Evolving Yeti

So, in case you missed me or forgot what I looked like

2009-08-07T08:25:00.003-05:00

I’m not even gonna pretend like I will start updating this regularly again, but thought I would perhaps start posting here and there. I wonder if anyone still has this blog in their readers or are receiving an RSS feed considering it has been so long since I posted last. I mean for eff’s sake we were still living in Mpls. BTW – I really miss that place and had a blast when we visited over the 4th of July.

Another thing going by super fast, this summer. Krikey, it is already August. I just posted on FB that I am busting out the CX bike this weekend. This summer and race season has really flown by. My life has been pretty hectic with the move and various other bumps in the road, but in terms of my racing performance I have been pretty happy. I finished my first half ironman, scored multiple podiums in my age group and even posted my first bike split over 23 mph. I am really hoping my fitness carries over to CX. The season in OH has been moved back a bit and now the last race is December 19th.

Anyway, I have lots of stuff up in this little noggin of mine, perhaps I will continue to spew it out to anyone who may be reading. Borrowing some of the wise words of Interpol, Pace is the Trick. This weekend hold road riding, dirt riding on private property with a pond (I am sure lots of Natty Light will be consumed post rides) and a long run on Sunday. Of course mixed in with all of this will be visiting with friends. I hope you all get out there and enjoy the time away from work. Life is short, make sure to enjoy it.

FYI

2008-07-24T15:43:00.001-05:00

If you have been trying to reach me on my cell, leave a message. I'll get back to you.....AS SOON AS I FIND IT!

Sometimes it really sucks to be inside my head.

You Dig?

2008-07-21T09:32:00.003-05:00

So I may have mentioned this before but I really don’t like Sunday races. Being that it is the summer I like to have one day where I can get things done around the house and generally chill out. Weekend with Saturday races we get back from the race, eat, sleep and then have a night where we can stay up late (11:30) and then sleep in on Sunday (watch VS. coverage of the tour in July). Sunday usually consists of yard work, some sort of home improvement and then dinner and beers with friends. Sunday races throw a wrench into the whole thing. Saturday I usually don’t want to work to hard so that I have energy for the race on Sunday, which means a lot of laying around thinking about the race.

This Sunday was the Heart of Lake Triathlon in Annandale. It serves as the MN State Championship Race. My plan was to get up at 4:30, leave by 5:00, and get there by 6:15. That would have given me an hour and forty five minutes to get my packet, warm up and make a few visits to the john. I must have turned off the alarm when it first went off cause I finally woke up at 5:15. My first thought was, well I’ll never make it there on time to get a good warm up in, plus I will be really rushed and not in the right mindset, so I might as well go back to sleep. After lying there for fifteen minutes or so I got up, dressed and rushed out the door. I totally flew up there, total drive time less than an hour. The only real warm up that I got in was riding the bike enough to make sure the shifting was on, a SHORT jog, and then it was off to the beach.

Overall the race went pretty well. There are a lot of fast people out there. I ended up like 90th overall and 11th in my age group. The one thing that really had an impact on my overall standing was the transition set up. The bike ad and run out were at the same place and my wave had to run about 250 meters to our racks, and then turn around to run it again to start the run. Just to give you an idea of time impacts, elites who were positioned at the other end from me, their times were like 19-30 seconds. My T2 was 1:45. For those of you unfamiliar with transitions, T2 is the quickest. Overall I felt strong the entire race and had a blast. The whole time I was racing I told myself 2 things: 1) No matter what my time is, it would be better than if I had stayed in bed, 2) When I saw someone that I wanted to run down I would say that John had me more prepared than them, so all I need to do was dig deep to get the extra push I needed. I really, really like my coach. If you are looking to go faster you should check him out.

Heart of Lakes Times
½ mile Swim – 15:44 (1:47 per 100)
T1 – 2:05
21 mile Bike – 54:42 (23.0 mph)
T2 – 1:45
5.3 mile Run – 36:12 (6:50 per mile)
Total Time – 1:50:27

Edit

2008-07-03T13:54:00.002-05:00

The last post read like I would rather have a good race result than to have had the weekend I did in Ohio. It was meant to read the exact opposite. There not much I would give up for great times with family and friends.

Oh yeah, I got the job. Just waiting to hear how much $$ they are gonna offer me. I variable defined, several to go.

What a crazy few days

2008-07-03T10:40:00.000-05:00

So last weekend we went to Ohio for the job interview and quality time with friends and family. The interview went well and I am waiting to hear from HR. I think I should get an answer sometime early next week. We looked at several houses in two areas of town. We only really saw two that we liked, and we didn’t totally love them. Its also pretty hard to consider making an offer when you are unsure of your job situation, when our house will sell, if G’s company is going to give her any relocation money, and if so how much. Our life these days is all about a big pile of uncertainty.

Spending time with family and friends was great. The weather was sub-par, but hey at least we were all in the storms together. I did zero training while we were there so that should help out for this weekend’s race. I wanted to really kill this race but know it seems like I’m just gonna have to go out and give it what I have and see where things end up. I would easily trade the weekend fun that I had with the crew in OH for one race result. Like I have said in the past this year I am not putting pressure on myself to get great results. Instead I am going out to races to have fun, give it my best and see where the cards fall.

This week has been about making for lost ground with the training and getting the house ready for listing. Our realtor cam over last night and we signed all the paperwork and it should be on MLS by the end of the day. As soon as the link is up and running I will post it. If you know people looking for a house in SW Mpls. send them our way. Getting a place ready for showings is really time consuming. I never knew our house was a “messy” as it was. It was clean, but had a lot of clutter. Again, selling our house is more important than my racing so you can imagine how my “catch up” training is going. Saturday morning should be a real suffer-fest.

Good News

2008-06-24T15:36:00.001-05:00

We were already planning on being in Columbus this weekend to look at houses and spend some time at Comfest. Well, earlier in the week I had a preliminary phone interview at Battelle. It went well, so now I am going in for a 5 hour interview, and giving a presentation, on Friday. Hopefully the interview goes well and we will be able to do some celebratory drinking over the rest of the weekend. Now I just need to put a great presentation together.

The race at Minnetonka was pretty good. I took time off my results from two years ago and had a decent run. I made the age old mistake of following the feet in front of me on the swim instead of sighting for myself and ended swimming WAY off course. The weather was perfect.

Work and life are busy this week so I’m really looking forward to the weekend with family and friends.

Holy Shit

2008-06-20T12:25:00.003-05:00

Its been a LONG time since I posted on here. I was thinking of letting it fade out, but I remembered the wise words “Its better to burn out than to fade away”. So here’s a brief run down of what’s been going on since the last post.

Race season is in full swing. Overall I have seen improvements over last year, though nothing earth shattering. The one thing that I have changed this year is my attitude. My goal each race is to relax and have fun, man I am having a blast. I feel pretty lucky to have the life that I do. I feel like I’m going really good on the bike right now. I’m racing tomorrow at Lake Minnetonka. We’ll see how the bike goes and how hard I can push the run. My training focus the past few weeks has been to push through the mental barriers of pain and get to that next level. The swim took a bit of a hit this past week or so. Here’s why (following race photos)……

Gearwest Du (Yndecam.com)

We hosted the TIME Pro Cycling team for the NVGP. We had six pro racers staying with us for 5 nights. It was fun to hang out with then and talk about their races, hear them discuss strategy, talk smack about other racers. I tried to get them to the State Fair Affair for a NVGP warm up but we missed registration. It was a good ride through Mpls. to the fair grounds. As we rode past Lake Harriet on the way home there was a summer concert going on at the band shell and lots of sailboats out. We stopped a few times so they could snap some photos. Everyone was really impressed with Mpls. Which leads me to….

We are moving back to Ohio. G’s only client is in Columbus and flying back and forth every week is hard on her and us. So I am looking for jobs and have some leads, though the timeline has been pushed up considerably. We had out home inspection and plan to put it on the market soon. If it sells she will go without me till I find a job. We have our fingers crossed on the leads. If you have connections in the Environmental Field in Columbus direct people to my LinkedIn page here…..

Buffalo Tri (Severe GI issues = Not Fun)

Also since my last post G, Scott and I rode the MS 150. It was what I expected in terms of cycling, long days in the saddle and a really slow comfortable pace. My main role was to be support for G. I was really proud of here pounding out the miles. With travelling and her work schedule she doesn’t get much time on the bike. The halfway point had speakers, some of which had been diagnosed with MS, which made you realize why you were out there doing the ride and raising money. For those of you who contributed to the cause, thanks. I’ll be sending out thank you notes soon.

MS 150 (Scott, Me, G)

Whatever you do this weekend, be sure to take a second and enjoy it!

Peace

Solid

2008-05-22T09:33:00.001-05:00

Even I can be an ordained preist. Check it out.

AZ Update

2008-04-26T10:47:00.003-05:00

So we have been in AZ for a few days, here's whats been up. The first day here I did an easy 2 hour ride, somewhere between 30 and 35 miles. I don't have a computer on my road bike so I won't have any detailed data from the trip.

Day two was an easy hour ride with Gianna followed by an LT run workout. The heat got to me so it was a really tough run workout.

Day three was a ride up Mt. Lemmon. here's the detailed route. Man, I will post a detailed report on this later with pictures. G was a super domestique on this one. She took lots of pictures and provided water bottle hand ups along the route. She spent like four hours in the car providing me support. I'm not sure who got more more sunburned yesterday.

Today we are going on a hike in the moutains and then meeting friends for drinks. I'm also hitting up the Y for a swim. Tomorrow we are heading to Sedona at some point. I'm also gonna get in a long ride or run.

I just looked at the weather in Mpls, its snowing......in late April. WTF man?

Weekend is here

2008-04-18T14:06:00.002-05:00

Tonight we are planning to see Hot Chip at First Ave. Tomorrow we are going to see Triple Espresso. Anyone ever see it? I guess its like in its last days of showing here in Mpls. We are hitin up King and I Thai before the show. Looks like it’s gonna be a great weekend to be out and about. Get out on the bikes and ride. If you need to be motor paced drop us a line and we can get you on the schedule.

Mr. Iron Stomach

2008-04-17T18:42:00.002-05:00

...pulled though. The second X-ray showed the two masses had moved to the GI tract and nothing was blocking the path to the exit. Cant wait to see what comes out! So, we got to spend $250 to get some cool pictures of Louie's insides. Sweet. At least the big guy is OK and among the living. If the outcome is anything cool I'll take a picture and post it.

Great start to the day...

2008-04-17T09:05:00.003-05:00

Louie is at the emergency vet. He has puked, is dry heaving, and the X-rays reveal foreign masses in his stomach and intestines. Oh yeah, his intestines are like 4x the normal size right now. More updates at 1:00.

Oh yeah, Jeff...I hope you get sick today too.

Is it already too late?

2008-04-16T09:30:00.000-05:00

Am I really turning into a middle aged suburbanite? This morning I had to go downtown to pick up a new security badge for work. More on that in another post, I’m sure you’ll love it. Anyway, while I was down there it got me thinking about the current state of affairs that is my life. When we first moved to Mpls. we wanted to be in a Metro. Area, so we rented in Uptown. We felt very at home there, though after a year the newnesss/hipness wore off. We were in a really busy area an dhavingto worry about late night damage to cars, drunk and disorderliness on a Tuesday night, general dirtiness etc. we decided to buy a house. One of our criteria was that it had to be in the City limits. There was no way we were moving to suburbia. Well we quickly got priced out to the edges of Mpls. and are now a stones throw from Edina and Richfield. Life down there has been great, a fenced yard, two car garage, great neighbors, safe hood, etc. However, being downtown made me realize that I am slowly but surely losing my edge. I almost feel like I am becoming a middle of the road republican. F me man! It’s easy to forget how much more alive you feel in an area where things are actually happening. All walks of life mixing together, and being part of something that actually feels alive. So I’m not gonna sell the house and move back to Uptown, but I do need to start making an effort to act my age. I need to get out of the house, head downtown to a show, grab dinner, have a few drinks, and enjoy one of the main reasons why we moved here away from rural Chapel Hill. I need to break the chains of the routine that we have fallen in to. No more falling asleep before Saturday Night Live even starts, Central Time! Get out there and enjoy life, not the inside of our comfortable “suburban” rambler. Act like newly married 30 something’s with no kids. Family life will come soon enough, so until that time arrives I need to keep from living it prematurely. So, is it already too late?

Oh yeah, it could also be that we just endured a 5 month Winter and Spring fever has finally caught me. Maybe it’s a small combination of both. No more winter hibernation and premature family lifestyles. We’ll see you out there.

