Weekend Race and MN Weather

>> Monday, April 07, 2014

Some of Pharmie's family got together to race a 5K and 11K on Saturday. Here's the gang pre-race:


Pharmie, Jon, Steph, Evie, Annie, and (New) Matt

Pharmie, Steph, and Annie have a brother named Matt (my relay partner for a number of duathlons over the years), so Annie's boyfriend somehow got the nickname of NEW Matt. He's cool with it. We think.

Here are a few more photos from the race:


Steph was proud of this photobomb. As she should be.


Too sunny.


Matt trying to stay warm pre-race. He ran with Evie for the FIRST TIME EVER,
and it was for this 5K race. THEY FINISHED 2ND OVERALL!!
(Sure there were only 26 runners, but still... he ran 7-somethings with a stroller!)


Pharmie didn't race, but Annie still snapped a shot of her finishing up a run
after everyone else had finished the race.


Annie snapped a photo driving behind Steph and Jon - they forgot a banana on their roof.

The racers did great. The 3 in the 11K finished within a minute of each other, and they placed 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in their age groups! And I already mentioned that New Matt (and Evie) got 2nd overall in the 5K! New Matt told me he was trying to make sure to stay ahead of the 13-year-old girl behind him. Really.

Henry and I met them at IHOP post-race. The cousins hammed it up:




They look like they're drunkenly sharing stories.

And a final "weather" note: we got 10-12 inches of snow on Friday, and then it warmed up pretty quick. Here's a side-by-side image that I Instagrammed last night - it shows a view of our sidewalk on FRIDAY and SUNDAY:


What a difference 48 hours can make in Minnesota. Sheesh.

Here's 2 more from our front yard:


Friday


Sunday

Time to take advantage of this warmer weather and snowless conditions - I need to get on my bike soon! Have a good week!

p.s. If you missed my weekend post about swimming tips for triathletes, check it out.

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6 Swimming Things Triathletes Should Know

>> Saturday, April 05, 2014

US Masters Swimming recently published an article called "Six Things Triathletes Wish They Knew: How swimming with a Masters Swimming club can give you an edge." I thought their main points were worth sharing:

1. Technique is critical
Triathletes know how important aerodynamics are on the bike, yet hardly think about the fact that water creates 1000 times more resistance than air. A few minor corrections in swimming form reduce drag far more than a redesigned bike frame could. A Masters coach can show you how to go faster and save energy by minimizing your bodyline as you swim.

Despite the mathematical error here (air is 1.225 kg/m^3 [at 15 degrees centigrade at sea level], and pure water is 1000 kg/m^3, which is a difference of 815.32 times, NOT 1000 times - sheesh), it makes a good point. You can "buy speed" by getting a better bike, or you could train more in the pool. (I remember reading something like 90% of a swimmer's energy is lost through drag.)

2. Swimming other strokes in workout pays off
Fast swimming requires developing a “feel” for the water. Swimming other strokes (with proper coaching guidance) helps you learn to instinctively adjust your hydrodynamics (body position, hand angles, etc.) so you know how to get around buoys, deal with waves, and get the most thrust from your freestyle pull. Olympic triathlon bronze medalist Susan Williams says, “Other strokes teach you to move through water efficiently, and balance muscle development to avoid injury.”

I can't do anything but (poor) freestyle, but this sounds like a point a good swimmer was making a few years ago. I remember hearing that even "triathlon swimmers" should make sure to push off the wall WELL and hit a good streamline because it helps you FEEL what speed is like (even though you're not pushing off anything to go fast in an OWS during a race).

3. Training without a wetsuit makes you faster
A wetsuit’s buoyancy can mitigate some stroke flaws, but you’re better off if you actually eliminate those flaws. Learning to swim efficiently without a wetsuit means you’ll use less energy on race day. “I love swimming in my wetsuit,” says Haley Benson, age-group winner at the 2013 Boulder 70.3, “but I’m more efficient because I’ve learned to swim well without it.”

Well then, I'll just have to stop wearing my wetsuit in the pool at the Y.

4. Lanemates make you stronger
Benson says, “If you want to swim faster, then you have to swim with fast people.” Not only does friendly workout competition make you work harder, but you can also learn a lot about pacing, drafting, and race strategy from swimming in an organized group. You’ll also make friends who will become great training partners.

True. I know I swim faster when there's even a random stranger sharing my lane.

