Friday Funny 43: Bamboo Bikes

This isn’t “ha ha” funny, but it IS interesting. I think this is old news, but I just heard of it a few days ago. Did you know you can make bike frames out of bamboo? Here’s an article from the BBC a few days ago talking about it. It’s a pretty “green” bike (being bamboo grows so quickly), a bamboo frame only weighs about 4 pounds, and apparently it dampens vibrations better than carbon. This is news to me!!

I thought it was “neat” but maybe a little impractical for road cyclists. But then I came across this image of a bamboo bike ready to race an Ironman:

Man, that’s sleek!

p.s. My heel has been feeling GREAT the last 2-3 days, but I HAVE been taking it easy. (Since Sunday, I’ve only swum once, and that was short.) So I’ll be heading to the “Free to Run 4 Miler” tomorrow at Harriet Island. And I think there’ll be 3 tri club students running it too! Check back Saturday night or Sunday to see how they all did!! (I hope my heel holds up!)

p.p.s. If you came for a “ha ha” Friday Funny, here’s a little something from StuffThatMakesMeChuckle.com:

A.R.T. for M.E.

So that 13.1 mile run on Sunday at WIBA wasn’t the smartest. Before the run, I was thinking, “Last year I did the full 13.1 at WIBA, and I was fine.” But I forgot that last year, I was trained for a marathon 2-3 weeks before. Oops.

With about 20 minutes left in the run, my heel had a little sharp pain. It was my achilles ready to give up. I got through the run OK, but my heel was SORE. Dang.

Monday morning, I called Dr. Folske ASAP, and made an appointment for some ART on my heel. I’ve talked a little about ART before (Active Release Techniques) - it’s a way to “dig out” tight/sore muscles and tendons. Some of it hurts a little. The final thing Dr. Folske did hurt MORE than just a little. To end our session, he had me stand up, with my left leg bent back at the knee resting on the therapy bed. Then he straddled my sore heel, dug in with his fingers and thumbs using his body weight, all while flexing and releasing my foot. That SUCKED (but it was a “good” suck - that sounds weird...).

It doesn’t show up too well in this photo, but my lower calf / upper heel was all red when he got done:

That was Monday. On Tuesday, was it was still a little sore, so I took it easy. It felt quite a bit better yesterday, so I was able to swim (just a short 1000 yards in 16:17 [1:37.8 / 100 yards]). Today it feels even better. I hope to go for a bike ride after class. Then I’ll rest tomorrow.

If all goes as planned, I’ll be doing a 4 mile road race at Harriet Island on the 4th. (A few members of the tri club are going to do it too!) I think with my iffy heel, it wouldn’t be smart to wear my racing flats. I REALLY want to try them out in a road race, but this might not be the best time. Anyway, here's to a healthy, pain-free heel!

p.s. I don't mind visiting Dr. Folske because I get to talk with Michelle Lilienthal who works for him. Yes, THIS Michelle Lilienthal:



Yeah, I might be a little star-struck. She just did the Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon (part of Grandma's Marathon in Duluth) WITHOUT tapering, just as "another training run," in a week that she had run 90 miles, and still finished as the 6th female in 1:18!! WHAT?!? That's crazy talk!!

More WIBA Photos

I have just a few more WIBA photos to share that some friends took. First, here are some from Stu:

Spitting in my goggles pre-swim


With Pharmie before getting wet

I like this next sequence of us jumping into Lake Menona. The best is the 3rd image down - I look freaked out, bow-legged, and strange, and Pharmie looks GREAT:

Tanya snapped one of the 3 of us before swimming:

Pharmie, Tanya, me

And she also got one of me grilling in my “grilling outfit” and with Pharmie in her normal “I just biked 60 miles outfit:”

Oh yeah: Stu got a good one of me grilling too. I like how the all the smoke makes this look like a dream sequence:

Is this your dream, baby?
Gross. Why did I say that?...

And Wil got a few good ones too. Here I am taking a vodka water break:

Chatting with new buddies Running Jayhawk and Out of Shape Guy


Non-bird and non-head-cut-off group shot pre-run
(if you don’t know what that all means, check my previous post)


Everyone starting the run in downtown Madison

WIBA #4 was SUCH a fun weekend! It was great to hang out with old friends!! And it was great to meet other fun athletes. We’ll have to see if we can make it to WIBA #5 next year. (The date is being changed, so we’ll have to see.)

Check my previous post for a TON of photos from the WIBA weekend.

2009 Wisconsin Ironman Brick Adventure

Sit down. Strap in. Hold all calls. Have you pooped? Because it will be a while before you can go to the bathroom. I have nearly 70 photos to share from the weekend at WIBA (Wisconsin Ironman Brick Adventure). It’ll be a long but fun post. Here’s how it will go down:

I. Arrival and Dinner
II. Open Water Swim
III. Bike Ride
IV. Post-Workout Meal
V. Run
VI. Endurance House Meeting

This was the 4th WIBA. Pharmie and I have been to all 4. We’ve made some good friends out there, and we just like to come and workout with them, even if we’re not training for IM WI.

OK, here we go.

I. Arrival and Dinner

Pharmie and I were able to catch I ride with Iron Girl Nyhus out to Madison. We made it out there in about 4.5 hours:

IGN, Pharmie, Me

I drove IGN’s SUV the last part of the ride, and I realized I’m not used to driving something that big. I mean, just take a look at my parking job:

Next door (at the Alliant Energy Center), there was an Airsteam convention:

We unpacked a little and then headed out to a dinner with everyone else.

Pre-dinner info from Robby


Pasta buffet!!


IM WI bike course analysis with Robby and Sweet

II. Open Water Swim

The next morning (Saturday), we all met at nearby Olin Park for an open water swim in Lake Menona. Here’s IGN, Pharmie, Charile, and Lisa checking out the weedy lake, with downtown Madison in the background (that’s Menona Terrace along the lake to the right, and that’s where the IM swim takes place):

IGN waving


Pharmie and I jumping in. Photo from Wil.