Kitchen Photos

2008-04-13T10:52:00.003-05:00

95% complete. Need to do the backsplash, cabinet hardware, outlet covers, heater vent and new stainless microwave.

Friday Money

2008-04-11T09:40:00.002-05:00

I just did a Google Image Search for Friday Money and came up with this

Its Friday, I'm raising money for the MS150, and I have a link to the right for a page where you can donate. So what are you waiting for?

Mother Nature took it easy on us last night. The warmer temps. hung around so we mainly got rain. I did however witness my first ever thunder snow event, no shit. We were sitting in the living room ans I saw a flash of light and was like, "Was that lightning?" The next thing you know we heard a loud clap of thunder. I looked outside to see how hard it was raining cause I couldn't hear it. That's cause it was snowing, crazy.

Lots of Stuff....

2008-04-10T08:28:00.004-05:00

…..has gone down since the last post. Here is a REALLY brief summary, just in case you were wondering.

My parents came for a long weekend and we remodeled the kitchen. New paint, new floors, counter tops and appliances. It was a long weekend, but definitely good bonding with my Dad. I’ll post some before and after photos later.

Gianna picked up her scooter the same weekend, so once this wintry weather leaves for good you can count on her getting out on the roads. I took it for a spin and it is sweet. I already have a backlog of motor pacing sessions with folks.

I finally got the road bike put back together and out on the road. I went with on a Saturday morning ride with Doig. I quickly realized that the trainer has not gotten me in as good of shape as I would have liked.

The Yeti has color! It took about another 3 hours to finish up. Yes Ray, it hurt like a bitch. But hey, that’s what hardcore's do right? It is peeling right now, so pictures will be coming. Actually I just remembered that this one if floating around out there. Thanks Cuban!

Cat6 had a really fun fundraising function that revolved around bikes and beer. I was lucky enough to win a sweet door prize to boot. G was coerced by Little D and Ray to make a showing. Her and Ray found out that they have something in common.

Speaking of Bikes and Beers I agreed to ride the MS 150 with G. Her company is a corporate sponsor so they have a tent with all the food and beer that you can stomach at the halfway point and finish. I’ll end up riding 150 miles and gaining 10 lbs! Here are our sweet jerseys.

My workouts are starting to have a speed component built back into them. After the long winter and several bouts with illness, I think I may be getting back on track. I think my running fitness is my strength right now.

Arizona in a about two weeks. It will be great to get some long rides in out in the sun. Beyond some solo riding we plan on a lot of nothing. Sitting at the pool, going out for dinner and some straight up relaxing!

New Ink Part 1

2008-03-24T10:25:00.003-06:00

4.5 hours in a very sensitive place. I have 2 more hours to go for the color. His body will be white and really furry. Remember to beware of the Yeti. You never know where he lurks!

True Story

2008-03-14T12:40:00.001-06:00

So my office is much like other offices around the country I think. People will set out food for anyone to eat and it will be devoured in minutes. I mean it can be the nastiest shit around. One time people left out cooked hot dogs. Not that big of a deal right? Well some of them sat there for like 4 hours. But by the end of the day they were all gone. If its candy, forget about it. You might even get mowed over by the old dude who normally can’t get out of his chair. When there is free food on the line, all bets are off.

So today I put out some Kashi TLC crackers. I had to get rid of them because my GI tract gets sent into warp speed with these suckers. I mean I could have filled the Goodyear blimp with the amount of gas these little powerhouses of fiber produced. Terrible. Well, it seems the office vultures love all kinds of food EXCEPT shit that is actually good for you. I overheard people walking by after a small going away party for an employee. The comment was something like “There is no way I would eat healthy crackers, especially while there is cake in the building”. The crackers are still there almost untouched. Man I was hoping people would tear them up, start cutting the cheese, sending all of us home because of a serious gas leak in the building.

Friday

2008-03-14T07:54:00.002-06:00

And we are off to San Diego. I'll get to hang out with one of my best buddies and his lady friend. I'll only have a beach cruiser to ride, though I still plan on riding up Mt. Soledad with it. Think I wont? After we reach the summit I plan on shotgunning a beer and then bombing the hill all the way to Pacific Beach. I'm taking a wise mans advice in regards to "training" while out in SD. Instead of hauling the bike out there and riding hard, it will be much nicer to ride the beach cruiser with cocktails in hand. If I can remember I'll take pictures and post next week.

Cool little test from Stevil Kinevil. Be careful out there and keep the rubber side down.

Two Left Feet

2008-03-13T08:45:00.001-06:00

So yesterday G was flying back from OH and wasn’t scheduled to be back till around 9:00 pm. I figured I would go home after work, get my gear and head to the Y. I had to do an 1800 meter swim, and then a 50 minute run. I brought some food for between workouts and figured my timing would be perfect. Besides, by the time I was finished in the pool the mad rush for the cardio would have passed and I would have my pick of treadmills. The swim went pretty good. I had been out of the water for a few days so I felt a little slow, but overall it was a good workout. I showered off the chlorine and then headed to change into my running gear. I grabbed my insoles and put them into one of my shoes and realized it didn’t fit so well. Ahh, I put it in the wrong shoe. So, I pulled it out and tried putting it in the other shoe, still no fit. I looked down at them and couldn’t figure out what was wrong with the picture. You see I have multiple, I mean a ton of running shoes. I always get the same model, and if purchased in close enough proximity, before they change the style, the same color. After I was able to get enough oxygen and recovery to my head after the swim, I realized I brought two left shoes…..Awesome.

Note - These are not my feet, but it apparently happens to other people too.

Warmer Temps.

2008-03-12T07:51:00.001-06:00

So last night after work I was supposed to do a long swim workout. Well, that didn’t really happen. I looked at the weather around 4:30 and saw that it was near 50, so I took off from work a little early and busted ass home. I made a quick change and took off on the bike. I just added fenders a few weeks ago and last night was a perfect night to put them to use. I had one of those great rides where at times you are just spinning along and totally lost in your thoughts. Then something makes you snap back into reality and you realize you have a super big smile on your face. You fall in love with the bike all over again. It’s been a long winter. Yesterday was the warmest day in 4 months. I can’t wait for consistent warm temps, all the snow to be gone, and getting back out on a geared bike. I was out for over two hours and felt like I could have gone for more.

What it takes

2008-03-10T13:29:00.002-06:00

So this weekend I had a two hour trainer ride that I was NOT looking forward to. I mean two hours on the trainer feels like about like 4. So to get myself motivated I went to REI and used my dividend to get the video What It Takes. Basically the video is a documentary that follows four professional triathletes over the course of a season leading up to the 2005 IM World Championship. It was a great way to pass 96 minutes of the ride. I recommend it to anyone that finds triathlon interesting. I wished the video went into more detail on their actual training, but the intended audience is the general public. Overall it’s really interesting and enjoyable. In one part of the movie they show Peter Reid riding up Mt. Lemmon in AZ. G and I are heading there at the end of April so it got me totally psyched for that trip. Other weekend highlights were a 1:20 minute run, a solid swim workout, and some Yoga.

Outside of training this weekend was the UNC win over Duke, and Drake continuing to roll. We went to Anodyne for brunch on Sunday and also hit up Menard's. We are almost ready to start the kitchen remodel. When we came home from brunch we picked up Louie so we could get to the dog park for some socializing and exercise. We came to the front door and started ringing the doorbell and knocking on the door. With all the commotion we thought for sure he would come to see what was up. After about 30 seconds we opened the door and still no Louie. We had to call out his name to actually get him to come. Needless to say he is not a watch dog. While at the dog park we met a lady who had a Golden Doodle puppy, holy crap what an awesome looking dog.
I mean look at that face, how could you not love that dog. The best part is that they don’t shed.

Quick Update

2008-03-06T14:12:00.002-06:00

Last nights workout

1:15 Bike
Aerobic zone ride
3 x 1 min. single leg BIG GEAR
3 x 1 min. high cadence
3 x 1 min. Standing
* all building into strong aerobic on 1 min. ez spin between

I'm still getting back into things after being sick, but the little bit of higher HR stuff felt good.
====================================================
This week I have had all day meetings that ran from 7:30 to 4:30. Needless to say I have had little time for surfing/posting.

I am getting cabin fever big time. Every week the weatherman says that all of the bitter cold temps. are in the past, yet they always end up revising the forecast. Its still effing cold up here. I'm not counting on a warm up for another month. Next weekend in San Diego will feel superb.

Hey Timmer....

2008-02-29T21:12:00.003-06:00

....and the rest of you TT speed freaks. Maybe some run and swim training would be worth the effort? Could be a pretty rewarding $$ challenge.

Enter 5 of the races he is in, beat his splits on the bike, have a run time within 25% of the winners time, and you get some cold hard cash. Use the link above to get to the Gear West Website for more details. Looks like its really geared toward pro triathletes, so most of us will have to shoot for Ninja Primes at the State Fair Crits.

Not so sure

2008-02-29T13:04:00.002-06:00

I agree with this. Maybe they will end up trading Brady to someone for draft picks. Who know what they'll end up doing. Picking up Corey Williams would be a great addition to the defense which struggled a lot last year.

Hump Day

2008-02-27T19:17:00.003-06:00

So the last two days I’ve been traveling for work. Both days were quick trips within the state, but long enough where I was out of the office the entire day. It definitely made the week go by quickly. Today I was in Cloquet at the Fond du Lac Tribal & Community College. Some student interns are working on a project that I’m heading up right now. It’s always fun to be around campuses, even if this one is super tiny. I saw one of the kids biology books and it was the same one I used for my bio classes back in the day. Of course it was an updated edition. I asked where the book store was cause I was thinking about getting a new copy for myself. They were like “Why would you want to buy a textbook?” I told them that I thought it was a great textbook, and the biology book that I have at home was a little light on the science. Yes I do pick it up and read a chapter every once in a while. I do it with almost all of my old textbooks. I think it’s good to keep up on that stuff. I mean you not only have to read the cutting edge stuff you get from the journals, but the fundamentals need some spring cleaning every now and then. Anyway, I had been thinking about getting a used copy of the Reece and Campbell book for a while, so I walked down to the bookstore to see how much it was. Wow, it brought back all the terrible memories of how much books were back in the day. A new copy of the book was $155. I decided to pass. I just now looked online and saw some used copies floating around for under $70. Still not sure I wanna jump on it. I always think about the day that we have kids and if they ask me how something works I want to be able to provide them with a great answer, or sit with them and look it up together. I asked tons of questions when I was younger. If our kids are anything like G and I we are in for a lot of Why, Mommie, Why Daddy? Besides that, I like reading textbooks.

And we’re back…

2008-02-25T11:31:00.002-06:00

So I was out of commission for a long haul with a major cold. Sever sore throat, sinus headaches, fever, mucus, and even lost my voice. After taking several days off work and exercise I’m back in business. This weekend was a great time to finally come around. Saturday morning I got up and cleaned the house and drank a lot of espresso. After the rest of the house got moving we took Louie to the dog park at the airport. Man, there were tons of people out enjoying the great weather. It’s crazy how warm 30 degrees felt. After the dog park we headed towards Freewheel to try on the fit kit for the new order from Twin Six. While I was there I also finally picked up some fenders for my commuter.

From Freewheel we headed to the Triple Rock for some brunch. I had the Mother Biker with jalapeños and two Surly Benders. It was tits. I was planning on heading out on a ride with T3 after brunch, but G had some money burning a hole in her pocket. She just won the employee of the year award with her company, so the free money needed to be spent. Last year she put off a big purchase that she wanted to make, and we settled for some home improvement or another. Well this year was her year. After brunch we headed over to Scooterville and her dreams came true. She is the proud new owner of a black and silver Buddy 125. Here’s a stock photo from Genuine Scooters website. As soon as I get a photo with her on hers I’ll post it.

Monday...

2008-02-10T20:44:00.001-06:00

Well, at least I've this drive to look forward to. Six hours with my co-workers, nniiccee! Iget back on Tuesday and then have to take off again on Wednesday for Western MN. Thursday my dad, brother in-law, and family friend get into town. We are heading to Lake Winni for some ice fishing and beer drinking. Needless to say I'm gonna get around the state this week.

I've been sick for the last 3 days. Hope I'm not contagious anymore. The worst thing about being sick though is that I missed the Mustache Ride. Steven and Ray have some good pics up. If I would have tried to be tough and make the ride I'm sure I would be in much worse shape right now.

2008 Race Schedule

2008-02-06T09:13:00.000-06:00

I just dropped a lot of cash for these races. The fun starts the first weekend of May and ends in August. Note the double weekend right off the bat. Once the tri season is over it will be on to CX season.

