The BBMC Buzz ...

Set aside the evening on Tuesday, April 30th from 6:00pm - 8:00pm at Trek Store Madison West The 2013 triathlon season is upon us and if you are like most, you still have a lot of planning to do, questions to get answered and maybe even need to decide on which events to enter.  If you need any of the above, or maybe just want to get excited about racing and meet others, this event should not be missed. OVERVIEW: Come spend an evening with the folks from PowerBar & Trek while enjoying a beverage, some food and a little music.  Reps from both companies will be on hand to provide samples and answer your questions. There will also be mechanics and a number of other Professionals from the area who will be on hand to provide information on how they might be able to help make this a great season for you. Professional Triathlete & Coach, Blake Becker will give a few talks on a variety of topics, which are listed below. The evening will then end with a raffle. This ...

Every race that I line up at proves to be a learning experience. No matter how many races or years that I compete, there will always be something to take and apply to the next one.   I was really looking forward to starting off the 2013 season. I have made a lot of progress in many departments. I started my training a bit earlier on and it showed. I went down to Tucson for my annual outing with my coach, Cliff English and trained very very well. I was enjoying the process again and just clicking off my 20hr indoor weeks.  In my experience, 20-22hrs of indoor training is about as effective as anything.  Mentally I was in a very solid place, focused inward, getting rid of negative influences within my life and looking to the only thing I can control...the moment. Thursday before the race I woke up to a scratch throat and sinus’ that weren’t all that clear. This at least explained my lower than average levels of energy throughout the week. I knew that if I could ...

The last day of camp was a 4.5k swim day that ended with....No, NOT a 1000 or 2000 TT; Cliff was generous and had us do some relays!  My diving was laughable, but somehow we still won. This year was much different for me at camp.  I trained well throughout camp and felt good about where my fitness is and the timing for upcoming races.  I still have plenty of work to do, but I wouldn't be in the sport if there wasn't, right?!?! So now it's time to get back into a solo groove.... That would have to wait a day though, today was a bit of a bust on the training front.  I had a lot of other things to get done, plans to write, etc. So I elected to swap Monday's session with today's.  I headed over to Mt. Lemmon for 3hrs of fun on the lower slopes.  Note to self, do NOT ride up Mt. Lemmon on the weekend, a few days after it snows. It was definitely a superhighway of cars going up. Next up, long run tomorrow.  Followed by a few more solid/big days,...

Today, as you may have gathered through social media, it was not very "Tucson-y." However, the training was. Swim - 5km Warm-up: 800 choice 3x 2x50kick, fast between the flags on :60 100 easy swim on 1:45 4x through on 2:45 25 build 25 easy 50 build 100 easy  Mainset: Graduated to Laurel Wassner and Lauren Goss' lane. Just happy to be swimming with the front group. 12x100 HIM pace on 1:15 (1:05-1:08) 400 easy 8x100 on 1:15 (1:05-1:08, then cracked a bit in the last few) Longer easy cd Run - 1:55 - 25km Pretty good run around Reid Park today. This is a flat 2.85mile loop.  Warm-up:  1 loop plus pick-ups and functional work. Mainset as follows each on 21minutes with some active recovery between. 1 loop HIM pace (5:45's) 1 loop a bit faster than HIM pace (5:30's) 1 loop HIM pace (5:45's) CD: 1 loop  Here is the fun in the form of a file for you. Thanks to Cliff En...

Day 7 - Leg's off!! Today was a great day off the legs, which were definitely thankful. We did get a good 5k swim, which I followed with some quality time at the coffee shop; first for breakfast with friends and then for some plans and a little wasting time. Today's swim: Warm-up: 5x400 mixed :15 Mainset: 3x - 200 on 2:35 (224/223/221) (223/219/219) (217/219/217) - 200 on 2:50 Easy longer cd after. Day 8 - Back at it. Strength swim 4.5k Warm-up: 600 swim 500 k/swim 400 d/swim Mainset: 2x 6x50 band on 50 (:33-36) 2x300 pull with pads on 3:45 (3:20/3:17/3:16/3:18) 300 moderate on 4:00 Easy longer cd after. 3.5hr ride up Mount Lemmon.  It's a great climb that lasts about 25miles (the real climb is only 20.5).  You start at 2810' above sea-level and climb all the way up to 8420. Not bad.  The legs were pretty worked from the get go and I almost got dropped at mile 3 of the climb.  Luckily a few power gels  and some refocu...

Long run day in the bank.   JD  and I usually run pretty well together. Similar thoughts on pacing, similar ability and it makes for good company.  Total run was just under 25km with a good main set of 3x5km on 4minutes recovery. We had a nice descend throughout from about 6:25 through the first mile to 5:50ish for the last few.  Not too challenging, not too easy, a great way to end the first week. Here is a TP graph of the main set if you are interested. The afternoon consists of some easy cycling and swimming, before group dinner.  Then we start things all over again in week 2. I have noticed that this year I am quite a bit more relaxed, confident in my abilities and pretty centered all around. It could be that I am a year wiser, it could be all of the work I have put into the psychology side of things in the last year, or that I am just a bit more fit.  Whatever the reason, it's very clear to me that I love this sport and am thoroughly enjoying...

Today was a bigger volume day for all of us.  I was unsure how the legs would feel after a pretty solid week of training, they had been quite sore on Friday. Soon enough we were off and it was nice not having to wear 4 layers of clothing to warm-up. The temps were in the 50's and the forecast was for 75* as a high. The plan for the day was to ride out and climb Madera Canyon.  On windy days like today, it's a challenging ride, so pacing and fueling is very important. For the first 30miles we rolled a double pace line at a fairly steady pace.; 50w under IM was the goal.  Once we reached 30 miles at the end of Mission Road, we rode through Green Valley and got ready to climb.  It was 13 miles up to the end of the road at about 5500'.  This isn't nearly the top of the mountain (that's about 9500), but it's a honest ascent with a VERY VERY steep last 1-2miles. To my surprise, the legs felt pretty good and I was able to build nicely throughout the climb. ...