Athlete #1955

My last post before Vineman 70.3 - one of two 'A' races I have in the next month - the other is Timberman 70.3.  I'd ideally like to do the following:

Finish better than last year: 38th place and qualify for the 70.3 World Champs in Clearwater.  Some age groups have this a tick easier and some harder - I've got 400 people in my age group. 

Last year I swam 39, rode 2:32 and ran 1:39. 

I detonated and went from 7 min mile pace to 9 mins or slower for the final 5 miles, so with the running I did over the past few months I should have a much better run! 

I also started the race at 6:37am, the first wave behind the pros - it wasn't even sunny when I finished it was still almost breakfast time! This year I start at 8:14am - I won't sleep any more but hope I can get in a good 3-5k run before getting into my wetsuit and have a good breakfast.  

Over the past few months I've also done a lot of work on the bike and have raised my watts by about 30 since last year while also dropping my heart rate by about 10 beats - not to mention swimming with a master's group which has more than doubled the swimming I've done in the past. 

I've even listened to my coach a lot and trusted him with just about everything.  I provide feedback and he gives me my workouts. 

I've also done a lot of bike training with a heavy Power Tap wheelset - adding some flat protection to the inside of the tire or running 'Slime' tubes.  This makes the transition from going to the race wheelset a wonderful experience!  The training wheels are heavy and slow and then when I race at the same wattage - my wheels are disturbingly light. 

I also have a new race bike since last year, a new aero helmet and a new wheelset.  So that has to count for something.

I'm also NOT racing in flats, but rather my super comfy and awesome and race proven Under Armour Spectres. They have a nice 'footsleeve' that helps hold the foot in - great for when racing without socks and I put in Yanks - they seem to help keep my feet in the shoes without any weird pressure spots.  Macca wears these too you know, but not for races as he's testing out some new racing flats. 

After Vineman, I'm driving back to Seattle with another car and my bike and a few other items I left down in Tiburon.  On the way home, I'll be stopping in Eugene to go see Erich and to visit Pre's Rock.  Once home, I'll get back to commuting by bike - except I've got a new office in Bellevue and it's on the 22nd floor and I've got floor to ceiling windows - which will be awesome as I change for my ride home in the office.  I've also got a new home from which to commute from - it's about 30 mins from the office - but there are a few ways to add some miles to that.  I don't mind a 30 mile commute each way, but a shorter option would be nice.  I'll also try and get out for a few more crits on Thursday with Rhaw Shaw, Chris Tremonte and the Ben and Courtenay show. 

I think that's it.  Got to pack now. 

I did want to note a few more observations from Seattle:

• People frown here a lot.  Not enough smiles.  I used to think that the people who ran or rode while smiling were crazy, now I realize they're just happy to be out. 
• Outgoing is the last way I'd describe people here.  I must have said hi to 4 people while running the other day and none of them said anything.  They were also all slow. 
• Bus drivers here have been super courteous to me.  I've had more drivers wait for me to pass, wave me in front of them or simply give me room.  There is hope!
• Traffic is horrible.  I don't get it but riding a bike is almost always faster.  I drove in twice and it took 1.25 hours to get home or I travelled something less than 15 miles per hour - IN THE CAR ON THE HIGHWAY. I can ride in in 1:35 or about 19 something mph.
• Sometimes I think the riding is almost better at this time of year than just about anywhere (country roads in New England I think still are the best).  The terrain has a lot of rollers, there's a decent network of bike trails with next to no exposure to cars and there are some great smelling roads out there!  I'm not sure if I like BBQ's or flowers more while I ride.  You get both here.  The roads are actually a bit rougher and more than once I've nearly had my hands knocked off the bars from bumps or hidden dips in the road.  Fewer stop signs and cops too.
• Greta and the girls LOVE it here.  We have had a lot of fun on the weekends - spending the past 2 weekends over on the Olympic peninsula.  I didn't think they could be happier than they were in CA, but they are. 

