Hot!
Posted on 26 July 2010 | No responses
Today I had a terrible run. The weather is so hot right now. I know, I have little to complain about compared to the rest of the country and all the other climates of the world, but what can I say? When my climate trains me to always want to throw on a jacket or a fleece, the heat is almost too much to take. I guess it is all relative, right? Anyway, I set out at 11am hoping to get in 6 miles. The first three miles went ok. Nothing great, but ok. 8:45/8:35/8:45. Ok, I can deal with that in these temps. But 180 BPM kept popping up on my Garmin. My next two miles were an average pace of 10 min+. I was forced to walk in certain spots. Overheating. I guess I am just not built for the heat and my body has acclimated to the temps of MN. So I called it a day and headed back to work, not accomplishing what I wanted, and feeling like crap to boot. Damn you heat! What really bothers me is that there are two races coming up. One in Iowa, which will be hot, and one here in MN which I hope won’t be that hot. We shall see what goes down. The really nice thing about next week is that I will finally be on vacation. We haven’t had a vacation since…well…I guess I can’t really remember. I guess that is what happens when you take a new job and then have a baby. Your vacation is non-existent. Of course, as tradition has it, this week leading up to vacation is going to be crazy busy with me traveling, then coming back home for a day, then heading out the door. Plus, my wife is traveling as well at the moment. Let’s just hope that it all goes to plan.
Posted on 7 July 2010 | No responses
Ok, here it is, the warning shot to my body that this is really on. “This” meaning, Ironman. Ironman. I am going to be an Ironman. Coeur d’Alene. June 2011. I went through about a week of denial, freaking out, doubting, etc. Now, I am more focused not on what I did (sign up for it in the first place), but what I AM GOING TO DO. Sounds serious doesn’t it? It is. It is. I am going to do this and I am going to raise a lot of money for Cystic Fibrosis in the process. ”How” you ask? Well, I’m still formulating that plan. Er, those plans. Either way, here we go…
Riding for the love of it
Posted on 13 June 2010 | No responses
With fewer races this year and no real anchor of an event, I have been able to spend more time just riding for the love of it. Not riding to train for something in particular, just riding to ride. Sometimes that leads to a lack of concentration. Today I was cruising along thinking about anything but my wheels to the pavement relationship. My rear tire blew out and launched me off my bike. How quickly life changes. I wasn’t really hurt, but have a healthy amount of road rash. It is kind of funny in retrospect. The last thing on my mind was the prospect of crashing. It wasn’t even on the radar as a possibility. I guess humility is dealt out whenever we get complacent with our version of reality. The truth is, I loved the whole event. Weird I know, but I did. Why? Well, because it is all part of the whole experience of riding a bike. Part of the journey. Sometimes you don’t need a goal to enjoy a journey.
Travel
Posted on 9 June 2010 | No responses
Lots of travel lately. Illinois, Wisonsin, St Louis, Wisconsin, etc. It seems to have kept me from a few things, including the blog. My travels take me to a lot of neat places around the midwest. I took this picture today in Prairie du Chien, WI which is just south of La Crosse. WI. The river valley from Prescott all the way down to Prairie is extremely beautiful. Lots of hills, lots of trees, lots of water, and a ton of eagles soaring about the sky. Today made me really appreciate my job and the people that I get to meet. I’m in an industry of passion. People are passionate about cycling first, and maybe not as passionate about owning their business second. Not to say that they run their business poorly, quite the opposite to be honest. They are just more passionate about cycling. My job also allows me to see a lot of great product. I can’t imagine ever being bored by product. There is always something new and shiny to see. Anyway, more about today and this picture. I could see this little structure from about a half mile away on a really neat street that filtered right down to the river. I just kept thinking in my mind, “A doorway to a window, a doorway to a window”. What does that tell me? Often with people you have to open a door to see the window to their soul. We all keep things close until we are ready to show people our beauty. Some keep those doors closed longer than others. I must admit that I rarely let people see me and get really uncomfortable talking about me. So I guess this speaks to me in an interesting way. I guess it is telling me to open up, let people see me, and see what comes of the experience. Easier to say than do when my first trigger is to lock the already closed doors. Hmm…I guess training my mind to react differently is a lot like training my legs to run faster. It hurts, it is hard, and you don’t always get immediate results, but keep working at it no matter what the barriers to entry may be.
Get in Gear Half Marathon
Posted on 4 May 2010 | No responses
1:58:16
9:02 Pace
This was officially my best half marathon and quite possibly my worst training prep. Go figure. I was on the min for the max plan I guess. I didn’t really plan to run this fast, but I got into a groove, ignored the knee pain and just went for it. Speaking of the knee pain. Yikes! My knees hurt until Monday and this race was on Saturday. I am considering only running on the dirt from now on. That might not fit into where we live, but I might be able to make it work. I just don’t want to get 20 years down the road and have my knees shot because I didn’t pay attention to the pain. Who knows what to do, but at least my next race is on the trails…
Race Results
