friends, Mau who is from Puebla, he is meeting us in Cancun to show us around and hang out with him and his girlfriend. We are going to Puebla to visit his familia and to see the city. The following weekend we are driving from Puebla to Mexico City and flying out from Mexico City back to St. Louis.
I was thinking after the HIM I could ship the bike back to St. Louis (to the local bike shop... at the end there is where I bought the bike and rented the box, they could have the bike put together when I return), so I emailed the Ironman Cancun 70.3 organizers to ask what they suggest I should do, and this guy replied saying that unfortunately they don't have any type of bike shipping companies in Mexico and suggested I should use either DHL, UPS or Fedex.... but man, I think that will cost me mucho dinero... So... should I carry the bike with me the whole trip? how much would that be? decisions, decisions!! I checked a couple of bike shipping websites but none work with Mexico.... I'll see what I can do.
Next weekend I have my first tri of the season.. YES!! and in less than 2 months I have the Kansas HIM... it's approaching fast.
Keep up the hard training everyone, it's finally time to be outside!
Be safe out in the roads.
Later,
PC
Mon: Day Off
Tue: 1,850 meters swim
Wed: Weight training - Legs and Biceps
Thu: 1 hr spinning class
Fri: 5 mile tempo run
Sat: Was supposed to do a 3,000 swim but did a 5k race instead (details below)
Sun: Was supposed to do a brick work out 1.5-2 hrs ride followed by a 4-5 mile run. I rode my trainer for 1.5 hrs.
Kinda stinks I had to modify it a bit but sometimes we gotta do it, right?
My wife decided she wanted to run her first 5K on Sat, the: March of Dimes 5k run/walk at Forest Park (St. Louis, MO). We went and ran it together. Me and my 2 daughters ran with her, I had them in my double running stroller. It ended up being a perfect day, awesome weather, lots of people, a well organized race and a great cause. My wife did fantastic, she handled the couple of hills the course had really well, never stopped to walk (not that walking is a bad thing) and crossed the finish line at 30min 40secs! We were so happy and proud of her. As you can imagine she's hooked and the first thing she did when we got back home was get online to look for her next race. We're doing the Race for Miracles 5K in 2 more weeks :)
I know I could have gone to the gym after the race but we had a ton of things to do before 5, when we had a gathering to attend to. We were invited over to our friends' house, The Olmedos for some food, drinks and good company. We celebrated Byron's 35th birthday.
And today we had to go to Illinois to visit some of my wife's family. So instead of doing the brick my training plan had, I quickly installed my CycleOps Fluid 2 Trainer and rode it for 1.5 hrs. I had the trainer for about a week and a half all boxed up since I've been able to ride outside. I liked it and it was a really good work out.
We (the familia) will be going to Cancun, Mexico in Sept. There is a big tri there the weekend we arrive, the Ironman Cancun 70.3 and I am pretty sure I'll do it (or at least I want to). Only thing I'm trying to figure out is the whole bike transportation deal. Thing is, we arrive in Cancun on Fri.... so that part is pretty straight forward, I'll rent a box at my local bike shop, pay the fee for the extra big luggage and take it with me. Now here comes the crappy part... after the race we are staying in Cancun until Wed. and then we are flying from Cancun to a city called Puebla; one of my best friends, Mau who is from Puebla, he is meeting us in Cancun to show us around and hang out with him and his girlfriend. We are going to Puebla to visit his familia and to see the city. The following weekend we are driving from Puebla to Mexico City and flying out from Mexico City back to St. Louis.
I was thinking after the HIM I could ship the bike back to St. Louis (to the local bike shop... at the end there is where I bought the bike and rented the box, they could have the bike put together when I return), so I emailed the Ironman Cancun 70.3 organizers to ask what they suggest I should do, and this guy replied saying that unfortunately they don't have any type of bike shipping companies in Mexico and suggested I should use either DHL, UPS or Fedex.... but man, I think that will cost me mucho dinero... So... should I carry the bike with me the whole trip? how much would that be? decisions, decisions!! I checked a couple of bike shipping websites but none work with Mexico.... I'll see what I can do.
