Mosquito Man Outfit

>> Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Saturday morning should be a fun morning. I signed up to do Gear West’s “Mosquito Man Duathlon.” I’ve mentioned this before - the Mosquito Man is a run, bike, run, bike, run race, instead of the usual run, bike, run. Everything is short: the runs are 1.5 miles each and the rides are 8 miles each.

I’d like to wear the “bowl full of tutti frutti” for the race. Remember that sweet jammer that I wore at the beginning of the month for the Waseca Sprint Tri? It doesn’t have an ass pad at all, but it held up for the 14 mile ride in Waseca, so it SHOULD be OK for two 8 mile rides.



Yep, I think that’s gonna come back this weekend. Back with a fun, sassy post tomorrow...

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Minneapolis Duathlon

>> Monday, August 30, 2010

Yesterday, I headed out to cheer for my friends racing the Team Ortho Minneapolis Duathlon. I have a few photos below from the race, but I have more in two Examiner articles: click here for the first album, and click here for the second.

One of my favorite photos from the day was from when I bumped into local running star Carrie Tollefson. Here she is (with her legs) on the cover of Running Times and Runner’s World:



Well, I bumped into her in transition as soon as I got there. She was SUPER nice. And the true sign of an athlete is when said athlete (Carrie) puts her arm tightly around a sweaty, sweaty man (me) and DOESN’T pull away instantly! (I had JUST gotten there by bike while wearing a back-pack, so my back was sweaty.)



Oh, and yes, I’m wearing the “Leisure Suit” jersey. And Carrie loved it!

The Minneapolis Duathlon is labeled the “Largest Duathlon in the World.” Therefore, they had a STORE set up IN TRANSITION!!!




Elite men starting


Kerry Yndestad’s photo of the start with me in the right corner!


Julie Hull’s first race back after crashing at the LTF Tri in July (to the right)


Chad starting


Runners crossing the Stone Arch Bridge


Julie nearing T1


Interval buddy Jen heading into T1

As I was in the finish area, I bumped into all kinds of racing / training friends. (Actually, I was bumping into them all day.) I came across Cathy Yndestad cruising around on her mountain bike. The best part was that she still had her intended splits at different “check-in” points taped to her bike from her recent 12th place performance at the Leadville 100 Mile Mountain Bike Race!


She was about an hour faster than her goal time!


The top 3 finishers: Riff (3rd), Payne (1st), and Millner (2nd)


Jenny Wilcox taking the win!


Julie taking second place as her first race back post-crash!

Again, click here and click here to see my Examiner article and photo albums from this race. Thanks everyone!

Oh, and this past weekend, Coach Jen gave me the green light to race the “Mosquito Man Duathlon” on Saturday! This should be fun!! It’s a run / bike / run / bike / run!! (Three 1.5 mile runs and two 8 mile bikes.) She told me “YES on the race...I liked how it fit ---- it will be good and short and painful. perfect!!!!” If that’s perfect, then Jen would enjoy making love to me....

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Two Killer Run Workouts

>> Saturday, August 28, 2010

10 days ago is when I did that hard hilly run. It was the next day that my heel was telling me to ease back a bit. I babied it, and was able to do my foggy hard run last weekend at my parent’s house in southern Minnesota last weekend.

I had an easier run early this week, and then 2 hard runs on Thursday and today (Saturday).

Thursday’s Workout: 8 x 3 minutes HARD. This didn’t sound so bad at first glace. Then I realized that that HARD time and the EASY time would add up, and I’d be running quite a while. I ran straight through for 1:09:57, and it was HARD to not stop and walk for a moment after intervals 6, 7, and 8. All-in-all, it was 10 miles of straight running. And my heel felt OK!

Saturday’s Workout: long run with 2 x 10 minutes HARD near the beginning. I woke up today with an achy heel. It wasn’t bad, just “annoyed.” I was worried about my upcoming 75:00 run. I stretched it well, massaged it a little, and made like a baby and headed out.