PS: I think you'll be able to track me racing on Sunday here: http://ironman.com/events/ironman70.3/vineman70.3/?show=coverage 

Think good thoughts: Swim better than 39, bike better than 2:32 and run better than 1:39.  I think my transitions were all around 2:30 or so.  I'll go faster.

The Weirdness of Seattle

I've lived here a while - from 1994 until 2008 and then from almost 2 weeks ago until now.  It's sort of nice have a fresh perspective on Seattle - I sort of hated it when we left but Ben constantly forces me to think about the good - that and Greta loves it here AND I try not to be negative. 

I don't have much of a theme, so it's sort of random - basically as I've spent time here I experience something and go 'that has to make it into the blog'.  So here.

I work at Microsoft and somehow there are a lot of people here who have actually read my blog.  Not just read it but read it and remember.  Like when I say I'll never wear compression socks a few months ago and then wear them.  I can only imagine what sort of feedback real writers get. 

I did my first crit last thursday at Seward park - a true highlight of every week for me.  Of course I haven't ridden with more than 2-3 people in probably 5 years - so it was weird being all around folks.  Luckily, between car racing and racing crits for years - I didn't get freaked out and even went into a few holes only sprinters dare go - the gaps between people where you have to actually move people with your arms to get through.   I hit over 1,100 watts in the race.

I'm swimming with a group at the pool with my old coach in a tri swim class. there's a 6am class that has 3-4 people in a lane or the 7am which has 1-2 people per lane.  It' isn't that competitive - so I hope more folks show, it's nice to have a good workout with people to push you.  I've yet to meet anyone who is a gung-ho racer.  I might audit the 6am from time to time - not that I'm not getting in a good workout, it's mentally more of a workout to keep pushing.  That and we get a lot of rest between sets.  I noticed that there was a girl, sort of not your typical looking triathlete.  She didn't even have goggles and didn't swim so well - but she never gave up and swam every set.  Turns out she's blind.  Pretty amazing I thought.

People in Seattle are so passive aggressive.  More aggressive than passive.  I've been yelled at by more cyclists and motorist in 2 weeks than I did in 2 years.  Cyclists here are pretty much the biggest wankers anywhere.  No one waves or says hi.  My friend Lilia calls this the Seattle Freeze.  In CA, you could ride with someone and exchange a story with them within a mile or two- so long as you both could hang, you were on the same team.  I did the crit last week and no one said a word.  Even if you say stuff to people, they get by with offering as little as possible.  I rode home yesterday with a guy from Ukraine and even he said folks were unfriendly. He of course was as chatty as could be.  It's the most liberal city anywhere but the least friendly of anywhere I've ever lived.  But the friends we have made here - we've had for years and years.  So maybe I'll give it more time. 

There are a lot of people here at work who 1) need sunshine 2) need to exercise 3) carpool

I've been asked by more than one person to see my calves.  Even more have mentioned them.  I don't blame them one bit. 

MaccaX is a lot of work - but lots of fun.  I started a Facebook group and it has over 300 people in it in about a week - some pretty impressive names in the Triathlon world.  The site, which hasn't even launched has got over 1,000 people registered.  We're giving away Macca's Specialized race helmet, his race kit, race numbers, bag - all autographed and likely his bike. We hope to have the full site launched at Kona before the Ironman starts- but will have other things up before that.  We're putting together team racing kits, bike kits, t-shirts and other stuff - Under Armour is helping with all of this.  They're basically awesome. 

I got a new Under Armour recharge suit - it's top and bottom compression gear.  Except, it's too big.  So now I'm a size M.  Hope to get a new one right after Vineman. 

I met ANOTHER blog reader after the crit last week.  Jennifer not only reads it - but she remembers it and forwards it on!  She's a triathlete too.