Next weekend I have my first tri of the season.. YES!! and in less than 2 months I have the Kansas HIM... it's approaching fast.
Keep up the hard training everyone, it's finally time to be outside!
Be safe out in the roads.
Later,
PC
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Endurance Stage
This past Monday I started my endurance stage training. Here's what I have done so far:
Mon: weight training (shoulders and back)
Tue: 2,000 meter swim
Wed: Rode 32 miles... ON THE NEW BIKE!*
Thu: Ran 5 miles
And for the weekend:
Fri: Day Off
Sat: Swim 2,100 meters and Bike 35 - 40 miles
Sun: Brick 15 mile bike ride immediately followed by a 2 mile run - repeat 3 x
So it's definitely increasing time, longer rides, harder work outs, but it feels good! (so far) The Kansas 70.3 Ironman is in only 58 days!
*So I was finally able to get the new bike out for a ride.... Bought it last Thu and was planning on riding during the weekend but guess what? we had snow this past weekend! -no comment-
But yesterday I went out with a friend from work and we got 32 miles in. It was windy but that was the last thing I was thinking about... I absolute love the bike... it feels just right, it's comfortable.... smooth... fast.... great stuff!
I have my first tri of the year in about 2 weeks, May 4th. It's the Merrill Lynch Race For Sight Triathlon in Columbia, MO. 440 yard swim – 14 mile bike – 3 mile run
Can't wait!
Cheers,
P
Mon: weight training (shoulders and back)
Tue: 2,000 meter swim
Wed: Rode 32 miles... ON THE NEW BIKE!*
Thu: Ran 5 miles
And for the weekend:
Fri: Day Off
Sat: Swim 2,100 meters and Bike 35 - 40 miles
Sun: Brick 15 mile bike ride immediately followed by a 2 mile run - repeat 3 x
So it's definitely increasing time, longer rides, harder work outs, but it feels good! (so far) The Kansas 70.3 Ironman is in only 58 days!
*So I was finally able to get the new bike out for a ride.... Bought it last Thu and was planning on riding during the weekend but guess what? we had snow this past weekend! -no comment-
But yesterday I went out with a friend from work and we got 32 miles in. It was windy but that was the last thing I was thinking about... I absolute love the bike... it feels just right, it's comfortable.... smooth... fast.... great stuff!
I have my first tri of the year in about 2 weeks, May 4th. It's the Merrill Lynch Race For Sight Triathlon in Columbia, MO. 440 yard swim – 14 mile bike – 3 mile run
Can't wait!
Cheers,
P
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Finally!!!
It's been a while but I finally got my new tri bike. Say hello to Patricio's Quintana Roo Seduza:
I still don't have a name for 'her' :) I do have a couple we (the familia) have talked about: Seduza Meduza, Marge, Ruby Red Royal Rider II.... but can't decide yet, so please help. Also, if you have any suggestions, go right ahead!
See, the thing is initially I was going to buy the Cervelo P2C. Over a month ago (03/04) I went to one of the local bike shops in St Louis and left paying half of the full price for the Cervelo. They told me they will need to order it and that it'll take 1 - 2 weeks. Didn't hear from them after 2 weeks so I called.... they said, Cervelo hasn't shipped it but it'll be 1 - 2 weeks. Nobody called me after 2 weeks. Called again and they said Cervelo is taking forever.. that hopefully it will be 1 - 2 weeks. 2 weeks later the St. Louis Tri Club had its meeting at this bike shop. Talked to the guys there and guess what they said? yup, you guessed it.... 1 - 2 more weeks and the bike should be there. O M G ! ! !
Last weekend after I went to the expo for the GO! STL race, I decided to stop at a different local bike shop. Went in and told them the whole story. They said Cervelo is really bad with this type of problems and that is why they dropped them and don't carry Cervelo anymore. They have some QRs, Treks, Litespeeds among others. I saw the QR Seduza.... she looked at me back and it was....love at first sight?? lol hmmm.. well, not sure what it was but I sure liked it.
