Coaches Blog...

Monday, February 26

Colleen: http://colleenwoelfel.mytrainingblog.com/ (New)
Maria: http://www.mariaglz.blogspot.com/
Victoria: http://www.vschlosser.com /
Nikee Pomper: http://nikeep.blogspot.com/
Luke: http://waltontri.blogspot.com/
Jay: http://blog.jaybuddy.com/
Dave Wilcox: http://www.djwilcox.com/
Kevin Koresky: http://kevink.mytrainingblog.com/
Paul Jesse: http://paulj.mytrainingblog.com/

Sunday, February 25

Thursday, February 22

North County Times
Thursday, February 22

Poway grad Walton makes switch from rowing to triathlon

By: SHAUN O'NEILL - Staff Writer

Luke Walton is 27 years old and lives with his parents. He has a part-time job at a shoe store. He spends a good amount of time online.

On that description alone, Walton could pass for just another Generation Y slacker. But those facts of Walton's life are but part of the whole. And they are wholly inadequate to sum up Walton's life.

Walton is anything but a slacker. It is his driven nature that has him back home and putting off the so-called real world to squeeze every last moment out of his athletic career.

Make that athletic careers.Luke Walton, the Olympic rower, is now Luke Walton, the fledgling triathlete. After a rowing career that took him to the University of California, to Athens and even to the prestigious University of Cambridge, Walton has decided to try a new challenge.

He is about six months into serious training as a triathlete, with the ultimate goal of becoming a professional and trying his luck at the Hawaii Ironman in Kona."Athletics is my life's passion," he said.That's a succinct way to sum up a life decision.If Luke Walton actually were his more famous namesake ---- the Los Angeles Lakers player and son of basketball Hall of Famer Bill Walton ---- there would be no decision to make. The basketball player is a millionaire and will be set for life when he no longer can make a living with his body.This Luke Walton is a Poway High graduate who flung himself full-force into the sport of rowing, one that brings plenty of personal challenge but few material rewards.

His dedication to training and single-mindedness brought him to the peak of his sport. He and partner Artour Samsonov represented the United States in the 2004 Olympic Games at Athens and finished 11th in the men's pair rowing event.After that came a bonus ---- a chance to study political science abroad at Cambridge and compete in The Boat Race, a singular event that is a rower's only chance to experience rock-star celebrity, even if only for a weekend a year.Walton's postgraduate studies and his rowing career concluded last year.

Then came the time to make some life decisions.Walton's written word from his online blog tells it best: "We could talk endlessly about what I should (i.e., what society says I should) be doing ---- working a desk job, working on a political campaign, becoming a politician, becoming a political analyst, settling down, buying a home, getting married, having children, painting that white picket fence, managing my portfolios, etc. ... or we can talk about what I have chosen to do."What Walton has chosen is triathlon. He traded one all-consuming sport, rowing, for another. His passion was rekindled."I really enjoy training, maybe even as much as the competition," he explained. "It is a very satisfying experience to put in the time and effort and see those results down the line. And it's brought me in contact with so many wonderful, supportive people."Walton decided to give triathlons a serious go after his first competition last Aug. 27 in Imperial Beach. He entered on a lark but wound up first in the men's 25-29 age group with a time of 57 minutes, 41 seconds for a half-kilometer swim, 15K bike ride and 3.2K run.

He hooked up with trainer Felipe Loureiro and started getting serious.

Even for an Olympic-caliber athlete, there were adjustments."My first training run, I went out for 45 minutes and everything was great," Walton said. "It was easy. The next morning, I literally could not walk right."

Said Loureiro: "Slowing him down is the most challenging aspect of training him. Rowers train hard all the way. They operate on the threshold of pain. With long distance triathletes, you have to learn to slow down and take it a bit easy."

Loureiro doesn't always follow his own advice ---- he has some 400 triathlons under his belt. But he brings some fresh approaches to his training. He doesn't limit himself to elite athletes, so Walton and others train alongside beginners and recreational athletes alike.

"It's a lot of fun," Walton said. "At the elite level, you can get so wrapped up into the routine and the incremental improvements that you forget how much fun it is. Here, you have people who are just starting out and are so excited. And that's exciting for me. Really, I'm one of them. I'm a novice again."

Loureiro gives Walton more credit than that, rating him "4 or 5 out of 10" on how far Walton is toward his goal of being a professional level triathlon. Walton has three short triathlons under his belt; this month, he competed in the San Dieguito Half-Marathon as a training exercise, finishing in 1:26:50.

The next test is the Oceanside triathlon on March 31. It's Walton's first effort at the half-Ironman distance of a 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike and 13.1-mile run. The trick is for Walton to perform well without letting his competitive nature get the best of him. It is a test, but not the final test.

