Merry Christmas!

Geseënde Kersfees,Een Plesierige Kerfees, Rehus-Beal- Ledeats, Gezur Krislinjden, Milad Majid, Feliz Navidad, Shenoraavor Nor Dari yev Pari Gaghand, Tezze Iliniz Yahsi Olsun, Selamat Hari Natal,Zorionak eta Urte Berri On!, Vesele Vanoce, Feliz Natal, Shubho borodin, Nedeleg laouen na bloavezh mat, Tchestita Koleda; Tchestito Rojdestvo Hristovo, Bon Nadal i un Bon Any Nou!, Feliz Navidad, Gun Tso Sun Tan'Gung Haw Sun, Kung His Hsin Nien bing Chu Shen Tan, Yukpa, Nitak Hollo Chito, Feliz Navidad y Próspero Año Nuevo, Nadelik looan na looan blethen noweth, Pace e salute Rot Yikji Dol La Roo, Mitho Makosi Kesikansi, Sretan Bozic, Prejeme Vam Vesele Vanoce a stastny Novy Rok, Glædelig Jul, Christmas-e- Shoma Mobarak, Vrolijk Kerstfeest en een Gelukkig Nieuwjaar! or Zalig Kerstfeast, Jutdlime pivdluarit ukiortame pivdluaritlo!, Gajan Kristnaskon, Ruumsaid juulup hi, Melkin Yelidet Beaal, Rehus- Beal- Ledeats, Gledhilig jol og eydnurikt nyggjar!, Cristmas-e-shoma mobarak bashad, Hyvaa joulua, Zalig Kerstfeest en Gelukkig nieuw jaar, Joyeux Noel, Noflike Krystdagen en in protte Lok en Seine yn it Nije Jier!, Gledhilig jol og eydnurikt nyggjar!, Bo Nada, Nollaig chridheil agus Bliadhna mhath ùr!, Froehliche Weihnachten, Kala Christouyenna!, Juullimi Pilluaritsi!, Froehliche Weihnachten, Jwaye Nowel or to Jesus Edo Bri'cho o Rish D'Shato Brichto, Barka da Kirsimatikuma Barka da Sabuwar, Shekara!, Mele Kalikimaka, Mo'adim Lesimkha, Chena tova,Baradin ki shubh kamnaaye, Barka da Kirsimatikuma Barka da Sabuwar Shekara!, Mele Kalikimaka ame Hauoli Makahiki Hou!, Kellemes Karacsonyi unnepeket, Gledileg Jol,Selamat Hari Natal, Idah Saidan Wa Sanah, Jadidah,Nollaig Shona Dhuit, or Nodlaig mhaith chugnat, Ojenyunyat Sungwiyadeson honungradon nagwutut, Ojenyunyat osrasay, Buone Feste Natalizie, Shinnen omedeto, Kurisumasu Omedeto, Mithag Crithagsigathmithags, Sung Tan Chuk Ha, souksan van Christmas, Natale hilare et Annum Faustum!, Prieci'gus Ziemsve'tkus un Laimi'gu Jauno Gadu!, Wjesole hody a strowe nowe leto, Priecigus Ziemassvetkus, Linksmu Kaledu, Heughliche Winachten un 'n moi Nijaar, Sreken Bozhik, IL-Milied It-tajjeb, Nollick ghennal as blein vie noa, Meri Kirihimete, Shub Naya Varsh, Merry Keshmish, God Jul, or Gledelig Jul, Pulit nadal e bona annado, Bon Pasco, Bikpela hamamas blong dispela Krismas na Nupela yia i go long yu, En frehlicher Grischtdaag un en hallich Nei Yaahr!, Feliz Navidad y un Venturoso Año Nuevo, Maligayan Pasko!, Wesolych Swiat Bozego Narodzenia or Boze Narodzenie, Feliz Natal, Christmas Aao Ne-way Kaal Mo Mobarak Sha, Mata-Ki-Te-Rangi, Te-Pito-O-Te-Henua, Bellas festas da nadal e bun onn, Legreivlas fiastas da Nadal e bien niev onn!, Craciun Fericit, Pozdrevlyayu s prazdnikom Rozhdestva is Novim Godom, Buorrit Juovllat, La Maunia Le Kilisimasi Ma Le Tausaga Fou, Bonu nadale e prosperu annu nou, Hristos se rodi, Sretan Bozic or Vesele vianoce, La Maunia Le, Kilisimasi Ma Le Tausaga Fou, Nollaig chridheil huibh, Hristos se rodi, Subha nath thalak Vewa, Subha Aluth Awrudhak Vewa,Vesele Vianoce, A stastlivy Novy Rok,Vesele Bozicne Praznike Srecno Novo Leto or Vesel Bozic in srecno Novo leto, God Jul and (Och) Ett Gott Nytt År,Maligayamg Pasko, Masaganang Bagong Taon,Nathar Puthu Varuda Valthukkal, Neekiriisimas annim oo iyer seefe feyiyeech!, Sawadee Pee Mai or souksan wan, Christmas Noeliniz Ve Yeni Yiliniz Kutlu Olsun, Srozhdestvom Kristovym, Naya Saal Mubarak Ho, Chuc Mung Giang Sinh, Nadolig Llawen, E ku odun, e ku iye'dun! and Cestitamo Bozic!

