Flat Tire

I did my usual twenty mile bike ride after work around Balboa Park in Encino. Everything was going just fine until I got a flat. I have been very lucky in relatively few flats I have had while cycling. In an odd way, I'm glad it happened. It has never happened to me during a race, but it probably will someday. I really need more practice changing flats. It took me about twenty minutes. If I did it again in the next week, it would probably take less than ten. But I do it so seldom that I forget the techniques of changing a flat.

One really nice thing about it, almost every cyclist on a road bike who came by asked if I was okay and if I needed help. I said, "no, just a flat." I probably could have used some help, but I felt that I really needed to do it myself.

John Thum

Shifting Onto The Big Ring

I have very much enjoyed my bike from the moment I bought it. I spent some time looking for the bike that would be best for me in terms of getting a good road bike, but one I could actually afford. I ended up getting a Trek 2100 ZR from I. Martin Imports in L.A. The guy who sold it to me spent a lot of time with me over my many trips to the store. He made sure I got a bike that fit me and spent a lot of time with the bike fit once it was purchased. 

The only problem started around January when shifting onto my big ring got to be less and less reliable. It would often push the chain too far and end up dumping the chain over the ring. I would then have to stop and put the chain back on. This was certainly annoying, especially because when I was shifting on the big ring, it meant that I was starting to go pretty fast. At a certain point I brought the bike into I. Martin and they convinced me that my gears has worn out, front and back. I was a little leery, because the bike had maybe 1500 miles on it at that time. However, I took their advice and got all new gears. This helped a little, but the shifting was still unreliable and I still had no confidence shifting onto my big ring. 

I brought it back and they told me I had to replace my front chain rings. I was not happy. I started to suspect that that was their standard answer for a shifting problem, because it had been about ninety days since I had it replaced. They worded on it for a while and finally said that the problem was in fact wear on the front chain rings. I said well, that's fine, but that they were going to have to replace it free of charge, because truthfully, they never really fixed the problem from the get go. They agreed. Well, I have my new chain ring and they spent a lot of time adjusting it and my bike is back. They assured me that if there was any problem, that they would do whatever it takes to make it right. It is a true pleasure to shift onto the big ring with confidence when it's time to get going really fast.

John Thum

The Run - Camp Pendleton Triathlon

I had a very weird run. Not in a bad way, in a very good way. I didn't feel particularly good, in fact, I had to stop twice and stretch my calf where it had cramped during the swim. I wasn't feeling particularly strong or fast, I wasn't passing a lot of people, but in the end I ran the fastest 10k that I have ever run at 53:59. That includes stand alone 10ks that are not part of a triathlon. At first I wondered if I was supposed to do three loops on the course instead of two. But no, it was a two loop course and my Garmin Forerunner confirmed that I ran 6.16 miles. So the course was 4/100 of a mile short, but still I have never done a sub-one hour 10k. So I didn't just do a personal best, but I shattered my personal best. I don't get it. Last year on the same course, although on a much hotter day, I did the run portion of the Camp Pendleton International Triathlon in 1:04:20. So I improved my time on the same course by over 10 minutes, a minute a kilometer. I don't get it, I don't know, but it's nice.

My overall time was 3:08:07. Better than last year's time at the same triathlon of 3:13:17 despite the awful swim time.

I really like this race, so I am sure I will do it again next year.

John Thum

The Bike - Camp Pendleton Triathlon

After the truly horrible swim, I was still feeling a tightness and slight pain in my left calf where I had cramped so badly. I spent about thirty seconds or so in transition stretching my legs, figuring this would be time I would make up if I were a little looser. As I went out on the bike, I was passing a lot of people. They were mostly women who had beat me into transition even though they started a wave or two or three behind me, but it is still nice to pass people. About five miles into the bike, I saw the race leaders heading back in and going very fast. 

I generally felt pretty good. I was aware of the tightness in my calf, but it didn't seem as if it were slowing me down in anyway. I had to stand up and stretch my legs a few times, but my speed seemed to be good. I continued to pass more people than passed me. The people who did pass me generally did so on hills. I have come to realize that I am not a very good climber. After now having watched three weeks of the Tour De France, I realize that even some of the best cyclists in the world are not great climbers. And like the riders in the Tour, usually the best climbers are not the best descenders. I guess that I am a pretty good descender because as with almost every triathlon I have done, there is always another triathlete with whom I play cat and mouse on the bike. They will pass me on the climb and I will pass them on the descent. I almost always end up beating them to the run transition and because I am such a slow runner, they almost always pass me for good on the run. 

Slightly past the half-way point on the bike I was passed by my new tri-friend for the day, and fellow L.A. Tri Club member, Heather Richards. I knew she was three waves, or fifteen minutes behind me, so it was a humbling experience. Especially since much of our earlier conversation had to do with how neither of us were very fast at any of the three disciplines. I guess I showed her who really isn't fast!