I'm getting more comfortable riding to and from work - but it makes for a long day.  Yesterday I rode in at 6am- 30 miles, then ran a 10k hard at lunch and then rode home- getting in around 7:15pm.  Below is the elevation from my ride last Thursday.  You see that I raced a crit with a hill every single lap. My Commute has a 1.8 mile decent at the start and about a 1 mile climb at the end.  Otherwise it's pretty flat.  Below you see a hill in the middle - that's the climb over our new home town of Mercer Island.

We did find an awesome house - exactly 50% of what our place cost in CA.  It's on the best riding route in the whole area - literally on the route!  We have a killer fenced in back yard for the kids and Jack (the dog) and it's perfect for entertaining and for spending time together. 

I rode 200 miles this week.  This is going to be pretty normal.  I do this in 3-4 days of riding. Generally 3.

Having Greta's family so close - I can go out with her a bit more and we're not so dependent on Soda (our only babysitter in CA) or a nanny to go out or squeeze in a workout. 

It's actually really nice weather here.

Last night I rode home and the cyclists (generally) aren't as strong as they are in Marin.  There are more people who commute - but it's on mtn bikes.  A few have road bikes.  Yesterday AM I rode in and a guy passed me (gasp).  I was going about 20mph - easy.  He went by and pulled in front and didn't go any faster.  So I just sat behind him.  He looked back about 50 times over the next mile and then started waving me by.  I showed him my wheel and a few hundred watts for the next few mins - he was gone.  I stopped for water and then got caught at the only light in 25 miles.  He caught me at the bottom of the climb up to the office and preceded to pass me and then sit there.  Then he started freaking out and waved me by again.  I also see the same 2 guys each day - one rides with a bandana over his face and the other rides with a full on neoprene head and face mask.  It's been mid to high 70's here!  So back to last night's commute.  We get to the ONLY light on the commute (mostly) and there are about 8 guys.  They take off and I slowly get going and latch on.  In Marin, it would be a hammer session and you would latch on for your dear life.  This wasn't as fast - but I thought it would be fun to go with the group and get home a bit faster. They were pulling like 20 - and of COURSE I can't stand it and have to take them up a notch.  Plus there's a nice headwind. So I just kept going to about 350 watts and just stayed there.  The group rotated through about twice.  At one point I dropped my water bottle and had to stop and go get it - then chase back on!  Ugh.  Then I went to the front again and kept at it.  So much for the easy spin home!  One guy said 'how long are you going to keep this pace up' and noting that it was about the pace I had to hold at Vineman I said 'until the end'.  Fast forward another 15 miles and there's one guy left.  It's this Ukranian kid who is on a commuter bike - a road bike but clearly not a 16lb bike.  He rides up next to me and with a thick accent says 'I am very sorry but I cannot go this pace much longer' - he lasted 25 miles at 21-24mph, through a headwind and despite my every attempt to blow his legs - he clung.  I told him he needs to race bikes and that he did an amazing job.

Stuff

I did some great stuff last week - some good riding - about 200 miles or so I think, 120 commuting, 20 racing and then 60 or so of training.  That was the bike. I'm also re-learning the bike commute tricks - like: bring underwear to work because if not you'll be wearing a wet pair of bike shorts for 11 hours, eat before riding 30 miles, know how long the commute is before you schedule a meeting in the AM, don't schedule meetings at 8am when you ride in and don't really know how long a ride it is, fix the bike when it shifts into the spokes instead of continually pulling the chain out of the wheel, don't get bothered by the people who at 6am insist on going 50mph on the highway in the LEFT LANE (bridge) when you know a cop can't possibly be ahead for the next mile because you can go 80mph and then then gesture to you that you're going 'too fast' (it's important to gesture back that you appreciate the feedback and that Jesus loves them too). 

For the 4th we went up to the Port Townsend area of WA - way up there where you see the Border Patrol and Canadian Geese are basically home.  It was awesome.  The roads were wide and magic carpet-like.  The shoulders were good and the people were even better.  A women ran out of her coffee shop to wave at me, which was weird but I'm guessing someone warned her that I'd be rolling through with my calves on fire.  I was shocked by the awesomeness and my watts were on par with those guys sitting at the back of the peloton in the tour, maybe higher. 

