1 Day Left - All that's left is to race

Here we are at t-minus 1 day before race day. Already nervous about it and the conditions. Race day will be foggy around 50 degrees [brrrr], guntime at 7am.

You can follow me at www.ushalf.com that gives live results of the race and you can see how I do mile after mile. Here's my information:

1) Alex Tellez

2) Bib Number: 2135 [thank you! =0]

Backpack is all set to race. Larabar, 2 bananas, protein shakes, compression tights, warm socks, and some positive thoughts. Not sure how I'll do, I don't feel as good as I did for the SF marathon but a top 10 would be huge in my opinion. That would be awesome. Big runners coming too, last year, winner put up a 1:02...that's BLAZING fast. I'm hoping to bust 1:15 although it's a hilly course but not quite as hellacious as the SF marathon.

This is the first race I was given elite status. Now all I have to do is earn it. Let's show em what vegans can do tomorrow.

I'll see you in 13.1...

2 days left - What a day

Busy running around getting stuff done and meeting with folks. Actually, I'm really tired and looking forward to getting some decent sleep tonite. As such, this blog post won't be that long but make no mistake...I had a massive dinner. This is the BIGGEST meal I've had in a long time...I'm talking like 2,000 calories of bananas, bananas, blueberries, oatmeal, larabar, vegan granola. Basically, an ass-load of food.

Yesterday was too special to write something about.

Instead, I leave you all with this quote from Jens Voight, Saxo Bank Pro Tour rider:

"When I win races, I have to put everybody including myself, of course, through a meat grinder. Everybody has to suffer, suffer, suffer until they’ve all had enough."

Let me repeat his last words one more time:

Everybody has to suffer, suffer, suffer until they’ve all had enough.

4 Days Left - Aloha

Whew, good 7 mile run AND a clean condo! Man, all that was well deserving of the two slices of gluten-free, vegan pizza =) In roughly 3 hours, I'll be in the air, flying towards the Bay Area AKA 'home'. I can't wait too!

Also got some goodies from my sponsors today. One of which is my favorite raw vegan protein shake...SunWarrior. They make raw vegan protein shakes using stevia [leaf that is 300x sweeter than sugar] with 35 grams of protein. Awesome flavor too, doesn't taste like chalk like a lot of whey shakes do. [p.s. whey isn't vegan either].

Alrighty everyone, it's Aloha time for me. Compression tights, vegan electrolyte drink, oatmeal, boarding pass. Check. See you all in a few hours.

Aloha,

Alex

Exercise log

AM - walking fat-ass to jamba juice

PM - 7 mile easy run

Diet Log -

Breakfast: Mango-banana smoothie

Lunch: 2 slices of vegan pizza

Dinner: oatmeal with bananas

5 days left - The ugly side of cycling: Tan Lines

Just look at those tan lines. The first one is of my arm WITHOUT my watch on. You can CLEARLY see the sleeve and watch tan lines [photo taken in broad daylight] I guess that's what happens when you are a cyclist in Hawaii. The sun is intense and we're out there for hours at a time. Same goes for my legs. I mean, there's an obvious line on each thigh where my cycling bibs go to. Then tan, then a slight tan where the sock-line is at. Ahhh, such are the aesthetic sacrifices we make for the sports I love. I think it's safe to say that I'm not winning over hearts with my tan-lines and most likely, turning heads for all the wrong reasons =(

But I figured I should share this with you in defense of cycling. Truth is, I'm somewhat proud of these tan lines. In other news, I'm about 80% done with cleaning my condo, just one more section to go and then everything will be kosher for mom. Chances are, she'll take the white-glove to the condo and I'll have to clean it over again but at least, she won't know until she does this test. Hey, gotta fake it 'till you make it right?

On a plane trip to Cali in less than 24 hours. Definitely getting excited about that! Oh crap, I should probably pack too huh. Tomorrow morning will be busy packing, out for a quick bike ride [probably won't be able to do this actually], prepping the house and getting in a quick run outside if I can get out of work early. We'll see.