I don’t run with a Garmin or anything, so I had no idea how far I’d be running over those 10:00. I started at one of my mile markers so I’d at least have a 1 mile split. That split was 5:50, so I knew I was moving well! Post-run, I mapped it out, and I had gone 1.69 miles over those 10:00 - that’s an average of 5:55 / mile.



[Note: I didn’t have such a valley to go in and out of as seen at the far side of the elevation chart. I think that would have been the true elevation had I jumped off the Franklin Ave Bridge, ran across the water, and then climbed back up on the other side as opposed to taking the bridge. Call me old-fashioned, but I chose to take the bridge.]

After a few minutes of easy running, I had another hard 10:00 to do. Mapping that run out afterwards, I found that I went 1.70 miles. CONSISTENT!!! Awesome!!


North to south, with a little loop back at the southern edge.

I had 5 more miles of “zone 2” running to do, and I did those in 6:37, 7:05, 6:41, 7:01, and 7:14 (easing up the Marshall hill for the last mile). Those final 5 miles were a LITTLE hard, but they weren’t “tempo” pace or anything. I kept telling myself this while running those final miles: “Remember Steve, this is what EASY feels like. You CAN go harder. THIS is EASY. E-A-S-Y.”

With everything tallied up, I ran 11.13 miles in 1:15:09.

I got home, stretched a bit (my heel was just a LITTLE sore, but it held up well!!), and then got ready for an ice bath:


All the ice in my fridge, 6 small Rubbermaid containers of ice, and 1 large Rubbermaid.


Becoming one with the ice.


Shrinkage.


The ice cubes melting and big ice blocks out of their containers.

13 minutes in an ice bath will heal what ails you! ;) When I got downstairs, I found Kermit high on the funk that was given off by the shirt I used on my run to wipe the sweat off my body:


Seriously, my swass is like crack to her.
Only, as you can see, it doesn’t suppress her appetite like crack would.... ;)

OK, time to work on some syllabi, pick up the house, and massage my heel a bit. Happy weekend everyone!!

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Friday Funny 111: Toothpaste Personality Test

>> Friday, August 27, 2010




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Friday Funny 110: Social Networking

File this under "Funny Because It's True:"



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Chilly Swim and Zucchini-Chocolate Cupcakes

>> Thursday, August 26, 2010

A bunch of us headed for the lake yesterday. It was a chilly morning compared to what we've been used to - I think someone said it was below 60 when we were about to start our swim. (Steve H asked what the windchill was!) We all did about a 56:00 lap around Square Lake and then paused for this photo:


Pam, Kathryn, Steve H, Kelly, Julia, and Marie. (And me, of course.)

Then Julia was going to practice "starts" with anyone who was interested. So Pam, Kelly, Julia, and Kathryn lined up and practiced those "high knees" and dolphin dives running into the lake:


There's something moderately amusing about a pregnant woman running into a lake. ;)


Kathryn's butt, Julia mid-dolphin, Kelly swimming, and Pam coming up for one more dolphin.

Afterwards, all swimmers were treated to my wife's delicious baking!! Pharmie had sent me with some homemade chocolate-zucchini cupcakes with buttercream frosting! Here's Marie and Julia ready to hit it:



Coach Jen, don't worry - they were homemade, they had zucchini in them, and most of the oil was replaced with applesauce. So they're practically a health food.

But I still can't help but think those cupcakes my lovely wife made us had something to do with my last post.... ;) Ha!

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Weight Problems

>> Wednesday, August 25, 2010

It might not be what you think. My wife saw my weight when I stepped on the scale yesterday. It read 152.4 pounds.

She didn’t like that.

It’s not that I’m GAINING weight. The problem with her is that I’m LOSING weight.

It’s simple. Let me explain.

Pharmie likes her men strong and beefy.

There..... I think I just explained.

When I get too skinny, she starts finding me a little less attractive. Over the past 6 months, I’ve been around 156-158 pounds. She was good with that. Now I’m in the 152 range. Three years ago, while training for Ironman, I was in the 147 range and looking as sickly as ever.

