Run Like A Mother

One of my athletes, Megan Seerfoss, is putting on the second annual "Run Like A Mother 5K" in Ridgefield on Mothers day. Check it out here: http://www.runlikeamother.org/

Megan is doing an amazing job with this charitable women only 5K.

I wrote up (four) six week training plans for the participants, absolute beginner through advanced, that kicked off this week. We have a bunch of women participating and they are meeting on Sunday evenings at the Ridgefield High School track for a weekly workout. I'll be there this Sunday to coach.

This is a great way to spend your mothers day morning, rather than waiting in a brunch line.

Cheers,

EH

Early Spring Saturdays

How great is the NCAA tournament???

I met Ken to run yesterday (Saturday) morning early. This was one of those weekends that brought me back to the things I love - to spring training, so to speak, and the energy around these longer, somewhat warmer days. Ken and I reversed a frequented two hour run loop. Often we get stuck in a pattern of running typical routes in the same direction. Reverse it and you'll be surprised. This route is very challenging in the way that Ken and I usually run it, with a bunch of rolling hills and one two mile steady climb. As challenging as it is in our normal direction, we both found it a son of a bitch in the reverse direction. The hills, though not as long, were quite a bit steeper and came more often. Funny how you don't realize many of the downhills in a two hour run until you run that course in reverse. We finished up this run nice and early, feeling spent yet exhilarated. This is one of my favorite things. I love Saturday mornings - getting out there early and training hard, rolling back in just as most are waking up and getting ready for brunch. I don't know, it just makes me feel very alive and I know my day will be solid. When I first began training for triathlons, I'd wake up early and ride an hour out to Woodbridge to be there by 7am for the weekly Amity Time Trial. This TT was where I developed as a cyclist. In these short TT's, you don't leave anything. If you feel like you can't breathe, or as though your quads are about to combust and you are tasting the previous nights meal, then you are going at the right pace. I'd then spin home and it was still so peaceful out because most were still asleep. The time felt as thought it was my own - as though the roads were mine, and I still embrace these weekend mornings.

Usually Ken and I go for coffee afterwards but I had to shower quick and get my son to his indoor soccer championship game. I try not to discuss my kids to often here but I'll gloat for a second. His team finished the indoor season with one loss and in second in the league, losing only to the top ranked team obviously. The last three weeks consisted of the single elimination tournament and as it should, the #1 ranked team was to play Ryan's team - the # 2 ranked team in the championship. Ryan's team won 6-4 and Ryan played unbelievably amazing. It was a tense game and the place was packed and going nuts. OK, no more gloating here. Ryan was very humble though - probably the thing I was most proud of.

A few birthday parties and NCAA games later and Saturday was done. I love setting the tone of the weekend with the early Saturday morning session. Thinking here now, it not only sets the right tone, but because it was sunny and warmer here, it also signifies to me at least that the season is beginning!

Patience?, spring?, swimming?, ...

Since arriving back from Tucson, I have yet to wear pants, with the exception of a few dinners out. Yes, this may seem stupid, but it's my little stand that warmth is coming, even if it was 27 degrees F this morning when I left my house. My patience in general is definitely waning as I age. I see myself more and more like my father each day (no offense Big Rocks). As I was walking to my car two days ago, in my shorts, a guy yells from his car window "rushing spring a bit, don't ya think?", to which I quickly retorted "What's it to you? It is Spring isn't it?". He sensed my "lack of playfulness" and softly said "it's just that it's only 34 degrees out man, that's all."

I could tell that my training is going well and that I've upped the ante because I'm starving all the time. Maybe some of that is my metabolism trying to keep this dope (the dope being me in my shorts) warm. In any event, I need to shut my mouth after dinner. Girl Scout cookie season can be dangerous. Although angrily, but thankfully, they have significantly reduced the size of the boxes and the quantities in the boxes. I now feel that a sleeve of thin mints is an exceptable one portion size for an endurance athlete in training.

The one missing link in my own training has still been swimming. I have been using my Vasa trainer religiously though and I'm curious to see how this transfers over. If you have a Vasa trainer, try this session: Put two extra resistance bands on the trainer and set at the highest elevation up front. Do 100 double pulls (similar to fly) focusing on catch and follow through, hop off, do 20 push-ups w/ feet on the physioball, then 20 lateral steps w/ resistance band around ankles, then 15 reps of curl/shoulder press combo, then 25 v-ups, then repeat this sequence two to four more times. It's a killer!

