“The Ironman is truly an event that makes you realize what you are made of inside. I was out there for 17 hours and I couldn’t help but think what my purpose and place is in this world. When I was first diagnosed with cancer, I didn’t see anything positive coming out of it at all. Now, it is clear to me why God put me on Earth, and that is to make a positive difference in other people’s lives. For that, I MUST FINISH THIS RACE!”
– Louie Bonpua

100 miles of fun, all over the hills of the East Bay.

We’re meeting at Pleasant Hill Park
147 Gregory Lane, Pleasant Hill, CA.
Please arrive by 7:30 AM.  We will roll at 8:00 AM

147 Gregory Lane,Pleasant Hill

From SF/Peninsula

Take the Bay Bridge/I-80 E (signs for Bay Bridge/I-80/Oakland/7th St/US-101 N)

Take the exit onto I-580 E toward CA-24/Downtown Oakland/Hayward-Stockton

Take the exit onto CA-24 E toward Walnut Creek

Take the exit onto I-680 N toward Concord/Sacramento

Take exit 49A to merge onto Contra Costa Blvd toward Pleasant Hill

Turn left at Gregory Ln

From San Rafael/North Bay

Take the exit onto San Rafael/I-580 E toward the Richmond Bridge/Oakland

Take the exit onto CA-24 E toward Walnut Creek

Take the exit onto I-680 N toward Concord/Sacramento

Take exit 49A to merge onto Contra Costa Blvd toward Pleasant Hill

Turn left at Gregory Ln

From the South (Hayward, Livermore, etc.)

Take I-580 West or East depending on which direction you are coming from

Take the exit onto I-680 N toward Sacramento

Take exit 49A to merge onto Contra Costa Blvd toward Pleasant Hill

Turn left at Gregory Ln

On a warm Saturday morning at Rancho, several Ironteam members tackled the Run to Ridge. 10 miles of mostly up (Coach Dan says there’s really only one hill) to the top of Black Mountain then a leisurely jog down Montebello Rd to Ridge Winery. There the team was met with open arms, a lavish spread of cheese, crackers, fruit, wine and cool, cool water.

“2 hours for a 10 mile run?” was overheard by Boston Marathoner Andy Brewer, “No way it’ll take that long, 1.5 hours tops”. Well, the one hill the coaches said was on the course was 10 miles long. And it got tougher with the hot temps. The views were beautiful, the scenery stunning and the picnic fabulous.

On Sunday morning the Ironteam went North to take on the famous water hills of Redwood Shores lagoon. Into their wetsuits the team climbed then dove into the warm murky water.

“To the bridge and beyond” ordered Coach Mike.

After returning from the bridge, the team mounted their trusty steeds and went spinning up Ralston Ave to the 280 bike path overpass. Not content with just the one hill for a warmup, Aurora Bibb decided to go past the turn, down the hill and then turned at the bottom.

“Nothing beats an exhilarating hill climb at the beginning of a ride” stated Aurora, “Especially when you missed the first turn”.

Rattlesnake Queen Christine Johnson proceeded down the bike path and took out the baby rattlesnake that was threatening everyone.

With their fears calmed, the riders then took on Kings Mountain Road. Up the twisty road, thru the towering redwoods and across Skyline to the rest stop at the top. After a brief respite from the climb, the team then continued on towards the coast and the infamous Tunitas Creek Rd.

Pedaling thru La Honda and San Gregori, the Ironteam set their sights on attacking the Tunitas climb. Once again Aurora Bibb was not satisfied with just doing Tunitas.

“Come on Al” she said to Big Al Larson. “Let’s go up and down Hwy 1 for a few miles then we’ll take on Tunitas”.

Up the team went again, past towering redwoods, across potholes in the road and with hints of banjo music in the air they reached the top.

From there it was an 18 mile downhill cruise to the finish. Well, except for that climb on the bike path to Ralston. But at least the rattlesnakes were gone thanks to CJ.

All in all - a tremendous weekend effort by the Ironteam proving they are well on their way to their goals for Lake Placid and Canada.

Greetings gang!

After a weekend of some well deserved recovery workouts (or not), we hope you’re all rested up and ready for the start of another build phase pyramid. This week you might want to keep in mind that Wildflower is a week from this coming Saturday, so get in those last confidence building workouts this week while you still canJ. Here’s a look at the training options we have for the week ahead.