I’ve been working with Coach Jen for just over 2 weeks now, but I don’t blame her for my weight loss. Well, not completely. YES, it’s true that I AM working out more than I usually do, but I’ve also been eating better.

It kinda sounds a little backwards, but I don’t think I’m the only one who does this: When I start working our real hard towards a goal (the TC 10 Mile in under a hour), I also start eating a lot better. I want to make sure I’m firing on all cylinders, as they say. So a few weeks ago, I was working out LESS, and eating WORSE. Now I’m working out MORE, and eating BETTER. It’s called a positive loop. Yay me.

I don’t remember the last time I touched a frozen pizza! It’s been forever!! And this past weekend when I was showing my work at “Kernel Days,” the WORST thing I had over 3 days of being surrounded by fair food was a half order of cheese curds! A HALF! Other than that, it was 1 burger, 2 pork sandwiches, and a lot of water.

Yeah.

I don’t even know who I am anymore.

So I’ll be watching my weight, but for the opposite reason than most people do. And you can be sure I’ll report back if it drops below 150. Heaven help my marriage! ;)

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Three Weekend Things

>> Monday, August 23, 2010

1. Foggy Run
2. Photo Show
3. Beanbag Toss Tournament


1. Foggy Run: Saturday morning, I was staying at my folk’s house in the middle of southern Minnesota. I woke up early so I could get in a good run, but it was pretty foggy! Here’s what it looked like looking out Mom and Dad’s window:


Driveway and corn


My car, 2 trees, and more corn

I let the fog burn off a little, and then I hit my run. It was STILL pretty foggy, but it was so calm that I could hear a car coming a mile away. After a long warm-up, I was to do 2x2 miles at race pace (5:50-5:55 / mile or so). You know what? It still freaks me out to know that my 10 mile race pace is hopefully around 5:50 / mile! Sheesh! In the middle of southern Minnesota, the roads are straight and the fields are predictable, so I could take my splits at least every 1/2 mile along line fences between the fields.

First 2 Mile Interval: 3:03, 2:58, 2:52, 2:53 = 11:48 (5:54 pace)

Near the end of those first 2 miles, my heel gave a little twitch. Not a good sign. So I took the 2-3 minute break between before my next 2 miles to stretch it and massage it a bit. Then I was off again.

Second 2 Mile Interval: 3:02, 2:55, 2:52, 2:43 = 11:34 (5:47 pace)

That was a solid run. After my cool-down, I grabbed my camera and shot a photo down Mom and Dad’s road showing the fog still lingering:



After the cool-down, I stretched, took an ice bath, and got ready for the day. I was heading to a little photo show, which brings me to #2......


2. Photo Show: I received a $2,000 grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board to print, frame, and show my work at “Kernel Days,” my yearly hometown summer celebration. Much of my work over the last few years has revolved around my hometown, so it was fun to come back and show the images to the people from the area. Check out my Photo Blog to see photos from the weekend! And scroll down through the last few posts (in my photo blog) to see photos of everything being printed and framed to get ready for this mini-exhibition.

So that’s why I was at home at my Mom and Dad’s place. Dad (and Grandpa and Grandma) helped me set up my work on Friday night, and they kept stopping by to see how I was doing all weekend long. I was there Friday night for a few hours, ALL day Saturday, and then after the parade on Sunday (yesterday) for a few hours. FULL weekend! I’m exhausted!

So swing by my much less popular Photo Blog to learn more about that.


3. Beanbag Toss Tournament: Grandpa wanted me to enter the Beanbag Toss Tournament with him, but we learned it was full. He figured he’d keep checking to see if any of the teams backed-out at the last minute, and MAYBE we’d have a spot to compete. Sure enough, right as the event was starting, Grandpa came cruising up on a golf cart to the building where I was having my photo show (see #2 above) and shouted "Hop on! We’re in!!" (Grandma watched my work while we took off to have fun.)