I felt good coming into transitions. My calf had loosened up a little and otherwise my legs felt good. My final bike time was 1:28:18 which was almost three and a half minutes faster than last year's time of 1:31:45. The distance of an Olympic triathlon bike is supposed to be 40 kilometers or 24.8 miles, but according to my Garmin Forerunner bicycle/running GPS system the length for the bike leg of the race at Camp Pendleton was 26.1 miles. So, overall, not a bad time.

John Thum

The Swim - Camp Pendleton Triathlon

I had a nice warm-up, The Great Magnetic Wife was waiting for me with my Crocs (or as she calls them, my goofy shoes) for the run back to transition. What could go wrong. While my wave was waiting to start, the first couple of swimmers from the first wave got out of the water. About twenty minutes for a 1500 meter swim. Man, that's good. 

We started and everything was going okay. I was swimming at the back of the pack, but that's okay. About half way into the swim I started getting passed by a few folks from the wave that followed. Not a problem. About three quarters of the way through the swim I got slapped on the foot by a swimmer. Not a problem. He then slapped me on my butt. I was thinking, "dude, you hit me once, go around." Then he hit me on the side of my head and dislodge my goggles. The second triathlon in a row this has happened. The time before, however, it was totally random. This guy hit me twice before, he was essentially climbing over me. What a jerk. Getting my goggles, dislodged, although unpleasant, was not the big problem. The big problem was that as he slapped the side of my head, I got a major cramp in calf of my left leg. As odd as it seems they seemed to be related. I must have tensed up when I got slapped in the head and suddenly I was in a lot of pain. 

It is very difficult to stretch out a cramp in the water. I got out of the way of the on-coming swimmers and did my best. The lifeguard came over and told me to hop on the stretcher on the back of his jet-ski. But I told him, I was going to try to stretch out the cramp. It took a few minutes. I attempted to swim again, but I almost immediately cramped again. I took another few minutes, but this time I was able to keep going. I could feel a slight knot in my calf for the rest of the swim and into the bike. This was going to be my second really lousy swim in a row. I used to think that swimming was my best event in triathlon, but that has certainly not been the case this season.

The Great Magnetic wife was waiting for me with my goofy shoes and I put them on as soon and we got to the pavement. Before we got to the pavement their was a run on the sand, that was tiring. 

My swim time, which included the long run back to transition was 45:50. Last year at the Camp Pendleton Triathlon was 37:12. So I imagine that my cramp cost me about seven minutes.

Back at transition, all of the bikes in my age group had left, just like The Breath Of Life Triathlon. I was the last one out of the water in my age group again. D'oh!

John Thum

Camp Pendlton Pre-Race

This is the second year that I have done the Camp Pendleton International Triathlon. I was very impressed with the race last year and I was very much looking forward to doing it again this year. The Marines are very good at logistics and it is one of the best organized races anywhere. It does make things nice. The only downside was that the Strawberry Fields Triathlon was held the following day, so it was a choice. Strawberry Fields is a huge L.A. Tri Club event and so I would have known many folks racing, but there were twenty or so L.A. Tri Clubbers at Camp Pendleton, so I got the occasional "Go L.A Tri!" as I plodded along. Another major factor in choosing this race over Strawberry Fields was that I could stay at my parents house and save on lodging expenses. In addition my sister, Margaret Miller, was visiting from Port Credit, Ontario to go to her thirtieth high school reunion. It is always nice to see her.

The Great Magnetic Wife met me at work at a little after one in the afternoon. We planned on missing most of the Friday rush hour traffic and have a nice driver to La Jolla. Unfortunately, there was a wreck on the south bound 405 that closed all of the lanes except one. We didn't find this out until it was too late to do anything about it. It took two hours to get from my office in Van Nuys to Venice Blvd. in Culver City, about 14 miles. Fortunately, the rest of the trip was pretty good, but our nerves were a little frazzled at that point. Not quite the leisurely, stress-free drive we had hoped.

We managed to get to La Jolla about 6:00 and had a delicious dinner of Mom's King Ranch Casserole. One of my favorites, mmm boy! During dinner, I suddenly had a thought that I did not pack my goggles. I checked my bag and I was right. My mother told me about a Sports Chalet near by and so The Great Magnetic Wife, my sister and I took an after-dinner field trip to get some goggles. That would not have been good.

I did my usual pre-race routine of packing and checking and re-packing and re-checking, or as The Great Magnetic Wife calls, "obsessing." However, this time I got to do it while watching coverage of The Tour De France.

We got to Camp Pendleton early, which I always like. There is about a mile walk from the parking to transition. This is a very well organized triathlon. There was no expo the day before, so I did have to pick up my swim cap and timing chip then. The lines were reasonable and when I got to transition there was plenty of room.

