Watch My Video!!

Hey :) This is my TRX Sponsorship video clip. If everyone could view this video, and pass it along to as many others as possible, that would be great! If my video gets the most hits, I can get some sponsorship money....enjoy!! Keep you posted on the 10km race tomorrow! Stephen

Taper and a 10Km!

So, I am coming off two really large weeks of training leading into the Embarcadero 10km running race this weekend. I was able to log 16 hours, and 12 hour training blocks over the last 2 weeks, and am VERY happy to be in a large taper leading into the race. I was feeling VERY fatigued at the beginning of the week, and have decided to take a few extra days off to help out with some much needed recovery. For me, running is the most difficult of the three disciplines that I train for, so I am hoping to start feeling a bit more fresh before Sunday morning rolls around :) The Embarcadero is a 10km running race, out and back, and pancake flat. Conditions call for a brisk morning. All these factors play to my strenghts :)

Embarcadero 10km Map

My goal for the race is simple. I would like to go under 40 minutes. My race strategy is to get to the 5km mark in around 20min, and then 10 go for broke in a negative split for the last 5km.

It is going to be so hard!!!

I will keep you posted. Happy training :)

Stephen

Time Trial Success!

So, Febuary is well underway, and time is just flying by. I am REALLY excited about the upcoming race season, and many of my races are quickly approaching!!! This past week was just exceptional in terms of my training. On a side note, I FINALLY got my S-Works Specialized Time Trial bike back after almost a year! I crashed the bike at my first race of 2010 due to poor race planning on part of the race director (mounds of baking flour poured onto the course, including corners, as directional arrows???), and have been waiting on parts ever since. My weapon is back in my possession - BIG SMILE!!!! Swim Coach Lisa had a testing week planned out, which included a 750m time trial. At present, I am doing all of my swim training at the olympic sized pool at the University of San Francisco, which is a really great facility, and I usually get a lane all to myself :)

USF Koret Center Pool

The time trial went excellent! My plan was to focus on my technique, get an effecient rythm going, and to keep strong the entire time. It worked out better than anticipated, and I cranked out a 10min 9 sec effort, which is a huge improvement for me!! Thanks Lisa, and hopefully this continues into the rest of the year. This week also saw a return to the absolute most painful workout for me - mile repeats on the track. I am doing the majority of my run training at Kezar Stadium, which is an awesome venue at the edge of Golden Gate Park, and it often reminds me of a greek stadium. It is free to use the track, and often times, the university cross country team is training there which is great motivation for a triathlete such as myself trying to improve my run.

Kezar Track Entrance

Kezar Track

The cross country team was out in full force during my workout, and were ripping out 200-400meter repeats, while I was working away at my 7x1mile workout. I had an awesome workout, and was able to average 6:15 miles, which is again a really big improvement for myself!! So, things seem to be really coming along for me thus far in 2011.

Another highlight from this week was the TRX training class and whom was teaching it. Tyler Stewart, pro triathlete and Ironman Champion!!! This call was absolutely killer, in the best way possible. As a fellow top level triathlete, she had a complete emphasis on sport specific exercises and I was able to learn alot in the 75minute class. The class is actually scheduled for 60min, but she like to give us extra time :) She is a really awesome person, and I plan on attending the remainder of her 5 part series of classes.

Tyler Stewart - TRX Training Center

The key now is going to be balancing my fitness and training, and remaining energized and injury free!!

Happy training to all, and see you at the races.

Next up - Embarcadero 10km Feb 27.....

Stephen

What do YOU listen 2??

So, this will be the first in a series of posts I have chosen to title "What do YOU listen 2?", which will be a regular post dedicated to music which really gets me motivated while training, and while out dancing :) The first in the series is a track titled Barbra Streisand. I had first heard this track at Burningman 2010, and also heard it again shortly after at my best friend Lisa's wedding (and actually had the DJ spin it twice as we all loved it so much!!). I again, recently heard it at my spin class with Eric Sheppard, who plays rockin' music all the time. Check it out:

What I enjoy most about this track is how funky, positive, and beat driven it is! Also, the video reminds me of a time much happier and care free.

Happy training!

Steve

What a Rush - PR 5km!!

Today was the official kick off to my 2011 Race Season, and a sort of come back in ways :) The event was the Arts and Sciences 5km Running race, which was held in beautiful Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, CA. The race began at 9am and was a single loop of rolling terrain.

5km Race Map

Start Line at the Conservatory of Flowers

I awoke this morning to POURING rain. I mean, it was a terrential down pour. However, I was committed to the race, and was planning on running even if the event were cancelled. I really needed to put a race effort out there, and get in some good training as this is part of my race plan for the year.

Got to the race site, and the rain had died down to a drizzle, and by the time the race started, there was no more rain.

The race started, and was very competitive as most races anywhere in California are. My plan was to negative split the race, putting in a good effort for the first half and then just see what I could do after that.

The race went as planned, and I was cruising along at a comfortably uncomfortable pace, which then seemed to turn into a painful effort at about 2 miles.....I was a bit concerned at this point that I may fall off the pace. However, there was a fellow Canadian girl named Leanne, whom I met prior to the race start, and she pulled up beside me and told me to "keep up". So I did as much as I could. She every so slowly inched her way ahead of me, but I kept trying to chase her. This is positive for me, as I mentally committed to the challenge, and didn't let go when things got tough.

De Young Museum at 2 miles

Stow Lake at 2.5 miles

I knew where the finish line was, and with about 500m to go I really had to dig deep as there was a group of 3 guys trying to chase me down. I could hear them breathing right down my neck, and was more motivated than ever to NOT let anyone pass me at the finish! I was able to turn on the afterburners, and was able to outsprint those guys by the narrowest of margins :)

The finish shoot was very narrow, and with the group of us finishing right at the same time, there was alot of commotion, and some minor collisions. We all had a good laugh over it, and it was one of the most exciting race finishes ever for me.