It was a “double elimination” tournament. We took the first team down with no problem:


Grandpa throwing


Final score of the first game

We beat the 2nd team with no problem as well!

Here we are playing the 3rd team (with Grandpa throwing to the far right), and you can see by the back of the scoreboard that we’re whoopin’ their butts:



Finally, we had our first loss in the 4th round. These 2 younger guys (mid-20s) took us down pretty easily. But because we had won so many before losing, we were already going to be in the “money round” - we just had to wait for a lot of other teams to play before we were up again.

In the next round, we were up against an old couple from a nearby town. They were good. (They had their own beanbag toss that they’d play every evening!) The games go to 21, and they were winning 19 to 18. Then they were winning 20 to 19. Grandpa tied it up at 20 to 20. I had a decent round, and I got the winning point to win 21 to 20! Grandpa was thrilled and shocked that we were doing so well!!! (I was too!)

Guess what? In the finals, we had to take on those younger guys that beat us once already. And because we lost to them and they had NO losses, we’d have to beat them twice to take the win. Well, there was no Cinderella Story here. They beat us in the first game. No... correction... they KILLED us. It was 3 to 21. Game over.

Gramps and I took second place. But second place still was 80 bucks!!!!


Grandpa and I with our winnings!

What a fun weekend!! OK, now back to real life. Vacuuming, phone company issues, fixing a toilet, mowing, watering the plants, and training......

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Finding a Good Coach

>> Saturday, August 21, 2010

By now you all know that Jen Harrison is coaching me for the next 6 weeks. She's trying to help me break 60:00 in the TC 10 Mile. I once said "she's trying to help me HIT 60:00," and Jen quickly corrected me by saying "the goal is to break (smash) 60 min!" Ha! Of course, Jen! ;)

A recent commenter asked how I chose Jen as my coach, and that he'd love to hear about how to choose a coach. Well, Jen and I have been blogger buddies and FB buddies for a few years, and she coaches many people I know. I know her style, and I've been around people doing "Jen workouts." I liked the way she pushed people - but she didn't go overboard with the workouts and end up with a ton of injured athletes. And really, I chose Jen because Jen chose me - she's cutting me a HUGE deal just to see if she can get me down under 60:00 for the TC 10 Mile.

So I don't have much any "coach choosing" experience. But Jen said she had some pointers. The following is from Jen, and it's her pointers on WHO might need a coach and HOW to find the right coach for you.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

There are many reasons why we hire a coach and just as many reasons why we do not hire a coach. A coach is not for everyone. But, on the flipside a GOOD coach can help you. Some athletes feel they are too “slow” for coaching help! Some athletes think they know themselves well enough to put together their own plan…that may be true…but I will argue that that athlete is not maximizing their potential because a good coach can assess your abilities and limiters and make further suggestions on how to improve them or address them in a different way.

It takes some thorough work to find the right coach –someone who you like, respect and is knowledgeable to assist you in your goals. And, the coach that works for your best friend may not be the right fit for you and that is OK! But, keep that in mind while doing your research.

To help you in this search, I have put together a list – compiled from some of my current athletes, myself and peers on what they look for in a coach.

1. Knowledge and Credentials: Look for a coach who has experience and who has been working with athletes that you admire, like and have seen succeed. Make sure that the coach has the right skill set to help you achieve your goals. Do not assume that a successful athlete makes a successful coach. Your coach should have a proven track record working with athletes of all abilities – and especially someone like you!

2. Communication: The coach should absolutely have an open door policy. The coach should be accessible. You should be able to ask questions via email and get responses that are not only timely but also detailed enough to answer your questions. Emails should be returned within a business day.

3. Interaction: How does the coach interact with her/his athletes? Is this person accessible to each athlete? Is this coach positive and a great role model and mentor in the sport? How does this coach motivate his/her athletes? Make sure you ask for referrals and ask their current athletes how the coach interacts with them. Some coaches are hands off – sends schedules and are done. Some are VERY involved – daily. You may learn towards one of those options more – find that right match for you.