Anyway, so I told them I'll call the other shop to cancel my order. When I called they told me the bike's been shipped on Monday (this past Mon), I asked how long is it going to take.... they said, the guy who gets the emails with the tracking numbers wasn't there at that moment. I was supposed to get a call from that guy so I can get the tracking number.... never got the freaking call!
I understand Cervelo is bad with shipping bikes... but the bike shop NEVER called me.... if I wouldn't have called, I bet you anything they wouldn't have called me. They never tried to work with me suggesting a different bike (they carry other brands too, i.e. Felt)... nothing, I got nothing. So as a customer I feel like they didn't give a sh*t! Simply as that. And I mean, it's not like I was buying a pair of socks...I mean c'mon, I'm spending a lot money here. That's why I cancelled... don't wanna do business with them.. don't wanna give them my business... and today, this afternoon I bought the QR from my good friends at the other shop: Maplewood Bicycle. Went, got fitted and another happy customer!
I can't wait to get on the QR and ride it.... my first tri (sprint) is in less than a month and the HIM is in about 2 months!!! Can't believe how close it is.
Ok, you must be tired reading all this crap... but it was crap man..... Well, I won't bore you any more, I just needed to vent.
Pace out,
PC
I still don't have a name for 'her' :) I do have a couple we (the familia) have talked about: Seduza Meduza, Marge, Ruby Red Royal Rider II.... but can't decide yet, so please help. Also, if you have any suggestions, go right ahead!
See, the thing is initially I was going to buy the Cervelo P2C. Over a month ago (03/04) I went to one of the local bike shops in St Louis and left paying half of the full price for the Cervelo. They told me they will need to order it and that it'll take 1 - 2 weeks. Didn't hear from them after 2 weeks so I called.... they said, Cervelo hasn't shipped it but it'll be 1 - 2 weeks. Nobody called me after 2 weeks. Called again and they said Cervelo is taking forever.. that hopefully it will be 1 - 2 weeks. 2 weeks later the St. Louis Tri Club had its meeting at this bike shop. Talked to the guys there and guess what they said? yup, you guessed it.... 1 - 2 more weeks and the bike should be there. O M G ! ! !
Last weekend after I went to the expo for the GO! STL race, I decided to stop at a different local bike shop. Went in and told them the whole story. They said Cervelo is really bad with this type of problems and that is why they dropped them and don't carry Cervelo anymore. They have some QRs, Treks, Litespeeds among others. I saw the QR Seduza.... she looked at me back and it was....love at first sight?? lol hmmm.. well, not sure what it was but I sure liked it.
Anyway, so I told them I'll call the other shop to cancel my order. When I called they told me the bike's been shipped on Monday (this past Mon), I asked how long is it going to take.... they said, the guy who gets the emails with the tracking numbers wasn't there at that moment. I was supposed to get a call from that guy so I can get the tracking number.... never got the freaking call!
I understand Cervelo is bad with shipping bikes... but the bike shop NEVER called me.... if I wouldn't have called, I bet you anything they wouldn't have called me. They never tried to work with me suggesting a different bike (they carry other brands too, i.e. Felt)... nothing, I got nothing. So as a customer I feel like they didn't give a sh*t! Simply as that. And I mean, it's not like I was buying a pair of socks...I mean c'mon, I'm spending a lot money here. That's why I cancelled... don't wanna do business with them.. don't wanna give them my business... and today, this afternoon I bought the QR from my good friends at the other shop: Maplewood Bicycle. Went, got fitted and another happy customer!
I can't wait to get on the QR and ride it.... my first tri (sprint) is in less than a month and the HIM is in about 2 months!!! Can't believe how close it is.
Ok, you must be tired reading all this crap... but it was crap man..... Well, I won't bore you any more, I just needed to vent.
Pace out,
PC
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