May 3rd – COLT Sprint
May 4th – Lake Minnetonka ½ Marathon
May 18th – Gearwest Duathlon
June 1st – Buffalo Olympic Tri
June 21st – Lake Minnetonka Sprint
July 5th – Minneman Sprint
July 13th – Graniteman Sprint
July 20th – Heart of Lakes Sprint
Aug. 9th – Turtleman Olympic
Aug. 24th – Chicago Olympic
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Tuesday Workout
1 hour bike with intervals
30 minute run off the bike

Sorry Ray, I took Louie on the run with me again. He really does love it though.
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Big BBall game tonight, UNC vs. Duke. Being married to a Tarheel get you excited about this rivalry. That and living in Chape Hill for 3 years. I'm pretty sure we are heading to Liqour Lyle's for the game. That place is a little slice of Heaven.

Come On!

2008-02-01T21:51:00.000-06:00

Preggers

2008-02-01T09:30:00.000-06:00

So it seems like all of our friends are preggers. One couple just found out that they were having twins. I hope the dad doesnt have to deal with a situtation like this in the future.

I mean the Coors Lights Twins are healthy, happy, and successful. However, I bet growing up they took years off their dad's life expectancy.
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Next Weekend is the Cat6 "Who wants a mustache ride?" Final details are being worked out, but what we do know can be found on the website. Here's a flyer from a few years back. It should be a great time.

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Thursday Run - 45 minutes

I took Louie with me last night on my run. I had to stop three times to thaw out his paws. He recently got groomed and tehy cut all of the hair out between his toes. They are still a littel sensative in the cold. When we got home he was a great condidate for the frost off competition. All of his whiskers were covered with frost.

Good Times

2008-01-31T08:58:00.000-06:00

Wednesday - 1:15 Bike

So last night I was in my basement doing my trainer ride. G was in Ohio for work, so there were no issues regarding volume control for the stereo. I put in an old progressive/hard house cd that I hadn’t heard in a long time. Some of you may or may not know that I used to be really big into the electronic music scene. It was an amazing time in my life and I was introduced to lots of different people. And by different I mean all over the board. I have lots of great memories of those times. Maybe sometime I'll post some stories. Anyway, last night while I was in the middle of my workout, my mind started wandering. I imagined having a house on a race course (it was actually the Oktoberfest 10k in Minster for those of you who know what that means) and playing the same cd I was listening to for motivation for the runners. The thing that put the biggest smile on my face was seeing the little pixie raver chicks dancing to the beat and smiling in the warm sun. One person in particular came to mind, Rosalind. I could just see her dancing/bouncing around with that huge smile on her face. When Roz was out for the night, you knew it was going to be fun. Here’s a picture of her. It’s not the best, but its all I could find this morning. The photo is from a house party we had in Columbus. We made flyers for it and everything. The party was called Deslumberfest (It happened in December and people were encouraged to wear pajamas). The flyer encouraged people to "Come experience intense pleasure with old people who used to be cool". We were like 23, and in the party scene, that’s old.

Luvin these things right now

2008-01-30T09:07:00.000-06:00

Pepito's on Chicago - The veggie burrito enchilada style is about as good as it gets

Radiohead "In Rainbows" - I've been listening to it about two or three times a day lately

Silk Chocolate - Now that's a recovery drink

I had Monday off from workouts so G an I went to Pepito's for dinner. The happy hour Margaritas are pretty solid too. Keeping up with the new workout log, here's what went down the last few days.

Tuesday
Swim - 2500 yds.
Run - 30 minutes with 5x20 second strides.
Paul Douglas predicted a hassle factor of 5 for the drive home yesterday, so I figured I'd do both workouts after work and avoid all the other commuters. Turns out Douglas was wrong again (at least for the metro area). There was no snow, it was just effing cold man.

Saturday
Swim - 2500 meters
Strength Program
No to much to say on this one. It had been a while since I visited the Southdale Y. Man it is way more family oriented than the St. Paul Skyway location. The again it was a Saturday and late morning. I also brewed a batch of Nut Brown. Primary fermentation is well underway and transport to secondary fermentation will probably take place this weekend.

Sunday
Run - 1:15
Yoga
Ran into Little D around Lake Harriet. He was out on his 29'er. If I end up getting a new SS Mtn. Bike, I'm definitely gonna look into the Redline Monocog 29'er. It looked pretty solid for economical price. For now the Rockhopper with Singulator will have to suffice.

Saturday Ride

2008-01-22T15:28:00.000-06:00

So Saturday afternoon I thought it would be great to head to Liquor Lyle's for happy hour and some college basketball. So I bundled myself in gear, put some hand warmers in my shoes and took of for the old neighborhood. The ride was great though I think I had a little too much clothes on the upper body. I really had to moderate my exertion to keep from sweating through stuff. I walked into the bar and some dudes asked if I was out skiing (you know the goggles and everything). I told them that I had rode my bike and they freaked out. It raised the question to me, why would it have been completely acceptable if I was downhill skiing in the cold, but biking was crazy. I mean when I downhill I'm going faster than my leisurely ride to the bar, whatever. Its an argument I tried to make to others since. It didn't fly with any of them.

So I bellied up to the bar and she asked me for my ID. Dude are you effing kidding me, I left it at home! I couldn't believe it. SO I figured I would just call G and ask her to stop by the house on the way and pick it up for me. She was flying in from Chicago and planned on meeting me for the second half of the Tarheels game. So I dig into my bag for the phone. Yep, I left it at home too. So now I had to bust ass home to get my phone and call her before she made it out of the airport and headed to LL's. Some times it sucks to be me and have such forgetfulness.

Anyway, I had a good afternoon on the bike, even if I didn't get to enjoy any beverages at LL's.

Skyway YMCA = Olympic Training Center?

2008-01-18T09:42:00.000-06:00

So yesterday was an easy day. I had a 30 minute ride on the spin bike and an hour of aqua-jogging. Yep I said aqua-jogging. The day was meant to be easy on the legs and give them some active rest. The workout entailed some prolonged “sprints” at VO2 max levels. I actually broke a sweat, so I guess you can get a workout even though it doesn’t feel like it. The highlight of the workout was when DKT came in for his swim workout. When he sprints in the pool dragging the parachute, he is still faster than me. Dude is freakin fast in everything. The Y should use the fact that he trains there as a selling point. I mean if its good enough for a world class athlete, its good enough for the weekend warriors and New Years Revolutionists.

Today I have my first swim “workout” since taking time off from the shoulder injury. It’s a lot of one arm and kicking stuff, but there is some extended stuff. If I have any type of pain in the shoulder I’m calling it quits. No sense in rushing recovery in January.

It’s gonna be balmy up here this weekend. Not sure how much time I’ll spend outside training. I have Monday off, so we are having folks over to celebrate G’s birthday and watch the Packers on Sunday. I’m making some Chili that really packs some heat. We are going to need it.

No Updates = No Workouts?

2008-01-16T08:44:00.000-06:00

Not really. I was in Southwest MN the last few days for work and didn’t bring the camera. On Monday night I ventured out into the streets of Worthington, MN for a 45 minute run or so. The temp was like 7 so I figured if I got too cold I would just turn around and head back to the wonderful amenities of the AmercInn. I made my way down to the lake in the downtown area and saw that there was a path around it. After about a half mile on the path I came across a walker and asked how far it was aroud the lake and she told me it was like 5 miles. Cool, I took off and was feeling great. The halfway around the lake I ran smack into the wind. My junk was instantly pissed. I picked up the pace to get back to the hotel as quick as possible.

This is a picture of the lake from the path looping around it.

When I had nearly completed the loop I figured I branched off early I could find a quicker way back. I mean it’s not like Worthington is a megatropolis. Well, this wasn’t the best move. I totally got lost and had to stop three times and ask people for directions. Total run time 1:10:00. It took me like two cups of coffee and 4 freshly baked cookies to warm back up. My moisture wicking gloves were covered in frost and my eyelashes were partially frozen. Overall it was a great run, it seems like the town is pretty nice. The people definitely were.

I’m back home now so look for more pictures soon.

Wanna go for a run?

2008-01-12T13:46:00.000-06:00

Here is my morning run in pictures. This route is usually around 40 minutes at an easy aerobic pace. It took a little longer today with the fresh snow and stopping for pictures. It was about 22 degrees this morning. What a great day for a run.

Here's the ice rink at Kenny Schools. For those of you not from MN, they flood the football/soccer fields in the winter for free skating rinks.

Is that Smithers in the window with some Pumpkin Loaf?

This is the entrance to the Minnehaha Creek Trail from Lyndale. This is also the same route I took two nights ago when I said I wished I would have had the camera. This trail is really pretty at night with the snow.

Here's another bridge a little ways down the trail.

South Beach, Mpls. Style. This is where the dash across Lake Harriet started last year during the "Who wants a mustache ride". Owen won the grand prize of a 5th of bourbon. We drank it and a twelve pack at the band shell.

Too bad this house just sold. G and I were thinking about putting in a bid. It only sold for $649,900. Its about 10 blocks from our place. Its amazing what proximity to the creek will do for property values. Ray that soccer mom was pissed I took her picture. She didnt have any makeup on.

Heres's what houses look like in our neighborhood. This house is at the end of our block. He's all set in case Iran decides to drop a bomb anywhere within 100 miles. That and not having any windows really cuts down on cleaning costs.

Back at home sweet home. Time to shovel the snow and then Yoga with Rodney Yee.

Late Lunch

2008-01-11T16:21:00.000-06:00

3:30 – Strength 40 min.
I wish there was something fun to report but this workout is pretty boring. Weight room in the Y leaves a lot to be desired. Plyometrics are always a good time and my pull ups are getting better. Even with the bum shoulder. Pantera - Cowboys From Hell was on the ipod. I guess I could post something about the old retired men that walk around the locker room in the buff talking about politics. Man, I left my ability of being able to hang out with other dudes with their wedding tackle on display in High School.

I have a 40 minute run to do when I get home. It will probably be too dark for pictures, but if I remember to bring the camera I’ll snap some pics.

So I’m gonna change the format. Please stick around

2008-01-11T09:47:00.000-06:00

If anyone still reads this knows that I haven’t updated it in a long time. So to give myself some motivation for it I’ve decided to change the format a bit. I don’t think the format change will bring in more readers, and the content may even turn some away. I’m gonna use this thing primarily as a training journal. I mean I have Training Peaks to keep track of the actual data, but this will have some personality to it. Also, I’ve been meaning to bring a camera with me on all my training runs and rides so I can have some pics to post with the account of the workout, but as most of you know I am SUPER forgetful. So keeping with the spirit of the new blog, here is what went down yesterday.

5:00 pm – 1:15 Bike
I went to the Chiropracter after work and before the Y to have my shoulder worked on. I may have a rotator cuff injury, but more on that some other time. I got to the Y a half hour before a group cycling class was supposed to start. The class was 45 minute long so the timing worked perfect for getting the 1:15 and changing things up halfway through to keep things interesting. Almost everyone was a regular so they all looked at me weird when they walked in. I had the last laugh though. When their “time” was up they all got off the bikes and started stretching. I needed to get more time in though so I kept riding. The instructor was like, “Yeah I guess stretching is optional”. It made me realize where regular cyclists are in terms of fitness when compared to the general public. Score – Hardcore 1, YMCA Faithful 0.

7:30 pm – 45 min. Run
Man it was a great night for a run. The temp was right around 30 and for some reason it seemed to be really quite outside. Well except for the planes overhead (Yes I Live in SW Mpls.). I ended up running mostly along the Minnehaha Creek. With the lights, the creeks running waters, and the snow on the ground it was really something great. Again, if I only would have had the camera you would have been able to see it for yourself. I even ran across a family out sledding, cool stuff. The Twin Cities really are a great place to live.

Sidenote:

We don’t technically live in the suburbs, however our neighborhood has all the same features. This was really clear on the run last night when I was heading down Lyndale towards the creek. Even though it was 30 degrees out, some white kid in his parents car was rolling down the street with the windows down and blasting some gangsta rap. Classic stuff man.

And you thought you were having a bad day

2007-12-05T09:34:00.000-06:00

I've got nuthin to report here. Move along.

BSNY never dissapoints.....

2007-11-29T13:54:00.000-06:00

But this post had me laughing harder than usual. Especially when he plays out the story of the Outlaw.

I'm going to check out some Mtn. bikes today after work. I'm gonna go right before I pick up G from the airport. I mentioned to her that I was going to go bike shopping, just to look and check out my options. She replied with "Make sure you bring your new bike to the airport." Does that give me the green light, or is she being MN nice?

The good time are killin me...