Diet Log -

Breakfast - Mango smoothie, LaraBar

Lunch - Brown rice pasta and tofu

Dinner - Oatmeal [not tired of it yet!]

Snacks - Apple with peanut butter, water

Exercise Log -

AM - recovery ride...from what really?

PM - 7 mile run, 107 bpm.

I'm going going back back to Cali Cali. Got some goodies in the mail from sponsors that I'll post photos of and my check + award for the SF Marathon where I placed third. Taking orders for people who want stuff from Cali. Mike, I got you on the chocolates...you clearly aren't messing around with Trader Joe's ;-)

6 Days Left - ALEJANDRO!!!!!!

Can you believe it! Lady GaGa finally did a song named after yours truly! It is crazy good too...certainly one to run to...cycling..hmm, jury is still out but for the time being I'm enjoying this. Nothing quite like a belly full of oatmeal, nodding your head to Lady GaGa saying "Alejandro" in that sexy electronic voice she has. You can hear the song on YouTube..just type in "Lady GaGa Alejandro" and you'll get it.

Little did I know she writes her own music and plays the piano at shows. Now that's pretty impressive. Not since Alicia Keys did that have I had any respect for a performing artist in the pop genre. Jazz well...Diana Krall, Norah Jones...you name 'em and they back their shit up.

Starting to get excited about going back home and I can already feel my mid and body start to get ready for the race. Legs and energy are low as I'm gathering right now and starting to narrow my focus. Hence, my 8 mile run felt sooooo long. My legs seemed cemented to the ground. Pretty decent Monday...can't complain. Starting to do laundry in anticipation of returning home. But seriously...the highlight is CLEARLY the song called "Alejandro". Holy shit. I haven't been this excited about a song since the Clipse came out with 'I'm good'.

Favorite Lyric: "You know that I love you boy, hot like Mexico, rejoice, at this point I have to choose..." I mean, c'mon, how often do you come across a club-banger named after you?!?!

Exercise Log;

AM - Recovery Ride

PM - 8 mile slooooooooooooooow run. At 108 bpm, my pace is 8:39/mile.

Diet Log:

Breakfast - Banana-Mango-LaraBar smoothie

Lunch - Tofu and Eggplant over brown rice, cabbage salad

Dinner - Super good oatmeal, 1 apple, 3 bananas, almond butter, Clif protein bar

Snacks: Electrolyte drink, LaraBar [banana bread flavor]

7 Days Left - What a view

**NOTE: click on image to enlarge***

When you climb Tantalus enough, you sometimes get lucky every and are able to capture a really awesome picture. This was around 7am HNL time right as the sun was peeking over the clouds. That's downtown Honolulu, Ala Moana, and Waikiki. Gorgeous.

Finished cycling around 11am and decided to not watch the raiders game. Turn's out, it was probably a good thing. We got spanked 38-0 by the NY Jets. Sigh...Please Al Davis, sign me as the franchise quarterback. I've got everything it takes to be the raiders QB: 10 fingers, a pulse, working lungs, and I'm not overweight [see Jamarcus Russell]!

Bought only a few groceries at whole foods due to the short week I have. Here's what was in Alex's [eco-friendly] bag:

Steel cut oats

Brown rice pasta

3 lara bars

3 clif protein bars

bananas

mangoes

apples

peaches

Kale

Vegan electrolyte drink

Super excited to return home and be with friends and family. There's someone I'm dying to meet as well =)

Legs feel okay and I didn't run today. All this week will be pretty light with not much effort. Most of my attention will be on getting my condo to look presentable...it's ALMOST there. Tomorrow I vacuum and get the living room in order. Then, Tuesday and Wednesday it's all kitchen. What a pain in the ass.

Hope you all had an enjoyable weekend and were able to get out!

And guess what?!?!?!?! Basketball starts this week! Oh thank heaven! Hoops!