Other than that, I'm getting hammered in my NCAA brackets. I am tied with Obama.

Cheers,

EH

More to follow...

Apologies for the lack of posting here. I know that there are a ton of you waiting for the next post (sarcasm). We should post emotions in parentheses from now on so people get it (more sarcasm). Tomorrow I'll try to come up with some idea to post. I don't want to force things. It's been very busy with a ton of great stuff going on. Training is going very well also - I personally feel in better shape this March than I have in the last three March's. Coaching has been very busy and I'm really enjoying the group that I am working with this year. Besides them all being a lot of fun, they are solid individuals in regards to their values. Well, all except Gus and Jeff, but I've been with them so long that they are stuck with me now. Gus was getting a bit tiresome so I sent him on a special training session in Mexican border towns. I don't think he reads here. I guarantee you are going to see some impressive things from this group I work with this year. More tomorrow...

Cheers,

EH

Running Form Analysis

Last night, I assisted Greg Pelican in putting on a running form analysis for a group of the Bethel Triclub members. We met at the shop and all jogged easily over to the Bethel high school track. The group ran a 400 trying to find their desired pace which was supposed to be equivalent with the goal pace they'd be running in their key races. Then, Greg videotaped each person from the side and the front at this pace. We made the easy jog back to the shop and Greg uploaded the video to his computer where we used dartfish software to analyze each persons form. I then made suggestions to each person, based on their specific running form.

This was an interesting project and most of the runners had a few things in common:

• at "10K to 1/2 marathon pace effort" their upper body became more tense, and many shrugged their shoulders, drawing them up around their neck.
• many of the runners overstrided or had too much action out in front of their knees. This creates a negative effect on running progression, slowing the runner down.
• many had tight hip flexors or psoas muscles creating a limited stride and rear leg extension.
• many had weak or 'disengaged" gluteal muscles which throws off hip stability and again, limits hip range.
• many had a lot of wasted lateral motion.

This workshop made me realize that most runners and triathletes would really benefit from doing drills frequently in their weekly schedule. I showed the group a bunch of beneficial running drills, which I plan on videotaping (well, I plan on coercing Baker into videoing) and putting up on my site (well, in which Alan will put up on my site). And to all the athletes I coach out there, guess what you will be doing at least three times per week from now on?

Cheers,

EH

Fairfield St. Patricks Day Race Report

Sunday morning I headed down to the Fairfield 4 mile St. Patricks Day race. My daughter ran the 1/2 mile fun run, my son and my niece and two of my sons friends ran the mile race, my wife, father, sister, nephew, brother in law, and many friends ran the 4 mile race. I didn't race! I was the support crew in this one, keeping an eye on the kids, caring extra clothes, getting water, cheering, waiting at the finish line. it was interesting, being on the other side of the fence so to speak. Some observations:

• The raw honesty and emotion in kids is something that we adults could learn a lot from - in terms of being honest with ourselves.
• Girls vs. boys; my daughter was so expressive pre-race. She voiced her concerns about racing and hoping that she did well. She said "boy, I'm so nervous to race!" to which I replied "how come Kate, you have run much further than this before?", and her response was "yeah, I know I can do it, but I've never been a race before. I don't want to come in last Dad. Look how many kids there are, it's a nice day to run though, I'm hungry, are there snacks after we finish, blah, blah, blah, blah..." She has that female Hodska talking gene. My son was nervous also, however I knew this because he gets quiet and focused. He holds it in. My daughter also loves the accolades after the race where Ryan still doesn't discuss it much.
• The last 100 meters of a neck to neck race will also teach you a hell of a lot. You may not win, but if you gut it out until the end, it shows your competitive nature. There are many who will see that they aren't going to take it and just back off, and then there are those that concede before even starting the sprint. My son was side by side with an 11 year old with 100 meters to go and they both glanced at each other and then sprinted with everything they had. It was so cool to see and had I been racing, I would have missed this.
• When you learn biomechanics as a kid, it's instilled for life. Sure it takes a bit as we age to resurrect the form we once had, but it's in there somewhere. The best evidence of this is in swimming. Lisa ran track through high school and college and has beautiful running form. She's run maybe once in the past three months and hopped in this race with a cold and ran comfortably 8 minute miles.
• A friend of mine who's wife was running was there. He was an incredibly accomplished soccer player and he said to me before the race "To me, I know I won't win. If I don't have a chance to win, then why race? I can just go run four miles back home." There are many that probably feel this way. It's hard to explain that most out there are racing against themselves, the clock, personal demons, ... That there is no way you'd push as hard running four miles alone back home as you would in a race situation. And that there is a unity, a common bond that occurs at races regardless of where you place.
• I saw a few friends and acquaintances who were surprised that I didn't figure out a way to also run. I explained that I was purely there for support and that it was my family's turn.
• As much as I enjoyed being support that day and seeing my family and friends race, I'd much rather be a participant.