2007-11-28T09:11:00.000-06:00

Scenes from the wedding dance floor. Jeff can bring it like no other. This is when things really started heating up.

Which of course led to Jeff kicking it up a notch and dancing Chippendale style with my Mom. Good times. If you look close in the background to the left, Scott is getting close to reach around status with his lady friend. I bet the night ended well!

In other news, well it may not news to some of you, G just got a big promotion at work. The thing is that her only client now is based in Columbus, OH. She flies out like every Sunday night and doesn't get back till later in the week, usually Thursday night. Needless to say there is a strong push to move back to Ohio. I applied with the OH branch of the agency that I work for, but they selected another candidate. So if you know of jobs for environmental economists in the Columbus Metro Area....

Another Bike?

2007-11-21T13:53:00.000-06:00

So with the first year of Cyclocross over for me, I have some reflections and foresight. We'll start with reflections.
1. That shit is hard.
2. CX is really, really fun.
3. If you want to feel like you are part of a cycling community, start Cross racing.
4. That shit is really hard.

To get ready for the season I started riding my SS Mtn. bike at the river bottoms. It had been years since I rode in the dirt, and before committing to a CX bike I wanted to see if I still liked the idea of it. I was hooked again after the first ride. So I bought a used Alan CX bike and decided to try CX. I only raced 3 times this year, but it was a really busy fall. You know the whole wedding planning thing. Anyway, I am super glad I decide to get the bike and try it. I am really looking forward to next season as I have a better idea of what to expect. Which leads me to the foresight.

1. Next season CX races will be really hard.
2. This season amplified my interest in racing X-terra next year.
3. The intensity of the CX racing has helped me be able to dig deeper into the hurt locker than ever before, so that should help this coming triathlon season.
4. No matter what type of racing you do, if you are really racing, its gonna be hard.

So now that I've decided to give X-terra a go next season, I need a bike. The biggest decision I need to make is whether I want a 26'' wheeled bike or the 29''. For those that aren't part of the bike crowd the 26'' wheels are your typical Mtn. bike wheels, the 29'' wheels are the same size as a road or CX bike. Anyway, after talking to one Mtn. biker they recommended the 26'' wheels based on my height and build (5'7'' and ~160 lbs). Do you have an opinion? If so, leave a comment. I'm gonna test ride some bikes next week, including a 29'er. Right now I'm looking at the Salsa "Moto Rapido".

Here ya go Ray....

2007-11-14T16:29:00.000-06:00

Something new.....

DKT at 70.3 got a bunk drafting penalty. Not sure if you/anyone read his blog/webpage or not. From first hand information, out of the water thinhgs were looking great. On to the bike David lead for a good while. A "chase" group caught and passed him. David freewheeled and was out of the draft zone in his mind, but was assessed a drafting penalty. David was setting up all season for this race, then the mat was pulled out from under him for a bogus call. I think he could have made podium if he had not been penalised and decided to finish the race. I can only imagine how hard it would have been to bust ass for the 13.1 miles after being heartbroken. I dont blame him for protesting and not finishing, though would have liked to have seen him cross the line. I cant imagine working all season for one race (out of 25 btw) and the recording a DNF. Next season will be fun to watch again.

Other news, I'm married now. Feels the same as life before the legal commitment. Looking forward to the honeymoon and free gifts though.

Ray, I'm looking forward to toeing the line with you on Saturday. Wear a Browns jersey, the boys in Cleveland need some love after the heartbreaker last weekend. Are you heading to TH on thursday night. T3 and I need some cover on the ride home. Be sure to bring the 9mm.

Speed, Revolutionary, Crash and Burn

2007-10-11T11:10:00.000-05:00

So DKT will be racing on the new Zipp Sub 9 Disc wheel this weekend at the US Open. Good Luck man. It will be cool to see his bike split and talk to him to see what he thought of it. Only a handful of people have ridded these suckers. Hey Timmer that thing has ceramic bearings and dimples.

Radiohead has their new album online (as long as the site stops crashing). Pay as little or as much as you want for it. Wonder how that will work out for them?

Bachelor party is this weekend and starts tomorrow. I may show up at Boom Island, but it will be on my way home from the bars. Heck maybe I'll sleep out there Saturday night. No matter how you slice it there will be no racing for me this weekend. Ray, I'll see you in the C race next Saturday and Sunday.

Silent Movies

2007-10-05T10:17:00.000-05:00

So this morning I was half asleep on the bus ride to work and I starting dreaming/thinking about something, that if possible, I think would be pretty fun. A while back after the video of the Mpls. bridge collapse, I think Smither’s pondered the question if there is anything that happens in life that does not somehow get recorded to video. I mean just about anywhere you look, there is a camera recording your every move. Plus some people even get actual airtime on local news and stuff if they happen to get interviewed on the street, or happen to be in the crowd at some large event. So I was thinking that if you could somehow get all of the video clips that you were in, you could put them together to make a silent movie. It could either tell the true story of your life, or some fictional representation. I mean you would probably have to add some stuff to fill some gaps or to bolden the fictional storyline you were telling, but the possibilities would be endless. The story and genre of movie would all depend on how you pieced the clips together. Then if others had access to the clips, they could edit the sequence and make alternate versions of "your life". I don’t know it could be kinda fun to see how differently things could be portrayed.

Unrelated comment: Sometimes the bus is a pretty awesome thing. I mean this morning I got on was super tired. I sat down, basically fell asleep, and the next thing you know I’m sitting at my desk in front of the computer. I love riding and driving in to work too, but sometimes sleeping your way to work is WAY better.

Bullets don’t take bribes they kill shit

2007-09-19T09:11:00.000-05:00

So I rarely listen to talk radio in the morning on my commute to work. I’ll either listen to NPR or have something playing in the CD player. Somehow this morning I found myself listening to the KQRS morning show. I think I was scanning through the channels when I heard “Sister Golden Hair” by America. I suddenly fell into memories from High School and the next thing you know I’m listening to Yahoos talk about the OJ Simpson situation and the terrorism in the boundary waters. Neither of these stories however prompted this post. What did was one of the commercials I sat through. The commercial was for the Big Ten Television Network. I don’t really know much about the details of this channel, but from what I hear is that they (the Big Ten Network) charges some ridiculous fee per customer to the local carries, which then pass this cost on to the consumer. These prices may not be exact but I think it is like $1.10 per subscriber. To place this in context, ESPN, one of the networks charging the highest fees, comes in right around $0.32. The two channels are not even close to being in the same league in terms of quality. Pat Forde over on ESPN put up a commentary on what the programming on the Big Ten network might look like (scroll down to like (14) or (15) in the article). For those of you that don’t follow college football, the Big Ten is struggling, Big Time. Anyway, in the commercial for the Big Ten Network they were saying something along the lines of “Does your television carrier offer you like 50 channels, including a jewelry channel, a fashion channel, a DIY channel, etc.” This was all done in a sarcastic voice, but the most sarcasm came when he mentioned the Bicycle Racing Channel. I assume that they were referring to VS. I’m not sure if it was the sarcasm, or the ignorance in referring to it as the bike racing channel that set me off. He was like the Gophers are way more important to us (Minnesotans) than bike racing. Whatever Big Ten Network, get a grip.

First, I’m pretty sure that the people of MN LOVE hockey, and VS. carries WAY more NHL games than any non-premium networks (NHL Center Ice, or whatever its called).

Second, the gophers are effing terrible. Who in their right mind would choose to watch them lose to Bowling Green and FAU over having the ability to watch NHL in a few weeks?

Third, bike racing is way more entertaining than watching the Gophers.

So, please do what the commercial suggests. Call your local carrier and insist that they NEVER place the Big Ten Network in your cable package.

X-Training

2007-09-07T12:56:00.000-05:00

So Wednesday I had some cross training on my workout schedule. My workouts have been pretty unstructured and open to give my body a little recovery time before doing some intense bike and swim training. My coach said to do something different and make it fun. So I decided to try BODYPUMP and the Y. I was super skeptical and felt really weird walking into the studio. However, once things got going it was pretty fun. I really have to give credit to the people that are in here and are totally out of shape and need to lose weight. The class is as hard as you want to make it, but if you are actually doing the workout its decent. My legs and biceps are actually a little sore today from it. It does a good job at combining aerobic activity and weight training. I'll wear my HR monitor next time and post the data. I can totally see how if people would stick to it on a regular schedule they would see results in weight loss. If you are looking for something different and willing to check any ego you may have at the door give it a shot.

The weather is great up here in MN, hope its nice where you are. Get out and do something active.

Album of the Year?

2007-09-06T10:47:00.000-05:00

Aesop Rock - None Shall Pass

Pick up the new Aesop Rock now. You'll be glad you did. You can check out the first single, None Shall Pass, on Definitive Swim. Its a compilation that you can download for free. The compilation is decent, a few tracks that are a little rough, but overall good hip-hop.

Random

2007-09-06T08:54:00.000-05:00

I went to ride the River Bottoms trails on Tuesday. Man it was a lot of fun. Its pretty easy riding, though if you push yourself definitely good for a workout. Its not technical and really flat, but a nice change from riding on the road. I’ll definitely go back, maybe next time with G and a CX bike. I’m trying to nail down a used Orbea from someone. I need to get that ironed out soon if I wanna think about racing this fall.
~~~~~~~~~

This morning while I was driving to work I witnessed the extreme courtesy of MN drivers on the road. I’m lucky enough to have to go through the cross-town commons on my way to work. Right where 62 and 35W North merge, there is always a huge line-up. People never let other drivers in, and when they space out too long while waiting in line and let a gap open up, they get pissed at those who drop into the gap from the adjacent lanes. Whatever, all of you need to relax. I mean you are on you way to work. Do you love your job so much that you can’t spare those extra 5 seconds you just lost in the line-up? Anyway, today was the epitome of rude driving etiquette. A freaking school bus was trying to merge into the line-up and NO ONE would let the bus in. Are you freaking kidding me? Lighten up people.
~~~~~~~~~~

