Weekend Workouts - Feb 23rd and 24th

Chilly, but sunny is as good as we can ask for here in the Bay.  Conquering new routes this weekend for our ride, and getting our Escapees some much needed Aquatic Park time to get a good feel for the cold and open water swimming skills.

Saturday Ride - Novato - Wilson Hill - Tomales - Marshall Wall
59 and 64 Mile Options

Putting in two good climbs this weekend, but rolling terrain to help keep the groups together.  Perfect opportunity to stretch the distance and look for a breakthrough on the bike, or sit in the paceline and enjoy the ride.  Wilson Hill is the familiar climb for everyone, while Marshall is a long climb, where pacing and proper gearing is paramount to make it to the top with good legs for the final 20 miles.

59 Mile Route

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65 Mile Route

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Sunday Aquatic Park Swim and Run (5k Time Trial Option)

Kahn will be leading the group on some Open Water techniques, and even leading some daring souls outside the mouth of Aquatic Park, to feel the currents.  Feel free to practice your open water swim skills inside the piers for a good 30-45 minute swim to help acclimatize to the cold.  After the swim, join the group for either run option of the Escape From Alcatraz run course (10 miles total from AP), or a good benchmarking 5k Time Trial (8 miles total with warmup and cooldown).

5k Time Trial Route

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Participating in M2 Group Events

M2 Group Training members are of course welcome for all rides/runs and events.  Gold Pass members who wish to join in on weekend rides and runs can upgrade their pass $25/month each.  10-15 pass members can use a class pass to attend either.  Please email deacon42@gmail.com or mccormack.m@comcast.net for details.

2013 Group Training Kickoff Weekend

The Bay Area cycling and triathlete community is buzzing this year with an incredible lineup of events to tackle.  New this year is Ironman Lake Tahoe, and this year we get three days of the Tour of California right in our back yard!

Starting off this year we have our first full weekend of events for the M2 Group Training programs.  This first weekend is open to everyone to come check out, so if you are interested in joining, please send over an email or comment.

Saturday Ride - Mill Valley-Bolinas Loop
Our first ride is a good one to help familiarize everyone with the group, and more importantly, group riding.  Rolling out of Mill Valley, the group will meet behind Walgreens at Tam Junction.  We are checking on the parking situation, but there are rumors of towing going on, so park on the street.  Feel free to get an extra 10 miles in by riding from the city (45 minutes from Sports Basement).  Riding from Mill Valley is approximately 41 miles.

Roll time will be 9:15 am and follow the map below.  One change will be riding North on Miller Avenue and through the neighborhoods to Four Corners, descending to Muir Woods, then hooking up with Highway 1 through Stinson and to the small lollipop in Bolinas.  Return route is a straight shot back to Mill Valley on Highway 1 with a big effort on the climb out of Muir Woods.  This climb is a great fitness marker, and easily track-able.  The first half of the ride will be mellow, with regrouping, then as time progresses, different pace groups will emerge.

The #1 thing this weekend is to stay safe and remember the major group riding rules you can review here.



Sunday Run - Tennessee Valley
The first will take place in beautiful Tennessee Valley on Sunday at 9am, plenty of time to get back for NFL Wildcard Football.  There is an open parking lot for us, directions can be found here: http://goo.gl/maps/zpVJd .  From the city, you take 101 North, to the Mill Valley/Hwy 1 Exit.  Turn Left on Tennessee Valley Road and the lot is 100 yards up on your right.

Tennesse Valley Road allows for a good warm-up before hitting the trails.  Map below, but detailed turns are:

Marker
0 mi	-Head south on Tennessee Valley Rd toward Marin Ave
2.37 mi	-Head southwest
2.43 mi	-Slight right
2.62 mi	-Head west toward Wolf Ridge Trail
2.76 mi	-Slight right onto Coastal Trail
2.96 mi	-Head west on Coastal Trail
3.43 mi	-Turn right
3.73 mi	-Head northeast toward Fox Tr
4.19 mi	-Head northwest toward Coyote Ridge Tr
4.22 mi	-Turn right onto Coyote Ridge Tr
4.38 mi	-Turn right onto Coyote Ridge
4.85 mi	-Head east on Coyote Ridge toward Miwok Trail
5.28 mi	-Turn right onto Miwok Trail Destination will be on the left
5.32 mi	-Head northeast on Miwok Trail
5.58 mi	-Slight right to stay on Miwok Trail
5.65 mi	-Head south on Miwok Trail toward Tennessee Valley Rd
5.88 mi	-Head southeast on Miwok Trail toward Tennessee Valley Rd
6.46 mi	-Head east on Miwok Trail toward Tennessee Valley Rd
6.55 mi	-Sharp left onto Tennessee Valley Rd
8.06 mi	-Destination

Important lessons to know about trail running

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Mid Season Updates and Ironman Lake Tahoe!

Big news around the bay with Ironman Lake Tahoe being announced!  The team here at M2 is feverishly planning out options for 2013 lead up to this inaugural event that has everyone really excited.  Its about time we had an Ironman in our back yard!  You can keep up to date with our preliminary plans and announcements on our Facebook event page by RSVP'ing here.

The first half of our season is wrapping up and we wish our Ironman France and CdA athletes luck on their journeys.  No Lance in France, but from the pictures they've been sending us back, I think we are all very jealous (photo credit to Jenni Kirk, Happy Birthday!).