Cheers,

EH

minutia

Lisa is always on my case about biting through things that shouldn't be bitten through. For example, I'm a big fan of fireballs. I pass them out at my camps during rides to "spice" things up a bit. After tucking one into my cheek for maybe 3 minutes, I bite through it. Lisa will yell at me saying that I'm going to break a tooth. Well, she was right, I broke a molar. While getting it repaired, I asked the dentist how many people percentage wise that come into his office actually floss regularly, in his estimation. Dental offices are always nagging about flossing and I have to think that this is because not many floss. He said maybe 30% floss daily, and that flossing is actually way more important than brushing. I replied that I need to get on the flossing thing to which he replied "your lazy. You'll run a hundred miles yet you won't take two minutes to floss." You know what? He's right, I am lazy here because I haven't created that habit. As much as I stress balance, I'm an all or nothing type of guy. I'm a five speed car missing gears two through four. So this week, I went from not flossing much at all to flossing five or six times a day. My dentist turned me onto these stick type thingys that are supposedly more effective than floss and easier to use. The problem now is that my gums feel irritated from overflossing - go figure.

Uconn lost to Syracuse last night in six overtimes in the Big East tournament! They had the lead in the first five overtimes only to let Syracuse tie it up each time and then they end up losing by ten points in the sixth overtime?! That's like leading a 1/2 IM by a shoulder length over a competitor through the whole race and then walking in the last 200 meters as your competitor sprints in.

I needed an easy run today so I hit the trails and realized I didn't put my watch on as I walked down my driveway to begin. I headed out anyways and soon realized that I need to do more runs without a watch or heart rate monitor and just enjoy the simplicity of running. Good stuff.

I've had a few people recently tell me that I need to open a Twitter account. Now, I'm still trying to come to grips with blogging. As self-absorbed as blogging is, it doesn't compare at all to Twitter. Similar to facebook (in which, thanks to my wife, I do have an account), I have no interest in knowing that "Leslie is psyched today!" or that "Burt is packing his gym bag to go running later." Give me a F'kin break! Okay, I know I post a lot of bullshit here like my dental habits which is boring and useless, but come on already. Enough time is wasted on useless things like television, slowtwitch, ... Baker or Straz or Molson or anyone, if i ever open a twitter account, please kick me in the groin as hard as your girly legs will allow. No man should have a Twitter account. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go shave my legs.

Cheers,

EH

Quick Thursday Update

It's been five days since returning from Tucson and I'm suffering with camp withdrawal. I'm missing the 6:10am morning coffee run, and the trails that we'd explore soon afterwards. I'm missing the peanut butter moo'd Jamba shake and the goombas. It was great having the time to pedal away for 5+ hours in weather requiring nothing but a jersey and shorts. I miss relaxing at dinner, throwing back some good food, a beer, and fun conversation in a rewardingly tired state. The positive is that I'm planning for the CT camp which will take place in May: http://www.hodskacamps.com/connecticut2009.html

I've kept things pretty easy this week training wise, making sure I recover from the big training of last week. I have to admit, I am feeling a bit fatigued. Although that could also have to do with the fact that two nights ago, Lisa and I watched three episodes of 24 back to back to back. The lesson here is that if you have a few episodes of 24 tivo'd, make sure you block off the time to watch them all, because once you start, ...

I registered for the Providence, RI 70.3 race this week. It feels good to put a goal out there.

That's all for now. I'll try to be more in depth and philosophical next time. As they say back here in CT, Las huevos arroz con playa dirty gringos!

Cheers,

EH

Thu, Fri, Finale

Thursday and Friday

The plan for Thursday was a long ride and a 1 hr run. The weather was in the low 80’s w/ sun and a bit of cloud cover. After the 95 degree temps earlier in the week, the air upon leaving on the bikes felt cool. The weather at this camp could not have been better. Sure it was really hot the first few days but we didn’t experience one drop of rain the whole week, and we never needed even arm warmers or a vest on the bike. I received maybe 30 emails from people beginning with “Arizona sounds great, I’m so jealous!” – and you know what, they should have been jealous because the weather was ideal. I have to say that the campers coming from cold climates really did well handling the heat for the most part. It’s really challenging to come from a winter of sub 30 degree weather and step off a plane into bright, strong sunshine and 95 degrees and be told by your unsympathetic coach that you are riding in this heat up Mt. Lemmon on day two.

