The ride was an inner-coastal ride.  Starting near the coast, but heading east and then north to Rancho Santa Fe.  3 notable hills to climb, but nothing we haven’t already ridden previously.

The ride was at a decent clip — under 2 hours when you take away sag stops and traffic lights.  And the 2000′ of climbing tends to slow things down a bit as well.

During the ride a teammate convinced me to run in the SROP 10K tomorrow so I decided to cut the brick short and only did 2 miles.

The course started at the east end of Los Pensaquitos Canyon, and we rode inland to Pomerado, then north to Rancho Bernardo. Then a cruise through Fairbanks Ranch, and back to Los Pensaquitos by taking the 56 bike path.  A fun route with some rolling hills.  

It was drizzling at the meet-up point.  We debated if it was going to burn off or get worse, but Trent decided that we will go ahead with the ride.  The roads were somewhat slick with a light misting so we had to be extra careful and avoid the paint whenever possible.  At the second stop light, I ended up with a slow-motion-can’t-unclip-fast-enough fall because my chain came off the sprocket.   Not a great way to start the ride, but it was the first time that I had fall this season.  Once I got my chain back on and checked over everything, I was back on the ride.

Once we were a little bit in-land, things dried out a bit.  It would have been nice but we managed to get stuck at nearly every stoplight on Pomerado.  Once we crossed back over to the west side of IH-15, we into the drizzle again which stuck with us for the rest of the ride.

After the ride, we hit the trails for a run.  Goal was 60 minutes or more.  Since it was drizzling, it was cool and made for a nice, but somewhat muddy run.  

In all, just over 41 miles with 2500′ of climbing on the bike in 3 hr 9 min and 6.2 miles on the run in 1 hr 10 min.

Bike: Elevation versus Heart Rate

Run: Elevation versus Heart Rate

Since we do spin at La Jolla High School, we are just at the bottom of Mt Soledad, which has many nice bike climbs, ranging from a slow climb to a very intense steep ride on Via Capri.  The bonus is the wonderful view of San Diego when you reach the top!

I elected to do two repeats up Mt Soledad by way of Nautilus as this was a mid-week ride and the ride this weekend is going to be brutal. The first climb didn’t seem as difficult as I expected and I didn’t max out my HR on the trip up, which was a good sign for me.  I did get close to max on the second climb, but I was already working hard and was expected.

8.85 miles in total for both climbs, which is comparable to the milage I usually get during spin, and the time for both loops was 50 minutes.  Plus with 1350′ of climbing, it was a good choice for tonight.

As for swim, I didn’t go to because of work.

Here is the summary data and elevation profile from Garmin Connect.

I felt good overall, and even climbed up inside of Torrey Pines and  didn’t come close to max HR like I normally do.  

I am now using Garmin Connect to upload my training profiles, which plots the routes against Google Maps instead of the more basic mapping in Garmin Training Center.  I occasionally used MotionBased.com, but uploading to the site was always hit or miss.  Connect seems more reliable and has less issues uploading data from my Forerunner 305 and Garmin is migrating away from MotionBased anyway.

I neglected to bring my running shoes, so I did the track drills barefoot.  Fortunately, the track was rubberized so my feet didn’t get abused that much.

The strength drills left me wiped out for the swim.  My shoulders were sore and tired from the medicine ball drills and I struggled to get into a groove.  I ended up only doing about 1100 yards before I felt I was close to drowning.

My HR profile for the spin is getting better.  During one of the early bursts, I was able to get up to 160+ rpm and my HR didn’t jump extremely.  However, towards the end of the drills we were doing standing drills while increasing gears and cadence. My HR climbed because I was getting really tired.

Cadence vs HR

Beautiful ride today through the Elfin Forest. 48 Miles in all with 2500′ of climbing, from Moonlight Beach in Encinitas, up to Carlsbad, inland through the Elfin Forest, then back to the coast.  The weather was great overall and the pace was fairly fast.

As Wildflower had passed, the team is refocusing on Vineman and everyone was looking forward to this long ride.  While we have a few months left until the event, it is time to bring up the intensity a bit.

Though we all started the ride together in a large pack, by the time we were to Calsbad, we were in much smaller groups.  I was in a fast-pace group for a while and tried to stick with Emily who ate up the hills like they were candy. Once we hit the Elfin forest, the pace really picked up and I was struggling when we reached Harmony Grove.  By the time we got onto Del Dios, I was left on my own.  

I wasn’t familiar with the route and while on the Elfin Forest, my map blew away, so I was concerned about taking the correct course back to Moonlight Beach.  I knew the way from Del Dios, but we were making a turn to the north to add another 8 miles or so to the ride.  Fortunately, while going down Del Dios, I managed to make up enough distance where I had someone in my sights and was able to follow them the rest of the way back.

Part of my struggles was from nutrition.  I had Clift shotblocks as well as two bottles of Cytomax.  I also stopped at Sag before we entered the Elfin Forest.  But my stomach wasn’t feeling great from so much Cytomax and by the time I made it back to the start, I was fairly nauseous. 

Chasing the group and having an unsettled stomach left me with empty legs when it was time for 30-45 minute run.  I ended up walking with Penny since she was still recovering from her bad crash during the half-ironman in Oceanside this past March.

Getting ready

Time for the start

Out of the water

Transition to the bike

Run transition

Strong finish!