It was great to hang out with the family and not spend TOO much time obsessing about training - though I did, I tried to hide it.

We went clamming and boating and ate about 3,000 jellybeans.  Piper ate 2,000 of them. 

I drank a Coors Light and wasn't sure what to think about that.

We also went to a restaurant that closes at 6:30pm and had some pretty slick burgers - see photo below. I only had the one with a single patty.  The double patty ones took 2 days to finish. 

Our dog got fixed.  I think he's still broken.  Now he has fleas. 

Swimming indoors after swimming outdoors is the exact same as flying first class for 10 years and then going back to row 27 in coach (the one next to the toilets).

In Port Townsend they have places with great names: J'eet Yet (small little seafood place) and The Tides Inn (motel).  My mom would love all of the stupid jokes that I'm sure circulate around those places. 

On the way home I stated that I thought ALL four legged animals could swim from birth.  I think this is true but didn't want to get into details.  I did have to answer a few specifics- like could horses or cows or hippos swim?  I said that some probably swim better than others.  I'd be happy to take my chances racing a cow over 1.2 miles - assuming there was a bike leg following the swim (just in case).

Piper stated without a doubt that "dogs could ride bicycles". 

The Grand Fondo and Week 1

On Sunday I drove 15 hours pulling a Uhaul from Tiburon to Seattle.  It wasn't too bad and I sort of know how to back up with a trailer now. We're currently staying with my wife's family in Ballard - with a nice view of the ocean and surrounded by picturesque/magazine quality gardens.  Everyone has settled in as if they owned the place!  I also started working in the office now - which I found is about as far away from where I live now as I could possibly get.  I thought the office was just a 20 mile bike ride - but after 1 hour of riding on Tuesday (starting at 6am) I found it wasn't and that I had another 10 miles to go!  The ride in is pretty easy - it's all flat which means pedaling the WHOLE time as opposed to getting in a little climb,stretch the legs and enjoy a little twisty downhill.

It sort of feels like riding on a computrainer - but not nearly as boring and when carrying about 20lbs of stuff on my back - my bum hurts a lot more after an hour.  There are also about 2 cars I encounter which is nice.

The ride home is about the same - except I generally take a hillier route home across Mercer Island and the I90 bridge.  But there are a lot of cars who seem to be more aggressive than I think is necessary (only once this week did I have to skid through my rear tire in order to avoid flipping over a hood). 

So now that I know my regular commute is 60 miles I'm prepared for it. I also found that not scheduling meetings at 8am and eating before I ride are good ideas.

I've also already seen people I know here out on rides - which is nice, Seattlites are truly creatures of habit - there are people I'd see doing the same work out nearly every day (of course I was doing the same workout - or at least on the same route).

I do the bike commute on Tues and Thurs and then swim/run on Weds and Friday.  I also hooked up with my old coach at the pool and am doing a triathlon specific swim class.  My only complaint is the huge amount of rest they take between sets. They basically did 15 seconds after the last person came in.  I didn't realize that the last person who was swimming without goggles was completely blind.  Maybe I'll just start taking off with about the level of rest we'd get at Master's swim - it's not like she'd know we left.  Well, maybe she'd figure it out quickly.  But still, less rest. I also pushed harder because of the naps we got in between.

My Garmin isn't tracking my pace well - so trying to get that sorted.  I was doing an interval the other day and was supposed to run about a 6:45 pace - but it was killing me - to the point where my HR was so high that I started choking/coughing and ready to chunder.  I'm back to running by HR and will see if the Garmin fixes itself. 