I think that about covers it!

‘tis the Season of giving

This week I was contacted by the folks at 13.1 Marathon to introduce their race to me and ask if I would be interested in running it? This is a series of 13.1 mile races, similar to the Rock’N’Roll series, from the producers of the ING Miami Marathon and Half Marathon®, ING Georgia Marathon and Half Marathon®, and the Chicago Half Marathon and 5K.

I thought about it and consulted my plan…I am a stickler (sometimes to my own detriment) for sticking to the plan. That weekend; January 10th, it called for a 10 miler so after some consultation I figured it could be done! Woot! The race is in Venice and starts on the beachpath finishing on Main Street, I know the course and it’s pretty flat…this is obviously of concern to a rufty-tufty ultra runner!

Anyway the other thing the email mentioned was that I could give a free entry away! So here’s the dealio. Leave a comment on this post and I’ll pull a name out of the hat on December 30th and don’t feel obligated to run with me, I am not good company…seriously just ask Billy or Lori!

The voting continues for my place in the Top 10 Endurance Blogs, it seems I went out too fast and peaked too early and have fallen back into the mid pack! That being said it’s still an honor!

Over the next 8 days, your votes will narrow down the list to the top 3. The best part about this voting is it takes one click. No registration, Clickerty click and you’re done.

Like I said ‘tis the season of giving!

Karma Withdrawal!

I have been nominated and selected as one of the Top Ten Endurance Blogs of 2009 by the folks over at everymantri.com. It’s a real privilege that my rambling diatribe has been placed in the company of such luminaries as UltraMan (that’s UltraMan; basically two IronMan races over three days) Rich Roll, Eldon; The Fat Cyclist who just came back from a weekend training with Team Radioshack and Lance Armstrong and professional triathlete Bree Wee! There are six other outstanding athletes and bloggers and little ol’ me!

Now this is where it’s time to make a withdrawal from the karma bank, I am hoping I have made enough deposits into it in the last year!

Please visit the voting page of everymantris.com here and vote (for me), online voting for the Gold, Silver and Bronze Blogs will take place the last two weeks of December of 2009 until December 30^th. Winners will be announced on December 31st of 2009, and prizes and “Best Blog" ribbons will be awarded to the winners. Thanks in advance!

The Hills have Eyes!

'I' for Interval that is!

I am babying my left heel, it’s sore, like it’s bruised rather than it’s injured and so after Wednesday’s run I decided to push back Friday night’s long Tempo till the weekend, I had a Christmas party to go to as well which started at 6:00pm. Anyway Saturday came and went and so Sunday morning I was up and at them. It was feeling better but not 100% so I decided on hill intervals, why not; I had ridden them on my bike (see below) them on Thursday so it seemed fitting enough!

There’s this hill near where I live called Tarantula Hill; I am not sure why it’s called that other than the obvious! It’s about a mile away, well actually it’s 0.78 of a mile away, it’s more than a hill it looks kinda like a mini volcano, it’s small, sharp and steep; half a mile and about 200’ gain, there’s a service road that winds around it like a corkscrew. Three intervals I thought, and the end of the second one I was done, but I stripped of my second shirt and left it at the top…I’d have no excuses for not going back up when I got the bottom.