The NFL kicks off tonight. Hopefully the Yetis can put up some points this weekend and pull off a win. As I’m sitting on the couch this Sunday watching games I’ll be sure to toast to Pete (Fil) and T3 as they are pounding through the Square Lake Half IM race.

~~~~~~~~

Bacardi Pavoratti - RIP

Football Season

2007-08-31T09:30:00.000-05:00

OSU vs. Yougstown State

Saturday11:00 CST

Majors Sports Bar - Bloomington

Be There

TLC and the Weekend

2007-08-31T08:46:00.000-05:00

So Gianna’s favorite television station is TLC. She is always watching some type of house flipping, or what not to wear show. I really think she would be happy having only this one channel, even though its not in HD. Anyway, two nights ago I came in and she was watching a special documentary called “Crazy Sexy Cancer”. It follows the story of a young woman from NYC that is diagnosed with a rare incurable form of cancer. It was a great show. It branched out revealing the stories of other cancer patients that she became acquainted with, and really captured the raw emotions that come with this terrible disease. It seems like almost everyone I know has had first hand experience with losing someone to some form of cancer. Although there are some really sad parts of the documentary, it is an overall feel good show in the end, and makes you really reconsider some of the decisions you make in your day to day life. Specifically the things that we choose to eat and drink. Anyway, if you have TLC, I recommend you find out the next time it is showing and either watch it or DVR it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I’m considering racing in Hudson on Saturday. I had so much fun in Chicago I kinda want to get one last race in this season. If I do decide to race it will be a Sprint on Saturday morning. They have race day registration, so I can wait till the last minute to decide. However, I have a feeling when/if the alarm goes off at 5:00 tomorrow morning I’m unlikely to get up. If I would have pre-registered yesterday the odds of me racing would have been higher, slightly. We are having a party on Sunday if anyone nearby wants to stop by (free beer and good times). Those of you reading this that I would invite most likely already know where I live. However, if you don’t shoot me an email and I can get you directions or send you a link to the evite. Is it already the end of Summer?

Destructive Yetis 2007 Roster

2007-08-30T08:38:00.000-05:00

We had our fantasy football draft last night. My team can't be any worse than last year. I went 0-6 before I got my first win. Our league plays without a defense and the scoring favors running backs. I'll keep everyone updated on season as it progresses.

Willie Parker – Running Back
Chad Johnson – Wide Receiver
Deuce McCallister – Running Back
Matt Leinert – Quarterback
Braylon Edwards – Wide Receiver
Cadillac Williams – Running Back
Neil Rackers – Kicker
Chris Cooley – Tight End
Ben Rothlisberger – Quarterback
Randy McMichael – Tight End
Ron Dayne – Running Back
Ted Ginn Jr. – Wide Receiver

Pictures

2007-08-29T14:34:00.000-05:00

Louie before the shower
Cake at the shower, It was real good Ray

We scored lots of good SWAG.

Post Race, I felt great even though the run kinda sucked. Gotta say thanks to H-Wood for the new bike position. I posted my fastes bike split of the year.

After the race we went to North Avenue Beach for some greasy bar food, great weather and recovery drinks. I'll take mine on the rocks with salt thank you! Heres a shot of my sister and dad.
Man my mom loves the beach. It was a yellow flag day at the beach. With all of the recent rains there was concern over E. coli. They said us swimmers had nothing to worry about because the currents wouldnt bring any of it to our area, uhmm yeah OK, I believe you.

Come on feel the Illinoise!

2007-08-29T14:19:00.000-05:00

Accenture Chicago Triathlon
The race was pretty decent. transitions closed at 545, then my wave didnt go off till 745. so i had no swim, or bike warm up. it was a in water swim start, so like 140 dudes were all treading water and then the horn goes off. effing crazy start man. after about 400 meters or so it started to thin out. the water was really cool so it felt great. i was able to churn out the entire 1.5k without any breast-stroke. the swim exit to the transition was like a quarter of a mile, so the swim time includes that. i finished the swim in like 31:00, so the actual swim was prob like 28 or so. i assume that since this was a high level race the distance on the swim was spot on, but it felt way longer. so the local races are probably shorter than the full 1.5k.

the bike was awesome, right on lakeshore drive. a two loop course and pretty flat. i did a 1:07 or so, averaging 22.5. so i was pretty happy about that. i had a huge cheering section so i was having a really good time, no stress. just enjoying the last race of the season.

the run was good till about mile 3. i could tell that having the time off because of the achilles, my running legs just were not there. i finished averaging 7:38, more than 30 seconds slower than usual.

i finished at 2:31 and change. i was 43 out of 484 in my age group and 335 out of 3928 overall, like top 8-9% in each. it was fun, i was hanging with my family, so overall a great end of the season.

X-rays
I might have a stress fracture in my left foot. I'll find out tomorrow. Cool, and by cool I mean totally sweet!

Long time no update!

2007-08-10T13:44:00.000-05:00

We have some good friends coming in to town for the weekend, it’ll be nice. We are planning on riding Saturday morning/afternoon and then starting a bar crawl via bike. The weather will be hot and humid so we should work up a good thirst. Sunday will be slow, probably starting with brunch at Anodyne.

I started running again. The tendonitis in the Achilles is at bay. Gianna was going nuts having to deal with my pent up energy. My goal for the rest of the season is to get to Chicago healthy and have a FUN race. No pressure worrying about results, just hanging out with the family, racing in the morning, and then relaxing in the afternoon. We’ll probably hit North Avenue Beach if the weather is good.

In addition to the friends for NC being here this weekend we are also dog sitting for a friend. They have a German Short Hair, so there is LOTS of energy in the house and backyard.

Hope everyone is doing well.

How bad does it have to be?

2007-07-18T10:24:00.000-05:00

So this article reports that Dave Chappelle was recently hospitalized for exhaustion. I know a lot of the people that read this blog are cyclists and/or triathletes that are in very serious and demanding training regimens. Personally I feel kinda tired everyday because of my training. I mean Dave seriously whats up? Were you like falling down every few steps. Were you frothing at the mouth like Linus Gerdemann after climbing up to Tignes?

Seriously he's a freaking stand up comic. There is mention in the article that he recently broke the endurance record of continuous stand up, 6 hours. Really! That's all he could muster? I mean I have workouts, which as the name denotes require physical exertion, that last longer. I was expecting something ridiculous like 24 hours or something.

Don't get me wrong, Chapelle is freaking hilarious. But when you hear about stuff like this it makes you wonder what was really going on with people when they had to check into the hospital. I'm off to the ER.

I hope it doesn't happen to me

2007-07-16T19:55:00.000-05:00

On my way home from my ride tonight a saw a bunch people heading in to a picnic/barbecue. Most of them were casually dressed, a little more dressed up than casual I suppose. It was probably a birthday party or something. Anyway, there was one older dude walking in and he was way more casual, pretty much sub-casual. He had a super old T-shirt on that was so tight over his belly that there was a gap between the bottom of the shirt and his shorts. When you get old do you just totally lose your mind, completely stop caring, or are these people like that all there life and just never change? Regardless I hope that I always care enough and have my wits about me to look suitable for public appearances.

My Job, My Achilles, New Interpol

2007-07-16T15:04:00.000-05:00

Fucking Sucks

Fucking Suck

Fucking Sucks

Lame Race Report

2007-07-10T08:51:00.000-05:00

I learned a lesson this week about vacationing and racing. We went up to Grand Rapids on Wednesday the 4th to stay in a cabin for a long weekend and to race the Timberman Triathlon. After about three days of total relaxation and eating like crap I lost all motivation to race. I was staying off of my Achilles (which I injured in an earlier race), but did manage to get the weeks swim and bike workouts in. I showed up at the race and felt like bagging it the entire time. To top off the lack of enthusiasm I was having some serious GI issues. Here’s how the race went:

Swim: First 500 meters I felt great. The final 900 meters or so I really struggled. I realized the day would be about survival. I saw G and Louie standing by the swim exit and wanted to just chill with them and watch other people race.

T1: Felt like throwing in the towel, but thought well lets just get it in as a workout.

Bike: Man I had no energy. Every time I tried to push it there was nothing in the engine. The course was challenging, but even if it was flat I think I would have struggled.

T2: Surprise, I felt like throwing in the towel. I REALLY took my time and composed myself. Most peoples T2 times were around 1 minute, mine was over 2. I looked through my race bag and got some fuel, chatted with G for a bit, took a couple salt tabs and reluctantly headed out for the run.

Run: The achilles felt pretty good, I however started to really break down at the halfway point. I was so exhausted I had to walk for a few minutes. I struggled the rest of the way, cramping in my hamstring and suffering from lots of side stitches.

This was the worst I have ever felt in a race. At no point of it was I enjoying it (well except for maybe that long downhill on the bike where I was in my 53x11 and couldn’t keep up with it). I came in at 2:27:03 or something like that. The only victory I felt was that I didn’t record a DNF. I realized that my racing needs to be at the beginning of a vacation rather than at the end. We went back to the cabin and I iced my achilles with margaritas, on the rocks with salt.

BDTT - Episode 2

2007-06-28T10:06:00.000-05:00

Last night was my second attempt at the Dog. On the way down I stopped at Hollywood Cycles to get a pump adaptor (or a hash pipe as some like to call it) to make it easier to inflate my HED wheels. Jay was pretty busy at the time but went out of his way to get one for me quickly as he knew we were heading to the Dog. He really hooked me up on it too. I’m not sure the retail on it, but I know I paid 100% less than that. That dude is super nice and runs an excellent shop. Check him out sometime if you haven’t yet.

The race was less than great for me. My legs were super tired after a really long run on Monday and a hard bike workout that included lots of hill repeats on Tuesday. I ran into Ray, Trench, and Drew before the race so it was cool to see a growing Cat6 contingent. I took off and got up to 27mph and wanted to hold it there as long as I could. About 1000 meters into it I realized if I kept that up I would definitely record a DNF, or a time somewhere around an hour. I settled in to all I could muster which was around 23 mph. I ended up posting a time almost identical to my last effort, an average of around 24.5, or 17:57. So it makes me think my computer is really effed. I mean you can’t have and average speed that’s over your cruising speed. Wonder how fast I really started out, and no wonder I couldn’t hold that pace. I heard several people complain about their computers last night. I wonder if the power plant down there is the culprit?

Anyway it was a fun night. There were lots of people out and everyone seemed to be in a good mood and really chatty. The weather was perfect, so it was one of those nights that made me really happy that I live where I do. Saturday I’m racing the Minneman Tri, so it should be another one of those days, just with a different group of peeps. It looks like the weather will be great. I set a goal of breaking 1:07:00. It’ll be tough. I’ll either puke at the line or hit the wall and miss the time. Either way it will be a great way to start off the weekend.

A great quote to end the week

2007-06-22T12:35:00.000-05:00

An article in this weeks The Economist talks about elections and how portions of the general US population are irrational in how they select their candidates. In it I came across a great quote that I’ve been sharing with people in the office. The article basically says that if uninformed voters would vote randomly, the candidate who wins the majority of the well informed votes would win. However, the uninformed voters do not vote randomly, rather they have 4 inherent biases. The article presents the 4 biases and then gives example of how they effect the uninformed voters decisions. The article is based on a new book by Bryan Caplan titled “The Myth of the Rational Voter”. I’m gonna try to pick up the book this weekend. I’ll let you know if I do and then provide a review later.

Anyway, I’m gonna be somewhat liberal with the quote but its something like this
“Surveys suggest that, the more educated you are, the more likely you are to share an economists view….”

That’s right beyotches, you all wish you were as smart as me and shared my views on all issues facing society! I have all of the answers, for the right price.

I’m not very tall, but now I feel like a giant in our kitchen.

2007-06-19T08:43:00.000-05:00

Last year when we moved into our house, Gianna went out to Home Depot and bought a bunch of ceiling fans. She never really measures stuff, just went out and went crazy in the ceiling fan section. On top of that I’m not the most handy man around the house and I was always told that ceiling fans can be really hard to install because they need to be braced to the rafters and what not. So the fans sat for like a year. Sunday a friend of ours who is a Superintendent for commercial construction projects came over and helped me out. It turns out that we have the right J boxes (?) that they don’t need to have the support brace installed. After putting up one with his assistance I took on three others in the house solo. Well last night I installed the last one in the kitchen. I thought it would go smoothly like all the others. Ha! The installation was a pain in the arse, but that’s not the worst of it. The light fixture that is attached to the bottom of the fan is about 4 inches above my head. I duck instinctively every time I walk into the kitchen, seriously. And its not like we can just switch it out with another fan in the house, all of the ceilings are the same height. If we moved it into one of the bedrooms you would run the risk of getting your ass caught in the blades if you rolled over in your sleep. It would be like some crazy torture device you would expect to see in like Guantanamo. So consider this if we ever invite you over for dinner. Are we asking you because you are our friend, or because you are a suspected terrorist?

Smithers is way better at this blog thing

2007-06-11T09:59:00.000-05:00

So Smithers beat me to the punch. Last week G and I rode up to the Lake Harriet Bandshell to hear some music. They have music there every night during the summer. I had G take a picture with her phone so I could show everyone how cool of a place we live in. And as Smithers points out, this stuff doesn’t happen out in the burbs.