Back to Thursday; we rolled out in three groups with the plan of each group riding either more or less than the others so that we all reached the top of Gates Pass, a fun, steep climb, at the same time. My group stayed together and the pace was easy as we spun along two abreast, talking with the rider next to us. About 90 minutes in, we began the two to three mile ascent up Gates Pass and the attacks came. Waiting at the top were the two other groups who had arrived just shortly before us making the timing perfect. We descended down the back side of gates and entered Madera Canyon. I wanted to open it up for a bit and have my group do some threshold intensity, so the pace through this national park was fast and furious. Anyway, enough of the blow by blow description. My group did great. They stayed together during the spin out and the ride back in, and regrouped after the harder tempo efforts. It made for a fun, quality long ride.

I’m constantly observing at camp. I observe each person, what they eat, how they respond to the demands of the weeks workload, how often they are drinking on the bike, how their mood is each day, … Obviously one of the main reasons for observing is to gain insight towards seeing if the campers are adapting or if we need to adjust. The ride today was evidence that this group of campers really took to heart the very initial discussion where I mentioned that they needed to build into the week. Everyone seemed to be getting stronger as the week went on. I’m certainly not saying they weren’t tired. Everyone also walked around in between training like they had just undergone hip and knee replacement, and they all had the glazed eyed look that signifies they’ve been working and are tired. Yet, when they asked their bodies to perform again in a training session, their bodies responded and responded well. That is, until the Thursday night run:)

Around 4 pm, I drove everyone in the van over to Saguaro National Park for a 1 hr run on road and trail. There is a nine mile loop of freshly paved road around this beautiful park, with a trail winding it’s way through the middle and back third. We did this run earlier in the week and ran it clockwise, making the initial paved section mostly downhills. The instructions I gave this time were that we were to do it counterclockwise. As we started, you could not only feel the fatigue from the days long ride, but also the cumulative effect of a busy, long week. Gus and Kerri once again asserted themselves at the front. The three of us ran over the initial couple of rolling miles on pavement not talking, but rather just concentrating on running and trying to relax and take in the scenery around. We hit the trail and I kept the pace steady. We exited the trail back onto the road to take us back to the parking area. Man, this road seemed to go on for ever and it had steep rollers that went mostly up. I was at the van gasping for a breath and downing water, as Kerri ran in yelling “Man, there are going to be a lot of people that hate you after this run!” Everyone finished strong however, and this was, in my opinion, the most solid day of training at the camp.

We walked to the Italian place down the street for dinner that I renamed “Spinner’s” since he loved the place. The food was really good, and the conversation was as well. This was “The Last Supper” at this camp and the group had bonded as though they had known each other for months if not years. Dessert was once again gelato from Frost, the gelato place that Molson, Gus and I hit every single night while at camp after dinner, with the exception of Wednesday.

The plan for Friday morning was to either join the Trifest bike parade as they did part of Lemmon, or, if you had an early flight, join me back at Sabino Canyon for one last 90 min run over the phoneline trail, done in reverse. It was a beautiful morning for running in Sabino, and as we did, I tallied the weekly numbers in my head: Four hours of swimming, 15.5 to 18.5 hrs of riding, and 6 to 7.5 hrs of running done over the six days. Not bad!

This was my third camp in Tucson with Brian, and they keep getting better. Sure, we had a bit of luck with the weather, but the training we did was not only with point, it was on the best courses that we have done to date. The agenda worked out really well although we did miss a few strength and core sessions – there is only so much you can fit in a day. A camp like this is an accelerated learning process of not only physical conditioning, but also individual personalities. Spend a week like this with a group and you will know that persons true personality better than probably many of their long time acquaintances. Training hard all day for a number of days with someone, you can tell an awful lot about how that person handles themselves in life in general. Some of my key memories of the week:

* 6:10 to Yuma red eye runs in the morning (Thanks Annmarie!)
*Watching 64 year old Canadian Steve perform as though he were 34 day in and day out.
*Also watching Steve jump out the restaurant window one night instead of bothering the people seated to his sides to move while they were eating so that he could go use the rest room.
*The first run of the camp over the phoneline trail. Brian (not Grasky) from Tucson has never even done this run. It’s an amazing way to begin the week.
*Riding up Lemmon on day two of camp in 95 degree heat after the two previous years where we needed jackets, full gloves, tights, … It was 90 degrees on top of the mountain!
*Descending the 26 miles of Lemmon – man, what a rush!
*Dinners with the group. This is a key element to camp. They were fun, relaxing, filled with good food and lots of laughs.
*Leo staying in his RV in the hotel parking lot. The RV looked like the one from “Meet The Fockers”, and I thought he was joking when he said that it was his and that’s where he was staying. He lives like a mile and a half away!
*The run up Seven Falls! Sometimes getting lost makes things that much more fun. Plus the switchback trail at the end where you actually get to see the seven falls was unreal. By far, the best run of the camp.
*Soaking in the cold flowing water in Sabino Canyon on a 90+ degree day.
*Molson making me laugh not only every day, but just about every hour.
*Running and chatting in Sabino Canyon with Frosty for the last official camp workout.
*The outdoor pool in Oro Valley with the mountains as it’s backdrop.
*Spinner telling Molson he reminds him of Walter Matheau?! WTF?
*Gelato
*Getting to know all the campers was great. I wish all my athletes would take advantage of a training camp. There is a lot to be gained although I think sometimes people fear of being able to “perform” holds them back from moving ahead. Don’t tell that to my new main man Canada Steve!

Thanks again!!!

See you hopefully at the CT or LP camp.

Cheers,

EH

Days three and four

Camp has been really busy and I'm falling behind on blogging. The unshaven look has become a trend at the camp, due to laziness caused by the training and busy schedule. Lot's of laughs are happening though, as these campers have really gelled.

Let me try and recap quickly the past two days:

Tuesday began with a swim session which ended in some relays. Swim Stud Bill Daniels anchored the winning relay, but big Leo gave him a challenge.

Next, we rode out to Colossal Cave. I had told everyone in the morning that since the previous day we rode Lemmon, we were going to go easy, yet I wanted them to push a bit. Not that I'm deceitful, but if I had told them all that they were going to be pacelining and working hard that morning, it would have freaked them out. Needless to say, they all rose to the challenge even though they climbed Lemmon the day before.

We quickly regrouped at the hotel and headed over to Sabino Canyon where we did an easy 30 to 45 minute brick run, then we all soaked our aching legs in the canyon creek, and had a discussion on nutrition. Of course, I always veer off course and went into the mental side of sport.

Today, we began with a run in Sabino Canyon up the Seven Falls trail. I have run this the past two years but we never went nearly as far as this year and man was it worth it! This trail further up even blew away the Telephone Line trail here in terms of beauty, funness, and sheer coolness. Unfortunately for Gus, Frosty, and Carri, they were following me, and I took a bit of a detour on what I thought was a trail. Long story short, we had to do some actual rock climbing to get out of the canyon and back on the trail. They all kept a great attitude about it and seemed to roll with the challenge and the adventure - this I like. Too often, people are freaked by deviations in their training and it throws off their whole attitude. The pictures Frosty took are amazing - I'll try to get some posted. the run turned out to be just over two hours for most.

We then headed over to a beautiful long course pool that had maybe 20 lanes and sat outdoors right below a mountain. I was even tempted to swim! The group did a solid 4000 to 5000 meters and we finished up video work. Afterwards, we grabbed some lunch and then headed over to trisports so the campers could spend some cash. More bike fits, swim video analysis, and some massage, and it was dinner time.

Dinners are a key part of the training camp. This is where you get to relax, learn more about each person, share war stories from the day, and just socialize. This group has really been a lot of fun and a few leave tomorrow - the end of camp is always a bummer.

Most of the campers have been impressive but I have to commend Dan Frost - he has become stronger each day here. His ego was never a factor, and it appears that he took to heart what I mentioned the first day in that you need to drop the thought of success and failure to truly excel. It's funny, there are many camps out there who's purpose seems as though it's too just destroy the attending athletes. Many of these athletes get too broken down, injured, sick, or fried to the point that they need a week off to recover. What good is that? they try to justify this by saying that you break through boundaries. Trust me, the athletes here are working a lot and hard, yet I want them coming away from here stronger, not trashed. I want them to parlay this experience into a bunch of solid, motivated training weeks upon leaving here. That's how you break through boundaries.