About an hour before the start of my wave, we went down to the swim area to check it out and do a little warm-up swim. I brought my Crocs to wear when I got out of the water because the swim is about a third of a mile from transition and much of that run is on the pavement. The Great Magnetic Wife would hand them to me when I got out of the water.

We saw another L.A. Tri Club member and introduced ourselves. It was Heather Richards, we had a very nice pre-race time, I was very relaxed and ready to go. I finally got into the water, had a nice warm-up and was looking forward to the race.

To be continued...

John Thum

Camp Pendleton International Triathlon

I finished the Camp Pendleton International Triathlon in 3:08:07. It's faster than I did the same race last year (3:14:17) when the weather was very hot, so that's is good news. The bad news is I had a horrible swim for the second triathlon in a row. The other good news is I had an inexplicably good run. A full race report is coming soon.

John Thum

Ow! My Knee Hurts!

Ever since last Friday, I have had some inexplicable knee pain. I have not traumatized my knee at all, but there it is. I should say that I have had some knee pain since I was in the eighth grade and shattered my patella while playing softball during P.E. at Muirlands Junior High in La Jolla. In fact, before I got into triathlon, even the thought of running was painful. However, I believe that running has strengthened my knee and I have generally had less pain than before I started running. It's a little counter-intuitive, but it is the truth. 

This pain is becoming a little frightening. I have no idea where it is coming from and I have not been able to run because of it. I do have the Camp Pendleton Triathlon this Saturday, so I hope the knee cooperates. It is not quite as painful as it was, so it is healing. I just hope this is not a portent of things to come.

John Thum

L.A. County Lifeguards Say I'm A Good Swimmer

I started the day off by going down to Hermosa Beach and doing a "check out" swim for the L.A. County Lifeguards. I am going to participate in the Dwight Crum Pier To Pier Swim in August, a two mile swim from the Hermosa Beach Pier to the Manhattan Beach Pier, and if one did not participate in the previous year's swim, one has to prove his swimming competency. I guess I am competent, because I was approved. We did a 500 meter swim in the ocean, it took about ten minutes. I'm pretty sure as long as you complete the swim and don't drown, you get approved.

I had my bike with me, so I rode from Hermosa Beach north to the Ballona Creek Bike Path and back, about 27 miles. I skipped running because my left knee is inexplicably painful, although better than it was yesterday. I hope it will be even better tomorrow, because the training plan calls for a seven mile run this weekend.

John Thum

Scary And Bizarre Road Rage Incident

The photo above shows the result of a bicyclist ramming into the back of a car at approximately 30 mph. This was not just an unfortunate accident, it was an act of road rage against two cyclists. Read the whole story here. There is also an update here.

What can one say.

I've often joked that when I ride my bike on the streets, that I not only assume that cars cannot see me, but that they are out to kill me. I guess sometimes it is true.

John Thum

Bicycling In Tehachapi

I spent the night in Tehachapi, California on Wednesday night because of work. The training plan called for swimming in the morning, which I did with about one hundred other swimmers at the L.A. Tri Club Ocean Speed Circuit in Santa Monica and then twenty miles in the evening.

I checked into my hotel at about 5:00 and got ready for my ride.  I decided to straight down Tehachapi Boulevard, which is fairly flat and once you get out of town has no stops for miles. Once I was out of town, I was cruising along at about 35 miles an hour with very little effort. Obviously, a very strong tail wind. I have done this ride before and expected this. 

In the hills above Tehachapi there are thousands of windmills and I could see that they were turning very fast. As in the past with this ride, the ride out is a lot of fun, the ride back directly into the wind is tough. It took less than twenty minutes to get to the ten mile turn around point and almost an hour to get back. 

John Thum

100th Post On The Great Magnetic Field!

This is just a milestone post. The one hundredth post since I started this blog in December of 2007!

John Thum

D'oh!

What a day. I started out with a nice swim with fellow L.A Tri Clubber and L.A. Legger Frank Deese. We went probably a little less than a mile at a fairly easy pace. It was a nice swim and a good start to the day.  The plan was to get in a quick bike ride after the swim and then head off to church. After church I was going to do about 40 miles on the bike. 

As we were walking towards the showers, I felt for my car key in side my wetsuit. I couldn't feel it. I took the wetsuit off and it wasn't there. I realized that I didn't remember actually putting it in the wetsuit. I retraced my steps the best I could, but the chances are that I dropped it in the sand somewhere between the car an almost a mile down the beach. My key was lost. 

Oh, well. I have AAA, I would call them to open the car. I also called The Great Magnetic Wife to come meet me.  I borrowed Frank's cell phone and made the necessary calls. I drive a company car, and I knew that there was an extra key at the office. I would get my stuff out of the car, have The Great Magnetic Wife drive me to the office, pick up the extra key, and if all went as planned, I could still get to church by the time the sermon started. 