Finishing the swim with Al (who’s eating seaweed)


Post swim with Pharmie

So, there was a lot of algae in the lake. And a lot of weeds. Someone joked that swimming through it was like resistance training. Anyone doing IM WI, don’t worry - it’s NOT like that in the IM swim. Here’s the inside of IGH’s suit when she got done:

Rural Girl had to help Pharmie get into her sports bra after the swim, and it was pretty hot.

Pharmie’s side after the swim, all covered in algae

The funniest part was that when Pharmie took her suit completely off, her boobs, ribs, and belly button caught the algae in such a way that the inside of her suit looked like it had a smiley-face. We’re not making this up:

And here’s a shot from later in the day that shows 2 washcloths in the shower. Both were used. But can you tell which one Pharmie used to clean herself up after the green OW swim?

Nasty

III. Bike Ride

Right after the swim, we all headed out to Fireman’s Park to ride the IM loop. (the IM WI bike course is about a 16 mile “out,” a 40 mile loop done twice, and then a 16 mile “back.” Fireman’s Park is near the start of the loop.)

Everyone unloading


Pharmie and IGN getting ready


IGN, Tanya, and Pharmie


Everyone putting Wil’s phone number in their phone

Here’s most of the goup all ready to ride:

Click here for a larger version

I got to chat a bit with Mike and Jenny. If you remember, Mike won the Tales of a Virgin Athlete Contest a few months ago with his story of discovering triathlons and losing a combined 365 pounds with Jenny. Here’s the 3 of us together:

It was time to roll out!

Jeremy


Mike, Kara, and Lisa


Pharmie (with Tri-Mama behind her)

I had to get my annual shot of Rural Girl heading to the trees to pee:

Everyone was out riding. I went back to the room and relaxed. I stopped at Taco Bell, spent a half hour in the “fitness center,” and got ready to head back out to see everyone finish their ride.

Kara and Lisa


Stewie


Pharmie and Al

People were arriving. It was time to hit the grill!!

IV. Post-Workout Meal

A few weeks ago, I told Wil that I wasn’t going to ride, so I could help feed everyone. She asked Stu and I to man the grills. So that was our next task: to feed 80 hungry riders!

I changed into my grilling outfit: my “bowl full of sunshine” yellow shorts, wrist bands, head band, and apron. I think this is a good look:

Making fire




Photo from Wil


Stu and I manning our grills


Mike and Jenny bringing more goodies


“the spread”


With my “meat”


Robby excited to eat (and drink)


People hanging out


Robby giving instructions for the next morning

After grilling, showering, and resting for a moment, a few of us headed downtown to get some gelato. Here’s Pharmie and Jeremy:

Charlie, Lisa, Pharmie, Jeremy, TriSaraTops, Robby, and me.
Photo from Wil.


Pharmie, TriSaraTops, Lisa, and Wil heading back to the hotel

V. Run

Sunday morning, we got up, had a quick bite, and headed to the Terrace for a run. We were going to run the IM WI run course. Here’s Robby telling everyone about the swim exit and T1 in IM WI:

I set my camera up to take a group shot with the self-timer, but 2 funny things happened. First, the wind must have gusted through and tipped the camera forward, because I didn’t TRY to cut off everyone’s heads like this:

Sorry tall people!

Secondly, as we were waiting for the shutter to click, a bird flew though the picture, and we all laughed. As it turns out, that bird made it into the photo. Check the far upper-right:

I can’t make this stuff up

We split into groups, and we headed out:

Here’s everyone heading towards the capital in the first half mile:


Direct link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9kejwJSZVA

Heading down State St.




Doing the little “out-and-back” section on the bike path




“Off-roading” through the construction

I ran with the lead group. We did the full 13.1 mile course (it’s done twice for IM). Sweet led the group, and we chatted about nerdy college teacher things for a bit. I forgot the name of the guy in white (SO bad with names - sorry!). And I talked the most with Andy who’s doing IM WI this September. We had a nice chat. Here’s my group heading back towards the State Capital:

We did the 13.1 miles in an easy 1:44. The run was nice, but with about 20 minutes left, my left achilles suddenly got sore. I might be giving Dr. Folske a call today. Damn.

Back at the Terrace, there were some people hanging around that had just done 6-7 miles. Here’s IGN perched between some parking meters:

Pharmie showed up with Kara a few minutes later. They had just finished the full 13.1 miles too!

VI. Endurance House Meeting

One last stop before heading home. A few of us met at Endurance House - a tri store near Madison. They opened the store an hour and a half early just for us WIBA folks. They were going to do foot-strike analysis for anyone who wanted, and they gave us all a 15% discount! Sweet! Here’s IGN and Pharmie heading in:

Pharmie and I needed shoes shortly, so we thought we’d take advantage of the discount and the foot-strike analysis. Here she is on the treadmill:

Looking at her foot strike in slow-mo

Here’s a look at our foot-strikes side-by-side (be warned: this is one of THEE MOST BORING videos on YouTube):


Direct Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdM5UEXPoOs

Pharmie has a great stride/strike. My left leg is great, but my right leg has a little “flavor” at the end, and it kicks out a bit too much. So I tried some shoes that will work with that. Here’s Pharmie trying on shoes with hunky Justin:

IGN bought some compression socks, and she wasn’t sure how she’d get her legs into these little socks:

(As it turns out, she accidentally bought one size too small...)

So we hit the road for home. We kept joking about how much IGN and Pharmie had in common (I kept saying they were the same person). Well, after an hour on the road, they just proved my point even more:

What a fun weekend!!! Thanks Wil and Robby!