The weekend was pretty great. Friday we rode to the 400 Bar in an attempt to see The National, but it was sold out. We met T3 and Carl at Grumpy’s for some beers and tots. It was also G’s first ride home in the dark after a few beverages. She loved it. Its cooler outside, there are little to no cars, and with a little buzz you really feel like a kid on a bike.

Saturday we rode to Anodyne Coffee Shop for brunch, and then had dinner at the neighbor’s house. We were outside almost the entire day, the weather was perfect. We were sitting at dinner and I made a comment how I loved the temperature outside because it feels like nothing. The temp. is such that you feel neither warm nor cold. Then once the sun goes down it’s a little cooler, making it perfect to hang outside and check out the stars.

Sunday was less fun. Cleaning the house in the morning and then landscaping the backyard all afternoon. We ripped out the weed garden and planted some lilacs and put down a bunch of mulch. I’ll post some before and after pictures later. My back is super red. I was smart enough to take off my shirt and not put any sunscreen on. At least it evened out my cycling tan. Last episode of the Soprano’s, I thought it was a perfect ending. Even though it wasn’t really an ending.

Wait, is that grass greener over there?

2007-06-07T13:29:00.000-05:00

So I kinda had a revelation about my job today that may make it more bearable for me. If you don’t know I’m currently an environmental economist for a federal (pound you in the ass) agency. I do benefit cost analyses for project looking at water quality improvement, flood protection, etc. Before we go any further, here’s a little history.

Prior to coming on board with the Feds. I worked for a non-profit think-tank in Research Triangle Park. I was doing policy analysis there with a focus on economics, the environment, and climate change. Because it was a think-tank with all of the senior staff being research scientist, the scientific rigor behind all of the analyses was top notch. You know it was kinda like the whole Ivory Tower kinda thing, but with an applied component. I mean the EPA was really using the stuff we did to formulate national environmental policies. Anyway, the research that I was doing wasn’t being supported by the administration (it was before this latest craze where everyone and their mother have suddenly realized maybe we should start talking about climate change). All of this lead me to where I am now.

One of the biggest challenges with the new job was adapting to the way the govt. works. I found it to be a LITTLE bit slower, and a LITTLE less rigorous academically/scientifically. For the longest time that really bummed me out, and may have led to me make a few enemies in the office. They were all singing the tune of “This is how we’ve always done it and we don’t have the time or the money to do it your way.” So I was always like “If you want me to just effin make up numbers say it. Don’t make me try to hide the fact that this analysis is incomplete. The way you’ve been doing it is garbage.”

Today while I was brushing my teeth after lunch I thought to myself, if a new person was coming into our office for my current position, what would I say to them? I ended up with this. I’d ask them if they wanted to do economics or if they wanted to do conservation? You see I just finished a draft analysis for something, which if I would have had more time, would have probably come out with a little different result. Would the results have been so different that they would have led to an alternative decision on the project, who knows, but probably not. What I came up with was an analysis using the best data I had available to me. The result of the project is going to provide conservation, protect people in potential flooding dangers, and create recreational opportunities. It determined the best plan for a situation that I feel comfortable with. Could the analysis have been more detailed, absolutely. Would I have liked to have done the more detailed analysis, you bet. But at the end of the day it would have been an Ivory Tower type of exercise.

So, new job candidate (me), if rigorous analysis is what you are looking for, this is not the place for you. If you want to help people make informed decisions with the information you have, giving them a plan that actually gets implemented, then welcome aboard. I think I’ve finally made the change over from the prior to the later. Or I’ve fooled myself into thinking what I do matters.

Proof

2007-06-05T09:23:00.001-05:00

First bit of photo evidence that I've been racing this year. This is right at the finish of Buffalo on Sunday. Thanks to Competitive Image for the shot.

Still alive, but just barely

2007-06-04T09:12:00.001-05:00

Between working in La Crosse for the first part of last, or wait two weeks and traveling to Ohio for a wedding I haven’t had much time to update things here. So here is a rough recap to keep you up to date if you are interested.

La Crosse – Cool river town that I would like to get back to while it’s still nice around here with the bikes. Seem like there would be some great roads in the region with some solid climbs and great views once atop. The downtown was kinda cool. You couldn’t walk a few feet without finding a cool little bar or restaurant. I found and old fashioned soda shop with excellent homemade ice cream.

Ohio – 4 days of hard core drinking with the crew for Brett’s wedding. Seriously every night we were up till like 4 or 5. The night before the wedding and the wedding itself were the worst for the body. Friday was the rehearsal dinner and then bars. Gianna got sent home early because she was not fit for public. I apparently walked home, though I have no recollection of it. Saturday was a slow start, though we were all in good shape for the church. Once to the rehearsal we found the bar and set ourselves straight. We closed down a neighboring bar with lots of dancing on the bar, with clothing being shed at an alarming rate. Good times.

So over the course of the time in La Crosse and Ohio I got in about 2 workouts. Neither of which were on the bike or in the water. So needless to say I was less than prepared for yesterday’s race in Buffalo. So here it is, the first tri report of the season.

Swim – I was just a matter of survival. The swim to the first buoy was good. I was feeling good and I was starting to catch some of the folks from the wave that took off before mine. At the buoy we took a left hand turn, and with it came the wind. The wind picked up and the chop was coming right into my face for each breath (I can only really breathe on my right side). It sucked, but I managed. The next left turn we headed for home. We were kinda with the wind now, but it was more like a cross wind and it kept pushing me off course. I made it in at just over 27:00. I was thinking it would be more like 30:00, so I though hey, not too bad.

Bike – Well lets see, no time on the bike in over a week, no hoping for much here. Out on the course the wind was kicking pretty good. I eased into it and then started to crank. The HED 3’s really showed their stuff when the wind was coming at and with me at an angle. It was really weird to feel fast in a slight crosswind. After a long section in a really tough head wind and rain, I started to feel it. I did what I could to finish strong and still have something left in the tank for the 10K. I finished somewhere around 1:12, though I would have like to be around 1:07.

Run – Sufferfest, the first HALF of the run is uphill, with mile 2 to 3.1 being a really decent grade. On the way back down I tried to keep my quads in control so I wouldn’t shred them and be stranded on the course for the last 2 mile. Coming to the finish I was feeling pretty strong so it seems I could have pushed it a little more earlier on. I came in around 45:00, again a little slower than I would have liked.

Overall time was something like 2:27:00. Pre-Ohio and La Crosse goal was 2:24:00 or less. I’m thinking I would have been under that for sure. Looking at the big picture though, I would gladly trade those 3-5 minutes of the race for the time I had with my friends and family in Ohio. Next race is at the end of the month. Next post, sooner than two weeks from now, I promise.

Moving On

2007-05-18T09:09:00.000-05:00

BDTT Goal - 18:00
BDTT Actual - 17:52 (24.18 mph)
Reality, I'm not a bike racer. I was 13/17.

Sunday is the Gearwest Duathalon (5k/28k/4k). I'm shooting for anything under 1:30:00. I should do better in the overall results, well at least in my age group. I mean we will be racing against these people.

Its Friday, I'm going back to bed now.

Indie Rock and Foodies

2007-05-17T12:33:00.000-05:00

So Dana had a post yesterday about the major cooperation's that are behind some of the major organic foods/brands. You can check it out the tangled corporate web here. On Dana's post you can see my take on it in the comments. Whats yours? Wider distribution of food thats good for you isn't a bad thing in my book.

Doggystyle

2007-05-17T09:25:00.000-05:00

So last night was pretty fun. I have no idea how I did because I have yet to glue a magnet on the race wheels for the computer, and I forgot my HR monitor so I couldn’t even time myself. It was pretty weird flying blind like that. I mean I just pushed myself as hard as I could, but I had no feedback. Wearing the HR monitor will at least let you know if you are starting to ease off….or blow up. Anyway, I’m waiting for them to post results, though I’m not holding my breath, just curious to how it all turned out.

It was kinda windy and I felt like crap warming up. My thighs were pretty tight from Tuesday nights 400 and 800 repeats on the Edina track. I rode the course 1.5 times before the start to get used to how the HED 3’s reacted in the crosswinds. I got blown around a little but nothing major. The race started and I took off after my 30 second man. The biggest thing I noticed was how far forward on the saddle I was the entire race. I mean I usually am when I’m on the TT bike, but over the past few month I’ve noticed how much more aggressive I’ve gotten. A few times the back end got pretty squirrelly when I went over bumps in the road. I ended up passing a few people, though they were not the fastest people on the course. I’m not so sure how good of a barometer that was, I’m not putting much stock in it. I was hoping to finish somewhere around 18 minutes. I think that would have resulted in an average speed of ~24 mph. I hereby conclude that racing; be it criteriums, running, time trials, whatever it may be if you are actually RACING they result in pain.

When I got home I took Louie for a walk. He’d been penned up inside all day so I went longer than usual. About ¾ of the way home I hit a serious wall. I didn’t even know you could bonk 30 minutes or more after your workout. I was wearing pants and a fleece as the temps had started to drop. By the time I fully hit the wall I was sweating through my shirt and super lightheaded. I thought I was gonna have to sit down and collect myself. As soon as I got home I killed some food. Ten minute later all was good again

Stop Crying

2007-05-16T08:23:00.000-05:00

I linked to our wedding site through the sidebar on the right. Hopefully that fixes the problems some of you have had with the link. If not, well I guess we are all shit out of luck. That is unless the Cat6 IT Dude can fix it.

I went out to Opus last night for the first time this year. After watching the 4's race I remembered why I decided to never race out there again....Pain. Smithers posted the other day asking why people would ever run in a race. I ask the same thing about criteriums.

I think I may actually race at Black Dog tonight. I brought my bike to work today, and as long as no one breaks into my car, I'll be debuting the new race wheels. On the way in to work I remembered about 4 things that I left at home that would come in handy tonight at the race. Oh well I guess I'll need to be creative.

Thanks Ray!

2007-05-11T15:15:00.000-05:00

I have to Thank Ray for my post today. He lead me to some great cards to send to your friends and family. Here's a sample of some of my favorites. There are some better ones that are more vulgar, I'll let you find them. Check them out here.

Finally, here's a fun picture of me and G at a recent wedding. Have a great weekend!

Music is the answer

2007-05-08T14:52:00.000-05:00

Some stuff was happening in my head today. Things that make me think about the past and the future. A great soundtrack for it was:

Artist: Aqueduct
Album: I Sold Gold

Crank it up, shits awesome.
http://www.barsuk.com/shop/bark042

For the love of Pete

2007-05-04T09:41:00.000-05:00

Can you believe it? It’s finally here, Friday. This has single handedly been the longest work week in about 5 years. Bachelor party followed by super busy work week, book ended by the tri-camp and the last 4 days leaves me a very tired kid. It’s gonna take every bit of this depth charge (wiki calls it the red eye, whatever) to get me to lunch.

Here’s a link to our wedding site if anyone is interested. We are gonna keep adding pictures to it, that way we’ll have embarrassing pictures of everyone involved, not just a few of you. I think that we are going to have a blast at this wedding. G and I met with the priest last night. It was kinda funny that we both made sure we had a least one beer before going to our counseling. He suggested that we live apart until the wedding, yeah like that’s gonna happen. The alternative he suggested was sleeping in separate beds. The whole church thing is more of G’s deal so I’m leaving that decision up to her. After meeting with Fr. Jim we rode up to Bryant Lake Bowl and sat outside for dinner and another beer. Man it was a great night for being out on the town with bikes.

Another friend has started a blog. Here’s a link to Dana. She doesn’t update it too often and is in the very beginning stages, but I’m sure she’ll have some interesting perspectives on things. We are both from Ohio and met while we were living in NC. She’s an idealist/activist/professional/hippie too. An all around great gal, check her out. She has a recent post about the shit storm that’s going on in DC regarding the DC call girl releasing cell numbers of her clients. She was a little shocked about one of the dudes recently outed, the head of USAID, as he has championed policy against prostitution. I have to say that I’ll never be surprised by some of the shady shit that goes down inside of the beltway, or in high places and seedy corners of Corporate America. The majority of those people didn’t get where they are because they are Saints. That one however is pretty high on the hypocrisy ladder.

I’m feeling pretty chatty today so I may post more later….we’ll see. The espresso will only last so long!

Fighting Peter Pan Syndrome

2007-05-03T08:42:00.000-05:00

The closer we get to the wedding the more and more I watch every penny I spend. I mean throwing a blow-out party for 350+ people takes a lot of dough. The thing is, as I watch every penny I spend I also start to freak out about any debt that I have. This does wonders for your stress level. Its not that I need to be that worried about the debt or the wedding, I just am. Pile that on top of coming into a job everyday that you are less than thrilled about and it makes for some long work weeks.

I was planning on riding in the BDTT last night, but then got to thinking/worrying about cash. Before I left work I picked up a prescription, bought G some flowers, and grabbed a protein bar. In a matter of seconds I dropped like 50 bucks. If I decided to ride in the TT, it would add another $25 to the total. This would be a little above the $17/day that I budget for myself.