By the third ascent I really was done! I wound my way done and headed home! Here ends week 4 of training, for some reason I am feeling pretty beaten up, not enough sleep is a huge contributing factor to this, something to address in the new year, other than my ankle my recovering knee/quad is sore and I can feel a cold coming down the pipe – time to think myself healthy! Trust me this works…I don’t have time to be sick!

With Christmas looming I need to get out the last of my 2009 reviews, so watch out for them this coming week including POM, Smootie Selector, Tangerine, some Sugoi clothing and the Sufferfest’s Downward Spiral, talking of which I picked up this little pain-pill earlier today, is it bad that I like the pain!

Brett over at Zen and the Art of Triathlon is having a giveaway this week for three free copies…enter at your own risk!

Be Smart!

It’s that time again, you’re reflecting on this year’s triumphs or learning opportunities (‘cos they’re the opposite of triumphs), you’re thinking about next year’s schedule, race plans and where to improve. You’ve probably read or heard something similar to this post already; well I always said I was a mid packer! Having paid tens of thousands of dollars in business education I thought I would impart some well worn wisdom to consider when constructing you’re 2010 plan.

Firstly here’s how not to do it;

I want to run faster than I did this year, in fact I want to shave 5-6:00 minutes off my 21:00 5k PR and I want to do that by Valentines day and it’s ok that I haven’t run since October because when I start training in January I’ll be fresh!

You might want to consider using this framework;

1. Specific – Objectives should specify what they want to achieve.
2. Measurable – You should be able to measure whether you are meeting the objectives or not.
3. Achievable - Are the objectives you set, achievable and attainable?
4. Realistic – Can you realistically achieve the objectives with the resources you have?
5. Time – When do you want to achieve the set objectives?

So you may come out with something like this:

I want to reduce my 21:00 5k PR by 3 minutes, that’s a reduction of 1 minute per mile. I’ll use the XYZ 12 week training plan, which if I start training January 1st means I will be ready by March 3rd but I will also run a race mid February with a target time of 20:45

It’s all kinda the same but you can see that the 5 points listed above are all specifically addressed. Adding these checks into your training objectives will keep you on the straight and narrow and also keep you motivated to continue, wars aren’t won in a single battle they’re won in a series of skirmishes.

Setting yourself up for success is halfway to achieving that success!

….c'mon Haime!

0.95238095238 mile per hour!

Well I would hate anyone to think that I was inaccurate! So you’re probably wondering what the hell is this, Stuart’s gone (more) bonkers! Well that was my speed to swim a mile, yes a mile, I swam a mile, that’s 1609 meters, 64 laps! Can you tell I am excited! It took me 1:02 and change, I would have had a more accurate time but my watch died; when I got home no less!

Let me let you into a secret though…so I had this dangling toe nail, trust me it bought hang-nail to a whole new level! Every time I kicked I could feel it pulling on its last vestiges of skin, then after the 22^nd lap it stopped mostly, at lap 28 it stopped altogether and I looked and it was, yep, gone! Hooray! It’s been hanging on for a week at least! Then on the next lap I saw it lying at the bottom of the pool, no probs I thought I’ll pick it up when I have finished. After the last lap I went to pick it up and, oh the horror, it wasn’t my toenail it was just a mark oh the tiles…ooops, sorry Mr Pool Cleaner!

Let you legs do the leg work (Pt 2)

A quick video on using Pre-programmed Intervals on you Garmin Forerunner, it's Part Two to this one.

Stock up on stuffers!

Yeah we can all spend $5000 on a bike or pack our loved one off to a training camp for a week and look after all the domestic mess, bliss at home and get a gazillion brownie points in the process. But the real trick at this time of year is remembering those hints that have been dropped during the previous 335 days, it’s about remembering all those little “oh I wish I had” comments and getting them under the tree asap. So here’s a list of super stocking stuffers all for around $30:

For the swimmer in the house help them with their stroke and consider these Speedo Hand Fins, I have been using them for the few months and while I do not look like Michael Phelps my upper body is starting to resemble his 10 y/o brother!