Note to WIBA participants: If you are in any of these photos or just want a copy of a few of them, just e-mail me and tell me what image(s) you’d like, and I’ll GLADLY send you the file(s). My e-mail is: stevestenzelphotography [at] yahoo.com Just put something about WIBA in the subject line because I get a lot of spam.

I might have a few more photos from friends in the next few days. Thanks for wading your way through such a long post!

WTF Is Going On Here?!?...

This is how I spent part of my weekend at WIBA:

Wanna know more? And see a BUNCH of great photos of people working out on the IM WI course? Check back Monday. I’ll have the post up as soon as I can wade through all my photos. What a fun weekend!!!

WIBA Riders!

Hi everyone! Just a quick note to let you know that we’re out in WI with a big group of old friends and soon-to-be friends! About 80 of them are out riding the IM WI course right now, and I’m sitting in an AC hotel room with reruns of “Married With Children” on in the background. I’ll be heading back out to Fireman’s Park to grill all kinds of goodies for the riders when they get done in a few hours.

We had a great time at the group meal last night, we had a fun (dirty, weedy) open water swim this morning, and hopefully, everyone’s having a good ride right now. Here’s a photo of about 85% of the group before the ride (about 2 hours ago):

Click here for a larger version

I might be back with a few pics now and then, but check back early next week for a TON of great IM WI training photos! (No, Pharmie and I are NOT doing IM WI. We just come out here for the good time!) Happy weekend!

Friday Funny 42: Men vs. Women

Just a quick Friday Funny with 2 recent funnies from StuffThatMakesMeChuckle.com that I enjoyed.

And here's another funny one that seems like it'd be a good idea (I love the expression on the kid's face)...

Speed Thursday 08: Track Intervals

Tonight, a few of us met at the St. Thomas track for some speed work. We got down there, and a lacrosse match was going on:

We asked one of the coaches if we could run on the track, and he said (with a smile) “Yeah, I’m more concerned about YOU guys getting hurt - some of these guys have HORRIBLE aim, so just watch your back!” I thanked him and we got ready to go.

A few students from the CVA Triathlon Club (who have been running quite a bit) were going to meet us there. But no one showed. Lame. So it was just the 4 of us “regulars”:

Me, Pharmie, Borsch, and Jen

- I didn’t know what I wanted to do: 800s or 1600s.
- Pharmie was out for speed: 400s for her.
- Jen was going to do some 800s.
- And Borsch had just finished a hard 15 mile ride, so he was there just to run some laps. Nice brick!!

We all took off. I decided on 1600s. I ran them pretty solidly: 5:33, 5:33, and 5:30 (for a 5:32 average). I was spent. It was warm, and that was a HARD workout. In fact, that’s my best 3 x 1600 average ever.

Here’s a shot of Jen running her speedy 800s:

And here’s a split-screen of Borsch and Pharmie at the same point on the homestretch:

I don’t know what Pharmie has to smile about during 400s...

That’s some good speed-work for the week. This weekend, Pharmie and I should have a good time working out with friends in Madison at WIBA! Should be a BLAST!!

p.s. Just over 3 years of blogging and 500 posts! Wow. Who’d a thunk it? Thanks for being with “Steve in a Speedo” for so long! Here’s to another 500!

2009 Liberty Olympic and Long Course Triathlon Photos

Here’s a photographic recap of the Liberty Triathlon nearly 2 weeks ago. Pharmie did the long course and I did the Olympic distance.

Here I am finishing a PR swim:

Pharmie popped out of the water shortly after me:

We hit the hilly bike course:

And here we are heading back into T2 after the ride:

The run started with a decent uphill that was all woodchips. Suck-fest. Here I am rounding the corner at the top of that hill:

Heading to the finish (notice 2 of my “CVA Triathlon Club” students cheering me on behind the “n” and the “t” at the end of “Moments”):

2:23:06 chip time (oly PR by 14:27)

Pharmie came to the line a few hours later, finishing her 6th half-iron distance triathlon!!

I’m taking a photo of her to the far left

Just behind her in those photos was Joe, a running buddy that she had made on the course. They did most of the 13.1 mile run together. I shouted “Way to go Joe!!” as he ran by. He turned back to see who was cheering him on...

...and then gave me a thumbs-up as he crossed the line:

Liberty was a fun tri! Pharmie and I may do this race again in the future!

I'll be back tomorrow with some photos from a group workout that's going down tonight. I'll post that tomorrow before the "Friday Funny." This is my 499th post, and I don't want #500 to be a "Friday Funny"...

Bike Accident

This story has been making it's way around lately. A biker was hit and seriously wounded during a triathlon on Sunday. The story is brief and doesn't share many details, but the reader comments are insightful / interesting / maddening / etc. Check out the story.

Who knows if it WAS a police officer's fault as one person claimed, but we should all just remember to be safe out there!! Racing or riding, we know that we may have the right-away, but other people can easily not see us out there! (It sounds like I'm saying it was the bikers fault, which I'm TOTALLY NOT doing!!) Stay safe everyone!!

+ + + + + + +

On that note, I went for a hot 23 mile ride last night. It was about 88 degrees and humid as all get-out when I started my ride after work. I road a relatively hilly (but not super hilly) route. I wanted to go hard. Here were my average miles/hour throughout the ride (they tell the story):

- 21.8: at the 35E bridge (around mile 7.5)
- 21.1: a mile across the bridge (gentle uphill)
- 20.5: turning around on the Mendota Trial at the tunnel
- 20.7: back to the bottom of the steep uphill by 35E
- 20.5: to the top of that hill
- 20.7: the end of Shepard Rd
- 19.9: up the bastard hill known as Ramsey
- 20.0: home (4 miles later)

I rode hard in the middle, and I held on to that 20.0 mph average (barely). It was a good hard ride. I was all sweaty once I got home, but I was surprised that I had such LITTLE boob sweat:

Intervals on the track tomorrow. And then off to WIBA (Wisconsin Ironman Brick Adventure) this weekend! Should be fun!!

