Where the heck did September go? Forget that, what happened to the end of August, the end of summer and labor day weekend? WTF My last post was August 23rd and that was back when I was young(er).
In the last 38 days...
The Station Fire - the smoke was horrendous, no outdoor training, it was at least 105 degrees for 10 days straight, but the firefighters saved all of our asses! Thank you firefighters. Even one of our Louisville IM athletes was evacuated the week of the race (he didn't care--cause he qualified for Kona).
Back to school - One kid back to college, one kid back in school for his senior year. Will #2 get into college somewhere? I scared the bejesus out of him the other day with all the stuff he needs to get done during water polo season - SAT, subject tests, college app's, studying, and essay writing-all those cool things you want to do when you're 17, and you have a girlfriend.
Water Polo - The water polo season has begun again. Spent a weekend in Riverside (a place on the outskirts of hell) and then thurs, friday and saturday the following weekend in Orange County. The "sacrifice" was worth it. "We" won the first tournament in quadruple OT in the final game and then we won the biggest tournament outside of CIF the next weekend. Water Polo Water Polo Water Polo through November.
Nautica Tri - did the Olympic race on the saturday and did the swim on a relay on sunday. Cool race, had a decent run considering I had about 10 miles under my belt since March. Do I do the LA Tri this weekend? Not sure I want to run that ridiculous hill --twice. Saw Teri Hatcher at the race on sunday and was nearly bowled over by her papparrazi as they took pictures of her on the beach. The classic race on sunday is comical. I hung out in the transition area after my swim and was perched near the bike dismount line. You wouldn't believe how many athletes just rode on through into transition nearly killing people coming out of the swim. It was funny because in the end, no one was hurt. Also, some of the bikes and some of the outfits people were wearing. Here's a picture of two guys on a tandem. Also, a couple of transitions and some pic's of finishers.
Prep for Kona - I almost forgot; someone is going to Kona. Not me. The Wife. Follow the race updates on twitter. How many mai tai's can be consumed during an IM Marathon? That is both a serious and an important question. The answer will be revealed sometime between 6pm and midnite Hawaii time. Stay tuned on twitter @GoLongTriathlon.
September Training - was quite lackluster. Only hightlight was Nautica. No long rides, only 25 miles of running for the month (vs zero in August, July, June, May and April). About 32 hours of training and racing time for the entire month, which leads me to my next bullet. Did a couple of sunday bricks - 2 hour ride + 20 minute run. Both went well, but on the second ride, I looked like one of the Trailer Park Boys when my shifter cable snapped out of the shifter. Luckily, I had Wheelbuilder and skinny Brent with me and he turned my bike into a fixie. During the fix, we were treated to a discussion of the difference between a hot Karl and hot Carla.
IM Canada - how is it that this didn't sell out on the first friggin day? I was bored, I was checking to see if it sold out. I clicked through, expecting it to tell me "too late dumbass, you have to go up there, volunteer and spend a couple of grand to get into this race before you even wait in a long line and pay your race fee," but it didn't say that. Instead, it said "Cha-ching, thanks for the 600 bucks, you dumbass, you're REGISTERED, now go train." F-ing A. Now, I have to figure out if I can run again.
Sunday Swim Clinic/Workout - Last weekend I started the sunday afternoon tri-club swim workout sessions. 5 people showed for the first one. Only one got out early cause his va-j-j hurt (read that as his leg was cramping from riding the day before). Better get him ready for IM Canada since he signed up too.
So, this weekend is a maybe on LA Tri. Someone on the Club said they would sherpa me since its a point to point race from Venice Beach to downtown LA--a major pain in the a$$. Then, on tuesday, its off to KONA.
Since today was the last day of the quarter, and since I'm still here waiting around to sign deals, I am in desperate need of a vacation and a few mai tai's, a few chi-chi's, a few long board lagers...I'll train for Canada when I get back.
Mahalo Beaches.
