Preview: Conquered a 100-mile bike ride and then ran too fast on the track and pulled my hammy. After a bunch of massage work to fix it, recovered enough for a long swim and to race next weekend. Read the full story below:

Cycling: Airey and I tackled a scenic 100-mile bike ride throughout San Diego County last week. The ride included a couple significant climbs to simulate the insane bike course I’ll face at Silverman. I was like a sponge and soaked up all the cycling technique Airey taught me. I already have way more confidence in my abilities in the saddle, but have so much work to do to prepare. I’ll continue to focus on building fitness on the bike, specifically with climbing and then introduce long bike/run bricks next month.

Track: 2x1200, 2x800, 2x400 with 90 seconds rest between sets. The workout was designed to produce negative splits. I was killing it until I pulled my hamstring on the last 400. Perhaps it was lingering fatigue from the 100-mile ride but either way, not good.

Injury: With the race in Chicago this weekend (see below), I was very worried my hamstring was too damaged to race. I went to see Haunani Chong for a sports massage on Wednesday and Saturday. She worked her magic on my injury which has helped my recovery tremendously. I strongly recommend her to anyone in the San Diego area: http://www.sacredreturnyoga.com/

Chicago: With my injury under control, I’m off to Chicago for the Accenture Triathlon. I picked up the bike box rental from TCSD this weekend for the trip and I’m starting to get excited. Stay tuned for a full-feature race review from yours truly.

Swim: Jesse and I hit the surf for a 2.2-mile open water swim this weekend. He’s training for Gatorman, a 3-mile open-water race and I’ve got Silverman in my sights for November (See previous blog post). The weather and conditions couldn’t have been better—it was a beautiful San Diego summer day. 

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Camping: The highlight of my weekend, besides the above-mentioned swim, was the car camping trip Marie and I took Friday night. We drove east to the Mt. Laguna recreation area, set up camp at dusk and ate dinner next to the fire as the full moon was rising. We were up super early as usual and caught the sunrise from the Sunrise Highway:

AC100: I got my pacing assingment from Eric Lee and I'll be supporting him for his final 25-miles of the Angeles Crest 100 Mile Endurance Run on September 13-14.

Recap: I'm hoping this hammy won't hold me back from a great race in Chicago. I'm planning on a solid race, but if my hamstring acts up, I'll pull back for sure. There's no use damaging myself for all the other events and commitments I have this year. None the less, it's my first Olympic-distance triathlon so I'm excited for the experience. Check in with me next week for the recap.

Preview: Back from a week-long vacation/cruise from NYC to Bermuda. I feel rested and restless after a week of doing nothing besides eating, drinking and sleeping. Watch the slideshow for pictures.

Vacation: The cell phone was off, there was no internet access and I didn’t even workout. I actually left my running shoes behind just to make sure I wouldn’t run around the jogging track on the cruise ship.

The highlight of this trip was quality family time, reminding me what’s really important in life. I’m grateful that it all worked out and look forward to the holiday season when we’ll all be together again.

Here is a brief slide show of some images from our trip to Bermuda:

Recap: The end of this vacation marks the beginning of Phase II (see next post).

Preview

I feel like a new man after a couple weeks of multisport training and a refreshing cross-country trip to surprise my parents in MA for July 4th.

Typical week

Monday: ActiveX, La Jolla Shores swim

Tuesday: Cycle-commuting, TCSD track workout (see below)

Wednesday: ActiveX

Thursday: Cycle-commuting, trail run

Friday: ActiveX, La Jolla Cove swim

ActiveX: The variety plus the social aspect of these group sessions is great. I noticed a great deal soreness initially and my body has already adapted to the fast-twitch, full-body workouts. This picture is from a weekend workout/fundraiser.

Open-water swims: The Ocean is gorgeous right now at an average of 68 degrees for these Monday & Friday ActiveX / TCSD group swims. Check out the video:

Cycle-commuting: It’s been good to get on the bike since I can’t stand driving anymore. A group of us at the office live close to one-another and have started to carpool on the days we don't ride in which is pretty cool.

Track workout: Speed is my new focus for the Accenture Chicago Triathlon in August. Tuesday, I attended a TCSD track workout for a two-mile time trial to determine how fast I should run the weekly intervals. I ran 2 miles in 12:12. I also began a demo of the new Zoot ULTRA Tempo+ for a review I will publish after Chicago.

July 4th trip

My brother and sister-in-law flew me out to the east coast as a surprise for my parents. We had a great Independence Day Weekend together. It was a much-needed trip for the whole family. The weather cooperated on Friday and we got out on my parents boat for the afternoon.

My bro and I got in a couple cool trail runs in NJ on his local trails which prevented any sort of jet-lag during or after the trip.

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:

In November, I wrote about my good friend and fellow adventurer, Albert Lin, who kept an email journal of his five-week journey all over China. Once again, Albert has returned to his homeland for the holiday season and this time, there seems to be a deeper and more intimate connection to his land. Please read the latest installment to Albert in China.

Nearly two months after my return from the road I found myself once again crossing the pacific towards asia.  This time to visit my aging Grandparents in Hong Kong.  Christmas and Newyears in the city had become a bit of a tradition in the previous years.