This also got me thinking about all of the time that I spend training and racing which pulls me away from G and my day to day “real life”. I spent all last weekend training, everyday during the week (usually twice) I’m either out on the roads or in the pool, and from here till who knows when all of our weekends are booked with races. So I ended up bagging the race. I got home and surprised G with the flowers and then the three of us went to the dog park. When we got home I went for a quick 30 minute run, and then we had dinner.

Last year some people from Cat6 were thinking about having a ride followed by dinner with our significant others. The idea was to kinda thank them for putting up with our selfishness of being on the bike and away from the house. At the time I thought it seemed kinda stupid. I mean why would we need to thank someone for letting us do something healthy? It’s becoming clearer as I start to grow up. Finding that balance between our time consuming hobby and the really important things in our life is difficult. I think I made the right choice in bagging the race last night. I have so much respect for those of you that have kids in the mix. I guess an end of the year thank you to our support team is the least we can do.

River Falls Base Camp

2007-05-01T09:44:00.000-05:00

So the weekend of training is over. If you are interested in seeing pictures you can find some here. It was a great time. There was a lot of fun people, great weather, good running and riding. We even managed to squeeze in a micro-tri. It just so happened that the weekend that SCS planned the weekend camp, there was an organized race at the pool where we were having our workouts. I’m pretty sure no one even recorded their time. It was a 400 yd swim, 3.8 mile ride, and 1.8 mile run. It was a good way to round out the morning session. The rides were pretty sweet. The scenery out there is great and there are some pretty killer hills. A ride of 60+ miles feels like 100 over there. No wonder people say IM WI is so tough. Over the course of the weekend I got in 20+ miles of running, 110+ miles of biking, an hour maters swim, and the micro-tri. Good times.

Excellent weather is finally here. This weekend will be filled with training and yard work. It will be nice not to have to travel anywhere. I need to get the garden and flower beds in shape, so the lower back is in for quite a weekend. I’ll fire up the chiropractor on Monday. Wednesday night I think I’m going to go get my ass handed to me by all the roadies at the Black Dog Time Trial. Those guys just have a different type of fitness about them. They’ll all end up dusting me on the bike, but if they joined me on my run after the race, I’m sure I’d pay them back.

2 out of three aint bad

2007-04-23T18:25:00.000-05:00

No death, No jail, but I did manage a physical injury. I was running through camp on Friday night and I found where someone had placed the cast-iron fire ring with my shins. Major damage to the right shin. Pretty effin sweet. Should have gone in for stitches, but in the wild west fashion and manliness of the bachelor party weekend, I opted for the cleaning with liquor and bandages. Looks like this weekends endurance tri-camp in River Falls may be in jeopardy. I'll post some pics later, swamped at work now so you'll have to wait.

Last Nights Recovery Ride

2007-04-19T07:56:00.000-05:00

A HR of 170 can be considered recovery right? Last night I met up with some guys for a 2 or so hour ride. Wednesday I had a pretty serious brick, and before the ride I went to the Y for my swim workout. Two hours easy with a group sounded like a great evening. Well the boys had another plan for the night. After we caught back up to their wheels after they passed the doghouse, I realized I was going to have to make a decision soon. The pace was a little faster than I was looking for. After riding below the airport, the hill out of the park up to the airport shelled me off the back. There was a re-group for a fraction of a second at the light, and then I think I heard Josh peel out as we headed toward the cemetery/lightrail. I looked at my HR monitor and immediately told Drew to go on without me and I eased off. I caught up with the crew at the next light and told them I was gonna bail. I didn’t want to hold them up if they wanted a hammer session. I turned around and enjoyed the recovery pace I was looking for.

A bachelor party weekend lies ahead. I’m flying out to Columbus tonight, and then we are driving to WV for some whitewater rafting. I think there is a chance that we’ll get kicked out of the campgrounds. G gave me three rules that I needed to follow 1) Don’t die, 2) No physical injuries and 3) No jail. I hope to follow #1 for sure, the others…..well.

Paris - Roubaix and IM Arizona

2007-04-13T10:06:00.000-05:00

So following others lead I’ll post my predictions for Paris – Roubaix on Sunday

1st – Vladimir Gusev
2nd – Fabian Cancellera
3rd – Leif Hoste
4th – Alessandro Ballan

Boonen will be somewhere in the top 10, though the way he looked on the last climb in the Tour of Flanders, I don’t think his form is where it needs to be. I’m never good at picking winners though. Whether its basketball, football, cycling, whatever I suck so you can pretty much count on those picks being off the mark.

My coach is racing IM Arizona this weekend. I plan on watching him on the web, but I think I'll only be able to follow for a little while as I plan on riding with Grumpy/LGR and watching P-R with the group. I had a workout with John on Tuesday and asked him how he felt. He thought the second half of the marathon was his biggest worry. If you are interested he is bib #13 and is racing in the pro division. Overall it looks like a big weekend of race viewing. That is after a short trip to Des Moines for a wedding tonight.

Sweet Deal....Or Not

2007-04-10T08:50:00.001-05:00

So yesterday I was getting ready for a swim workout and needed a bit of food so I went to the GNC in the Skyway to see if they had any gels. I thought it was my lucky day as they were getting rid of the Powergels that were set to expire in June. The regular price was 1.29, but they were marked down to 0.32. There were 10 left so I bought them all. The flavor was strawberry-banana so I figured they would work fine. Besides how often can you get gels for that cheap? So as I was getting ready to jump in the pool I squeezed a packet into my mouth and almost went through the full gag reflex thing. Turns out they taste like a mix between ‘Tussin and Vicks 44D. Sweet only 9 more to go!

Seriously

2007-04-03T10:49:00.000-05:00

Fucking Snow.

Hello Mother Nature.......Its April 3rd!

Morning Crack

2007-04-03T10:27:00.000-05:00

So John on KEXP is a really funny guy. I pretty much listen to his show every morning. When he’s out sick or on vacation and I tune in to hear someone filling in for him it’s a pretty big disappointment. He plays a great mix of music, and has great commentary. For example, the following commentary made me laugh out loud.

A listener wrote in to him saying they needed some song suggestions from the 1987 era. The listener suggested all music from that era was crap. So John put together a set of good music from that time period, and also made fun of some not so good music. During some commentary he made reference to Guns and Roses and he was like…”didn’t that album come out around ’87? Wasn’t it great to listen to that album while you were trying to replace your blood with alcohol?”

Funny Stuff I tell ya, you should give him a listen. It also reminded me of one of the better Modest Mouse lines “I drink away the part of the day that I cannot sleep away.” So while we are on music here’s a new recommendation:

Artist: Tokyo Police Club
Album: A Lesson in Crime

The tracks Citizens of Tomorrow and Nature of the Experiment pretty much kick my face in.

Wet and Windy

2007-04-02T08:32:00.000-05:00

This weekend pretty much sucked for being outside. I was going to go out for a ride on Saturday morning but woke up to rain and cold so I bagged it. I went to the Y and swam then came home and rode on the trainer. Before the game we went to REI to register for the wedding. It’s a cool place to register, but everything that’s on our list is way too expensive for anyone to actually get us. I guess you could call it our own little wish list. The other places we are going to register are going to be way less fun for me (Crate and Barrel, Bed Bath and Beyond, and Target) so REI was basically my registry.

After REI we watched the Buckeyes advance to the championship game against Florida. I just hope it doesn’t end up like our last two meeting with them, the 26 point loss in BBall and the complete embarrassment by the football team. I also would like to see us win due to the fact that I can’t stand Joachim Noah. I mean really man, do you have to get so jacked up after every single play. The guy is a jackass, and he can’t dance.

Sunday I managed to get out for around 35 miles on the bike. It was cold and rainy (actually it only rained for like 20 minutes) and my first road ride in MN for the season. I was amazed how good the road bike felt. It is way more agile than the Cervelo. Riding it made me want to upgrade to a better road bike. That’ll have to wait for a while though. In the afternoon we went grocery shopping and then I had an hour run to get in. I opted for the treadmill at the Y rather than getting out in the elements again. After dinner we got our wedding website up and running. I’ll post a link as soon as the important people (mother and future mother in-law) proof it.

Race Report #1

2007-03-30T08:35:00.000-06:00

So we made it back safely from NC. It was an action packed few days, though we did manage to relax a bit. Here is the abbreviated summary of the trip. More stories and some pictures will surface in the future I'm sure.

Friday
We got into RDU around 4 and picked up the sweet ass Town and Country Minivan. G and I immediately headed for the bar and waited for the rest of the crew to join us. We sat outside in the awesome weather and had 2 beers. Before heading to Charlotte we stopped by some friends place and then continued on to pick up the rest of the road crew. We finally left Chapel Hill around 8. Oh yeah, on the way out of town we picked up some Sparks for the road. It took like 2.5 hours to get to the hotel, just in time to catch the start of the Tarheel game. We ended up crashing at 12:30, and then got up at 4:30.

Saturday
We stopped for pancakes at IHOP for breakfast, checked in, and got the bike and legs warmed up. The run ended up being a mix between road and trail. Man it was freakin hilly and had lots of exposed rocks and tree roots. I made it through the first 5k without a twisted ankle. I pushed it too hard though and felt like crap getting on the bike. The bike course was a 5 mile loop that we did three times. I forgot about the hills in NC. My lungs were good, but my legs were not so happy with the hills. As I approached the bike dismount line I felt my right calf start to cramp. Man it was hot, hilly and humid. I got my legs under me and pushed through the second 5K. I felt much worse than the first 5k, but ended up with almost the exact same time as the first.

I ended up 3rd in my age group and 30th overall. I was happy about getting an early race in, but was not all that pleased with my times. I averaged under 8 min. miles for the runs and just over 21 mph for the bike. I just didn’t have very good legs. But hey, I did manage to come away from the race with some hardware (I never actually got the hardware though because we left before they had the awards ceremony. Our checkout time was fast approaching and we wanted to shower).

We made it back to Chapel Hill in time to watch the Buckeyes fight there way into the Final Four. After the game we went out for dinner and then to a friends birthday party. I drank more than I had in the past two months and was curious how I would feel on Sunday.

Sunday
Felt better than expected. We had breakfast and then headed out on our bikes. We got a later start than I had wanted and it was already getting warm outside. After 60 miles we my legs said, after yesterday, that’ll do. After the ride I crashed on the couch for about 45 minutes before heading out to watch the Tarheels choke. The day was what I imagine a professional athlete's feels like (sans the slight hangover and plans to drink more later that night). They wake up and eat and then get ready for their workouts. After they are done they sleep till they are ready to either eat or workout again. That would be a sweet life, damn genetics. After the game we hit Chapel Hill and closed down the bars. Funny not many kids out after the disappointing loss.

Monday
Felt like shit. Only got like 25 miles in. It was pretty much a wasted day in terms of riding. We did get to sleep a lot and hang out at Weaver Street. What is this thing called air conditioning they have here?

Tuesday
On the bike early and got another 60 miles in. The weather was overcast so that helped with my sunburn. That night we had dinner with friends and a late night movie.

Wednesday
Back to MSP and reality. Vacations are great until you get back to work.

Overall it was a great trip. I really miss those country roads in NC. I think I should spend an entire week there next spring. The biggest problem is having people to ride with on a regular basis. So either Jeff needs to get a bike, or I need to bring a biking friend with me. The race gave me an early indication of where I was fitness wise, and prepared me for the Gear West Duathlon. From what I hear it is a trail run with lots of hills. I came home with some age group hardware and sweet tan lines. Now I’m off to the gym for a session of squats and lunges to get my legs in shape.

And We’re Off

2007-03-23T08:09:00.000-06:00

Our flight leaves at 1:30 today. I can’t wait to get out on the road. I was super excited to get on the bike till I read Smithers’ post about the pain he was in after a long road ride down south. Oh well, a sore neck and taint will be better than the boring hours spent on the trainer the past 2 months or so.

I got the bike packed into the case last night with little trouble. The exciting thing is always unpacking the box, checking for damage, and getting the setup the same as before you took it apart. I plan on putting thing together tonight in the hotel room as we watch the UNC game, hopefully they roll tonight. The Buckeyes game gave me a freakin heart attack last night. The last couple of games Oden has gotten into foul trouble. I’ve been watching him pretty close and it seems like he is getting frustrated about the physical play and jersey holding from the defense. He has showed less control in his anger and has resulted in some stupid fouls, at times I think close to flagrant. He’ll need to keep his composure Saturday against Memphis. Ron Lewis can only carry the team so many times.

I have a feeling the race on Saturday will be pretty slow, and I may puke at the end. It’ll be nice to get some red-line time in the legs and lungs though. Besides I need to burn off the Raspberry Cheesecake G got me from Cold Stone Creamery last night for my birthday. I think she got the Fat-Free one though.

Brick…Not the Ben Folds Type

2007-03-15T08:05:00.000-06:00

Last night was my first major brick of the season. I had an hour and twenty minute ride that included some heavy climbing drills. Off the bike I had a forty minute run. I was out of gels so I had no food during the workout. Needless to say the last 2 minutes of the run I was walking down the path of a big time bonk. I have no idea how far I rode as the battery in my computer went out on me. For the run I had to stay in HR Zone 1 (<146) and I managed to get 4.5 miles in. Except for the last few minutes I felt really good. According to FedEx my new shipment of eGel will be at the door sometime tomorrow.

Ford, an American Icon

2007-03-13T13:57:00.000-06:00