"I'm trying to take pressure off him," Loureiro said. "It's his first half-Ironman and first race of the year, so nobody is going to be in top shape. The triathlon season doesn't really begin until May, so March is too early to peak."

Events in Baja California in June and Napa in July will provide a greater clue of how realistic Walton's Ironman goal is.

In the meantime, he spends mornings working out. Walton works at the San Diego Running Institute ---- which is as much an athlete support center as it is a shoe store ---- and has flexible hours to clear time for his training. He has a few equipment sponsorships from his rowing days but no Nike or Reebok supporting his career. So he lives at home with parents, Ed and Noreen, to save money.

And Walton charts it all on a blog at waltontri.blogspot.com. He is both perceptive and descriptive in his writings.

"I have big dreams," a recent entry said. "Maybe my dreams are overstated. Maybe I am overestimating my abilities. Yet, if I don't aim for the top, I guarantee you I will never reach it.

"I will continue to hold onto what some may call grandiose daydreams. For now, they are just that ---- dreams. But, as I learned with my experience in rowing, even the biggest dreams can become reality."

-- Contact staff writer Shaun O'Neill at (760) 740-3546 or soneill@nctimes.com.

Luke Walton

Home: Poway

Age: 27

Sport: Triathlon

Athletic resume: Varsity swimmer at Poway High. Rower for University of California. U.S. Olympic rower in 2004. Twice competed for The University of Cambridge in The Boat Race. Won his age group (male 25-29) in his first triathlon, the Imperial Beach Triathlon on Aug. 27, 2006.

Academic resume: Bachelor's degree in politics from the University of California. Graduate degree in politics from Cambridge.

Online: Blog at http://waltontri.blogspot.com/index.html

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/02/22/sports/community/21_42_172_21_07.txt

Monday, February 19

This epic event will not only test your physical and mental strength, but more importantly will create treasured lifelong memories.
Along the way are 30 legs covering approx. 180 + miles from the start line at Vail Lake in Temecula to the finish line at San Dieguito County Park in Del Mar.

Date
April 28 & 29, 2007

Start Line
Vail Lake - Temucula, CA

Finish Line
San Dieguito County Park - Del Mar, CA

Breakaway Training Wild Miles Relay Team Roster:

Salvador Lancaster
Felipe Loureiro
Luke Walton
Diana Johnson
Rick Vingerelli
Thomas Neppl
Mark Palamar
Lee Seward
Dave Teafatiller
Dan Albosta

Sunday, February 18

Wednesday, February 14

Tuesday, February 13

Monday, February 12

Sunday, February 11

Congratulations Breakaway Training :

- Luke Walton - P.R. (1h26') http://waltontri.blogspot.com/

- Antonio Marques - P.R. (1h38')

- Rick Denney - P.R. (1h42')

- Kirsten Loureiro - P.R. (1h49')

- Nikee Pomper - P.R. (1h49') http://nikeep.blogspot.com/

- Jay Pederson - First Half http://blog.jaybuddy.com/

- Kassie Eckhart

- Tom West

- Nikki Molenbeek

- Mark Smith

- Juan Martinez

- Gary Elmer

- Daniel Yeager

- Salvador Lancaster

- Maria Gonzalez

- Norma Gonzalez

- Cari Massaad

- Vivian Urena

- Rick Vingerelli

- Rachel Saldivar

- Titi Scolari

- Dave Platfoot

- Coach Felipe

Friday, February 9

Guys, don't forget about our meeting on Monday 02/12 5:30pm
The meeting will be held at the San Diego Running Institute. A 20% store discount on all items will be available to Breakaway Training the night of the meeting only.

San Diego Running Institute: www.sdri.net
Oakley: www.oakley.com
Polar: www.polarusa.com
Motortabs: www.motortabs.com
Planet-X: www.planet-x-bikes.com
XTerra Wetsuits: www.xterrawetsuits.com
La Jolla IVF: www.lajollaivf.com
Drinkables: www.drinkables.com
Studio Michelle: www.studiomichelle.net
Hi-Tech: www.hi-techbikes.com
De Soto Sport: www.desotosport.com

Monday, February 5

Congratulations Rebecca Rothman on the

"Kaiser Permanente San Francisco Half Marathon"

Here is Rebecca Splits & Heart Rates:

Mile - Time - HR

1- 7.42.91- 167

2 -7.15.42 -175

3 -7.20.88 -180

4 -7.17.73 -182

5 -7.14.78 -180

6 -7.07.99 -182

7 -7.02.89 -183

8 -7.11.00 -186

9 -7.17.52 -186

10 -7.16.09 -188

11 -7.18.25 -189

12 -7.14.99 -188

13.1- 8.05.28 -191

Total Time: 1:35.25

Sunday, February 4

Thursday, February 1

Breakaway Training is the "Official Training Program for all the San Diego Triathlon Series"

http://www.kozenterprises.com/trainingdf84.htm