I was parked in the short-term parking lot, so I only had two hours. After the AAA guy opened the car, The Great Magnetic Wife arrived, we bought a new two hour parking ticket and set off for the office. 

I called the Saturn dealer to see if they could make a new key from the VIN, and they could, but service was closed on Sunday, so it couldn't be done until Monday morning. I couldn't just leave the car there, it would be ticketed and towed.

In the old days, I knew where the key was hidden to the office that has the master key box. It was not there. I called our receptionist on her cell phone to ask her about it and she told me she now takes the keys home. Probably a smart idea, but gosh this put a crimp in the plan. I called Brett, whose office contains the master key box, but he did not answer. Stacey, our receptionist, had offered to drive to work to give me the key, so I called her back and said that we could meet half-way. She lives in Palmdale, about 50 mile away. 

We met in the parking lot of a Jack-In-The-Box in Santa Clarita. I paid her for her troubles, even though she said it was not necessary. But I figured anyone who would just take off on a Sunday morning and drive 50 miles to meet me at a fast food parking lot to give me a key, should definitely be compensated. 

I finally got back to work, got into the office with the master key box and found that there was not an extra set. I looked at each set of keys in there very carefully three to four times. Oh no! I called The Great Magnetic Wife and she said she would call AAA again and have them send a locksmith. 

AAA covers the first $60.00, but the estimate for this job was $235.00. At this point it didn't matter. I drove back to Santa Monica and got there shortly before the locksmith. He was a great guy, but did say something like, "if I am able to make this key it will be a miracle." 

He worked on it very hard. It took him almost an hour, but he did finally get the key made and he also made a duplicate. 

It was now past 1:00 pm. I started my swim at 7:00. I was in not mood to go on a bike ride. I was in a mood to go home on watch The Tour De France on TV.

John Thum

Tri-Ku XX

Even on the 4th

No holiday from Training

The Ironman looms

John Thum

Happy Birthday U.S.A!

If you have not done so in a long time, or ever, for that matter, today is a great day to read The Declaration Of Independence. We are truly blessed in this great nation. I have linked the text here.

John Thum 

I Didn't Come In Last!

I didn't come in last in my age group at the Breath Of Life Olympic Triathlon! Okay, I did come in second to last, but I beat a guy! In the 45 to 49 age group I came in 37 out of 38. Not a great day. In my previous post I said that I thought I did about 3:15 to 3:20. Well, the time was 3:20:05. The full results are here. 

My final splits were:

Swim: 38:52

T1: 06:02

Bike: 1:24:27

T2: 02:51

Run: 1:07:57

Not a great day, with the tone being set by a truly awful swim. See the full race report below.

But, Never Forget! I Did Not Come In Last!!!

John Thum

Breath Of Life Olympic Tri - A Hard Day At The Triathlon Mines

I was quite excited to race another triathlon. It has been three months. I have been training, I generally feel good, it was time to get back into a real situation. 

The Great Magnetic Wife and I headed up to Ventura at about noon on Saturday. We arrived at Buenaventura Beach, the site of the triathlon at about 1:30. Everything went well, we headed out to the beach just to look and ran into Tim Bomba, my frequent early morning ocean swim partner. He was bleeding from his nose and lip. He went out for a swim and when diving through the waves discovered that there was a shelf in the ocean floor and went face first into the sand. We were warned. 

I heeded that warning when I went out for a warm-up swim before the start of the triathlon. The thing I discovered, and forgot from doing this triathlon last year, was that the sand at the shore is very rocky and hard on the feet. As a result, I went into the ocean at the start of the tri quite gingerly. My goal for the day was really to have a good training day. I have not specifically trained for an Olympic length triathlon, I have been doing a lot of long, slow training days just building my base for the Ironman. So I was not going to run in and injure my feet. The swim started good enough, I was swimming well enough and before I expected to, I saw that the first turn buoy was about ten yards away. As I was making the turn, the swimmers were bunching up and then all of a sudden, WHAM, I was kicked pretty hard on the left side of my face. My goggles where askew and half-way off my head. Fortunately, I didn't lose them. However, I did swallow a lot of water in the wrong way. I started to choke hard. I got out of the stream of on-comming swimmers and just had to choke and cough and try to get back to normal. One of the life guards on a paddle board came up to me and wanted to know if I needed to be brought back to the shore. I considered it for a moment, but thought I could get over this. However, it did take a couple of minutes before I could start swimming again. 

While I was getting the water out of my throat, the first swimmers from the next wave stared swimming by. When I finally started swimming again, I was being passed by a lot of swimmers from the following wave. I just was never able to get my groove back. The entire swim after that point was a struggle.