5. It’s good to have some fun
Triathletes do a lot of solo workouts, which requires mental focus that’s tough to maintain throughout the season. It’s a treat to delegate the planning and feedback responsibilities to your Masters Swimming coach, so you can just immerse yourself in the workout and enjoy it. A creative workout and a lane full of friends keeps swim practice from ever becoming boring.

I've never taken a Masters class, but swimming in the past with Steve and Julia made 3000 much more possible than doing it by myself.

6. Extra eyes mean extra speed
An online tri coach can write challenging sets, and a DVD might show you proper technique, but without direct feedback, you may not recognize your own energy-eating stroke flaws, much less know how to correct them. Williams says, “Small adjustments in hand angle or breathing can mean a minute or more in an Olympic tri swim. Swimming with a team helps you identify and lock in the right improvements to gain that speed.”

Again, I've never been to Masters, but I got Andrea (the swim coach at the Y) to check my form 2 times a few years back, and her help got me from being a 2:00 / 100 distance swimmer to a 1:40 / 100 distance swimmer.

Related to all of this swimming info, I had the swim of the year yesterday!!

For a little background: I swam 4x500 on Monday. The first 500 was kind of just a warm up, and I did it in 8:05. Then I did the final 3 in 8:02, 8:02, and 7:59 (all with about a minute rest between). That was slow for me, as I can usually get them all under 8. A "good" 500 interval for me is around 7:50.

Yesterday, I wanted to do a quick 1500 tempo swim. I think I've gotten good (well, "better") at swimming short and hard, but I'm not great at sustaining speed/pain/effort in the pool. So this would be good for me. I hit the first 500 in 7:52 - much faster than my intervals on Monday, and I was STILL swimming! My 2nd 500 was 7:54, and my final 500 was 7:41!! And that was all STRAIGHT THROUGH. Those 500 splits were faster than my 500 intervals on Monday - what gives? It's like running 3x1600 at the track at 5:30 pace, and then going out and running a 3 mile tempo run straight through at 5:10 pace!

Anyway, I did 1500 tempo in 23:27, or 1:33.8 / 100 average. It's been at least 3 years (since before Henry was born) since I've had a 1500 swim like that!

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Friday Funny 701: An HONEST College Advertisement (and Funny Links)

>> Friday, April 04, 2014

This feels like most college ads out there (and EVERY "for profit" college ad EVER):


Direct Link

Finally, as I do every few weeks, here are some funny posts from my tumblr page from the last 2 weeks:

Athletic-related funny things:

It turns out money CAN buy happiness.

Joggers vs Runners.

I didn't go to the gym today, but...

Winter swimming.

Me walking around the gym.

Finishing a marathon.

[GIF] Killer treadmill workout.

[GIF] I don't know what sport this is, but this girl is really in to it.

[GIF] An odd skill to have on the bike.

Cute way for a runner to propose.

Nike.

If you like some strong, beefy men, check out the New Zealand "All Blacks" as one of my "hard bodies of the day."

I'm kinda this guy. (Just a touch.)

Wait... 26.2 miles?!?!

Have a "fancy time" at the gym.

[GIF] What is this cheerleader doing?!?

Marathon.

Backstroke start.

A kid's bike helmet fail.

Hemingway on cycling.

Notes for a bike race.

Non-athletic funny things:

What's in a fish fillet? McDonalds doesn't seem to know.

Breakfast.

[GIF] Just one spoonful of ice-cream.

Minnesota during last night's 12-inch snowfall.

There's a time and place for decaf coffee.

My favorite pun.

I can really relate to Gru from "Despicable Me."

[GIF] Appropriate response to this text message.

The TASTIEST April Fools gag.

Cute things to call your boyfriend / girlfriend.

The best Pizza Hut sign.

Superhero condom ads.

Nerdy and awesome: the math dance.

[GIF] Lady time.

[GIF] This is a perfect skateboard fail.

My life in 11-16 years.

Guys: advice if your wife is pregnant.

[GIF] Ron Swanson tries a banana.

Screw you recommended serving size.

How to poop.

Lesson I've learned.

Once you go black...

Remember, Jesus did this.

What's at the end of a rainbow?

[GIF] How Russians are born.

And as always, stop by steveinaspeedo.tumblr.com for funnies all week long. Happy weekend!!

