The first real day of training for 2008

Resting HR in the AM - 52

Weight in the AM - 187.6 lbs. (OUCH!)

30 min run around the bay, very slow, and very bad. Tomorrow I get the new Garmin 305 Forerunner in the mail, and should be using it over the weekend. Will be sharing the files soon, but please don't laugh when you see how slow, fat and out of shape I am when I begin posting it!

It's funny, but looking at my weight, this may be like following "The Biggest Triathlon Loser", online! If I get back to my Florida weight of 165 lbs, that will be losing over 12% of my body weight! Stay tuned!

Other news - spent a good part of the day at Zoot, looking at the 2009 shoe-line, with the improvements, giving my feedback and ideas, and helping choose the color schemes. Yes, 2009, because all that stuff has already been done and set for 2008!

Vance

Remember the Alamo!

Jim and Marcus, enjoying a few beers. (Ok, it was more than a few. Hey, it's still the off-season!)

Back from Texas, and I had a great time. Even though I went there as a coach, I learned many great things to help me as an athlete. I am excited to put many of these items into my own training. If you want a bit more detail about what I learned in Texas, check out my coaching blog.

One of the great things about the trip was the chance to catch-up and see my friend Marcus Luttrell. Marcus has been a bit busy ever since he wrote his book, Lone Survivor. I hadn't seen him or his brother in a number of months, so it was a great chance to catch-up. When I told some of the Seals out here that I was going there, they decided to come along too. They figured they just needed a good reason to go, and I gave it to them.

It was cool to meet Billy Shelton, the guy Marcus talks so much about in the book. He wanted one of my Heartrate Monitors shirts, and I felt honored to give him one. I was able to catch a photo too...

So now I am starting back at training, but light. Joe was in Texas as well, and we talked about the upcoming weeks and my training. I think I'll be back at it pretty good after the holiday weekend. Heading to Michigan with a red-eye flight tomorrow night, then back on Sunday. It's a lot of travel for me this month.

And don't worry, I plan on keeping my promise of sharing all the data I have on my training. I even plan on using a Garmin 305, in combination with the PowerTap, and tracking it all on WKO+ software, for everyone to follow with. Stay tuned!

Vance

The first day back, sort of

Today was my first day back, well sort of. I was up this morning and headed over to Rehab United, to meet with Bryan Hill, for him to do an assessment on me.

Bryan went over everything with my body, from flexibility and range of motion, to strength in the upper body, core and legs. The whole process took about 90 mins, and we recognized some big areas for improvement, as well as tested my strength and range of motion, so we can compare in the coming months. (That I was really happy about!)

I was given some home exercise routines to do until we start the Monday after Thanksgiving. Should be good! I will keep you updated on it.

For now, I'm packing and getting ready to head to Texas. Hanging with Marcus tomorrow, and the rest of the Texas crew this weekend, after my camp.

Vance

Heading to Texas! Announcement...

I am back in San Diego, but have a lot to do before heading out to Texas A&M University, where I'll meet John Cobb, the aerodynamics guru, and Joe Friel will be speaking. For more info on that, check out my coaching blog.

I do have a new announcement, which probably shouldn't surprise many, but is cool. As you know, I am now coaching with Training Bible, and Joe Friel. For 2008, I will not only be a Training Bible Coach, I will also be a Training Bible athlete! Joe will be coaching me, and working with me to meet my goals. I'm excited! It will be a great opportunity to work with Joe, and learn from him. Not many people get an opportunity like this, and I feel truly blessed.

Another cool thing about the Texas trip is that I will be staying with my friend, and retired Navy Seal author, Marcus Luttrell. If you've been following my blog, you know that Marcus is the Seal who wrote, Lone Survivor, which is an awesome book! (I am actually a Democrat, and I loved the book, which is very Republican). I will be taking my camera, and hope to take some pics of the trip. I will stay with Marcus at the beginning and end of the trip, hanging with him and some of the other Texas boys.

This week I am supposed to start my prep phase, so I'll be doing some activity in Texas, but basic stuff.

Tomorrow morning I am up and headed to Rehab United, to do an assessment of my physical strengths and weaknesses. Hopefully that will go well, but we will see. I've been drinking a lot of beer, and doing very little activity...not good!

I may not write another blog post until I get back, but I will try. Until then, enjoy your off-season!

Vance

USAT Level 2

Ok, so no posts means one thing, NO TRAINING! Still on my break from training, just doing some activity here or there. Most of my activity has been beer drinking though! Probably gained quite a bit of weight!

I'm currently in San Francisco for the USAT Level 2 clinic, and the days are SOOO LONG, I couldn't train if I wanted to.

Treasure Island Triathlon is here this weekend, but we will see if it's still on, after the big oil tanker hit the Bay Bridge this week.

Oh well...Back to the books. Prep phase starts next week!

Vance