The Coach Buzz ...

There has been a lot of training talk as athletes get ready for their big late season races. In the past I might have tried to do what other athletes are doing or try some risky approach, but this year is different. I have a great coach and a program that I believe in. Here is what I have done the past 7 days. I have built steadily over the last 8 weeks to this volume. In addition, I had another ride and run scheduled, but I had to move it to Sunday because of a wedding on Sat. This week finishes off this cycle. Next week I will race and then have a 3-4 week block that will be similar to what you see below, but with more intensity added in. Day 1 - 8:25 Started off with a tough 5000 yd swim and then hopped directly on the bike for 132 mile ride in 6:42, all steady on a hot day. Mix of hills and rolling terrain, 30min run off the bike. Day 2 - 3:01 3:01 Run, just under 25 miles total. Last 90min in the hills on pavement. Day 3 - 5:05 Good swim of 4500 to start and then a solid 3:45 ri

The Becker Buzz July 8, 2007 Lake Stevens 70.3 Swim: 26:51 Bike: 2:21:20 Run: 1:21:17 Finish 4:11:36 10th Overall I headed out to the Northwest on Thursday before the race to hopefully see a little bit of the course, as well as the beautiful scenery. The northwest is beautiful!! The city of Seattle itself is a bit crowded, but does have its draws. The city is comprised of “hills,” or neighborhoods that overlook various waterways and other geographical features. The backside of the neighborhood where I am staying has a view that will raise a few hairs on anyone’s neck. If you look to the left, you see Mt. Rainier. If you look right, you look across the Puget Sound at the Olympic Mountains. Definitely a “WOW” factor going

The title of this blog comes from the three features of the Northwest landscape that I noticed the most. I am staying out in Seattle, WA for the Lake Stevens 70.3 race on Sunday. This is my first time out here and it is beeeeeautiful! I am staying with the family of a friend and they have been great in making me feel welcome in their home! The landscape is covered with trees. Most of which, are tall evergreens that tower over the houses. In fact, there are so many that at times, you wouldn't even know you are in the middle of a major city. I have only been here about 24hrs, but I thought I would give you an idea of what I have seen thus far. The area of town that I am in is VERY hilly. I am not talking about Midwest hills, I am talking about hills that are a half mile in length and have a grade of 20-25%. It is a good thing that it doesn't snow here very often, because you could not get around. A few other unique features of the area include coffee Shops EVERYWHERE (yes

I have been getting a number of emails asking what I have been up to and how things are going. So I thought I would post a short note letting everyone know that things couldn't be better! I am into week 6 with my new coach Luis Vargas( http://www.luisvargas.com/ ) and things are going well. Things are pretty similar to what I had been doing in the past, but the structure is different to allow for better recovery. Each week I have a HARD ride and run, while everything else is just steady(HR's of 143-163). This is actually more challenging than I thought it would be...especially when riding 130-150 miles or running 23-26 miles. I have just finished up an 19 day block of about 85hrs total volume. 67k in the pool, about 1400km on the bike and about 240km of running. The volume and intensity left me pretty tired at some points, but by doing all the small things, my recovery has been great and I have been able to train hard day after day. I have also been using my morning HR and wei