4. Goals: Make sure your coach asks what your goals are and what you want to accomplish – not only short term- but long term too. The coach should be able to set up the micro plan for you, but also be able to see the big picture, set up a macro plan and be able to explain to you why the workouts and races are set up like they are to achieve these goals.

5. Feedback: Ask the coach how they will provide feedback to you on your workouts and races. Progress is the name of the game and if the athlete does not feel they are making progress, they should be able to ask the coach for feedback on how to change things up to make progress. Also, the coach should be able to provide feedback on your workouts, data, subjective feedback, how to move workouts when sick or traveling, adapt schedules on the fly and give you feedback on your swim stroke, for example. This can be done either in person, if local, or via videos if not local.

6. Honesty: This is a tricky one, but one that I find is absolutely vital to the success of the athlete. And, one of the harder ones to address as a coach and athlete. When looking for a coach, spend some time asking this coach how they can tell you HOW realistic your goals are, WHAT you need to do to improve your swimming, or cycling or running. You are really doing yourself a disservice if you do not hire someone who has the experience in handling tough conversations about WHAT is realistic for you in regards to progress, race results and realistic time goals. Honestly sometimes hurts, but it is critical to improvement and setting realistic goals.

7. Balance: A good coach understands life. They realize that this is a hobby for most and it is absolutely critical to maintain balance with work, family, social life (ha) and sport. Find a coach that emulates this in their life. If you are a parent with 4 kids and works full time – hiring someone who has these life experiences or works with athletes like you, that will help. And, a good coach will help you sort through these balance issues daily!

8. Motivation: A good coach should be able to install confidence in the athlete in racing AND training. A good coach should be able to inspire athletes to be their best and work hard to achieve their best in all their workouts and races. Find a coach that makes you want to work hard! Someone that inspires you!

9. Perceptive: A good coach should be able to figure out each athlete. Specifically, the coach should be able to read their athletes, determine what their strengths are, what workouts would help them improve and which ones would not and create programs that are individualized to bring the best out of you. Each athlete is so different. A good coach can successfully assess each athlete and write challenging workouts for each individual athlete.

10. Likeable: Yes, you have to like your coach. Read blogs. Honestly, most people are JUST like their blogs. If you like someone on their blog, most likely you will like them as a coach. Of course #1-9 must also be addressed, but the internet is a powerful tool. Ask around. Find the athletes you admire and research their coach. And, a good coach is one that you like – not only as a coach but person.

GOOD luck and happy shopping!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Being these 8 weeks of being coached by Jen started up so quick, I never went through all these steps to find out how well we'd fit. I knew a lot about her before going into it (through her blog and through other athletes she coaches), so that helped. Without sounding like a total advertisement for Coach Jen, I can now see how she fits these 10 points for me REALLY WELL. But, she's not for everyone - no coach is.

You can checkout more about Coach Jen Harrison on her website if you're interested. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off on my hard weekend run. (Thanks coach!) Happy weekend everyone!!

(Note: Jen just told me this about this post: "I enjoy helping others (besides you) like the guy who asked about this...and i do not need more clients, so i hope this just brings the attention on helping others and giving them feedback from a coach and bloggers." Thanks Jen!!)

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Friday Funny 109: "...and I look like..."

>> Friday, August 20, 2010




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Friday Funny 108: How a MAN Makes a BLT




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Swim / Ride

>> Thursday, August 19, 2010

I had 2 easy workouts on the schedule for yesterday: an hour long OWS and an easy bike ride.

So yesterday morning, I hit the lake with the usual gang. Only this time I introduced Marie to the group (Marie did IM WI last year, and she’s getting ready to race WI again this year). Six of us jumped in and we all got to the far corner of the lake.