8 Days Left - Stacy's Mom

That was indeed on the iPod as I charged up Tantalus a few times. Stacy's mom. Why is that? Well for the past few weekends, I've noticed an older woman who runs up that hill almost as often as I consume bananas [often]. As such, I felt Fountains of Wayne - Stacy's Mom would be appropriate for this bog post. And she did have it going on.

Okay, enough of that! I was going to ride out to Hanauma Bay when I had an explosive flat tire. Air went out in like 1 second and I saved it before Evelyn got into any more trouble. I waited and some guys from Mike's team, Team Pac Velo, helped me back to their shop, www.itbhawaii.com. Really good guys that took care of me and Evelyn. Met the owner and they have a nice shop. Mike Z., you got me as a teammate [although I think I told you that already =)].

Pretty good day today. Met a woman at Barnes and Nobles and she is trying to go Vegan. I told her about my story [the abridged version] and those that inspired me along the way. I hope she goes ahead and pushes through. And as a gesture of appreciation, I offered her a -you guessed it - banana.

AM: 45 miles on the bike

PM: 8.5 miles easy run

Diet Log:

Breakfast - Banana

Post-ride: electrolyte drink, bananas, clif protein bar, oatcake

Lunch: vegan 'tuna' sandwich with agave soda. This is just sinful.

Dinner: Brown rice pasta with tofu.

"I know it might be wrong but I'm in love with Stacy's mom."

9 Days left...So long tasty food

Full taper mode now in anticipation of my upcoming race. As such, I went out with a bang tonite and had some great vegan thai food and lots of raw papaya salad. This was an awesome meal and I'm sure I overate a bit. No worries, it'll be all gone tomorrow in a matter of hours...trust me on this =)

As I said in an earlier post, it's the anti-atkins diet [carb crazy] where I'll be taking a lot of liquid meals and lots of oatmeal and brown rice pasta. It'll be an in moderation of course as gorging is not allowed [shucks!]. Got that all out of my system today, rest assured.

Hopefully, I'll have some goodies this week sent in from sponsors that I can post to you. I'm expecting 4 packages so we'll see what we get! Can't wait to get back home and be with family, friends and among familiar faces. The Bay Area is a wonderful place and I'm looking forward to relocating soon [hint hint].

No diet log today as I was a shameful vegan, getting every last ounce of goodness today before I get so sick of oatmeal =)

Good night you all...if you wake up with the munchies, turn on some Chappelle's show and nosh on a banana.

10 days left - Final Hard Workout

As you guessed, I messed up with the last posts as the 'days left' tab was a bit inflated. But I've solved that problem now! Guess that Brown-LSE-education paid off for something =) Today was my final hard workout with respect to running and man, it couldn't come at a better time.

Too late for adaptation, I was looking to get some good leg turnover and I did just that. Starting tomorrow, it's full taper down mode and thank heaven for that. Again, not excited about the race yet, just getting used to not having big workouts anymore. I'll hop on the bike for a bit tomorrow and then a nice recovery run in the P. And man, that can't come soon enough. My body is a wreck.

Too tired to say anything insightful except...good fight, good night.

DietLog -

Breakfast: Green smoothie

Lunch: JamabaJuice smoothie

Dinner: Oatmeal

Snacks: banana, more oatmeal, oatcake

Exercise Log -

AM: Recovery ride

PM: Final hard running workout 800s, 3 sets of 2 x 800s @ 165 bpm.

Man am I tired. These 'Skins' compression tights are getting their money's worth.

Talk to you all tomorrow.

12 days left

Running through Waikiki this afternoon I noticed 2 things:

1) Winter is clearly coming. God forbid it get below 70 this time around and dark at 6:30pm.

2) My cycling tan lines are even more prominent. This is a true statement for most cyclists that spend +4 hours on any given day in the saddle. And let me say...it looked REAL BAD. I guess as a skinny filipino kid it makes it all the more prominent but man, people in SF will be SHOCKED!

