GREAT Video of the weekend by my teammate Rommel Calderon!

Desert Triathlon 2012, Palm Desert, CA from Rommel Calderon on Vimeo.

Desert International Triathlon! 03.04.12

TRAINING WEEK 12 -- JANUARY 28, 2012

3 Hour Bike Ride + 20 Minute Run

Below are some of the sights from the longest workout of the season. Today we completed a 3 hour bike ride followed by a 20 minute run. We started our morning in Zuma Beach and had a beautiful and scenic ride up PCH and back. This was one of those days in which it did NOT suck to live in southern California.

What does one of our bike rides along PCH look like??? Take a peak below at the footage captured by my teammate Rommel Calderon

JUST BEFORE THE BIKE RIDE. I'M READY TO GO!




A LOOK AT ZUMA BEACH





COACH BRAD PROVIDING SOME WORDS OF WISDOM AS WE FINISH UP




TEAM CHEER TO FINISH UP A GREAT TRAINING SESSION!





QUICK VIDEO COACH BRAD FINISHING UP OUR TRAINING FOR THE DAY

Weekend of January 22, 2012

We headed into our second week of building some mileage this past weekend. The plan was to do a bike and run on Saturday and then a long run on Sunday but the weather had other plans. It was raining on Saturday morning so that made it a bit dangerous to ride so our coaches decided to switch the days around and instead we ran on this day. 8 miles total was on the schedule. Sunday we hit the bigger mileage and completed a 25 mile bike followed immediately by a 40 minute run. The day was bit cool when we started but turned out to be lovely by the end of the afternoon. I had a solid workout and was very happy with how I felt by the end.

Earlier in the week I completed my swim "marker" that was required by the team and completed a timed 1000 yard swim. I ended up finishing the 1000 yards in 20 minutes and 34 seconds which really surprised me because I expected to be much slower. I don't feel my swim has improved much yet this year, but that's completely my fault. Due to work and overall scheduling I haven't hit the pool as often as I need to in order to improve. January has been much better though and I plan to stay focused from here on out.

Overall it was a solid week and I'm looking forward to the higher mileage that is ahead. It's also time to make my next big push in terms of my fundraising. I've got some ideas for a few events I may put together but still haven't nailed something down. Stay tuned though because I definitely plan to make something happen. Thank you to all who have donated so far. We are over at over $1000 but I won't stop until I reach $4500.

Until next time. Peace...love...and hair grease!

Carlitos

10 Week Update

Well I've been doing a poor job of keeping up my blog so thought tonight I'd recap the past several weeks. So far we are about 10 weeks into training and things are going well. I'd say I hit a bit of a lull with my training during the holidays but that is pretty normal for most. My fundraising is coming along slowly and I'm chipping away at it. I just surpassed $1,000 about a week ago to hit my first deadline so I am super excited for hitting that milestone. I've committed to raising a minimum of $4,500 by race day in June so now only about $3,500 more to go which I KNOW I can reach. I also recently finally got around to OFFICIALLY registering for the race in June and paying for my own registration. All that is left now is to purchase my flight ticket soon and I'll be all set!






This past weekend I got sick on Saturday so I had to miss practice. I was disappointed for this because our team had its first "physical recommitment" on the bike which I will have to make up for next Saturday. Since the swim, bike and run all have time cut-offs on race day, our coaches are tracking our progress in each and making sure are on track to continue on with our training. For the bike, our coaches want us to be able to complete 25 miles in no more than 2 hours. Having done a few races in the past I'm familiar with my bike times so I should be able to comfortably reach this goal. On Sunday I felt much better so I went out on a run on my own and tracked my progress in order to meet the "physical recommitment" for the run portion. We had to run 90 minutes total and at least have completed a minimum of 7 miles during that time. I was able to complete 9.8 miles over that 90 minute span so I am clear now with the coaches for this event. Later this week at our team practice I will have to complete the physical recommitment for the swim and complete 1000 yards in the pool in no longer than 30 minutes. Quite frankly, I hate swimming so this will be my most difficult event. I've got a lot of work to do in the pool with my mechanics but I should be able to crank out this 1000 yards in no more than about 22-24 minutes...well...hopefully...jaja!