(p.s. Liberty Triathlon race photos will be posted tomorrow)

Swimming with the CVA Triathlon Club

Yesterday morning, we headed to the Y for another low-key group swim lesson for anyone in the “CVA Triathlon Club.” (Note: it’s under 5 weeks until these current art students [and recent grads] tackle their first triathlon!) Swimming buddy Julia agreed to meet us and give some pointers / drills / advice.

We started with some dry-land core exercises:

Julia, Rudy, and Trent.
Rudy, drop those hips!

Then we hit the pool:

Julia, Rudy, Sarah, and Trent (who’s breakdancing I think)




Julia instructing the guys

They stopped to grab some pull-buoys to put between their legs to stay afloat a little easier. Rudy’s placing a pull-buoy between his legs, not doing... something else... really...

Sarah had to leave early (which is fine because she’s pretty fluid and comfortable in the pool), but the guys kept working for another 1/2 hour. Here are the guys doing a few freestyle laps at the end of our workout:

Thanks for your help Julia!! You’re the best!! Tri club members, make sure to hit the pool often to get more and more comfortable in the water. We’ve got under 5 weeks!! You should be upping your distances in all 3 disciplines!!

Back tomorrow with photos from Liberty Triathlon that Pharmie and I did 10 days ago.

7 Miler While Camping in WI

Friday through Sunday I was camping with the in-laws near Sparta, WI (near Amish country). Saturday, we went canoeing down the Kickapoo River, which is hailed as “the windiest river in the world.” Doubt it, but whatever. ("Kickapoo" is Algonquin for "one who goes here, then there," and that's about right for describing the river...)

Saturday morning, before hitting the river, Pharmie’s uncle John and I went for a 7 miler. (John recently ran a sub-1:35 half marathon, and he’s hoping to get under 1:30 at the end of the summer.) I had forgot to pack a good pre-run breakfast, so I had a FruitaBu roll-up and a granola bar:

John told me that I COULD NOT RUN WITH A WATCH! He wanted me to push him to a hard run, but he wanted me to just “feel it out,” have a “fun run,” and not be concerned with my splits. We ended up mapping out a 7 mile route, John let me wear my watch AND take mile splits, but I couldn’t look at it while I was running - I could just check my splits after the run.

We went out at a pretty good pace. For the first 3.5 miles, we were pretty chatty. I was probably going at about 85-90% of “all out” pace. After we turned around and started heading back to the campsite, John started talking less - he was pushing himself to a good run. Just before mile 5, he said he was going to ease up at mile 5 and cool down for the last 2 miles. I had worked him hard, and he was done. He told me to finish out the run, and he’d be not far behind. I finished 7 hilly, hot, Wisconsin miles in 51:01 (7:17 pace with a negative split), and John was just a few minutes back.

Here we are at the campsite after our run. John didn’t pee himself; that’s all sweat:

Our work was done; it was time to spend the afternoon canoeing down the Kickapoo River! We canoed for about an hour before stopping at the first of many sandbars. Across the river from the sandbar was a rocky ledge with a lot of plants growing on it. A few of us ventured up it so we could jump off. Here I go:

I jumped hand-in-hand with a few of Pharmie’s cousins too:

Fun times on the Kickapoo! Here’s our entire gang after getting off the river (I’m in the yellow visor in the back):

Back at the camp grounds, we had a good time in the pool:

That’s harder than it looks!

It was a fun way to spend the weekend! Now, I’m off to a “CVA Triathlon Club” workout, and then maybe another workout before having to teach.

$75 Gift Certificate Winner!

Yesterday, it was time to pick a winner for the $75 gift certificate to OnlineShoes.com from the 230 comments that people wrote on my post from last Monday. Those 230 comments translated into 403 entries because you could post about the contest or “follow” my blog to earn more entries. Well, a winner was chosen from those 403 entries.

Here’s how it went down (for accountability purposes): I wrote the numbers 0-9 on 10 little slips of paper:

First, I drew for the first digit of the winner (the “hundreds” spot):

I don't know why I'm so giddy...

I had to try a few times to get the first number: the entries only go into the 400s, but I first drew a 9. And then a 6. Finally, I drew a 3, so the winner was going to be in the 300s:

You can see the first 2 little slips of paper next to me

Then I drew a 5.

Finally, I drew a 2. I was pretty excited:

So the winner was number 352. I looked at my 16 page list of entries. Number 352 corresponded with Julia from California who is training for her first marathon this winter! PERFECT!

So Julia, enjoy your $75.00 gift certificate to OnlineShoes.com! Get some new shoes for training! Thanks everyone! And a big thanks to OnlineShoes.com for giving away goodies!! Have a great week everybody!

(p.s. Yes, that's a hot dog giving a thumbs-up on my t-shirt. And yes, it says "Weinerland" under the thumbs-up-giving-hot-dog. What of it?)

Commenting Closed

Entries are no longer being taken for the OnlineShoes.com $75 gift certificate giveaway. There were a TON of entries with many people commenting about how great their past experiences have been with OnlineShoes.com.

Now, I’ll be giving everyone who entered a number, with multiple numbers given to those who earned extra entries, and I hope to do the drawing later tonight. I’ll be back tomorrow (hopefully) with the announcement of the winner! If you aren’t a blogger and you put yourself in the running to win the gift certificate, make sure to check back so you can contact me if you get picked as the winner. (If you commented as a blogger, I can get a hold of you through your profile or your blog, so don’t worry.) If I can’t contact the winner in 24 hours after announcing it, I’ll have to draw again. You’d hate to have that happen to you!

Happy Sunday!!