Expecting some goodies this week from my sponsors. Mainly, some SunWarrior Raw Vegan protein, Laughing Giraffe Granola and Navitas Naturals Raw Cacao [Chocolate] and Flaxseed. These are pretty good and I'll be sure to take some good photos for you guys when they come in. Of course, HealthForce is always on point sending me Vitamineralgreen.

This morning I was dying up Tantalus which probably had a lot to do with last night's run workout. I've got my final day of intensity tomorrow and then it's full taper down mode. Not really excited about the race just yet, that'll probably happen on Saturday afternoon and well into next week. I've got a busy schedule when I get back but busy in the good way =) It'll be good to see friends, family and my nephew William [who I have affectionately named 'Bill']. For now though, it's continuing to stay healthy and out of harm's way. Today I kind of went back and fourth on raw and cooked stuff...mainly I was craving salad but the kind people at Umeke were constantly throwing in vegan goodies for me...I know, I'm spoiled.

Breakfast - Green smoothie, clif bar

Lunch - Vegan chili, brown rice and cabbage salad

Dinner - Chopped Veggie salad, brown rice pasta with tofu

Snacks: All fruit jamba juice, banana, LaraBar

AM - Tantalus climb

PM - 7 mile recovery run @ 130 bpm

Currently listening to: Norah Jones - The Nearness of You [masculine, I know]

13 days left - Final hard Tuesday

Glad that nonsense is all over with. I have to admit, looking at myself now I cannot help but smile at the person I have become. The time now is 8:52 HNL time and I'm sitting on my couch, watching Iron Chef [the original one no less] in compression tights, downing an electrolyte drink. Now if that doesn't scream 'recovery' I don't know what would...well, that's not true. Perhaps a massage at the club would be good. Cue Rush Hour 2 scene with Chris Tucker going into 'Heaven on Earth' massage parlor.

You know, I've been getting into Drake, Lil Wayne's new prodigy / project and he has an outstanding song [besides 'Best I ever had'] called "Houstatlantavegas". Pretty good song and the beat is not bad either. Favorite lyric: "Tonite is about to happen all over again". Wonder what he means....hmmmm

Had a guiness beer and I still love this one. Although it will be good to get some Fat Tire and Chimay back in the mix after the race. No doubt, this will be high on the priority list with my dad for dinner. What's in Alex's post race meal? Thought you'd never ask!

2 bananas = 200 calories

1 ClifBar Protein Bar= 270 calories

1 Raw Vegan Protein Shake = 110 calories

1 vegan electrolyte drink = 10 calories

GRAND TOTAL = 590 calories post race.

For those that will come and watch, you'll be amazed how fast I can wolf this 'mini-meal' down.

Here's the diet log. Liiiiiiiitle too much Oatmeal today!

Breakfast: green smoothie

Lunch: Oatmeal [x2], Jamba Juice all fruit smoothie

Dinner: MORE oatmeal.

Snacks: You guessed it! Oatmeal. Ugh, I'm done with oatmeal for a cool minute.

Exercise Log -

AM: Openers on the bike in preparation for what's to come in a few hours

PM: 1 mile warm up, 4 x 2 mile negative repeats. How stupid were the times?

Rep 1 - 5:49 average

Rep 2 - 5:39 average

Rep 3 - 5:32 average

Rep 4 - 5:23 average

Currently on the iPod: Drake, Dirty Vegas, The Dream, Mariah, Joe, Jenny Jones

14 days left: 1 more week of intensity

Today [Monday] marks the final two weeks of training before my next race, the US half marathon in San Francisco. And what better way to start off the week than with an easy 8 mile effort at 130 bpm. Chances are good I'll be doing this in the gym watching Raiders's division rivals go at eachother [broncos v chargers]. Best part of that game is someone will lose which looks better for the raiders! Thank goodness for that!

Ahhh, once Thursday hits, I'll be done with intense workouts and I'm pretty happy about that. No doubt, cycling continues but at sloooooooooow cadence. And then comes the ultimate anti-atkins diet. Nothing but fruits, veggies and whole grains for me 2 weeks out. So as a response to your questions about what was in Alex's grocery bag at whole foods?