Yesterday I had the great idea of commuting by bike and then racing the crit at Seward park in the Cat 2/3/4 race (I'm a Cat 3 or whatever they call it now) and then riding home.  I got Chris Tremonte to ride with me - so it was fun to have some company and a little triathlete amongst cyclist competition.  By the time I got to the race I had ridden 45 miles already and the race would get us another 20 miles I think.  I haven't raced a crit in years - like 5 or more and also haven't ridden with more than a handful of people in at least that long - so some nerves were there!  Not to mention, going from long steady efforts to the violent high-wattage efforts of a crit - I had no idea how long I'd survive. 

The crit started out fine - it was a 25 lap race (I think) that goes around a closed course and up a long hill each lap.  It's pretty casual and if you get dropped you can rest and get back in easily.  I just planned to sit in and finish the race - getting in some efforts and maybe a few digs.  The race was pretty uneventful at the back 1/3 which Chris sat in the front 1/3.  At one point the pack slowed and I went from about 1/2 way up to the top 5 and then I just hit it.  I saw over 1,100 watts and then 4 other guys jumped with me as we went up the hill.  I didn't see the pack again for another lap - even though I had coasted over the top of the hill and back down again! I recovered and did it again 1 lap later - this time Tremonte came around me but I had no expectation of hammering up the hill to get the break going. It's a tough course for a small handful to get away on - the pack goes downhill so much faster than a few people, so you end up getting caught 99% of the time I think.  The crit was over - I had even found a few old teammates and had a few snippets of conversation during the race. 

Here's a snap of my HR - you can see where the race starts - around mile 48 in the day.  The highlight is where I attacked. 

We rode home and by then time I got home I felt pretty good - though dehydrated (it has been about 80 all week) and could have even run a little if I needed to! 

Vineman is in 2 weeks from Sunday - so one more week of good training this week and then a recovery/taper week.  IN the past week I've set new power records on my harder rides and my runs have gone really well.  An hour of swimming seems short on some days and although I'd like a few more weeks before Vineman, I think it's all going in the right direction.

After the race I met a blog reader - which is always a hoot! 

Never Say Goodbye to California

I never imagined that I'd live in California - coming from NH, it really didn't seem like a place I'd end up EVER.  I did and it has been pretty much everything you see on TV or in the movies or hear in music.  It's that good, it's also about 3x a much  ($$$) to live here as anywhere else except for maybe London, Paris, Tokyo or Disneyland. 

I've been able to live on the water and watch the sunrise every morning over the Bay and have even been awakened by seals barking.  A lost whale swam by about a year ago or more and I had a pool that cost about $700 a month to heat (I got a solar cover for $100 that worked better instead).  I had a hot tub, pool and guest house where we have had more guests visit in 2.5 years than we did in 12 in Seattle.  We had 2 World Champions stay with us (Ben Collins and Katie Mactier) and I learned to swim a lot better at the Tiburon Penninsula Club where you can join the master's swim program for $65 a month or pay a $15,000 initiation fee and wait a year or two (the later is if you want to play tennis and use the weight room). 

I made some great friends and found a never ending supply of folks who love being outside swimming, biking and running.  I could also drive to Disneyland and visit a winery on the same day. 

I blogged a lot and somehow managed to get into the middle of a triathlon love square - one that everyone made it out alive and seems to all be in great places and I think they all still like me.  Everyone in the love square has actually spent a night at my house too.  Weird. 

I rode the ferry into the city every day and met about 4 people - all who became friends (Rich, JP, Chris and his wife Denise though I never met Chris on the ferry, just his wife).  My wife rode the ferry for 3 months and had 30 friends in less time.  I pays to not wear spandex and blog every day. 

I read every book by Ayn Rand.  Atlas Shrugged is pretty much the greatest book ever.

I did hill repeats and rode Mtn Tam as much as I possibly could.  Today on a pretty easy ride, I actually rode it faster than I ever had before.  I took about 8 mins off my time.

I ran over Ring Mtn a lot and the other day ran over it twice and broke my best time ever for the loop the 2nd time over (each loop is about 45 mins).  I took 6 mins off my best time ever this week. 