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Friday Funny 700: The 25 Worst Questions to Ask A Runner

... And 1 Pickup Line That's Guaranteed to Fail.

Runner's World recently posted this great list. Enjoy.



25. Are you fast?
We're pretty sure this is how our friends picture us starting every run.

Despite this impressive starting form, they might be surprised to learn that there are qualities of running you can't measure on a stopwatch.

Then again, they have nothing to compare you to. Might as well give them a resounding yes.






24. Would you rather sleep in?
Sleep in and miss a view like this?

The early bird gets the worm, and the early runner gets the sense of accomplishment all day long.






23. Don't you get tired?
Tired of being so awesome, maybe.

It's true, there's only so much energy you can spend in one day. But you get to choose how you spend it, and what's more worthy of your time and energy than your health? Not to mention experiencing a beautiful new trail, challenging our mind and body, or just taking a much-needed opportunity to reflect.






22. You run outside?
Bugs, traffic, blazing sun, blizzards.

Okay, so Mother Nature can be less than runner-friendly.

This can make running outdoors pretty perplexing to non-runners. But given a choice between staying cooped up all year or braving the elements every now and again, runners are notorious for toughing it out.






21. Isn't it too hot?
Not with this sophisticated hydration system.

For many of us, summer frees up time to run. So we'll admit that sometimes we do look a little crazy out there on the hottest days of the year.

Just leave the sprinkler near the sidewalk and we'll take care of the rest.






20. Isn't it too cold?
Winter running: it's like running at the beach, only instead of sand, you run through snow. And ice. And hail.

Actually, it's not like running at the beach at all (not that that's going to stop us).






19. Isn't it too windy?
Wind? What wind?






18. You run in the rain?
This one is particularly confusing for non-runners, and even runners that haven't tried it yet. Let's be honest: with hardcore runners grinning from ear to ear despite looking something like a drowned animal, who can blame them?

But even if running through a torrential downpour doesn't sound like your thing, you'll never know unless you try. Whether you like it or not, you'll get hardcore points and who knows—you might just find that puddle-jumping is the most fun you have all day.

But wear good socks. Trust us.






17. Do you really need more shoes?
Laugh all you want - this is one purchase we know we're going to get use out of.






16. Why would you need so many running shoes?
Okay, so we REALLY like rain runs.






15. Running is fun?
Are your non-running friends surprised to find that running could be fun?

After all, there's no TV, no tablet, no texting. Just you, your running route, and this weird thing called nature.






14. Don't you get lost?
Some of us have developed finely tuned navigational skills, some invest in high-tech GPS watches, and some of us - well, we'll just say we take the scenic route.






13. Do you need a ride?
Although it never hurts to ask, don't be surprised if we pass - chances are that we're out there on purpose.






12. What are you doing?
...Look, it's not weird.

Okay, it's a little weird, but we don't care. Once you've been injured, you'll do anything to make sure that it doesn't happen again.

Even if it's an exercise that makes us look like we're playing a one-man game of Twister. And non-runners can say what they will, if it's between our dignity and injury prevention, well, there's plenty more where this came from.






11. Is running safe at your age?
Whether it's 50, 60, or 100, to runners, age is just another number.

We're not saying that it's easy. From our heart to our knees, the longer we run, the harder we have to work to make smart choices.

But more experienced runners have more perspective and more knowledge - not to mention more stories - than anyone else out there. So you might as well forget asking them if they should run: If you want to get a new perspective on running, ask them how they run.






10. Isn't it unhealthy to run so much?
Running has been shown to improve the health of everything from your heart to your brain.

We'll take our chances.






9. What about your knees?
Don't ask me about my knees.






8. So your knees do hurt?
We said, don't ask about our knees.






7. How do you hurt yourself running?
You may be a runner if you noticed the shoe structure before the banana peel.

Some runners get injured all the time, and others are seemingly invincible. But as much as we hate to admit it, even if running isn't what you would call a "contact sport," at some point or another most runners have to deal with some form of injury.

Luckily, it's not a death sentence (even if it feels like one). Most of us are back after a little time off, rehab, or cross training.






6. What is cross training?
What they picture when you tell your non-running friends you went for a water jog.






5. How far is your marathon?
There was a time when it was hard for us, too, to comprehend the distance of a marathon. But if you're going to come cheer us on, you better know how far we have to go.