4 hands of bananas
frozen mango chunks
blueberries
pineapples
kale..lots of kale
Steel cut oats
Brown rice pasta [gluten and soy free]
Brown rice raw vegan protein shake
Freshly ground raw almond butter
LaraBars...the Chocolate coconut flavor. If you aren't aware of how good LaraBars are, you are really missing out on life. Really. It's that serious. They won't make the bar if it has more than 5 ingredients! Some are just 2 ingredients [i.e. cashew + dates]. Before you go rambling on about how boring that must sound, go buy one yourself and try...I recommend Cashew Cookie and Banana-Walnut Bread. You'll be amazed at how simple yet filling these bars.
Check out more flavors @: www.LaraBar.com

Try one and let me know what you think. If you don't like it, I'll pay you the $1.89 for the burden so you can get a deep-fried-fat-soaked-greasy-sticky-refined-sugar candy bar of your choice. =)

Capitalism: A Love Story

My take: Totally outrageous! If you've seen Michael Moore's past films, you'll be pleased to know he is at the height of his tomfoolery in this one. As a banker, I have to agree with some of his claims such as making a citizen's arrest of AIG...classic. Naturally I fixed myself a shmorgesboard of salads and other vegan fixins' to munch on whilst watching this film.

Prior to that, I did my usual hill climb progression with my semi-busted SRM. Sigh. This time, I tried something new with respect to my running. Usually, I cycle in the AM but then run in the PM. By the time this rolls around, my legs are sore and it takes a good 7 miles to finally warm up. Today, I tried going straight through. After cycling, I showered, pounded some water, threw on the Oakley's and ran 12 miles at 145 bpm. It was super HOT. 88 degrees with like no breeze. This, AFTER an intense bike session = serious caloric loss. And you know what this means don't you?!!?! Fruit, fruit, fruit! Plus I had some awesome brown rice pasta with tofu that went really well with Sicilian Hot Tomato sauce. Yum.

Having really good meals is one way to take away 'the sting' of prolonged exercise bouts. In truth, I don't know what I like more, my oatmeal or my pasta. Tough, tough call. I guess I'll have to just live with them both!

Here's today's log. Full of stuff really!

AM: Cycle; hill climbs followed by 12 mile run. Ugh. Breakfast? nope. Hydrated? You betcha

PM: NOTHING!

Diet log

Snack 1: 2 oatcakes 2 bananas, clif protein bar

Snack 2: salad with vegan fixins' courtesy of Whole Foods.

Snack 3: Jamba Juice 'Alex' style - Blueberries, strawberries, bananas, water.

Dinner: Brown rice pasta with tofu and tomato sauce. Lip-smackin' good!

Stupid SRM broke =(

Not more than 1 week with my Evelyn the power-meter I have attached to my computer crapped out. Check that...a part in the back fell off making it impossible to download any data from this morning's workouts. Damn. Of course, this thing is covered under waranty but the SRM company quoted me 3 weeks time delay from when I mail it to when I get it back. Yikes! 3 weeks!

Because of this, I decided to spoil myself and had Thai food for dinner with a friend. Same meal as it's waay too good as is! Tofu red curry with brown rice, green papaya salad. Awesome. I'm really quote pleased with this small thai place and it's been a great find.

Tomorrow I'm going to try running 16 miles AFTER my bike workout. By then, my legs are pretty much blasted to shit and I'll still have some energy to go on. I'll fuel quickly with some bananas of course but we'll see. Saturday's are special as you all know.

Good night y'all.

yhp

Hot Habanero!

Note to self: When making brown rice pasta, be sure to use a *sprinkle of the ground habanero powder. Holy F@#$!!!! Practically burned my mouth off and didn't even enjoy my food! I got some dried habanero powder from my good friend, Doctor Alex Silver [doctor at queens] and let's just say I put a bit too much on my pasta. That damn thing was hotter than anything I've put on pasta / mexican food / thai food..seriously, that was stupid hot. Hell, my head hurts because of how hot that was. No thank you.