I walked beside my gong gong (Grandfather in chinese).  He had decided to get out of his wheel chair and was now slowly strolling down the pathway which bent around the Hong Kong harbor.  We talked in mandarin about our mutual adventures, his over 50 years ago, and mine barely more then 50 days past.  A light breeze passed through the park, its peaceful embrace hidden away from the bustling streets in this sanctuary of serenity.  It carried along with it the scent of a small cropping of Gui trees which had been planted within a garden in the middle of the park.  The beautiful smell wafted into my nose and traveled deep into my mind, extracting the most subtle of memories from the darkness of time.  As thoughts of the road swirled through my head my heart began to pound with the excitement and longing one gets from seeing a long lost lover pass by in the street. The realization that the past is never with in reach strikes painfully at the sweet sanguinity of hindsight. The faintness of those beautiful memories being weathered by the hands of time, only grow more precious with age.  I stood struck in my steps, taking in the fragrance of Guilin.  Before a word was spoken I turned to my gong gong only to find the same distant stare in his eyes.  The same breeze had transported our souls, if only for a moment, to the tree lined streets of Guilin.  And for a brief second the hands of time had been thrown to the side, and my grandfather and I were on the Big Road together.  The rising limestone camel back mountains, the voices of food stand owners, the winding canals, and the spirit of the city danced through our minds. We stood for a few minutes and reminisced over the town which had captured both our hearts.  He had spent over two years in Guilin, escaping the Japanese solders during world war II and being one of the last men to evacuate the city as it fell into enemy hands.  I had spent only a few wandering days in this magical city, exploring its many parks and streets via the back of a motorcycle cabbie.  Yet in the end we had a chance in this lifetime to walk that road together, and if even for a couple of minutes, it was incredible.  For although time inevitably changes all things, the road is constant, and it is in front of us all.

Albert Yu-Min Naching Lin

Last Friday, I took the “red-eye” from San Diego to Newark, New Jersey--arriving at 6:15 a.m. on Saturday. My brother and his wife were waiting for me, coffee in-hand, for the drive to our home town Northfield, Massachusetts. My mother was expecting Steve and Michele for breakfast and had no idea I was with them. This surprise, two months in the making, was originally designed to surprise my father for his 60th birthday. Realizing that he would be in Boston until Saturday night for a meeting, we kept my mom out of the loop to make it a dual-surprise.

It worked perfectly. Steve and Michele dropped me down the street and they continued on home, greeted my mom and then I rang the front doorbell. When the door opened, my mom froze—taking five seconds to process the situation. Tears of joy and excitement and hugs soon followed along with a group hug with Steve and Michele who were the brains of the operation.

We all caught up over a huge breakfast and planned out the day’s events, including the big birthday surprise for that evening. Steve and I measured, trimmed and set-up our 8-foot Christmas tree in the front room, stacked wood in the basement for the wood stove and went for a 5-mile run while my mom and Michele prepared the decorations and the meal.

Our run was long over-due. If you all remember from May/June, Steve and I were supposed to run the San Diego Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon together. He ended up running it alone, with Michele and I cheering him along, because I turned up lame with an over-use injury. So Steve and I ran through our old town together, enduring the 30-degree temps and covering 5 miles in 37 minutes. We followed up the run with a three-set series of hanging leg lifts, medicine ball push ups and bicep curls.

My Dad arrived home that evening to his whole family waiting for him. The look on his face was priceless. The entire experience was the making for a Visa commercial. It couldn’t have gone any better. Our celebration that evening was one that we will cherish forever.

I wrecked myself for two hours on Saturday morning with Joe Decker and his World’s Fittest Man outdoor fitness class. Immediately following class, I went for a nine-mile run with a 7:30 pace in an effort to increase the volume of my training heading into the holiday season. I felt very strong through both workouts but ended up sleeping for three hours right after the run to recover. I took this as a sign that I still have a long way to go to condition myself for the Avalon 50, but the good news came on Sunday morning when I wasn’t the least bit sore from my back-to-back training sessions.

I took a day-trip to Malibu Creek State Park on Sunday with a group of my climbing friends from San Diego. We climbed for a few hours, but at the end of the day, we ended up spending significantly more time driving than actually climbing. I’ll spare you the details of the ordeal that ended up costing upwards of $200 and, worse yet, almost four-hours of our time, but it involved running over a screw and having to buy a new tire. This was increasingly dispiriting because I hadn’t planned on driving but volunteered when our ride didn’t show up. Not to be deterred, we still had fun climbing in a beautiful area of California that I hope to return to for further exploration.

Tomorrow I leave for Thanksgiving in Grand Canyon National Park. I’m really excited for this trip, mainly because my best friend from home is flying in to join me for this adventure. John arrives in San Diego at 1:15 a.m. tomorrow morning--his first trip to the west coast. John is in charge of the rental car and my duties this evening include preparing backpacking set-ups for both of us as well as food for our road trip. We’re heading straight for the South Rim of the Grand Canyon and hope to be on the road no later than 2:30 a.m. on Wednesday. We should be at the Grand Canyon just after the ranger station opens where we hope to secure a backcountry permit. If we get authorized to camp at the bottom of the canyon, we’ll take on the rim-to-rim-to-rim hike with an overnight or two by the Colorado River. If we are not able to get permits due to the heavy holiday traffic, our next option is to do the rim-to-river-to-rim hike in a day. We’ll be ready for anything.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all--have a safe and pleasant holiday. Be sure to take lots of photos and check back next week to share with the community.

All the best, Active Toby

Here is my favorite photograph from the weekend:

Check out this trailer for a new series on the Discovery Channel called Last One Standing. "Six athletes – three American and three British – immersed in the most remote tribes in the world, where they live alongside and train with indigenous tribesmen as they prepare to represent their host tribe in raw and intense competition." I'll be watching this week for sure. Will you?

Last One Standing premieres Thursday, October 4, at 9 PM ET/PT.