I got to drive to Sonoma and join a lot of wineries and even got to visit them so much, they knew us by name as well as our kids.  The girls usually got free stuff and got apple juice in wine glasses and they even knew where to watch out for rattle snakes at Gun Bun.  Sada knows how to pour wine without spilling. 

We ate at Waypoint Pizza more than just about anyone I know.  Everyone who has stayed with us has been there. 

We had a nanny for 2 years that we love dearly and still visit with her every week even though we laid her off in January or March.  I can't remember. 

Our kids met lots of really great kids from amazing families and most of them have blond hair. 

Our dog has a girlfriend next door (Sake) and his best friend Teddy lives across the street.  Jack is pretty popular but he really is focusing on peeing on every single inch of Tiburon before we move. 

I ran the same 11.5 mile loop a lot and never got tired of it. I never ran on the right side of the road, just the left - regardless of the direction I went.  You run along the ocean for 11 of the 11.5 miles. 

I live next to Robin Williams who isn't really that interesting.  He saw Sada beef on her bike for the first time ever. 

I got to spend the past 2.5 years training with Ian since almost the day I moved here.  Then he got cancer and then he beat cancer and got into the Ironman World Championships in an 18 month period.  He's the only person I know who probably killed cancer with training.  In between chemo he still raced two half ironman races and finished better than over half the field.  I'm going to be in Kona to watch him race and to rent a scooter. 

I rode my bike home over the Golden Gate bridge nearly every day for 18 months and it never got old.  I know just about every pothole and seam on the bridge as well as where it gets warmer and where the wind really sucks.  I don't miss riding through the Fisherman's Wharf area in the summer with the tourists. The Chinese really do struggle sometimes with traffic lights, cross walks, moving cars and stepping out with ancient Chinese nana in front of a cyclist going 20+. 

There are two guys who hide behind branches and get money from tourists.  Maybe more. 

I stopped at the top of the Headlands climb to look at the view every time.  That's the only place I would ever stop to look.  It's also a good place to grab a gel and find a trash can.

I got pretty good at going downhill.  I also crashed and knocked myself out twice.  I did that once about 3 days before Vineman and I had a hard time speaking and standing up 2 days before the race but still rode ok. One of those crashes was a result of an oil tanker hitting a bridge.  After the crash before Vineman, my bike didn't have a scratch on it and it was standing upright against a car. 

I think Santa Barbara is close to perfect.  Santa Monica seems pretty close too. 

When outside, my daughters are barefoot more often than not.  I'm trying it out now.

When I asked my wife if she was ready to say goodbye to California and she said you should never say goodbye to California.  Which is good, because I'm coming back again. 

I'll write again when I'm in Washington.  Though I'm sure I'll be less tan.

Random

I’ve been having such a good block of training with great improvement so we’ve (me and my coach) have decided to cut out the San Jose Triathlon in a week and keep hammering before doing another blood lactate test.  I did set another power record yesterday which was good – it’s been a while and I haven’t been 100%, so it’s always positive to see improvement. 

Yesterday I rode the Alpine dam loop and was told to get in some climbing – so here’s the profile of the ride – I realized I hadn’t started the computer until I got to Fairfax, so I’m missing about 40 mins as I rode from my house to Camino Alto and up to Fairfax where I met the back end of the Fairfax Festival – which was literally 18 floats all saying they loved trees, a girl in yellow on stilts and 21 bands all playing Grateful Dead covers. Here’s the ride profile, I rode over 4,000 ft.:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I did forget to post the race profile from my race last weekend.  I thought it was hilly until I did the ride yesterday – the race was a whole 306 ft in 16 miles.  Leaving my house I do over 300 feet in .25 mile I think.  The race:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We’re just packing otherwise and getting ready for the move to Seattle.  Today I washed my bikes and wheel sets (I think I have 3 extra wheelsets other than race wheels) – there really isn’t too many things nicer than a clean bike! 