Legs are all blasted. Today's log is as follows -

Diet Log:

Breakfast - Green smoothie, clif bar

Lunch - Green smoothie with pineapples [!], clif bar

Dinner - Unenjoyable pasta with habanero powder. Can't say enough how hot that was and how stupid I feel putting all that stuff on it. Yuck.

Snacks: apple, banana, clif bar, water.

AM: Recovery ride

PM: 7 miles. 1 mile warmup, 2 x 3 mile negative splits. 5:49 - 5:27 times for each mile for duration.

Ugh..definitely too much Clif Bar today.

I'm going to stop this one for a bit. Think I'm getting a little burned out on these suckers. Although, Cookies and Cream is an outstanding flavor for what it's worth! Clearly, I'm gaining some weight and I need to do something about this. I think I'm pushing 141 so we'll have to cut calories down significantly.

Nothing quite like eating 2 bowls of oatmeal with a ton of fruit in compression tights to get the feeling of gluttony. Had a weird dream last night too that involved me hunting down a contract killer. Something out of 'The Whole Nine Yards" except a little more dramatic and intense. To give you an idea, I woke up at 5am sweating from anxiety. No doubt, this dream is closely related to my job situation.

Diet Log:

Breakfast: Green Smoothie, Clif Bar

Lunch: Green Smoothie, Clif bar

Dinner: Oatmeal, clif bar

snacks: banana, decaf soy latte [gross], clif bar

AM: Recovery ride

PM: 7 mile recovery run through Waikiki...ahh the 'views' are nice this time around!

Terrible Tuesday's

Tuesdays can be summed up by one word: Suffering [not cycling though, I have the day off but in running]. I had to do 4 x 2 mile negative splits [5 minutes of rest between reps].

Here were the mile times:

First rep of 2 - 5:49 pace

Second rep - 5:39 pace

Third rep - 5:33 pace

4th rep - 5:34 pace

Without question, I was suffering during rep 3 and then the last mile of rep 4 was pretty harsh. I think what made it difficult was that my legs were already shot from all the cycling over the weekend and didn't have enough time to replenish itself. Recovery ride tomorrow in the AM and then a much needed recovery run in the evening. Here's the diet log

Breakfast: Green smoothie, Clif bar

Lunch: Green smoothie, clif bar

Dinner: Brown rice pasta with vegan 'chikin' salad and hot sicilian tomato sauce. Good stuff I tell ya!

Snacks: Larabar, 2 bananas, another clifbar, apple.

How I spent my Holiday

What better way to spend a holiday then to hit the pavement and put in a 65 mile solo effort on the bike. Usually during the AM in Hawaii we get hit with Mauka Showers [light rainful coming from the mountains, 'Mauka'] and today was no exception. I basically got dumped on for 12 miles or so before finally getting into nicer weather. I took some photos of me with Evelyn at some scenic pictures of Waimanalo, a beautiful area of land. Hope you all can come out to the islands and enjoy this someday.

After the ride, I cleaned Evelyn and got a haircut. Then I joined a good friend of mine, Doctor Silver, for some Thai food for lunch. I had yummy papaya salad and tofu curry with brown rice. Quality meal I say and the company made it so.

As I type this, I'm at his home in Mililani and is wonderful. Sitting outside, sipping water ad enjoying the calm Hawaiian breeze and his 2 dogs. Indeed, it'll be a real shame to give this up someday.

Hope you all had a restful Holiday and if you worked, give yourself a treat tonite and drink a smoothie for me. Keep pushing those pedals,

yhp

Meet Evelyn!

Aloha,

I'm taking this blog to post photos of the chariot that will carry me hopefully to neo-pro status. Notice the SRM computer. I'm going to post actual cycling data so you can see heart rates, times, altitude, and power [measured in watts].