Getting out of the water was a relief, but the run up the sand and back into the transition area was really more of a trudge than a run. I did see The Great Magnetic Wife as I got near the transition area. She said that I did not look happy. The video of this great trudge is below. I was greatly disappointed to see that there were hardy any bikes left in transition and that my bike was the only one left on my rack. It was confirmed, I had a really bad swim.

I took my time in transition, I figured I would have a better bike, if I were a little more calm and recovered from my swim. I don't have any of the splits yet, but I imagine I was in transition for about five minutes. 

The bike was really not too bad. It took about an 1:20 for the 24.8 miles. Hardly a fast time, but certainly in line with how I have been training. The first six miles or so I passed a number of riders and was not passed by anyone. Then I came to a section where I met up with other riders who were already out on the course. At this time I was passed by as many, if not more, than I passed.

The run was the run. I am not a good runner, but I can plod along. I have been training with the run/walk method, so I was going to use it. It did take a couple of water stops to figure out that I should just run a little longer than I normally do, and then my walk breaks would coincide with the water stations. 

The was another L.A. Tri member, who I later learned was named Eddie, who started the run about ten seconds in front of me. I quickly passed him, but he would then pass me during my walk breaks. We always acknowledged each other as we passed. At some point, I decided my goal for the race was to beat him. The plan was to follow closely behind until the last quarter of a mile and then sprint to the end. This seemed to be very doable. On the very last water/walk break, about three quarters of a mile to the finish Eddie passed me and suddenly started running faster. I was keeping up and planning my move, but at the same time I started sprinting, so did he. With about a hundred yards to go I realized I was not going to pass him. Shortly after the finish we introduced ourselves. It was a nice and friendly little competition. It was indicative of the day. 

When I finished, I was exhausted. However, about fifteen minutes later, after eating a hamburger, I was ready to do it again. I would probably have a better time the second time around. I don't know my time, I didn't wear a stopwatch, but I think it was about 3:15 to 3:20. Not a great day.

John Thum

Getting My Geek On!

I haven't raced in a triathlon in three months. The last event I participated in the the Ironman California 70.3 in Oceanside on March 29. I have forgotten how much I like to tri-geek out on the night before an event. I am writing this sitting in a Best Western Hotel in Oxnard, California, having spent the last three hours obsessively going over each piece of equipment from sock and swim goggles to Power Bars and sunscreen. I put the wrist band that allows me into the transition area on and I put my timing chip around my leg, just to be sure I don't forget them. I cleaned the chain and gears of my bike, I have packed and re-packed my tri-bag. The Great Magnetic Wife patiently puts up with it all. In the rest of my life, I am not at all obsessive/compulsive, but in this one area I geek-out completely. I actually enjoy this aspect of triathlon and it helps me prepare for my transistions as I go through all of my equipment. At least that is what I keep telling myself.

John Thum

Triathlon This Weekend In Ventura!

The old countdown clock is under 150 days to go until Ironman Arizona! This is getting a bit scary. 

On Sunday, 6/29/08, I am going to do The Breath Of Life Triathlon, my first triathlon since the Half Iron event at the end of March. It is an Olympic length tri, Swim-1.5k, Bike-40k, Run-10k. For some reason I am more nervous about this event than I was about the Half Iron triathlon, I've been training for much longer distances, but I guess because it has been a few months since I was actually in a race, I am a little apprehensive about getting a good rhythm. 

My time at this triathlon last year was 3:05:50. I don't really expect to better that.  Almost all of my training has been base training, that is to say long and slow. I am approaching this as a training day. I'm just going to do everything at a moderate pace and finish. My goal is not to set a PR at an Olympic length triathlon, my goal is to train to finish an Ironman in November. I have to remember that.

The Great Magnetic Wife and I are heading up to Ventura on Saturday and spending the night in Oxnard.

John Thum

Indoor Brick

The plan was to do an Olympic length, three event brick as the last big workout before The Breath of Life Triathlon next Sunday, 6/29/08. I also wanted to go to church. I was not going to get out of church until about 11:30 and the thought of going down to the beach to swim, bike and run on a very hot summer day with tens of thousands of people did not sound too appealing. My alternative was to do an "indoor triathlon" at the gym. I would swim 1500 meters in the pool, ride 24.8 miles on the stationary bike and run 6.2 miles on the treadmill. What I didn't know was that the Hollywood Bally's was remodeling and their pool was closed.  Oh well, I could still do the bike and run. Not a bad workout and I did skip the crowds.  

John Thum

Hot Enough For Ya?