Good Things For Your Body

1. Monkey Shake from 10:10 Wellness
2. FRS Supplements
3. MixMyGranola.com
4. Free Shoes Reminder!!


1. Monkey Shake

I’ve been a fan of this stuff for a few months now! “Monkey Shake” is a homemade recovery / meal replacement drink from Chris at 10:10 Wellness. It contains rolled oats, whey protein, chia seeds, and RenewPro (another kind of whey protein). Click here to read all about it on the 10:10 site.

You can mix it with other things to make it more delicious. Here’s my personal set-up:

Milk, frozen berries, a few ice cubes, and a naner (yes, a “naner”) go into the blender, and the Monkey Shake gets sprinkled on top:

What results is hearty and delicious:

I like to have a good Monkey after a hard workout to “kick start” muscle repair. These photos are from when I made a Monkey Shake on Sunday morning (the day after my oly tri). Oh, and once, I made it with fresh-squeezed OJ from my grandparents, and that was GREAT! The “Monkey” is good stuff!

In the name of full disclosure: If you’ve noticed, there’s the “Gate Logo” at the top and bottom of my sidebar. I’m one of Chris’s instigators for 10:10 Wellness. I’m helping spread the word about his company, and I may make a little commission in the process. I’m not in it for any potential money, but more so because Chris and I have been in contact for the last 6 months, and I really like the idea behind his little triathlon company. So go check out 10:10 Wellness, see if there are any deals on things you use, and sign up to be an instigator if you’re intrigued by all of this.


2. FRS Supplements

I was recently sent this package from FRS:

That’s 3 canned drinks on the left, liquid concentrate in the middle, some pineapple-mango energy chews, and a box of single-serving drink mix packets on the right.

Honestly, I don’t care for the canned drinks that much, but then again, I’m not much on Red Bull or anything else like that. The single-serving packets are good, but they take a while to dissolve (I’ve learned to stir it and let it sit for 5 minutes, and then it’s fine). I think the packets would work well in a blended drink, like in the Monkey (I still need to try that combo - it could be great!).

But, I like the energy chews. They’re about the size of a piece of Bubblicious Gum, and they’re pretty good! They’re filled with antioxidants and all kinds of vitamins for a natural energy boost.

And I REALLY like the liquid concentrate. I’ve used it before workouts, before races, and even before big days remodeling our porch. It DOES give me a bit of a boost, and I really like the taste. The directions say to use 2 ounces of concentrate:

That gets mixed with 6 ounces of water to make a good, smooth energy drink:

I like that stuff: it tastes good, and I feel the boost. So check out FRS if you’re interested (it’s the “Low-Cal Orange Liquid Concentrate” that I like, in case you’re looking for it).


3. MixMyGranola.com

No offense to 10:10 Wellness or FRS, but MixMyGranola is the best idea of these 3! Here’s the low-down: I don’t eat granola. I think the last time I had granola was in high school. But MixMyGranola contacted me and wanted me to try their product. And it’s a GREAT IDEA!

You go on their site. First, you choose from 4 different granola “bases.” Then you choose from 19 different fruits to add (you can choose 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, etc.). Then you choose from 17 different nuts and seeds. Then you choose from 20 different “extras” like gummi bears, chocolate raisins, candy corn, etc. Finally, you can add a powdered “enhancer” if you’d like. The great thing is that your total cost and nutritional info is constantly updating as you’re adding and subtracting things from your mix! You place your order, and in a few days, a tube arrives in the mail:

You can name your mix, and that name appears on the back of the tube along with all your nutritional info. I called my mix “Steve in a Speedo,” and you can see what ingredients I added:

The tube smelled delicious:

I poured out a small bowl:

It was REALLY good! But of course it would be - I made it specifically to my liking. What a great idea!! They have gift certificates, and I think that would make a good gift for the right person! Because I added all kinds of fruit (and once shipping was added in), my tube ended up costing around $15, so it’s not something I’d do all the time, but it’s a fun treat. Thanks MixMyGranola!!


4. Reminder of OnlineShoes.com giveaway

This one isn’t food related like the first 3 things. You just have a few more hours to go to this post and leave a comment to be entered to win a free $75.00 gift certificate to OnlineShoes.com. You have through midnight tonight!! Sign up!

Friday Funny 41: Four Random Funnies

Just a quick Friday Funny with 4 recent funnies from StuffThatMakesMeChuckle.com. Enjoy!

Again, Click Here (or scroll down a few posts) to be put in the drawing to win a $75.00 gift certificate to OnlineShoes.com. You can only enter through Saturday night at midnight!

Short, Speedy Wednesday

(BTW: Click Here [and leave a comment on that post] to be put in the drawing to win a $75.00 gift certificate to OnlineShoes.com.)

Yesterday AM, I headed to the pool for some intervals. My next tri is over 4 weeks away, and it’s just a 400 meter swim. So I figured I’d do short intervals: 50 yards. I’d never done intervals that short; I usually do 16-20 x 100 or 4 x 500. Yesterday, I thought I’d try around 15 x 50 (with 20 seconds rest) to work on some speed.

I ended up doing 17 (I think I should have done a few more) with an average of 0:41.15 / 50 yards:

41, 40, 40, 42, 43, 42, 43, 43, 42, 42, 42, 42, 41, 41, 40, 41, 41

I was circle-swimming for the first few intervals with 2 other people. Before I started, I chatted with one of the ladies: “Good morning. How are you?” I told her I’d be doing 1 lap intervals so I’d be stopping every lap, but I’d be out of everyone’s way at the shallow end for those 20 seconds between intervals. (If I’m circle-swimming, I want to make sure we all know what each other’s doing so there are no surprises when it comes to turning around at either end.) I was TOTALLY being nice and conversational, and her only response was a VERY SNOOTY “Well, YOU just make sure to stay out of OUR way!” What? Really? That seemed uncalled for. Maybe she misunderstood me. I dunno.