Some Q+A time.

Why Evelyn?

The name of a woman who is hard pressed and determined. All the Evelyn's I knew where like this [both in a good and bad way].

Why do you like this woman?

She doesn't talk much, when I change speed she adjusts [=)], and all she does is perform.

Is it love yet?

Almost. We're at first base with eachother so we'll see how the group ride goes tomorrow.

Enjoy pictures. Good luck tomorrow Scott. Go show em what vegans can do!

Oh Shit, can you say Brand Spankin' New Cervelo Bike!!

Xmas came a bit early for me this year! I was greeted today with my Cervelo S1 that I got custom built from competitive cyclist. I took a bunch of photos that I'll post tomorrow at some point but take my word for the time being..it's a BEAST.

For the time now, here's the build:

Frame: Cervelo S1 Aluminum Frame [yes, NOT carbon fiber]

Fork: 3T Funda Carbon Fiber

Stem: FSA CSI Carbon Fiber Stem

Handlebars: FSA 40cm Alloy. A bit narrow actually, need to replace these.

Components: Campy Super Record 11s

Crankset: SRM FSA Gossamer Cranks, 172.5, 39/53

Pedals: Speedplay lollypops

Cages: Zipp Carbon Fiber cages

Wheels: Reynolds Solitutde Campy Wheelset.

This thing is pretty handsome if I say so myself. Just not tall and dark =) Okay, I apologize, I had to! Tomorrow is personal pain day. Hill climbs followed by 16 miles running.

FYI - Kona Ironman is on. Think about that workout for a moment. Yeah. Yikes.

Man that pasta is soooooooooo good!

I'm going to have to post photos and a recipe book for this pasta. It's OFF THE CHARTS good. I'll give a brief recipe and explain what it's made up of. First, throw in some brown rice pasta. You don't need the gluten and you sure as hell wont miss it...promise. To this, throw on some Amy's Vegan marinara sauce, tofu 'chikin' strips, mock tofu 'chikin' salad and then some basil. Wow. Out of this world good.

Good news...my brand spankin' new Cervelo S1 comes tomorrow. This thing will be a true beast of a bike. A workhorse like non other I think. Campy super record 11's, SRM Powermeter, Fizik Antares saddle, and FSA stem and handlebar. This thing will HAUL ASS.

On a different note, my good vegan friend Scott Spitz is running in the Chicago Marathon on Sunday. He has a top 100 spot and this is a huge honor - more so for a vegan! He is just one example of what is possible on this diet. Make no mistake about it, you CAN and WILL thrive. Please wish him well and send him good vibes. You can read about his build up at www.runvegan.wordpress.com. Super excited for him.

Tomorrow's Friday and you know what that means: Ice Cube, Today was a good day. Here's today's workout log:

AM - 16 miles, easy spinning on the bike.

PM - Punishing run, with interval efforts, 8 of them at varying distances. Yuck.

Diet Log:

Breakfast - Green smoothie with clif bar

Lunch - Green smoothie with clif bar

Dinner - stupid good pasta. yummmm

A new PR on Tantalus!

Today was my morning prologue effort up Tantalus Drive and I hit 20 mins and 49 seconds up the beast. That's a new PR for me and I'm pumped about it. Of course, my good friend Mike can do this much faster but soon enough, I'll get there [assuming I'm still here].

I think my saving grace or salvation has been my athleticism. My salvation is running and cycling. It's really a drug to me that once I do, I feel so much better about myself and my situation. Suddenly, all is not doom and gloom and after a hot shower, man, things are just way better.

I was at work and my legs were so blasted! I had to put my feet up most of the time due to the pain I felt. Each step my legs felt like rubber. Awful feeling in fact! But well worth it considering I PR'd. Hell, if I can do that 4 times like on my Saturday ride...I'll be one happy dude. Here's today's log.

Diet Log -

Breakfast: Green smoothie, clif bar.

Lunch: Brown rice pasta, tomato sauce and tofu 'chikin' strips. Super tasty with chili flakes added for extra punch.