Every good triathlon training plan calls for regular bricks. A brick is a training session that incorporated at least two of the triathlon disciplines back-to-back. Today, the training plan called for a bike-run brick. The weather man called for temperatures nearing 100. Well, you gotta train. I just figured I would do a very slow brick. The Great Magnetic Wife and even The Great Magnet Parents tried to talk me in to running before my bike, but I explained that I have to train my legs to run after biking. Plus, you never know what the weather is going to be like on race day, it is best to do some running in high heat. My brother-in-law, Will, is training for Ironman Louisville this August. From everything I have heard that is a brutally hot race. I asked him how he is training for the heat and he said, "wearing a lot of clothes." Make sense.

The bike was not too bad.  I rode from Culver City High School, down the Ballona Creek Bike Path to the beach and then along the beach bike path. I doubt the temperatures were over eighty, and with the breeze that riding a bike generates, I felt great. The run, however,  was really hot. I decided to run at the Culver City High School track just in case I was getting over-heated, I would not be too far from the air conditioning of the car. I never felt I was over heating, I did drink a lot, but I was running very slow. I ended up doing about a twelve minute a mile pace.

Twenty-plus miles on the bike at average 17.2 mile an hour pace. Three mile run at 12.1 minute miles. Considering the heat, not bad.  Tomorrow, I will do an Olympic triathlon length brick: 1500 meter ocean swim, 40k bike, 10k run. The weather will still be hot, but I hope not quite as hot.  Welcome to summer.

John Thum

The Great Magnetic Wife's New Blog

I was listening to the radio on the way to work and heard about a website/blog called The Daily Puppy. The Great Magnetic Wife had been talking about puppies a lot lately and so I thought it sounded like something she would enjoy. I told her about it when I got home and I was quite right. It has become her go-to site in the morning after she checks who has bid on her Ebay auctions.

I suggested she start a blog called The Daily Puppet since she has about a billion puppets. I swear, I am not exaggerating, there is about a billion, give or take a hundred million or so. She didn't seem that motivated, so I started it for her, but now she is posting everyday. You can visit the site here. She can't promise The Daily Puppet will actually be updated daily, although, so far it has. If she falls out of the habit of daily updates, perhaps she will change the name of the blog to The Occasional Puppet.

John Thum

Not Feelin' Goovy

The last four or five runs I have done seem to be really hard. I am not sure what is wrong, except that I can never seem to fing the "groove." Often, when I start out, it takes a mile or sore to really feel good, but this morning and for every run I have done in the last couple of weeks, it feels really labored.

The first lines of the Simon and Garfunkle's "59th Street Bridge Song," also known as "Feelin' Groovy," are "Slow down, you move too fast." I can assure you that when I am not in the running groove, I am not moving too fast. Heck, when I am in a total groove, I don't move too fast, and yet I am not feelin' groovy as they promise.

John Thum

2008 Triathlon Season Schedule

I've come to my decision on how my triathlon season will go. My season will consist of the following events:

March 2 - Los Angeles Marathon

Los Angeles, California

Completed in 5:39:37

March 29 - Ironman California 70.3

Oceanside, California

Completed in 7:17:16

June 29 - Breath of Life Olympic Triathon

Ventura, California

July 19 - Camp Pendleton Olympic Triathlon

Oceanside, California

August 3 - Dwight Crum Pier To Pier Swim

Hermosa Beach to Manhattan Beach California

August 23 - Santa Barbara Long Course Triathlon

Santa Barbara, California

September 7 - Los Angeles Olympic Triathlon

Los Angeles, California

October 12 - Long Beach Marathon

Long Beach, California

October 26 - SOMA Half Iron Distance Triathlon

Tempe, Arizona

November 23 - Ironman Arizona

Tempe, Arizona

John Thum

Tri-Ku XIX

Take time to give thanks

To each of the volunteers

Who hands you water

John Thum

No NYC Marathon This Year

The Ironman Arizona is less than six months away and my run with the L.A. Leggers this morning was a reminder of how far I have to go to be ready. We ran seven miles, at one time that would have been easy, but it was rough today. I will run a couple more this afternoon after I do about thirty on the bike.

I am putting together my training plan and have decided that I should do a fall marathon. My choices are the Pasadena Marathon on November 16, the New York City Marathon on November 2, the Toronto Marathon on October 19, and the Long Beach Marathon on October 12. 

All things being equal, my first choice would be Pasadena. It is the inaugural event, I could be a legacy runner. It is close by, no travel, hotel, etc. I have family roots in Pasadena, my Father and Grandfather were born there, my Great Grandfather was the mayor, but alas, it is only a week prior to the Ironman Arizona. There would not be enough time to recover.

My second choice was New York. It's huge, nationally known, we have a place to stay. It is probably a week later than would be ideal, but still far enough away from the Ironman Arizona for full recovery. Alas, I received an email yesterday that informed me that I did not get in. The NYC Marathon is so big that they have to limit participants. One can qualify, however, I am not nearly fast enough to do so. They also have a lottery. It cost $11.00 to enter, but I figured my chances were decent. Certainly a better investment than going down to my local 7-11 and spending $11.00 on the California Lottery. 