Last weekend on Saturday January 7th our team had its longest practice to date. We completed a 2 hour bike ride followed a by an immediate 20 minute run off the bike. This is the first of many long "bricks" where we will practice getting our legs used to running after being on the bike so long. Below is a quick video of Coach Brad providing some wisdom on recovery beverages as we wrap up our practice.




The week before that we had our unique New Years Day bike ride on January 1, 2012 at 9am. Yes...that is 9am after a long but fun New Years Eve night. I won't go into too many details but I rang in the new years with great friends and had a great time before putting my spinning head to bed at 5am. Two and half hours later I was up and out the door on my way to practice as scheduled. Kids--don't try this at home. A 2 hour bike ride is much more fun with a full night of sleep. :)

I rang in 2012 with a beautiful 2 hour bike ride along PCH from Santa Monica to Malibu and back. The battery on my phone was dying so I was able to capture a few quick seconds in the video below. I wish I could have filmed more of the scenery because the views were spectacular.



Let's rewind back a little over a month and talk about The Las Vegas Marathon on December 4, 2011. This was my 17th full marathon, but one of my most unique. This was the first ever marathon run at NIGHT which made things exciting. In addition, the strip was closed to cars for the runners so I got a chance to run up and down the strip at night--how cool is that. I wish I had taken more pictures but I was out there trying to soak in as much of the experience as possible. I managed a few quick photos and even a quick video clip which you see below.












I look forward to the weeks ahead of training and the challenges that await. It's time to crank things up a notch and make it HAPPEN!

Thanks for reading. GO TEAM!

IronTEAM 2012: First Team Bike Practice

Saturday 11/19/2011:
Hawaii Ironman 70.3

So I'm BACK! Excited to be back supporting Team In Training and The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. After 14 month break from triathlons I'm itching to get back into the swing of things. I am signed up for the Hawaii Half Ironman Triathlon on June 2, 2012. This race will consist of a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, and 13.1 mile run. Seven long months of training lie ahead but I am excited for the journey that awaits me.

I'm also committed to raising $4,500 for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society(LLS) as part of this journey. This is an organization that has become a part of my life over the past 5 years and I will not stop raising much needed dollars and spreading awareness until we find a cure.

In the video below I briefly describe the first fundraising event I have in the works. I plan to organize a yard sale in early January where 100% of the proceeds will go to LLS. I'm collecting items from all my family and friends to sell at this event so if you are reading this and have some items lying around your house that you don't need...give me a shout. I plan to have many more fundraising events in the months ahead so I will keep you posted.

On this day, we had our first team bike ride and met at Dockweiler Beach for a calm 90 minute ride. This was only my second bike ride in 14 months so I definitely had a lot of cobwebs to clean out. The morning was great. The ride was awesome. The excitement of a new season and journey was certainly in the air. Let's do this!

Carlitos

Week 8: 12 Mile Run

This morning we had a magnificent run with the Westside Marathon Team. After a few weeks of rainy weather, we finally had a perfect morning of sunshine for a smooth run. This week our mileage was up to 12 miles, our highest of the season so far and for many participants on our team, this was the highest mileage they have EVER run. It was awesome to see them all reach new highs and break new barriers. I ran with the ladies of group 4 today and we had a great time together. We ran, talked, we even sang. It was good times. Following our run, we even took a quick dip in the Pacific Ocean to recover a bit. Icing your legs and knees is usually a great way to recover after a long run so dipping in the freezing water was a great way to simulate cold of an ice bath. Great morning all the way around. Can't wait to tackle 14 miles next week and see our team reach newer highs.