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!!!

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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!

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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)...

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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!

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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"...

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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)

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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.

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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.

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$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?)

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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!!

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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!

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