Some very notable results from our athletes closing out the first six months as well.

Tim Smith punched his Kona ticket at Ironman Cairns by finishing 17th overall (including pro's), and winning his Age Group with a 9:22:25 time highlighted by a 3:15 marathon!

Wildflower saw some great results as well with Sandrine Micoleau capturing 4th in her Age Group while Brett Miller edged out Stefan Irion for 5th in their Age Group during hotly contested race.

Dan Ross has been on a tear taking in Age Group honors with a 2nd at Metro Triathlon, and a 1st at Reservoir Triathlon!

Not to be outdone, Christine Aldeguer took on Escape from Alcatraz and crushed it, grabbing 2nd in her Age Group while breaking the 3 hour mark on that brutal course!

Add that to our impressive showing on the Tour of California ride, and 2012 has started off well for everyone.  M2 would like to say thanks for all the support.  Its a great time to be involved with the studio and we all look forward to more events and adventures to come.  You can check out some amazing shots taken by Loren Geller here, or from our talented, roving photographers here. 

Running/Track Questions for M2

Some questions came up during our run this past weekend which are great ones to answer for anyone wanting to take the steps to work on speed.

M2's Training Group had a great run through Golden Gate Park, with a mini track session built into it at mile 6 to help improve people's turnover.  Some in the group weren't familiar with how a track session should work so some basics had to be laid out.

Track Sessions:

- The common start is the corner of the track where nearly all events start.  It is best to start workout there because there is a specific start/stop point.  Many times athletes when given a vague start/stop will take a little leigh-way and not do the entire effort.  A specific point does wonders mentally to helping people complete tasks.  At Kezar, the common start is the South East Corner of the track.
- Stay out of lane 1 unless you are in an interval with good pace
- If you hear "Track", it is a polite way of saying, "Get out of my way!"
- 200 meters is a half a lap
- 400 meters is a full lap
- 800 meters is 2 laps
- Breathing is a very important part to take into consideration for track workouts since you are increasing effort.  If breathing is erratic, a side stitch can be created, and a crash in effort.  Making sure to take deep controlled breaths alleviates this.  One way to do this is by breathing in a 3:2 pattern (should be able to hold a conversation-Conversational Pace), 3 steps to breath in, 2 steps to breath out.  As the effort increases you would go to a 2:2, and even to a 2:1 breathing pattern, making sure to fully exhale.

I first stumbled onto this breathing pattern in High School during Cross Country training.  Reading about it, they also described that there is a large amount of extra force expended at the beginning of an exhale.  Consistently exhaling on the same leg over time would lead to an imbalance, but also injury to that side and the 3:2 breathing breaks that pattern.

Not that anyone did anything terribly annoying on Sunday, but here's a note on track etiquette for everyone.  I wrote it last year in a bit of a fit due to some oblivious folks, but I got over it.

http://clydesdaletriathlon.blogspot.com/2011/03/track-running-for-dummies.html 

As the season progresses, don't ignore the value of increased run intensity along with distance.  Both are just as important.

Here are a few great resources if you want to jump into some track/speed work at Kezar:

SF Tri Club - Tuesdays at 6:45 - Lead by Tom McGlynn, former Olympic Trials Qualifier - www.sftriclub.org
GGTC - Wednesdays at 6:45 - Lead by Dorette Franks, profession triathlon/track coach - www.ggtc.org
San Francisco Road Runners - Tuesday 6:30 - Lead by our very own Jenni Kirk - http://sfrrc.clubexpress.com/
Golden Gate Running Club - Wednesday 7:00 - 1 of multiple club coaches to lead - http://www.goldengaterunningclub.org

Not sure of pricing, but all are about the same at around $160 for the season with discounts for members of each club. 

M2 has a plethora of speed workouts to utilize on your own, or on the High Speed Treadmill.  Even if you are injured, you can still jump on the Alter-G and get some faster turnover work in with these workouts.  Another great resource at M2!  Reserve Here

Sunday's Route - 9.6 Miles

Ironman World Championship!

 M2 was represented well this past weekend in Kona.  Over the past year, these individuals made incredible progress in class and their races.  They had to deal with rough waters, and high temperatures, but some favorable biking conditions for a great day.  As they slowly come back to class after some well deserved time off, lets share our appreciation for their dedication and great performances at this great stage.  Here are some highlights and photos of their trips.

Congratulations Larry, Stefan, Sandrine and Brett!

Stefan Irion - 9:42:32
Brett Miller - 9:53:40
Larry Davidson - 11:36:07
Sandrine Micoleau - 11:44:18

Stefan and Larry had to conquer the evil St. George Ironman.  Sandrine improved her IM PR by 20 minutes while qualifying just over a month ago at Ironman Canada.  Brett was forced to hold off cramping in the 90+ heat of Texas for his spot. 

Of course we can't forget about the super cheer squad/volunteers who made the trip, Kahn Wu and Ivy Viola.  I'm sure you were very much appreciated out there.

Men's Pro Race
Craig "Crowie" Alexander - 8:03:56
Pete Jacobs - 8:09:11
Andreas Raelert - 8:11:07
Dirk Bockel - 8:12:58
Timo Bracht - 8:20:12

Women's Pro Race
Chrissie Wellington - 8:55:08
Mirinda Carfrae - 8:57:57
Leanda Cave - 9:03:29
Rachel Joyce - 9:06:57
Caroline Steffen - 9:07:32