Well, as they say down here in El Tucson; Aguave and sodi por favor.

Cheers,

EH

Day Two - bring on Lemmon!

Day two of camp and we had to make a choice. We had planned on riding Mt. Lemmon later in the week, but the day we planned called for clouds, which could mean interesting weather on top of the mountain, so we scheduled the climb for Monday.

We started the day in Saguaro Park running for an hour on a mix of pavement and trail. The sun was just popping up over the mountains and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Very similar to the weather back in CT yesterday:) The real fun began around 10am. We sent the first group off, then I lead my group out 30 minutes later. Mt. Lemmon is not necessarily steep but it's 26 miles! It wears on you hard. My group split up pretty quick near the bottom and I rode with Carri until about the 11 mile mark and then waited so that I got the chance to ride with most. Steve from Canada, the 64 year old is a stud. As I rode with him, he was telling me he's out of shape currently, yet he was leading the first group! We had the Cannondale demo truck at the hotel and Rick from Alaska took a demo bike and climbed the mountain! Typically, it's about 30 degrees colder at the top of Lemmon, yet today, in the sun on the top, it was still in the 80's. This heat and this mountain is a nice slap in the face on day two of camp, and their salt caked faces at the top showed the effort. Hey, they could have been home shoveling snow! Gus looked dazed and confused as though he'd been tipping back some cocktails - it was great!

We all met up at the cookie corner for some monster size cookies. I had a coke float. No more pie shop at the top of Lemmon for these camps after the witnessing the sloppy fat guy sneezing all over the pies last year. We began to tackle the small ascent out of the little town on top of Lemmon and I jumped out of the saddle on a steeper part of the climb and heard as huge SNAP as my right leg drove down hard and the bike jerked around hard under me. My brand new chain snapped! I was able to not crash somehow, and sat on my ride and let gravity take me back to the cookie corner where Jill was still loading up some bikes from a few who were toasted and concerned about descending. I took Spinners bike and brought the saddle up about two feet and headed off. The descent is amazing, with huge switch backs and sweeping turns overlooking amazing vistas.

Arriving back at the hotel, the campers looked spent but were all in good spirits and dinner was quite fun. Usually it takes three days or so for everyone to loosen up, but not this year! We have a group that is doing exactly what I asked initially of them, to lift their ego's and fears, and embrace each day.

Be sure to check out my home page at http://www.hodska.com/ for the camp mvp write ups, pictures, and a new Straz article.

Heading to the pool now for a swim session and video work so I'll post again later. As they sat down here in Mexico (Arizona is part of Mexico, right?), Vaios Con Dios Mother F'ers!

Cheers,

EH

Day One - Tucson Camp

For all of you on the east coast that are getting hit with the current snow storm, you think you have it bad? It was in the high 80's today and I've got a bit of sunburn - that's what tough is.

I like to start out these camps with something that has some impact. The first session should set the tone of the camp, and that is why we began this week and this day with a 90 minute run in Sabino Canyon on the telephone line trail. It was a perfect morning, weather wise, and this trail is really phenomenal. Everyone embraced the challenge and the atmosphere and I could tell that we were/are going to have a great camp.

We have quite the group this year. We have Steve, the 64 year old who drove down from Pendicton, Canada and kept pace with all the cats that are 20 to 30 years younger. Cindy and Rick, or as they are now called - The Palin's, from Alaska, Dan, the Navy stud from California who races pro, Leo from Arizona who was banging out repeat 100's on the 1:10 interval today at the pool, Jeff from Missouri who's trying to convince me it's hilly in Missouri, Carrie from Maryland who finished third in her division in duathlon worlds last year, Carla from Calgary who smiled through all the sessions today, Mike from Chicago who we'll call Ferris and who will qualify for Kona this year - mark my words, then the CT group of Spinner - the mayor of Newtown and Bethel Bike, Annmarie who's fun and way stronger than I think she knows, Jeff who's been to more of my camps than I can count and who's had me laughing my ass off, and Gus who also has attended a ton of my camps and who thrives in this environment.

We also rode for two and a half hours today, and the swam, followed by some assisted stretching.

The group was cramping quite bad towards the end of the ride and the swim. Most have come from cold climates, and even though they were being smart and pacing right today, the dry heat catches up with you.

The group is already gelling - dinner was fun and I can already tell that this is going to be one fun week.

Steve and Annmarie won the days MVP's. OK, a lot went down today but I'm a bit tired and we have another early start so I'm signing off for now.