So it appears that Ford’s financial troubles are much bigger than anyone expected. In this article on Yahoo, it says they posted a loss of 12.7 billion in 2006. The article talks about how they are selling off their high end ventures (Aston Martin for sure, possibly Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo). The thing that really made me decide to post anything on this was this quote that I found really amusing.

“You can cut costs as long as you want to but at some point you're going to end up looking like Nicole Richie and it's not going to be a pretty picture. You have to start building revenue."

Man the US loves pop culture. It’s sad that if you don’t keep up on it at least a minimal amount, an article dealing with financial/economic issues may become even more esoteric. Not because you don’t understand economics, but because you haven read US this month.

The thing is the AFP article is right. Ford needs to start making cars that Americans want to buy. When was the last time you heard someone talk about being in the market for a new car, and that they were considering a Ford (Well besides T3)? The general American public (not T3)loves cars that are fast, loud, and good looking. That’s what Ford was built on and of course the pick-up. Get back to your roots and give the public what they want. A car that will allow them to thrown down some sweet burn-outs.

This was pretty cool to see today too. Glad I got 30+ years to build the nest egg.

Boring Workout Crap

2007-03-12T09:09:00.000-06:00

Workout Totals to Date (Since 12/4/06)*

Swim: 26.3 Miles (2.9/week)
Bike: 410 Miles (45/week)
Run: 153 Miles (17/week)
*Includes 8 days off for sickness

Next week we are heading to NC for some good road riding. I can’t wait to get back out on those roads. Besides friends, I’d say that’s the number one thing that I miss. You would only have to ride for like 5 minutes and you were out on back roads in the country. People were used to having bikes on the road, so there was little to worry about in terms of asshole motorists (not to say there were none). The best though was having the option year round. I hope I can remember all of the roads/turns. I’m sure it will all come back to me. I need to boost the bike mileage. Relying on the trainer for building base miles is less than optimal. It takes A LOT of effort to stay on it for 1.5 hours. I think my absolute breaking point is 2. To this point all of my bike workouts have been 1-1.5 hours, so 15 – 25 miles depending on the workout. It makes it tough to rack up the mileage.

To date the biggest improvement over last year at this time is my swimming. I changed up a few things with my cadence, and now I’m able to go longer distances. Once I’m comfortable doing like 2000 all free and no stopping I’ll really start to focus on increasing my speed. I think this is where my biggest gains in overall time will come from though.

While in NC I’m gonna race a duathlon. I plan on taking the first 5k easy, then really hammering on the bike and the last 5k. It should be a good indicator of my early season fitness. The folks down there have already started the racing season, so I don’t plan on bringing home any hardware. My next race will be two month later, the Gear West duathlon. Based on where I am in NC, my coach and I will be able to really focus my workouts. I’ve heard that that race is pretty tough. It’s at the Orono HS, and based on the cross race I went to there this past fall, it looks to be pretty hilly.

Time

2007-03-09T13:14:00.000-06:00

Now I know what time I was heading home the other night, 10 past eat. Thanks to Natalie Dee and The Oracle for this.

Holy Shit Man!

2007-03-09T10:57:00.000-06:00

Two days ago I had to stay a little late at work. As I was driving home along the Mississippi, I could just barely make out some figures running across the floodplain. They were a little hard to see because it was dusk. I pulled over to take a closer look and saw that they were a pack of Yetis, reaping the rewards of a fresh kill. Man the Yetis must be loving all of this snow lately. It’s so easy for them to disguise themselves, springing on their prey at the last minute. It should make for some fat Yetis this spring. For those of you who run or ride after dark, keep a watchful eye on any moving snow piles.

No New Bikes for Me

2007-03-02T13:09:00.000-06:00

I didn’t win the Powerball last night. We did however win the snow lottery. Man, I had to shovel three times in a 24 hour period. My lower back is feeling it. Whenever I’m out there shoveling I think of the movie Beautiful Girls and the scene where Natalie Portman critiques Timothy Hutton’s shoveling technique. It’s a great snowy Saturday/Sunday afternoon movie. Check it out if you’ve never seen it. I fell in love with Natalie Portman because of it. She had amazing lines written for her and she pulled them off spectacularly.

The men’s room at my work recently got a new air freshener scent. The crazy thing is that it is the exact scent that used to be at a bar that my friends and I would go to after work in NC (The Sunset). Every time I walk in there now I have a flashback and feel like I have a decent buzz. I hope the memory doesn’t get replaced with this hell I call work.

The weekend is a few hours away. No real plans for us. We are having brunch with friends tomorrow, and I have workouts both days. Otherwise I see a lot of relounging for us. I’m about ¼ of the way through a new book that I’m really in to, so I can also envision some time with coffee and reading.

New music recommendation: Tom Vek, We Have Sound.

A Nice Plug for Cat6 Sponsor

2007-02-28T09:07:00.000-06:00

Taken from an article on CNN Money. This is one guy that went about things the right way after winning the lottery. I guess I'll follow his lead after tonights Powerball Drawing.

Brad Duke won a $220 million powerball jackpot in 2005. Here's what Duke has done with his money so far.

$45 million: Safe, low-risk investments such as municipal bonds
$35 million: Aggressive investments like oil and gas and real estate
$1.3 million: A family foundation
$63,000: A trip to Tahiti with 17 friends
$125,000: Mortgage retired on his 1,400-square-foot house
$18,000: Student-loan repayment
$65,000: New bicycles, including a $12,000 BMC road bike
$14,500: A used black VW Jetta
$12,000: Annual gift to each family member

I wonder if it was the Time Machine?

I'm not sure what other BMC's are that expensive. DS or others can chime in if they know or have ideas. Maybe we should send him a petition for a Cat6 sponsorship. Can you imagine $65K in new bikes, effing a man.

Welcome a friend

2007-02-27T08:22:00.000-06:00

So I’m not sure on her policy about providing a real name, but a good friend of mine in NC has started a blog (sometimes we call her the Oracle). Check her out here. As I started drafting this post, I was thinking I would tell a good story about her as an introduction. Before I knew it I had so many stories that it would have taken me the better part of the day to get them written down, so I’ll make it brief. There are three major things that will forever bond us. These are only a few, and are pretty silly, but hey that’s what makes us cool. They are, 1) Books about people with really fucked up lives. Think along the lines of Chuck Palahniuk. 2) Lost. Yes the TV series. 3) Coors Light.

1) When I lived in NC we started a book club. Never mind the fact that the club only lasted for two books, thanks Dana. Well actually the blame lands on Jeff and Sumeet but I digress. The first book was on my recommendation as it was my idea to start the club. I selected Invisible Monsters by Mr. Palahniuk. I think it was a little over the top for some members, but she and I loved it from start to finish. That’s when we confessed our fascination with genre of literature.

2) I was hooked on Lost since the very first episode. I stumbled across it the day it aired. The show took a while before it took off, but I was hooked immediately. Anyway, I was always looking for someone to re-cap with. Well one day on a DRIVE to Kentucky, she found the episode being aired on AM radio. When she got to work after the trip we would have Thursday morning meetings to re-cap. The meetings were usually a complete play-by-play replay of the episode because Jeff forgot to watch and wanted to be in the loop.

3) Coors Light. Although we are both pretty liberal folks, we can’t stay off the Republican crack. The Oracle is one of those rare women in the world that can be considered one of the guys. This and her love for CL Smooth led to another of her nicknames, which she is listed as on the right. She can hang with the boys so well, sometimes at the bar she is waiting for us to finish our beers before we order another. When we were all still getting to know her, someone commented that they thought she had a hollow leg that she was pouring her beer into. No matter how much she would drink, she was always in control and lady like, though still one of the boys.

So welcome Oracle to the web. I can’t wait to see you in a few weeks.

Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired

2007-02-26T09:57:00.000-06:00

So last Sunday after the Buckeye/Gopher game, I came down with what I think was either the West Nile Virus or the Bubonic Plague. I was immobile till Wednesday, dealing with severe GI issues. Just when I started coming around I got nailed with a 45 lb weight on my head, sore throat, and congestion. I finally came around yesterday and was able to get a workout in. After eight days of sickness it felt great. I’m still poppin Sudafed, but feel like the sun is starting to shine again.

Well we’ve got lots of snow to play in. I got up at the crack of dawn on Sunday to shovel with Louie. There aren’t many things better than watching a young dog play in deep snow. I cam in and started a fire so G and I could re-lounge with coffee and breakfast. It was a great snowy Sunday. Cap it off with a solid win by the Bucks and a trip to the Y, life is good again.

Foiled by IT

2007-02-16T12:46:00.000-06:00

All this week I was being blocked by all blogger sites, but today it seems to be working. Anyway, I got the wheels home and they look freakin tits. I'm heading to NC the third week of mark for 5 days of riding and one race. I cant wait to get out on the road, not to mention race with the new wheelset. I'll post a picture of the ride all decked out soon.

I spent the last two night cleaning the basement for the out-of-towners that are getting here tonight. With a little remodeling work it is going to be the spot to be. When you walk down the steps you are greeted by the bar. Immediately to the left if the bike repair stand and various wheels, bikes and other stuff. On the wall facing the bar is a fireplace (I had the first fire in ti this week wile cleaning), flanked by another nook type area with the couch, TV, PlayStation, stereo, and love sac. I'm gonna tear out the carpet by the bar/bike area, get an espresso machine for behind the bar, a fridge for the homebrew, and decorate with lots of beer and bike stuff. It'll be sweet. Once that's all finished I'll just need to make some friends so that I'm not drinking alone in dim light of the fireplace. Feel free to sign up, it doesn't cost anything.

My Hero..

2007-02-16T12:41:00.000-06:00

So T3 is not only Cat6 tech support, he is also my social events planner. I have some friends coming into town this weekend that had some specific requests. The first was ice skating. I thought this would be an easy chore since it seams like Mpls. Park Board has rinks set up all over the city. The problem is that none of us have skates. So, rumor has it that the Kenny Activity Center has a bunch of loaners. If anyone has other ideas let me know. The only alternative is to go to the rink in Depot Downtown. The problem here is that you need to pay a decent amount for the rentals and the admission. Well, not that much I guess ~$15/person. Not a big deal, its just I’d rather spend $15 on something else. But hey, if that’s what the people want, that’s what they get. I looked at the pictures on the Depot website and it looks pretty cool. It might be worth supporting something like that in downtown to keep it up and running.

The second was a request on good coffee houses. My friend is a real coffee geek, so he has compiled a short list of places he picked off a message board that are near me. I’m sure we’ll hit up CRC, but I just don’t think its will suffice for the entire weekend. I’m looking for someplace open, with a pretty friendly feel, probably with couches or big chairs. It goes without saying that the coffee has to be above average. This is the short list he came up with. If you know anything about them let me know what you think.

Anodyne on 43rd
4301 Nicollet Ave

Coffee Fool (Roaster-Retailer)
7760 France Ave

Pandora's Cup
2516 Hennepin Ave

Black Sheep

T3 has been to Anodyne, though he didn’t have an opinion on it either way. He said he was there while building WMD’s in the basement below the coffee house.

I pulled the trigger

2007-02-07T08:52:00.000-06:00

Well Last night I spent a bit of my tax return. I got a set of race wheels. Here's a picture courtesy of HED.

They are carbon tubulars. I got them from Hollywood Cycles. Well, I ordered them from Hollywood. Jay is going to pick them up from HED on Thursday and then I'm going to head back to the shop and we'll glue on the tires. I've never really talked to Jay, so it should be an entertaining hour or so hanging in the shop with him. It will be hard to wait till April to bust them out on the road.

I was debating for a long time between Zipp and HED. After talking to Steve and Jay about HED, and some others about Zipp, the choice for me ended up being easier than I was making it. Zipp wheels are out of control expensive, not to mention having licenses on their shape from HED. That’s right, Zipp pays HED for the right to produce some of their wheels. Some of you may have known that, or may know more about the specifics, but it was all news to me. For a fraction of the cost, you get a great product.

I’ll post a picture of them on the Cervelo as soon as I get them home. I should be rockin the bike split this year!

2007-02-01T15:37:00.000-06:00

So I hope our wedding goes better than this one started out.

Also, completely unrelated, I started a new undershirt tucking method. I now tuck my undershirt into my boxers/long underwear. I creates way less of a jumble around the waist when you are wearing dress pants and button down shirts. Maybe a lot of people already do this and I am just late catching on. Wouldnt be the first time.

Work Comes Full Circle

2007-01-30T14:07:00.000-06:00

So the famous helicopter game has made its way back into my work day. When things get really slow you need something to help you get through the day. It’s been over a year and a half so I'm still a little rusty, but still managed to score a 1237 today. I couldn’t figure out how to save the screenshot as an image so that I could paste here. You'll just have to take my word for it.

Its effing cold, but hey they say the only thing that separates Minneapolis and the Arctic Circle is a barbwire fence. Or some shit like that. I realized that if you spend all of your time being antisocial, you have less and less to write about. I'm blaming it on the weather.

Happiness is....

2007-01-23T11:04:00.000-06:00

...a warm soft pillow. I've never heard anyone say that until today. Being totally run down right now, it made me want to go home right now. After a long stretch of workouts without a day off, I have a workout to look forward today. Check it out;

Actively focus on recovery today:
1) stay off of legs all you can,
2) watch nutrition closely (healthy carbs, lean protein, and good fats),
3) stretch, and
4) drink plenty of fluids.
Other common recovery aids include massage, napping, elevating legs, floating in water, and listening to music.

Done and Done.