Accessorize your trail runner with a pair of Dirty Girl Gaiters; a firm favorite among trail runners, these keep the crud out of your shoes and let you splash some color around, you can do likewise with some arm sleeves from Moeben, Sugoi or Primal.

Nothing says I love you more than a big tube BodyGlide, chaffing sucks! Of course if the mood takes you you can start applying it to each other!

For you aches and pains invest in The Stick or a foam roller, I little self loving goes a long way! Seriously make this part of your training routine, be proactively preventative rather than regrettably reactive!

This Sugoi Swag-o bago is great for keeping a standby bag full of running stuff or your soggy swim stuff, big enough to carry an a load of kit it folds down to nothing and costs almost that as well, use quad10 at the checkout to keep a little cheer in your pocket.

If you are like me and run on the way home from work you’re exposing your car to all your glorious funk and crud, even worse if you’ve been on the trails, save your interior with this car seat cover, a little more than $30 the 10% discount you’ll get from using quad10 at the checkout get’s it pretty darn close.

If you’re looking for something to tickle your tastebuds check out these awesome gels from Chocolate #9, I used them during my 100 miler; there’s a review here and I’ve hooked you up with a discount, you have to call them to order, their website can’t handle coupon codes yet so call 1-866-999-1909 and mention my blog for a 15% discount! Remember never try anything new on race day...try this on your ice cream first!

Even in these winter months there’s sometimes a need for sunglasses, personally I never leave home without a pair. These Tofosis come with three interchangeable lenses; clear; for night, red; for flat and smoke; for the sun to cover most of your running/cycling bases, with a bag and cloth thrown in these are a steal again and there currently half price quad10 will take another 10% off the price!

So with a little time left till the big day consider one, some or all of the above for the athlete in your household or if that person is yourself…well treat yourself!

It'a not cross training; it's very, very angry training!

The clues really in the name here I think!

The Sufferfest; I will beat my ass today to kick yours tomorrow

The Downward Spiral; Killer intervals, clear instructions, thrilling footage and great music! Featuring Paris-Roubaix and Fleche-Wallone, it's the most exciting (and freaking hardest!) 60 minutes you'll spend on your indoor bike! ('Pick of the Week!" - Velocast, "4 stars" - Road.cc)

Let’s see if I can walk come Saturday morning!

Haiku Gu, aloha ok!

Well the votes are in, counted and de-chaded and the winner, by somewhat of a landslide; 64.5%, due to a cunning and devious marketing campaign, is Frayed Laces!

Here is the winning haiku and visual proof!

bonking on trail run
I just tried to kiss a tree
time to take some gel

Treehugging at its finest!

Email me your address and I’ll send them on their way!

Pun overload!

There’s a scene in Friends where Chandler is overwhelmed by the jokes he could make about Joey. I felt he same way about the post title…so I chickened out. Tonight I joined a gym, Gold’s Gym…can you see what I mean! It was kinda weird watching people all exercising in a row, I’ve not been in a gym in over three years!

Now there’s a rationale here, it goes something like this. My pool closed..for renovation work…for a month! All is not lost, here’s the dealio, it actually costs in to join the gym, by my math, I am actually $40 a year better off as long as I go at least once a week and I get free sunbeds…err hello Southern California, but that is a third of a pair of running shoes!

There are a couple of side benefits I can work on general leg strength and it’s half a mile from my house; can you smell brick training. Obviously the main advantage and appeal was its pool; (who thought I would ever Ever EVER say that!) which while not very wide; 3 lanes! Is a bit too hot; 83f, is, I am assured, underused, two other swimmers tonight followed by class; one of two a week. So I managed to get in a quick for me 750 meters (820 yds) before I had to go but did manage to cover it 15 minutes faster than I could a scant 5 weeks ago! Progress indeed!

There is still a few hours to vote in the Haiku Gu contest…but it does look like a Frayed Laces sweep, I hope some of her followers stick around and follow me!

No long run Sunday!

Oh the things you can spend your day doing do when you have no long run...

I am really loving the psychedelic hue from the energy efficient LED lights!

Don't forget to vote in the Haiku Gu contest!