Dinner: Green smoothie, clif bar.

Exercise Log -

AM: Uphill prologue effort. 4.1 miles up. 4.1 miles down.

PM: Recovery run of 8 miles. Pace? Who knows. It was awesome though. A welcome break to the killer workouts I've been going through.

One more day of punishment and then I get a day off! Hooray for Fridays!

Tuesday Download -
Looks like iTunes did some things right this week. Here are my album pics:
Armin Van Buuren - Universal Religion Chapter 4
Tiesto's new CD [don't know title]
Bassmaster [again, don't know title]
These are quality pickups in my humble opinion.

I really like two songs on Van Buuren's album:
1) Ramsterdam
2) Every other way
If anything, check these two out and get back at me!
Finally some exciting news! I get my brand-spankin'-new bike tomorrow or Thursday. I'll post details tomorrow but just trust, it's stupid fast.
Here's the daily log:
Breakfast: Green smoothie with Clif Bar
Lunch: Brown rice pasta, vegan tofu salad and 'alfredo sauce'. SUUUPER good stuff.
Dinner: Oatmeal with grapes, apples, bananans and almond butter. Wow.

Exercise Log:
AM - Openers on the bike getting ready for tomorrow morning's hill-climb effort
PM - 4 x 2 miles with negative splits. 5:49, 5:39, 5:38 and 5:27 average for the 4 reps. 1 mile warmup and 1500 calories later = pure satisfaction.

Somehow, the beat goes on

In some ways, knowing that things will come to an end is nice because you learn to savor moments more that normally you take for granted. Like sitting for the bus, listening to the wind blow while the sun kisses you face. Not a bad way to start the morning right?! And so Monday came and went, nothing spectacular. Heck, even my boss is aware of my time left and I'm pretty sure he's been going easy on me. Can't complain either!

Here's today's log. It's been bittersweet really. Such good foods but no energy to run or cycle. Little depressed...

Diet Log -

Breakfast: Smoothie, Clif protein vegan bar

Lunch: Brown rice pasta with tofu chicken strips

Dinner: Green smoothie, apple, grapes, clif bar

Exercise Log -

AM: Easy spin / recovery ride

PM: 8 mile recovery run

What's happened and where I've been

Probably noticed the considerable absence from the blog. Promise it's not personal with you =) It seems, fate has brought me to an interesting intersection with respect to my professional and athletic career. I'm going to open up and share something personal with you all because it's important for you [my readers] to know what it's like.

On Tuesday, I learned that my job was being eliminated due to a company re-engineering project, for which, I was a casualty. It's tough to hear something like that especially when the work I've been doing has been getting great responses and solid approval. Without question, this was shocking to me and my family. I was rather speechless to tell you the truth.

Later on that day, my boss held a meeting with the other managers in my division and announced the news. He gave me the day off and said I didn't have to show up to the meeting. What did I do? I showed up to the meeting, head high and was stone-faced as I was dragged through the mud. It's so hard to not take personal but I think about my position, age, circumstance and it was probably the most humane thing to do. Thankfully, the bank wants to retain me in another position but which I'm fortunate because there were MANY, MANY lay-offs where people were NOT retained. Regardless it still sucks to be a casualty of war.

And what do I do that day? Drink? Never. Eat meat? Never. Run my ass off? You betcha. My salvation has been cycling and running and I've been doing both everyday not letting up. Taking out my frustration on my body and the road. Far less expensive then going to the bar right?

Here we are. A countdown to 12/31/09 where I need to find a job within the bank or else it's Aloha. But perhaps there's a silver lining here. Perhaps, this is the pivotal point in my athletic career where I endeavor to make my dream of becoming a neo-pro in cycling can come true. Here are the facts: I'm 24, no debt, degree and graduate degree.

Davis, Eugene, Seattle, B-more, Irvine, Santa Barbara, Berkeley, Palo Alto. Guess what I'm thinking?