I also need to figure out where I should stay before Vineman 70.3  - any ideas?

In between everything else, I’ve managed to get Macca’s main website launched.  It’s been a ton of work and I didn’t even do the coding.  One fun idea I had that I stole from some of the time I spend working on Lance’s site years ago was to have a ‘wife’s blog’ – so on Macca’s site you’ll see that his wife Emma-Jane writes Emma’s Corner (Lance’s wife Kristin had Kristin’s corner – I’m sooooo creative).  The trouble is that her blog posts are the most popular thing on this site!  It’s pretty fitting that more popular than a 2xWorld Champion’s blog is his wife’s.  Another thing I found out today is that Aussies don’t (some don’t) race with goggles).  I was posting this video and noticed that Murph and Macca weren’t wearing any goggles.  Michael Muprhy is a really nice kid – he’s 19 and is a hell of a swimmer (and triathlete) from Aussie – you’ll see this kid a lot in the future.  He’s just hanging with Macca all spring and trains and races with him full time.  Anyways, here is the video where I saw them race without goggles and had to ask why: http://www.chrismccormack.com/video/ironman703stpolten – about a min in you’ll see Murphy and Macca. 

BBQ’s and Fog

I was out running today – doing a pretty challenging a 3x12 min effort at 6:40-6:50 pace –not terribly hard but a few months ago it would have been.  It was a bit harder since I did a hard ride yesterday with some Computrainer time (which I swear is what hell is like) and some high Z3 watts (280) at 50 rpm.  It’s like walking around the house with two kids holding onto my feet for about 45 mins.  So the run was tough and I finished that. Along the way I smelled lumber which reminded me that I should probably write about a bunch of stuff that I have done or like or love.  I’m sure some of it is probably pretty similar to stuff you have done or thought. 

So here’s what I love:

• the smell of fresh lumber - try walking in a house under construction
• riding home after work on a summer day and smelling bbq – a highlight of the Burke Gillman trail in Seattle about 1 mile south of Ben’s house
• a summer night’s crit at Seward Park – I’ll be doing those starting July 2!  The 6pm is a hoot. 
• new bike shorts – particularly their first ride
• nice clean bike tape – I always buy white cork and that is dumb if I like it clean.  I miss the 90’s when we had bright yellow, orange, pink and green too.
• feeling strong on a nice hard climb
• passing people on the run
• passing people with all of the aero stuff on their bikes really fast – like it will break their spirit fast
• New England roads, particularly those of the NH coast.  There are 40 different ways to get to the same place.  From my parents home there must be run loops of 3, 4, 6, 7 and 10 miles.  None flat, none too hilly.
• running the same loop a lot.  I have run the loop around Tiburon probably 50 times.  It’s the same route but hardly ever the same.
• putting on all of the fast stuff and riding fast- disc, front aero wheel, helmet, tri suit – the works
• a bit of fog or clouds on a really warm day- like 80+.  It needs to clear out – but it’s nice every once and a while
• new tires
• a cold chelada after a long hot ride
• a group ride with good people
• riding or running or swimming and not missing out on time with my family – maybe they’re at school or shopping or something like that
• Z3 and Z4
• my Power Tap
• sprint races that are run like the big ones
• good race shirts
• having finished the Timberman 70.3 with Sada running next to me – I would have never finished that race had I not told her I’d finish with her.  Maybe I would have. 
• no bad patches in a race
• not having to run fast or for any other reason than to go for a run
• running just about anywhere in the fall
• being out on the hottest day of the year having a great time
• how a humid day can make you drenched in a short 20 min run
• drivers who stop if you are on the side of the road – I’ve been given a lift when I had a flat tire, someone turned around when they saw me riding a climb with 1 leg thinking something was wrong
• commuting by bike
• riding just about anywhere in California
• a 1pm master’s swim, outside on a sunny and warm day