Last night, I installed aero bars and a forward angled seat post to convert my road bike to a triathlon setup. I received some helpful tips from folks in the discussion boards so if you’re ever looking to make the switch, check out our dialogue: Road to Tri bike conversions.

Tomorrow morning, I’m meeting Airey and jesse@active for a 50-mile ride to test this new positioning. It’s going to be important to pay close-attention to my biomechanics because new muscles will be activated. There will be more stress on my neck, lower-back and hamstrings. I’m looking forward to the change in my training to prepare for the Ford Ironman 70.3 California.

I'm going to hit the lap pool on Sunday morning and enjoy another non-impact active recover/triathlon training session. Carrie Smith has kindly provided the following swim workout:

500 swim

8x50

300 swim

2x100

100 swim

The Avalon 50 took a lot out of me both physically and mentally. I’ve been resting all week, eating healthy and getting to sleep early each night. I’ve used the muscle stick for massage and a yoga class to salvage flexibility so my body has recovered from the soreness and my hips are no longer tight. Along with the physical repercussions, mentally, I’ve been in a slump all week and I’m finally beginning to come out of it. It’s hard to explain the way I’ve felt, but it’s actually been pretty depressing. It’s kind of scary for me because I am always so positive, no matter what, and this week has been a challenged to keep an upbeat attitude.

Despite the “runner’s low,” each day has been better than the last and I’ve used this time to reflect on my accomplishments in 2007 and also plan out 2008. This past year has been a dream--just look at this list of activities!

2008 is going to be a big year and I’m looking forward to sharing my experiences with you all. Over the course of this year, I am going to train and compete in effort to build my endurance for the main event in October: The San Diego 100.

Please join me for another awesome year in adventure!!!

2008 race preview:

Before things get too crazy around here with holiday travel, I’ve decided now would be the best time to check in with you all and let you know what I’ve been up to and what the next few weeks have in store.

That said, I want to introduce the latest addition to the team: Active Expert, Joe Decker Joe is a fitness expert who lives and breathes endurance. He lives here in San Diego and I’ve been training with him and his Gut Check Workout Group on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. Joe holds class every day of the week, twice a day and his workouts are always challenging and offer a diverse combination of speed work, calisthenics, plyometrics and strength training—all outdoors from 6 a.m. until 7:15 a.m. I leave these group workouts feeling fulfilled because I pushed it to the max and started my day off as well as I possibly could. I feel that this style of workout has been missing until now. I encourage you to get in touch with Joe to learn more.

Then there is ActiveX Training which you may or may not have caught glimpse of here in the community. ActiveX is very similar to Joe Decker’s workouts but it’s even more concentrated, rarely lasting more than 40 minutes. These workouts are held Tuesday and Friday mornings at 11:30 a.m. I’ve been doing both Joe’s workouts and ActiveX Tuesday workouts all month.

I’ve also been quite consistent with my Friday morning yoga class which helps me recover from the high intensity, back-to-back workouts throughout the week. Yoga has been my sanctuary and has kept me balanced and injury free. I encourage you all to give yoga a try for your first time. I’m still usually one of the only guys in the class and often the least flexible out of everyone but that never discourages me because I can feel the benefits of each class and seem to learn more and take more away from each session.

This new level of training was put to the test on Sunday when I successfully ran four, 13-mile loops through Los Penasquitos Canyon. The double marathon distance run lasted just over 12 hours which breaks down to a 14-minute mile pace. This is right on par with where I need to be for the Avalon 50 on Catalina Island, January 12. The run was smooth and I felt strong from sunrise to sunset. My nutrition plan was spot-on and my recovery has been quick and with minimal soreness. I'm excited to end the year on such a positive note!

I’ll be training on the east coast for the remainder of the year. They have two feet of snow where I’ll be and I can’t stop picturing the Rocky IV training montage from the barn in Russia.