Anyway, I circle-swam just fine, and made EXTRA sure to swing wide around Miss Snooty Pants. On my 2nd interval, I swam wide around her, and ended up scraping my nose right along the floating lane dividers. Not my hand. Not my shoulder. But my nose. The nose on my face. More proof that I can NOT swim in a straight line in a lake OR in a pool.

Three hours later, after I had a meeting at one of the schools where I teach and I had been home grading projects for an hour, I happened to glance in the mirror. I had a nice scrape on my nose that NEARLY matched the purple on my sprained hand:

I’m a wreck!

About 6 hours after swimming, I hit the track for some 400s. As the title of this post implies, yesterday was for SHORT, INTENSE burst of speed at the pool and at the track. Talking with Pharmie’s uncle (who’s athletically inclined), he told me that to try to get my 5K time down close to 17:00 (which I’m NOT shooting for this year), I need to be running 8-12 400s at 70 seconds pace. I thought I’d give that a try.

(75 seconds rest in between.)

#1: 1:10. “On the nose. But I can NOT do that 8 more times...”

#2: 1:07. “Whoa. Ease up there little boy with girlish legs big boy.”

#3: 1:09. “Better. Good”

#4: 1:10. “Getting hard. Can I go home yet?”

#5: 1:11. “Hard. My legs are beat up. Am I tasting blood?”

#6: 1:12. “I can NOT do this 2 more times. Once more is it.”

#7: 1:12. “Seemingly ‘all out.’ Rough. Slower than it should have been.”

That was it. I couldn’t get myself to do one more. I felt like my legs and my core were both going to blow-out. That was the first time that I’d done 400s in 14 months (since Grandma’s Marathon training 2008, just before I got injured). I think the next time I try 400s, I’ll shoot for doing 9 at about this pace. We’ll see. Regardless, it was a good, speedy day.

Again, Click Here (or scroll down a few posts) to be put in the drawing to win a $75.00 gift certificate to OnlineShoes.com.

You’ve Really Got To “HAND” It To Me...

Because I just shattered my old Olympic distance triathlon PR by over 14 minutes? (See last post.)

No.

Because I’m giving 1 lucky reader a $75 gift certificate to OnlineShoes.com? (See 2 posts down, and ENTER yourself if you haven’t already! It’s the post from Monday with the big shoe image.)

No.

Because my busted hand is turning purple and is about ready to fall off?

Yes. That’s why you need to “hand” it to me. Get it? Because I need a new hand. Funny, right? Oh jeez, when I have to explain the joke, usually the joke isn’t that funny. I apologize for being alive. So sorry.

But seriously, my hand has been turning more and more purple since I bent my thumb backwards trying to get out of my wetsuit too fast on Thursday. Here was the photo (that I posted on Saturday) from right after it happened:

Notice it’s not discolored yet, but it IS swelling up huge and casting a big, nasty shadow.

Now, I think it’s at it’s peak of purpleness. Yesterday, it looked like this (with the discolored area highlighted in red below each image incase you can’t see where it’s discoloring):

Pharmie can’t look at it because it makes her sick.

Chicks dig scars; but apparently swelled, purple hands make them throw up a little in their mouth. Dang. I’m always so close... yet so far away.

Liberty Olympic Triathlon Report

Well, it’s been a few days - time for a race report!! Pharmie and I both did the Liberty Triathlon on Saturday: she did the Half Ironman distance (1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run), and I did the Olympic distance (0.93 mile swim, 25 mile bike, 6.2 mile run).

We were out the door just after 5, and we were to the race site just after 6. We KEPT running into people that we knew, and that was slowing us down a lot! We weren’t complaining - we LOVE seeing all kinds of friends at races. And now that we’ve been racing and blogging for a few years, we always know a bunch of people.

We got mostly set-up in transition, and snapped a photo:

I hit the porta-johns, and I remembered that’d I’d have to pretty much completely disrobe to be able to do ANYTHING in my tri suit. So I think this sort of photo will be one of my new standard race-day photos. Here’s me with my tri suit around my ankles in the pooper:

We got down to the water, and we were hanging out with friends: Julia, Kate W, and Pharmie were starting shortly, as they were all doing the Half IM. Miss Allycat was hanging around to cheer for BF Ryan who was also doing the half. Jeremy and I were starting off in the same Olympic wave, and his family (including his new 4 week old!) was there to cheer. And Jen was starting a few waves after us, getting ready to do her first Oly! It’s GREAT knowing so many people at a race!

The first 5 Half IM waves took off, then there was a little break, and shortly after that Jeremy and I were getting ready to go. Ally snapped a photo of Jeremy and I next to each other as I was taking my pre-race pee. Apparently, I stand awkwardly when I pee:

I was ready to push hard but to still have fun during this race. At the Apple Duathlon a few weeks ago, I was in the mindset to have 15% fun, 85% hard race. And I finished that race very proud of my effort. Standing at the start of Liberty, I was thinking I’d have 30% fun, 70% hard race. I wasn’t putting as much pressure on myself for this race. But it was still going to be a good effort!

SWIM:

Mark sounded the siren from his bullhorn, and we were off! Immediately, I was thinking “what the hell am I doing HERE?...” I was towards the inside, and I like swimming in clean, open water. I’ll swim WAY to the outside if it means I have to worry less about colliding with other people. In the spot where I was, I was surrounded by people. I should have started about 50 feet farther towards the outside. Damn it.

I tried to settle into a rhythm. At NOLA 70.3, it just took a minute or so to get comfortable. Well, with all the sighting I had to be doing, I didn’t get comfortable for a long time. My breathing wasn’t the best. I was swimming EASILY, but still working too hard. I was finally getting comfortable near the turn-around. I think I started feeling better because I relaxed to pee. Really.