After everyone completed the practice tri, we all had a nice breakfast put on by the Coaches, mentors, and support staff!

Post-tri breakfast and pre-Wildflower talk

Around noon I decided to head out for a ride up the coast. I did 28 miles in 2 hours, going from La Jolla Shores to Encinitas and back. I wanted to go to Carlsbad, but there was the Encinitas Street Fair going on, so I cut my ride short.

Coach Trent wasn’t available for spin and Mentor Alan filled in and ran the drills.  50 minutes later and I am glad it is over!  I just loaded up the data from my Forerunner and the Spin profile is very interesting.  My HR really tracks the speed which mostly changed when we shifted gears as part of the routine.  Max cadence tonight was 140 rpm at around 10 minutes in.

Spin Profile

Only had a 15 minute break and then it was time for the pool.  It was cooler out and the water didn’t feel warm enough, but after a while it was comfortable. I got through 1100 yards of drills and laps and it definitely hit me pretty hard.  My shoulder didn’t hurt like it did after the ocean swim, so that is good, but my body is really tired now.

Tomorrow will reveal how hard the workout was on my body when all the soreness hits…

We gathered at Otay Lakes Reservoir to go over the ride, cover some important safety tips and nutrition. As this was a strength workout, the profile of the ride was gentle rollers and flats for the first 10 miles out, then a 7 mile, 2100′ climb up Honey Springs Road, then turn around and head back down. This is out in east San Diego county near the US/Mexico boarder so there really isn’t much there. We arranged for SAG at the half-way point so we could stock up on water and food.

The ride started off at a fast pace, burning up the first 8 or so miles at an average of 18.5 mph (fast for me).  The elevation gradually increased until we reached the start of the 7 mile climb.  Digging in, we made the slow ascent. I was doing fine for the first 4 miles or so, but then my heart rate really was getting up past 90%.  I was definitely getting tired and had to stand a lot during the climb to keep the momentum.  It was hot and I was sweating out a lot of salts.  I used Cytomax for this ride and I felt ok for the first 15 miles, but after working the climb, the Cytomax was tasting a little too sweet so I might need to dilute my second water bottle a little bit.  The climb was a bear but eventually we made it to the top — I only had to think of our honored teammates and what they deal with everyday to get the mental inspiration to make it to the top!   We took a quick photo, then flew down what we slogged up…

Robbie makes it look easy...

 Going down was a blast, and I fully recovered, while flying down at 35+ mph.  The elevation vs heart rate graph from my Forerunner 305 shows how difficult the final bit to the summit was, but how easy the trip back down!

We followed the ride with a run — I only put 2 miles in after getting some serious cramps.  I need to work more on my nutrition on these long and hot rides and I am wondering if the Cytomax contributed to them.

After a bite for lunch, we met at the U.S. Olympic Training Center for a special tour and to meet with some of the upcoming Olympic triathlete hopefuls — Steve Sexton, Jen Spieldenner, and Ethan Brown.  We watched a very inspiring movie then went into the Athletes’ village — normally restricted to the general public.   A special thanks to Coach Trent for helping arrange this wonderful event!

Athletes' Village At US Olympic Training Center

Steve Sexton, Jen Spieldenner, and Ethan Brown talking about hopes for 2012

Pictures of the day were added to the gallery.

Go Team!

I arrived a little bit late and most of the team was gathered around coach Sam to go over the rules of triathlon.  The heavy overcast made for a cool day and there were occasional sprinkles.

Rules such as drafting, how to rack your bike, and the requirement of bar-end plugs were covered. Sam shared tips on how to have a smooth transition and what you need to prepare for to have the best race you can.

I was riding with the Vineman team today, so we got started before the Olympic distance team – the plan was to swim out past the breakers, swim back, then run up to the transition area and head out for the ride.  However, most of us elected to not get into the water as the waves were big and rough. The few brave ones that went in got tossed around and discovered how strong the current was.

Gray day in the waves

After getting tossed, the Vineman and Wildflower long teams headed out for the ride. Wildflower had a tough 51 miles on tap, while the Vineman team was looking at around 35.  The ride started out fairly nice and we made good time from Encinitas up to San Marcos.  Good pace and it was looking to be a great ride.  We broke out into smaller groups as we all have different paces.  I was riding with Jodi when we were hit a brief shower on Palormar Airport Road, but it as more of an annoyance than anything. But once we turned onto Racho Santa Fe, were dumped on with a heavy downpour.  And of course, we were going down a fairly decent hill…

Flying down a hill where the roads are suddenly slick results in panic! The rain stung like little tiny needles and I couldn’t see more than 10 fee in front of me. Fortunately, we kept our cool reduced our speed and eventually met up with other groups huddling under a tree in a fleeting attempt to stay dry.  I was cold and soaked and no longer having a good day.  Coach Trent elected to cancel the rest of the ride as it was very iffy.  We debated the best way of getting back to the start and eventually we made our way through the rain.

Down another hill and Robin got a flat, so we all stopped to assess.  She had to SAG out as she had a large gash in her front tire and it wasn’t worth it to try to salvage.

Robin is in the pink jersey

Eventually the rest of us got back onto road to make our way to the start.  Once we got near the coast, the rain stopped and the sun was actually out.

Overall the team didn’t have a great day with a few members having falls due to slick conditions or other issues.  SAG was busy today…

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