At that point, Preggers Kelly (a nickname I hope catches on for her) said she was going to start cutting back across the lake towards the beach. I told her I’d go with her. The other swimmers (all the fast, non-pregnant people) were going to go a little farther before cutting back towards the beach. Kelly and I had a good swim back, and we were able to hold off the speedsters - we both thought they’d all catch us before we hit the shore.

Here we all are post-swim:


Front row: me.
Back row: Steve H, Kelly, Steve T, Julia, and Marie.

Julia had to take off ASAP, and when the rest of us got back to my car, we saw that Julia had left cupcakes for us! We scarfed them down before I even thought “oh, I should have taken a picture.” So I took a photo of the tinfoil that once held delicious cupcakes:


Thanks Julia!!

Then, yesterday evening, Pharmie and I went for a ride. She was supposed to do 90 minutes with 2 long “pick-ups,” and I was supposed to do 70 minutes easy. We figured we could do this together.


Pharmie pulling away in her first pick-up.


Riding near the river.


The tunnel under 35E.


Crossing the Mississippi.


Right along the river (can you smell the fish?) after her final pick-up.

It was a BEAUTIFUL night for a ride! I ended up going a little farther than Coach Jen had prescribed, but it was still just a nice, easy ride. Now excuse me... it’s time to hit some hills!...

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First Week of Being Coached

>> Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Last week was my first week of following Coach Jen’s workouts. Here’s how they all went:

Note: I usually put a LOT of detail in my “week in review” workout posts. But being I’m using Jen’s workouts, I don’t want to step on her toes - I don’t want to post every single detail so you could basically follow these workouts and get “free” coaching from Jen. When I give myself a workout, it’s usually just something like “go run 5 miles as hard as you can.” When Jen gives me a workout, she has a paragraph (or 2) of goals, specific times to hit, and things to keep in mind while working out. I will NOT share all of those here out of respect for my coach. I hope that makes sense.

Another note: every run has a warm-up and cool-down that I’m not necessarily going to list below.

• Monday, August 9th: 4 mile tempo run. Jen wanted me to get faster and faster. Her workout notes ended with “If you do not want to puke on that last mile, you have not gone hard enough. That last mile better be killer...RECORD TIMES.” I descended, but looking at the numbers, my first mile could have been faster: 6:22, 6:01, 5:54, 5:38. Ow. Then I did some run drills at a local park:



• Tuesday, August 10th: 23 mile ride. Did some cadence work and some intervals in there. Nothing too killer.

• Wednesday, August 11th: OWS and easy run. I took my friend Amblyn for her first real open water swim. SHE DID OVER 30 MINUTES IN HER FIRST OWS! That was great!! Then that afternoon, I did an easy run.

• Thursday, August 12th: Hill repeats and strength work. I was nervous for the hill repeats. I tend to shy away from hills because of perennially sore calves. But I HAVE been running on more courses with rolling hills over the last 6 months (along the river). I followed Coach Jen’s notes TO THE LETTER and got faster with every repeat!! It was KILLER, but my legs felt fine! (Well, besides all the heaviness and regular soreness that comes from running hard on hills.) Then I hit the gym for some strength work.

• Friday, August 13th: Pool swim. This is where I deviated from Jen’s plan a bit. Friday was a CRAZY day, and by the time I got out the door for the swim, I hadn’t had any time to take any notes with me about the swim. I knew ROUGHLY what the workout was, so I did that. I was off a little, but hey, everyone has “those” days.

• Saturday, August 14th: Long run and spin-out. This was the day I set my alarm for 3:55 am in order to get in this workout before going to spend time with my in-laws. The day started with a 9 mile run. After warming up, I had to keep picking up the pace. My 2 WU miles were 7:51 and 7:37. Then I built up to 7:13 and 6:43. My hardest miles were 6:19, 6:06, 5:55, and 5:49. I put this in the notes for Jen: “The last 1.5 miles were R-O-U-G-H. Took all I had not to stop and walk.” It was true. Killer run.