I hit the middle of the short back-stretch (the halfway point) and glanced at my watch. It read 12:59. WHAT? I looked at it again. Sure enough, I was having a pretty good swim! It wasn’t “crazy fast,” but it was shaping up to be a solid swim! Heading back towards shore, I found a lot of clean, open water, and I was swimming with good form. My second half of the swim is never as fast as my first half, but I still was swimming strong. I ended up shooting out of the water in 27:42, and I ran up the beach and over the timing mats with an official swim split of 28:07. Nearly a 4 minute oly swim PR! Nice!

As I was running out of the water, I heard someone cheering me on. I thought it was Miss Allycat, but it turned out to be rockstar duathlete/triathlete Cathy Y. She snapped this great photo of me exiting the water:

T1:

I knew my transition times would be slow because of my sprained thumb (see post from Saturday night). I was a little slow in getting off my wetsuit, and in putting on my socks. I was off in 2:06.

BIKE:

They kept saying that this was a “technical, hilly ride.” I was prepared for the hills, so they didn’t seem that bad. It was just CONSTANT rolling hills. The “technical” part was that you were always turning. There was never a chance to get into a rhythm - rarely did we ever go more than 1 mile straight before turning or veering.

After a few miles, I was averaging over 19 mph on the hills. I told myself to ease up in case the hills started to take too much out of me. I passed Pharmie’s friend Ann after a couple of miles, and then immediately passed Pharmie too. She shouted “Jeremy passed me 4 minutes ago! Go get em, hunnie!” I was passing WAY more people than usual, and that made me feel great! Then I realized that I was passing a lot of people that were doing the Half IM, so then I felt less great. Oh well.

Here are some stats on the bike:

- 19.3 mph average at mile 5
- 20.5 mph at the halfway point (mile 12.5)
- flew out of my left cleat at mile 18. WTF?
- 20.6 mph nearing the finish
- 20.5 rolling into transition

I was QUITE happy with my performance on the bike. I was a little depressed from mile 10-15, but at mile 15, I kicked it in with the thought of only having 10 miles left. (I passed about 10 people in 1 mile around mile 15.) I came up on Jeremy around mile 20, and he said he was having a rough day. He took off again in front of me.

Returning to the park, Ally saw me again, and she snapped this photo as I rolled by (and that's the race director, Mark, in red in front of me who I waved to):

The only bad news of the day so far was that my stomach was getting upset. Half way into the bike, it was unsettled. I had to remind myself to keep talking in liquids and gels to be ready for the run. It wasn’t that I was taking in TOO MUCH or TOO LITTLE - I couldn’t figure out what was wrong. So I just made sure to be taking in enough, and I hoped my stomach would work itself out on the run. Hopefully.

T2:

Everything was pretty normal here. I saw and heard 2 of my “CVA Triathlon Club” participants, Sarah and Evan, cheering me into transition! I smiled and gave a little wave. I had a rock inside my sock, so I took the time to take off my sock, find the rock, and put everything back on to start the run. I threw on my new Saucony racing flats, and I was off in 1:13.

RUN:

Miss Allycat was out cheering for us on the run. I caught up to Jeremy pretty quick. I asked how he was doing. He said he felt like he was going to puke. I told him my stomach was pretty unsettled, and that if it gets much worse, I’d have to puke too. Yay: puke-fest. I felt like I took it a little easy on that first mile to get my stomach back to normal.

Mile 1: 7:05. “Dang. That’s too slow for me.” But there was a pretty big hill, and I was trying to get my stomach in line, so I wasn’t too pissed.

My stomach started feeling better, and I was upping the pace.

Mile 2: 5:51. “Mile 1 might have been a little long, and mile 2 might have been a little short. But my stomach’s feeling better! Go get em!”

Mile 3: 6:30. “Good. Hold that for now.”

Mile 3.1 (5K turnaround): 19:52

I only walked about 4 steps at the turnaround cone when I was taking a drink and thanking the volunteers. Other than that, I was running the entire way. I was really hoping I could do a sub-40:00 run. But these little rolling hills started feeling bigger and bigger!! The great thing about an out-and-back run is getting to see everyone else: after the turnaround, I saw Steve H from the Y, then Jeremy, then Jen pretty close behind, then Ann. I cheered for all!

The tri suit was holding up, and so were the new shoes. I was getting a little hot, so I was dumping water down my back at each aid station. And my tri suit zipper was opened quite far, with my chest hair wafting in the breeze. It was quite romantic, really. Like a scene from “The Notebook.” Rachel McAdams was running right next to me...

(The splits are weird from here on because on the way back, I took them from the mile markers of the half IM course...)

Mile 3.1-4.1: 6:30. “Good. ‘Holding it’ like I wanted to! Now pick it up!” The hills magically got bigger on the way back. Really. Magically bigger.

Mile 4.1-5.1: 5:47 “Can I go sub 40?? It’s time to GO!” I knew it’d be close. I just went hard.

Coming down the final hill back to the water’s edge was rough: I nearly biffed it on the loose woodchips as I was running so hard. At the bottom of the hill was Ally with a sign that read something like “You make Spandex look GOOD!” I loved it! A quick glace at my watch revealed that I’d probably end up over 40:00, but under 41:00. Damn. I still pushed it hard.

But as I hit the line, I realized that my math was wrong! I finished with a run that was over 39:00, but under 40:00! I had my sub-40:00 10K!

Steve Stenzel, number: 580, age: 28

Swim: 28:07 (1:43/100yd), 84th fastest
T1: 2:06
Bike: 1:12:09 (21.6 mph official, 20.5 computer), 67th fastest
T2: 1:13
Run: 39:33 (6:22/mile), 18th fastest

Total Time: 2:23:06

Overall Place: 37 out of 194
Age Group: 9 out of 15
Gender Place: 35 out of 135

Notes compared to last years Olympic distance tri (which was on a much flatter course):

- Nearly a 4 minute swim PR
- Over a 4 minute bike PR (on a hiller course this year!!)
- Over a 3 minute run PR (with way more rolling hills!!)
- Add in some much faster T times, and that’s an Olympic PR by 14:27!!! And that PR is from a much more challenging course! I’ll take it!!