I'm still trying to decide between Toronto and Long Beach. My sister lives in the Toronto area and even though she and her husband will be away in Florence, Italy, we will still be able to stay at their house. However there is the expense of getting to Toronto. So at this point, I am kind of leaning towards Long Beach. It is a little earlier than would be ideal, but it is relatively local. I'll decide in the next few weeks as I bring my training plan into the fall.

John Thum

Breakdown!

I was on my way to run with the L.A. Leggers this morning when I tried to shift into second gear. Something was wrong. I pulled over and my stick shift was just flopping around. I then heard something drop. Well, I obviously wasn't driving anywhere. Unfortunately, I was blocking the turn lane on La Cienega Blvd. at Pico. This made some people mad. 

I called AAA and had the vehicle towed to Saturn of the Valley where I met the Great Magnetic Wife. She said she had some errands she could run in the Valley, and asked if I wanted to get in a run. I said, "sure, take me to Balboa Park." I got in my six miles. However, as is always the case, I never seem to run quite as well by myself as with a group.

John Thum

The Runner's "Hi"

One of the reasons I am so happy to be back in L.A. after our travels in the last month to Paris and New York, is that my fellow runners are really quite a bit friendlier here. Whenever I pass another runner there is a sometimes subtle acknowledgment that we are both out there training. I call it the "Runner's Hi". Sometimes it is just a smile, sometimes a wave, sometimes a "good morning." But it is a nice little ritual we California runners have. When I ran in Paris about a month ago and New York City a week later, none of the runners I passed wanted to acknowledge our fleeting kinship.

John Thum

Hugh Bradner, Inventor of the Wet Suit, RIP

I just learned that Hugh Bradner, the inventor of the wet suit, died on May 5. It is really a fascinating story. His Wall Street Journal Obituary is here. The story of the invention of the wet suit is here. Thanks, Hugh. I didn't know who you were until after you died, but countless triathletes, scuba divers and surfers and I are grateful for your invention.

John Thum

Swimmin'

I went out this morning for a mile swim with an L.A. Tri Club group. Before we started swimming, when I was looking at the ocean, currents, etc., I saw a very large pod of dolphins. There were probably 15 to 20 dolphins in the pod. It is always exciting. 

We swam a mile and it felt pretty good.  I got advice from Tim Bomba to do a 2 mile ocean swim at least once a month between now and the Ironman Arizona in November. That is probably very sage advice. The Redondo Beach pier to Manhattan Beach pier is about two miles. I think I will incorporate that swim at least once a month in my training plans. Plus, I will participate in this year's Dwight Crum Pier-To-Pier Swim along that route in August, so I might as well get used to it.

John Thum

A Time To Remember

Please take time  this Memorial Day to remember and be grateful each member of the Armed Forces whose life was lost in service to this great nation.

John Thum

Running Again With The L.A. Leggers

The L.A. Leggers started their first ever fall marathon program today. The idea is for the club is to train people for the inaugural Pasadena Marathon on November 16. I will not be running that particular marathon as the Ironman Arizona follows only one week later, but it is a happy coincidence that I can train for the run portion of the Ironman with the Leggers.

We ran five miles today, the first couple were surprisingly hard, but I settled down and cruised for the last three miles. Mostly familiar faces with the 11.5 group, but there were three new people. The group was about half as big as the regular L.A. Marathon program. We had about 15 to 20 runners.

It's good to be back running with a group again.

John Thum

Eggcellent !

I love this commercial!



John Thum

Tri-Ku XVIII

He was turned to Steel

In the great magnetic field

Trains everyday

(Partially borrowed from "Iron Man" by Black Sabbath)

John Thum

Tri-Ku XVII

Has he lost his mind?
Can he see or is he blind?

It's six months away

(Partially borrowed from "Ironman" by Black Sabbath)

John Thum

Six Months Away!

Today is May 23. Ironman Arizona is on November 23. Six months to go. Six months ago, when I signed up for this, now seems like six weeks ago. Training must intensify. I am definitely not ready as of this writing, but I do have six months to go. What have I gotten myself into?

John Thum

Versailles - Saturday, May 3, 2008

The original plan was to go to the Louvre, since we skipped it when I was sick. But the more I thought about it, the more I really wanted to see Versailles. Lori and Bruce wanted to go to the Louvre, so we split up. It is about a half an hour train ride to get to Versailles. By the time we got there, the crowds were big. The people who worked there kept telling us we had to get in the very long line, but I knew that with our Museum Pass we did not.  While Wendy got a place in line, just in case, I investigated the special Museum Pass entrance. I found it and I was quite happy I did. Where as the regular line would surely take well over an hour to get through, the Museum Pass Entrance would take about three minutes. 