Then, because it STILL wasn’t light out, I hit the trainer in the basement for an easy spin. That’s where this photo came from in the last post:


Left: shirt used to wipe my face during the run.
Right: shirt used to wipe my face during the trainer ride.

• Sunday, August 15th: Long ride. I had a choice here: I could keep it easy if my legs were still a little beat-up, or I could push a BIT harder if my legs were feeling fine. I eased into the workout (and into the wind) with a 17.4 mph average after 12 miles. Then I pushed it a bit to work up to an 18.2 mph average at my turn-around. Coming back with the wind, I was able to raise my overall average to 19.3 by the end. Nice ride!

So that was my first week of being coached! I had my first real fartlek workout *giggles* last night, and it went well! After some upcoming easy days, I have a hard run on Saturday.

I’m already coming to some conclusions about what it’s like being coached, but I’ll hold off on making any posts about that yet. More on that to come.

Thanks everyone! (Including you, Jen! Ha!)

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The Swass is Back in Town

>> Monday, August 16, 2010

1 week ago, I did Coach Jen’s first official workout. It was a tempo run with decreasing miles. I hit the last few miles HARD. When I came home, I sat down at my computer to quick log my workout before stretching. When I stood up, I noticed that I had swass (“sweaty ass”) all over the chair:



Here, look closer:


Awesome

If you ever come and visit my house, I'll make sure you don't sit in this chair....

So I actually took off my running shorts and changed into boxers before sitting on my rug to stretch. My wife appreciated that.

My “big” workout for the week was on Saturday. I had to do a 9 mile run (with the last few miles at or faster than my 10 mile race pace), followed by a 1 hour ride and an ice bath. Pharmie and I were planning on leaving town around 7 am, so I set my alarm for 3:55 am so I could get in my workouts. Yay.

The last few miles of that run were R-O-U-G-H, but I got through it. They weren’t quite as fast as they should have been, but I was giving it my all. I got home, took my time getting something to drink, grabbed some bike gear, and then I hit the trainer in the basement for 40 minutes.

Here’s a photo from after my spin - it’s a photo of 2 shirts that I never actually wore. The shirt on the left is the one I carried with me on the run to wipe my face (which has had an hour to dry). And the shirt on the right is the one that I used to wipe my face while on the trainer:


Double Awesome

Back with notes from my first full week of being coached shortly. Have a great week!

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Family Vacation Workouts

>> Saturday, August 14, 2010

Three weeks ago, Pharmie and I spent a few days with my family in Alexandria, MN. We hung out on Lake Mary and just had a good time with seldom-seen cousins.


In the lake with Pharmie.


Skiing with my brother-in-law Dave.


Trying to slalom and nearly taking out Dave in the process.
(Note the ski 20 feet behind me - I didn’t get far without it...)


Dave and I “re-adjusting” after getting up again.

I took Goldilocks for a nice ride down a LONG, FLAT trail that goes through Alex. I warmed up for a few miles, and then did a nice, hard tempo ride. The Waseca Tri was the next weekend, and I hadn’t ridden hard in a while - I figured it was time. Here’s what the ride mainly looked like:


Flat, straight, and sunny. (The same way I like to drink my Sunny D)


Goldilocks with “Big Ole” back in Alex after the ride.

The next night, Pharmie and I did an evening swim. She did a long swim near the edge of the lake, and I did intervals by the boat docks.


Pharmie finishing up her swim.


After our swims.

Then we just hung out with our relatives:


Pharmie and Bree, our niece.


In the batting cages after go-carts and mini-golf, but before Taco Johns!


Bouncing on the raft to try to sink it.


Ian (my nephew) and I in our “Tom and Jerry” shirts!

After the ride on that Monday, swim on Tuesday, and long run on Wednesday, I was ready for the Waseca Tri that Sunday. The week after that, I had my own workouts to make sure I was on the right track for the TC 10 Mile. And that brings us to this last week, which was my first week of following Coach Jen’s workouts! So far, so good! More on this shortly...

Happy weekend!

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