I was able to post a time of 19minutes and 38 seconds, which is a PR for a 5km for me. YES!!!!

RESULTS: http://dserunners.com/results/2011/artsandsciences5k.html

Moving forward on a really great note, my next race will be the Embarcadero 10km running race on Feb 27.

Train safe and well :)

Stephen

SOAK UP THE SUN :)

Hope everyone had a successful week of training. My training this week went quite well, although I had to miss 1 or 2 workouts due to fatigue and work. Oh well, better to rest and recover than injure myself, right!?! The weather has been amazing in San Francisco. Mid 60's and sunshine all week. NICE, NICE, NICE!! Was able to squeeze in 10 hours this week. Was aiming for 12.5, but it is still really early in the season, and am sure the missed volume/time will be more than made up for in the coming months. For me, January is all about getting back into the swing of regular training, before the "real" workouts in the uncoming months. Was able to get in 3 solid swim sessions of 2500m a piece thanks to coach Lisa Graham, swim extraordinaire! The sets she provides me keeps me interested and not bored at all during this period of repetitive lap swimming. I can already feel I am pretty much where I was at last year, and am looking to make some improvement in this area this year. On the run, I got in a solid 6x1 mile repeat session on the track, averaging around 6:40 per mile which is on par for me. Not bad for January running. Also got in a 3x (4x400m, 4x200m) workout while was killer, and also a 20min brick run. On the bike, had a killer trainer ride. I HATE riding the trainer. It is mentally challenging despite having music, tv, roomates, dogs around. But today came a real breakthru workout for me. I did the famous "Paradise Loop" ride which a 90km-ish ride from San Francisco over to the Marin county and Tibouron: This ride is know by all cyclist in the Bay Area and is a staple for training. It is my favorite ride. It is around 90km, so perfect for a longer-ish ride, especially preparing for long course triathlon races. There are a few completely straight flat out stretches where you can work on your time trial efforts, and then there are some pretty significant climbs and rollers to keep it serious training! However, the best part are the sights that you get as you go along. It just never stops. Just when you are getting tired, another epic scene of beauty unfolds, and you remember just how lucky you are to live in California in January. While all my Canadian family and friends are dealing with a blizzard and cannot even leave their house due to heavy levels of snow, this is how my Saturday greeted me - Sunny, no clouds, and 70 degrees!!! As the Cheryl Crow song goes "I....just wanna soak up the sun....everyone needs to lighten up!"

Angel Island Alcatraz and San Francisco in the background

Riding across the Golden Gate

A view from the top!

After my 2.5 hour bike, I added on a 20min hard effort brick run thru Chrissie Field. I felt just amazing on the run, and was just able to blast thru everyone out today. I was able to build my way thru the run, and take in the awesome fresh smell of the crashing surf on the shore. I even got totally drenched by a huge breaker wave right at the end of my run. REFRESHING!

Oh, and did I mention I have a 5km race next week already. How did that sneak up? Totally excited, and lets hope for a sub 19-ish result :)

Stephen

Dance Like Nobody is Watching!

So my 2011 Triathlon training is well underway, with 2 solid weeks under my belt. I wanted to start this post off by saying that I am stoked to be back training healthy and injury free! At this time last year, I was pretty much restricted to swimming and water jogging as I had developed stress fractures in both my fibulae from running too frequently on the pavement around SF :( Then, after finally healing, I had a terrible bike crash at my first race back after my injury in June when the race director decided to pour piles of baking flour onto the bike course to mark the corners!?! Seriously. I crashed hard on a corner, as I was leading the race, and the flour had not yet been dispersed by other racers. I injured both my hands, dislocating my left thumb, and had around $4500 dollars in damage to my Specialized S-Works Transition Time Trial Bike. BBOOOOOOO!!!!! I was able to do a few late season races on my road bike (and even did a half ironman on a borrowed bike - big thanks to Jason Britton), with some ok results, but was not fully trained and did not have my "A" game equipement. Onto 2011 :) Injury free and have all my equipment up and running.... I started my year off with some dancing at an annual party called MASS. This circuit party is super popular here, and dancing is alway's a great workout if the DJ is rocking the decks! This party was just excellent and I left totally spent! A great start to training. I was able to get in 9 hours the first week of January, then finished off a solid 12 hours the second week. I am just focusing on slowly easing into the year. I have incorporated a number of new training modalities (TRX, trampoline, Body Pump) in an effort to gain more strength and fitness to improve my run and overall performance. So far, so good.... My first race is in 2 weeks. YIKES, but exciting. I am doing the Arts and Sciences 5km run. I think my fitness is pretty good right now, and I am definitely aiming for a sub 20 minute performance. However, you can never really predict how your body is going to react, and my number one goal is going to be to have fun, and to give my 100% effort physically and mentally on the day. I was asked by TRX to be part of a photo shoot in late November, which was a great opportunity, and one which I didn't want to pass up. I have posted a photo below. You can see me in the far back corner. Unfortunately, after 6 hours of photo shooting, this was the only photo I appeared in :( For some reason the young girl who was the photo shoot director apparently didn't like me very much, and was VERY disorganized. A pretty disappointing experience, but you don't know until you try :)

Looking forward to the next few weeks will see a bit more training volume added to the schedule, and much of the same - swim , bike, run, trx, body pump, and some trampoline. Good Times!

Happy, healthy, safe training to all.

See you at the races!!

Stephen