No matter how much we love you, if you tell us "Almost there!" and we have 20 miles to go, we're going to have a problem.

For the record, a full marathon is 26.2.






4. Do you get bored?
Okay, maybe we don't look as happy as this guy. But we're smiling on the inside.






3. Did you win?
Winning is great, sure, but it's not everything.

Just in case though, standard operating procedure for winning a marathon by three feet without breaking a sweat is the double-fist-pump-eyes-toward-the-heavens combo.






2. Why pay so much to run a race?
Races - especially marathons - are pretty pricey. We'll admit that. But most events offer gear, events, stocked stations throughout the race, not to mention finisher-swag and post-race activities.

And face it - when you cross the line, the last thing that will be on your mind is the price tag.






Guaranteed to Fail
Here's a tip for non-runners looking to break the ice with the runner they've been eyeing:

'Running' and 'jogging' might be synonyms in the dictionary, but to us, there's a vital difference.

Using the word 'jogging' is a guaranteed fail.






1. Why do you run?
Our health. Our family. Our past. Our future.

Some runners are annoyed by this question and some are inspired. For most of us, it's just not one easy answer.

Why do you run?




According to #7, I guess I *am* a runner. And I'll keep #3 in mind...

Stop by steveinaspeedo.tumblr.com for more funnies all week long!

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Friday Funny 699: Romantic Situations Gone Wrong




That last one sounds like a keeper.

More funnies can be found on steveinaspeedo.tumblr.com!

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Friday Funny 698: Condensed Wikipedia Entries

TL;DR Wikipedia has shortened a handful of Wikipedia entries for us. (And in case you're my Mom, "TL;DR" means "too long; didn't read" and can be found in comment sections of the internet for articles that just don't get to the point quickly enough. Kinda like this explanation.)

So here are some Condensed Wikipedia Entries from "TL;DR:"



































Lots more funnies on steveinaspeedo.tumblr.com!

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4 April Fools Gags

>> Wednesday, April 02, 2014

• ONE: Caribou Coffee CLEAR: because Pepsi Clear went over so well.

• TWO: this guy and his gum stash:



• THREE: Photo fools: There were a lot of photo-related April Fools going around yesterday. Two of my favorites were this contact lens that lets you take photos just by blinking:



... and Noika's new phone that brought back the 3310 model but added a 41 megapixel camera and (most importantly) "Snake 2.0:"



• FOUR: Perfume from Oiselle: Introducing Swassy, Eau de Exercise, for when you don't have time to run. "Now you can smell like you did."


(Lauren Fleshman lounging in bed? Thank you, Oiselle.)
Direct Link: http://youtu.be/vXrVRhOmiTo

If you remember, GU had some great April Fools jokes in the past few years. Click here to check out their disgusting delicious sounding GU flavors, as well as a "topical electrolyte and energy gel" that you just rub on your skin. Awesome.

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Quarterly Report: the First 3 Months of 2014

>> Tuesday, April 01, 2014

Swim: 36,830 yards
Bike: 8 miles (in Tel Aviv)
Run: 147.67 miles
Spinning: 3:46:05
Strength: 61 hours and 6 minutes

(Running: 33.06 miles in Jan, 50.86 miles in Feb, and 63.75 miles in March.)

Let's compare some of those numbers over January - March from the last 3 years:

2014
Swim: 36,830 yds
Bike: 8 miles
Run: 147.67 miles
Strength: 61hr 6min
   Ave weight: 161.26 lbs   
2013
Swim: 24,675 yds
Bike: 0 miles
Run: 198.93 miles
Strength: 32hr 27min
   Ave weight: 158.08 lbs   
2012
Swim: 3,900 yds
Bike: 102.26 miles
Run: 255.81 miles
Strength: 28hr 17min
   Ave weight: 155.7 lbs   


My running mileage is only down about 25% from this time last year, but it feels like it's down 3 times that. Right now I'm only "running," and I don't feel like I'm "training." Big diff.

Cliff notes:
- I'm swimming a lot (for me).
- Bike? What's that? I need to be re-introduced SHORTLY!
- Decent running but no speedwork, so I feel lame.
- Lots of exercises to get back to running, so lots of time doing strength work. (And Henry and I went to the gym 8 times over 9 days last week during my spring break. Party hard.)
- Gaining weight. Rapidly. Gotta work on that. But I don't want to. (SOME is from lifting more.)

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