Monday:  Enjoy the weather we should have had over the weekend.

Tuesday:  6:30pm, Captain’s Brick Workout – Spin and run at SportsBasement. Remember those sneaks!

Wednesday:  6:30pm, Coached Workout – Swim at Burgess in Menlo Park. .

Thursday:  6:00am, Buddy workout – 70’ L5 run at Rancho San Antonio. Meet at the bathrooms.

Friday:  6:00am, Buddy workout – Swim at Fremont HS in Sunnyvale OR Run at Alum Rock Park.

Saturday: Saturday calls for a 150′ run. We are going to run up to Ridge Winery from Rancho San Antonio. It’s a 10 mile run with some good hills – here is some of that Wildflower training mentioned earlier!

—PLEASE RSVP by WED. 4/25 if you plan to attend so we can plan for transportation back to Rancho.—

We’ll have 2 start times - 9:30 am and 10:00 am & we’ll ask for $5 each for a few picnic items we’ll provide at the finish.

Sunday: Coached open water swim and bike. Check out coach Mike’s weekly email for the latest update on the time and location.

Go, go, go Johnny go, GO TEAM!
Your training captains,

Steve, Dana, and Mike

Just about every Tuesday night Ironteam gathers for a spin workout at the Sports Basement in Sunnyvale.

This workout started a few years ago when a small group TNT folks were training for IM New Zealand. They met at Rob Mardell’s house when he ran his bike shop from his garage. The next year Ironteam met there and continued the tradition.

Last year the opening of Sports Basement in Sunnyvale gave us a larger venue with an indoor room to use. Since then we’ve been spinning every Tuesday evening usually with a brick workout - run or core.

Spinning is a great way to work on specific techniques - keeping those knees in tight, working on cadence, a nice elliptical motion with the foot and leading with the heel.

Spin night is a communal activity - lots of chatter and laughter. Bring your friends, bring your folks from other teams and bring your sense of humor.

Who knows - maybe Razzle and Dazzle will show up some night.

http://www.vimeo.com/clip:173728

What Wind??

A few more pictures I could take before the camera blew away HERE.

On her birthday, we celebrate some of the many sides of Coach Kristin!

Athlete

Coach

Owner of a snappy pink hat

Wife

Mom

Happy Birthday from IronTeam! Thanks for all that you do.

Hey party people!
 
Wow, what a weekend full of the challenges of camping, managing your race plan due to heat, limited sleep and conquests over an extremely challenging Wildflower long course. In short - you guys rock!
 
The practice weekend has historically been a time for the team to really start to come together, and this year was no exception (Veuve Clicquot can help with that!! – BIG thanks to Davina!). We hope you all had as much fun as we did. You all looked great out on the road, and spirits seemed to stay high all weekend. Be sure to get plenty of rest this week and put an emphasis on stretching and hydration. Better yet, reward yourself with a massage… you’ve earned it!
 
Here’s a look at some group workout options as we ease into a recovery week:
 
Monday: Rest, finish unpacking, do some laundry, catch up on your Tivo.

Tuesday: 6:30pm – Captain’s Workout, SPIN at Sunnyvale Sports Basement: Short spin followed by some stretching. Remember your yoga mats.
 
Wednesday: Your favorite 30’ run, or take the day off J
 
Thursday: 6:00am – Buddy run, We’ll be at Rancho for the regular morning run. Meet at the lower bathrooms.
 
Friday: 6:00am – Buddy swim at Fremont High School.  Or Buddy run at alum rock park.
 
Saturday:  Do whatever you’d like to do for a 90’ workout.
 
Sunday: Rest, call your parents, tell somebody you love them today, and workout for no more than 90’ doing something fun.  
 
Go long, go strong!

Your captains,
Steve, Mike and Dana

Directions to Natural Bridges starting point for Saturday’s ride
Hwy 17 to Santa Cruz

Hwy 1 North to Half Moon Bay

Stay on 1 as it becomes Mission then Cabrillo Hwy

Turn left on Western Dr. (Red light)
Turn right at end of street then a quick left onto Natural Bridges Dr.

Right turn at end - Delaware St - park here