Toby’s Blog
Ironman Oceanside 70.3 Race Report
I have said before, each race presents something new and a chance to learn. Sometimes, the lessons are fun and enjoyable, such as, “If I run really fast, I win”. Others, well, not so much. The Ironman California 70.3 in Oceanside, CA, was much more the latter than the former for me. Ironman California or Oceanside 70.3 is a spectacular event. The City of Oceanside embraces the race with fantastic support. The setting is great with the swim in Oceanside harbor (so, generally protected), the bike meanders up the coast before...
read morePotty-Training, Shaping, P90X and You
Ever heard the story of the cat that uses a toilet rather than the litter box? Ever wondered whether it was true? Well, allow me to dispel the myth: it is true. Anyone can teach a cat to use the toilet. You might wonder how this is possible. In short, it is done through small changes in behavior. You slowly “teach” the cat to use the toilet by making small, seemingly unnoticeable changes to the cat’s behavior and routine. Move the litter box nearer to the bathroom until you can move it into the bathroom. Move the little box across the...
read moreDesert Classic Duathlon Race Report
Not all races are created equal. Swims can be open-water, salt water, lakes, pools, and sometimes even rivers. Bikes can be dead-flat, false flats, rolling, hilly, and death climbs/descents. Runs can be just like the bike. Then, there’s external factors like weather, how you are feeling, how tough is the competition, and so on. Sometimes, there’s not even a swim as was the case with my first race of the season, the Desert Classic Duathlon. The Desert Classic is a great race. A tough, yet doable, course featuring mostly rolling...
read moreGoal Setting and 2012 Objectives
Well, it is that time of year again. Another year is done with a new one just starting. Taxes are close but still distant. New Year’s resolutions are still firmly entrenched (or are they???) Most people are fully recovered from a possible “holiday hangover” from eating, shopping, drinking, and an assortment of other merriments or even combinations of all those. For me, this time also represents two things I enjoy, (1) assessing my performance from the prior year and (2) setting some goals for the upcoming one. I enjoy reviewing...
read moreIronman Arizona 2011 Race Report
Another Ironman Arizona is complete and in the books. As with every race, I had certain levels of goals. My big goals were (1) a sub one hour swim, (2) a sub 5:30 bike, (3) a sub 3:30 run, and (4) an overall time of sub 10:30. Like all big goals, I knew these would be tough to reach, but assuming good conditions, a good day, and some good luck, I felt they were possible. My reachable goals were (1) a sub one hour swim, (2) a sub six hour bike, (3) a sub four hour run, and (4) an overall time of sub eleven hours. I knew these were...
read moreHealthy Crab Cakes
I LOVE crab cakes. Let me repeat that, I LOVE crab cakes. Unfortunately, they rank next to lard on the “Healthy Scale”. Ok, I might have made up that part, but they generally are pretty unhealthy (and tasty, little devils). So, after much tinkering and stealing ideas from other recipes, I finally have a recipe that is both very yummy AND (relatively) healthy. Enjoy! Ingredients: 2-3 Scallions – finely chopped 1 Green Pepper – finely chopped 1 Tablespoon diced Ginger 2 Cloves of diced Garlic 1 pound Crab...
read moreSOMA Half-Iron Triathlon Race Report
Wow, what a day. Some days, you just know that, with a little effort and drive, good things can happen. The Sunday of SOMA just felt like one of those days and I was fully ready for the test I knew it would represent. Plus, for many athletes, including myself, SOMA is primarily a prep race for Ironman Arizona. It is a chance to test one’s fitness four weeks before the “big day” arrives. Going into the race, I had three main objectives: (1) push on the swim and try to set a personal record (of PR) for a Half-Iron swim (previous...
read moreBranson 70.3 Race Report
Let’s just dispense with any intrigue: I did not get any cool pyrex (i.e., finish in the top 5 of my age group) and I did not get a spot for Vegas (i.e., qualify, by finishing high enough in my age group, for the Half-Ironman World Championship). Those were my top two goals, in order of preference, entering the race. Beyond those, I wanted to race as I can race and continue to push/test my fitness, especially on the run. Given what actually happened, I think its fair to say the day was a near total failure. At least, that’s what I...
read moreMy P90X Story
The sad reality is that I was headed down a disastrous road. Having been pretty fit for most of my life, spending 8+ years at a desk and then becoming a stay-at-home dad had left me slowly slipping. I wasn’t your typical overweight. In fact, I doubt most people would even have said I was fat. But, give how rarely I did anything other than idle weight lifting, one might guess that I had developed an extreme allergy to cardiovascular exercise. Even my “resistance training” was meager at best. I had all the excuses. I was too...
read moreMountain Man Olympic Triathlon
If the picture doesn’t make it clear, this may have been my best race to date. I’ll go into more detail, but a mellow swim and a focused, but effective bike, ended up yielding a killer run. Even better, they combined to be good enough for a second place finish in my age group! Jazzed, stoked, excited, and so on don’t even come close to describing how happy I am and was. But, let’s set the stage with the Mountain Man Olympic. This race is a classic. 2011 is the 27th anniversary of the Mountain Man, making it the fifth oldest triathlon...
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