When I got back to the line The Great Magnetic Wife had made friends with an Italian couple ahead of us, Alberto Perini and Lidia Treviso. I was introduced and we were having such a good that I thought, I would rather hang out and talk to these people than to go into the palace early, so I didn't mention that the The Great Magnetic Wife and I could skip the big line. 

Alberto plays bass in Flavio Delladio & Honky Tonk, a country band. This is a rarity in Italy. But he clearly has a love of the music. This seems to be a vacation of bass players. I am, of course a bass player, Bruce is a bass player, Alberto is a bass player and Jean-Yves from Strasbourg is a bass player. Get us all together and that would be one bottom-heavy ensemble.

Versailles is amazing. Every corner is over-the-top extravagant. Bruce lent me Rick Steves' Paris guide book, which has a room by room description of the palace. It really helped to understand the place. It pointed out all of the things to look for.

Unfortunately, the Museum Pass did not get us into the Versailles Gardens. Or maybe, fortunately. We were pretty tired and didn't feel like standing in another line for tickets for the garden, so we bid our new friends adieu and took the train back to Paris. 

At one point we had thoughts of going to the Louvre after Versailles, but it didn't seem so appealing once we got back. We rested up a little and then went to the top of the Arc de Triomphe. This is me on top of the Arc. 

After all their generosity, it was time to treat our hosts to a nice dinner in Paris. With the help of the Frommer's Paris Day by Day guide book, we chose Brasserie Zimmer, a very traditional French restaurant in the quite happening Chatelet neighborhood. The food was very good and the ambiance of the place was marvelous. After dinner we explored the neighborhood. It is full of clubs and people on the street. A lot of fun.

It was our last night in Paris, and we were a little sad that it was all coming to an end, but quite happy to have experienced it and very grateful to our hosts for making it possible. It was a bitter-sweet ride back on the Metro to the hotel. 

Au Revior.

John Thum

Paris - Friday, May 2, 2008

Well, we were in Paris, it was about time we went to an honest to goodness, big-time art museum. No, not the Louvre, the Musee d'Orsay. We were tired from the events of the previous day, so we didn't get as early a start as we would have liked. As a result, by the time we got to the Musee d'Orsay, the lines were really long. Bruce was not going to stand for the that! While The Great Magnetic Wife, Lori and waited in line, Bruce went to see what he could do. He came back about ten minutes later with Museum Passes. These are great things to have in Paris. It gets you into most museums and a lot of top sights for one price, and you don't have to wait in the regular lines. It did take about another ten minutes to get past the security line, but we saved hours, I'm sure. 

The Musee d'Orsay is most well know for its collection of impressionist paintings. They have a great collection that includes Van Gogh, Manet, Monet, Degas, etc. All of the best are well represented. Here I am hanging out with Vincent.

After the museum we crossed the Seine and entered the Jardins Des Tuileries, another beautiful public park/garden. We were all hungry and there was an outdoor restaurant in the gardens that looked good. It was at this restaurant that we finally had the experience of that famous Paris attraction, the rude waiter. In truth, most Paris waiters are not overly friendly like we are used to in the states, but they are quite efficient. However, this particular waiter was just down right rude and not at all efficient. I'd hate to go all the way to France and not have a rude waiter story. At the least the restaurant had ketchup to go with their French fries.

After lunch Bruce had to go back to the hotel for a business call. The Great Magnetic Wife, Lori and I went to the Musee de l'Orangerie, located on the grounds of the Jardins Des Tuileries for more impressionist. However, less impressive impressionists.

The Great Magnetic Wife fondly remembered going to a very fancy gourmet shop called Fauchon the last time she was in Paris, so we walked up the Rue Royal to seek it out. It was really quite disappointing. Every thing certainly cost a lot of money, but we all expected to be awed by the food and we were not. The cheese shop in Fontainebleau was far more impressive.

We walked back to the hotel and saw four large fingers sticking up out of the bushes. I thought, "I know what those fingers need, a thumb, or at least a Thum.

About a quarter of a mile down we spotted a puppet theater. I had no idea what they were saying, being in French and all, but The Great Magnetic Wife, who loves all things puppets, assured me that it really wasn't funny. I believe her, because nobody in the audience seemed to be laughing.

We rested a bit and then went out again with the idea that we would go to the top of the Eiffel tower. Unfortunately the lines were even longer than when we were there earlier in the week and there was a sign that said the very top was closed. So we decided to skip the Eiffel Tower. Maybe next time.

On our way back we stopped at the Speed Rabbit Pizza on Avenue Kleber for a little supper to bring back to the hotel. We ordered what they call their "New York Pizza." Their version of a New York pizza has cheddar cheese, barbecue sauce, chopped beef and pickles. It was really quite tasty, but I've certainly never had a pizza like that in New York.

After that fine New York pizza I watched a little snooker and went to bed.

John Thum