It’s a little depressing that I’ve been getting faster and faster, but I still placed in the bottom half (nearly the bottom third) of my AG. That’s really not getting me down - I’m just happy that I’m moving in the right direction!

Jeremy’s family and my 2 tri club students were at the finish to cheer me in. I went to talk to my students afterwards. Watching the triathlon got them SUPER PUMPED to race in their first tri in a few weeks! (And I knew it would!) I cheered all my friends across the line. Then I grabbed some food and waited for Pharmie to finish her long ride. Jeremy and I spotted her coming towards T2:

I ran into transition with her to see how she was doing. Her times were where they should’ve been, and she was ready to run! (The whole time, I was thinking how glad I was to be done!...)

I went to get changed out of my tri suit in a porta-potty. The bottom of my feet were pretty sore, so I snapped a photo of a little hot spot:

Yes, I’m barefoot in a porta-potty.
Yes, that’s after I got changed out of my tri suit.
So yes, that means I’m completely nude in that photo...

They had the Oly awards shortly after. Steve H from the Y got 2nd in his AG, and Jen, who had just finished her first Oly, placed as the 6th female and got 2nd in her AG!! And Pharmie’s friend Ann was the 1st place Athena! Way to go you guys!!!

I ran to go get another burger before going to find Pharmie at the run turn-around. Here’s my second burger (I was too excited to take a photo before taking a few bites):

I hopped on my bike and got to see Pharmie (and new running buddy Joe) at the turn-around:

I followed them for a minute or 2 on my bike. Here they are running through a big clearing with other racers (they’re running away from me on the right):

I came up behind them for one more check: “So you’re doin OK? Alright! See you at the finish!”

I went back to the finish area, and I bumped into Julia right away. She was getting ready to go spread some cupcake cheer!

During the Half IM awards, we learned that Julia finished 4th overall!! And she WON her AG during her FIRST Half IM!! Here she is getting her award:

Top 3 in the 40-44 AG

I chatted with Julia and her fiancé quite a bit after the race. She was afraid to take off her socks and look at her feet. This is why:

Yeah, that’s a HUGE blood blister with a regular blister over it! And her second and fourth toenails were purple. That’s nasty, Julia! Why would you let me take a photo of that?!? ;)

I sat in the shade near the finish line and cheered in all the Half IM finishers. Here’s the final stretch of the run, nice and flat, going left to right on a small paved trail along the lakefront:

Right around when Pharmie hoped to finish is when she came running by!!

Congrats Pharmie!!

She was a little beat up, but she was OK. We loaded up the car, stopped at a gas station for some chocolate milk (one of the best recovery drinks!), and headed home. We showered up and actually took an hour nap together! (The nap was together, the shower was not.) I’m not much of a napper, so this RARELY happens!

Back with official race photos shortly! Oh, and make sure to comment on yesterday’s post to get your hat thrown in the ring for a $75.00 OnlineShoes.com gift certificate!

Who Wants a Free Pair of Shoes?

That’s right! OnlineShoes.com is “using me” to give away a $75.00 Gift Certificate to their website.

OK, buying shoes online can be tough, right? But when I used OnlineShoes.com, it’s nice because they have through customer reviews about each shoe. In the reviews, the reviewer can remark about the shoes size, width, arch type, and leave of general comments. So when I was looking at a pair of Saucony racing flats, I checked out their Saucony Running Shoes page. (And here’s the link to their running shoes page.)

I found these:

Saucony Grid Sinisters!

The customer reviews told me that this shoe would be OK for longer races (like 5Ks, 10Ks, and half marathons), and that it was pretty true to size (some racing flats run small, so I wouldn’t have known what size to order if they didn’t have this feature!). The nice thing is that OnlineShoes.com actually ships a return label with the shoes incase the size isn’t quite right. You can ship them back and request a different size.

Oh, and did I say “Free Shipping?” And “90 day return policy?” Well, I should have. Those are good selling points.

Anyway, that’s enough of an advertisement - on to the giveaway. I’m running this giveaway much like Chic Runner when she was asked to do the same thing - she gave me some good advice, and you may recognize this giveaway format from her blog. Thanks Chic Runner!!

To be entered in the drawing, you just need to leave a comment on this post. I know that’s not easy, but you gotta work for these shoes! ;)

Want your name in the hat twice? If you’re a blogger, become a follower of my blog to earn a second entry. Just click the “follow” button in the upper right of my blog, and let me know that you’re a follower in your comment that you leave. (You can also "add" my blog through your Blogger Dashboard.)

Want your name in the hat a third time? Then post a link on your blog to my blog telling your readers about this contest and giving OnlineShoes.com a little more advertising, and you can earn another entry. And again, let me know in your comment that you did that.

So, someone’s comment might say “Hey Steve, this John Smith from Topeka. I posted about this on my blog (but I didn’t ‘follow’ you), so put my name in the hat twice! Thanks!”

Pseudo-legal stuff:
- Contest only open to US residents. Sorry, but they’re only shipping domestically. Sucks to live in Toronto right now.
- You may comment now (on THIS post) through midnight Central time on Saturday, June 20th. The winner will be contacted on Monday of next week.
- The winner will be chosen at random by a random number generator. If you’ve earned multiple entries, you will get multiple numbers, thus bettering your chances at winning!
- OnlineShoes.com is promoting their Saucony Running Shoes right now, but you’ll be able to use your $75 on ANYTHING from their site! How sweet is that!!

Good luck everyone!!

I’ll be back tomorrow with my Olympic Distance Triathlon PR race report! Thanks all!