my AMBITION

the plan

2009-09-04T17:20:00.001-07:00

for anyone interested my race number is 623!

i spoke on the phone with coach david last night and he gave me a quick outline for my race day pacing. then he sent me this email with a bit more detailed information:

Jeremy,

Here are my recommendations for you based on looking at your available data.

- Start out in the front on the swim. Get in the water at least 5 min before and get your head wet before the gun goes off. Remember to not go anaerobic at any point in the swim, you'll have to go by feel on this, but arms should not be burning at any time.
- The first 10 minutes on the bike your HR will be all over the place. Try to not exceed 20 mph on the flats for the first 10 minutes. After that, keep your HR at 150+/- 5 beats for next 20 miles. If you are on pace or ahead of pace for a sub 6 hour ride, jump to 155 +/- 5 beats for the next 60 miles. If you are behind pace for a sub 6, after 25 miles, go to 159 +/- 5 for the duration of the ride (high risk/high reward), but I think you'll be on pace. The final 30 miles should be at 159 +/- 5 beats. Resist the temptation to "crush" the bike, remember the marathon and the overall goal of sub 11 hours. I have no doubt that you could pull off a 5.5 hour ride, but I'd rather you did a 5:50 and a sub 11 overall than a 5:30 and a 4.5 hour marathon.
- As discussed, there is great risk if you spend time over 168 beats on the bike. If you are out of gears, there is nothing more you can do, but even in the hills use all of your gears before you have to hammer.
- On the run, start out at 9:00-minute miles regardless of whether you are on track or not for your 11 hour goal. You'll just make it worse if you go out too hard. Your last long brick was a 8:35 off of the bike for an hour, so this should be a good pace. I would avoid walking for at least 6 miles until you have a better idea of your pace. After 6 miles, begin to increase the pace and consider walking some portions of the aid stations, but be careful not to get dependent on them.

You're going to do great!

David

holy crap can i remember all that?! im going to have to write that down and tape it to my bike!

im insanely excited already. i dont even know how im going to sleep saturday night before the race.

two weeks!

2009-08-30T18:08:00.000-07:00

today i finished what will be my last AFD workout. at least thats what i call them. AFD stands for all f'n day. 6 hours on the bike followed by an hour run. the first 4 hours on the bike were an easy 17-18 mph pace and the last two were pushing it. 20-22 mph. then i transitioned to the run and whipped out 7 miles at an 8:35 pace. it wasnt easy but it didnt hurt as bad as previous bricks. ill take this as a sign that im about ready. 14 days. thats it. ive worked hard since feburary when i officially started my training and its gone by quickly. after my workout i took a quick shower and watched last years race in kona while i ate dinner. i cried. im a baby like that. i thought a lot about last years ironman where i suffered a lot on the run. i thought a lot about the thousands of miles that ive biked and run this summer. and the new friends ive made through training and racing. but mostly i thought about the debt of gratitude that i owe my family. everyone involved in ironman knows that you dont do it alone. my family pretty much never saw me on the weekends this summer. and there were countless times when they sat down to dinner without me while i was out on a workout. i definitely owe them a lot and i intend to make up for it after my final race in october.

i will be back in madison next year but only as a volunteer. when i signed up to race this year we didnt know that carly was pregnant at the time. im taking next year off from ironman to spend more time with my family. i will focus on shorter races. im sure ill do several olympics and a few half ironmans. in the meantime, i have to start tapering. i look forward to it!

where have i been!?!

2009-08-23T18:22:00.001-07:00

holy crap my life has been nutty lately. ive been working my butt off training for the ironman. so here is some random stuff about what ive been up to.

the family is out of town visiting grandma so i have a much too quiet house to myself. i couldnt go because of work. i miss them.

today i did my 3rd olympic tri of the season. it was the st paul tri at lake phalen just a few miles from my house. since my family isnt here i decided to bike to the race. ive never been able to do that before! i loaded up everything into a backpack and headed out the door. its hard to wear an aerohelmet with a backpack. from my door to transition was less than 15 minutes. i got a sweet spot and then found my ironman training buddy jason.

he is going for his first attempt this year in madison! go jason!

i was in the first wave and was excited about that. i ended up getting hit right on the shoulderblade within the first 5 seconds and it hurt! it spasamed the whole race. my swim time was the slowest of the year. 4 minutes slower than i usually am at that distance! slower than last years ironman pace! ouch! i had to keep sitting up on the bike because my shoulder made it hard to stay aero but i still managed 21.9 mph average. not super fast but respectable. then i kept a steady pace on the run without pushing very hard but ended up with a 7:45 average. my finishing time was 2:29:30. not too bad for no real speed work and no taper. the reason i held back was because this race was just the start of my workout today. i rode home, ate a quick lunch and let the dog out, then headed out the door for a 90 mile ride. ouch. so i ended the day with 120 miles of biking, 10k of running and 1.5 k of swimming. then i sat on the couch and promptly fell asleep!

after a short nap and shower i ate and sat down at the computer to check out movies on netflix. i browsed aimlessly and managed to find a movie ive never heard of called challenge of a lifetime. i cant believe ive never heard of this movie before! its about a divorded mom who struggles with depression and ends up training for the ironman to get over it. it was made in the 80's and it kicks ass! its even got a cameo of dave scott and mark spitz. its interspersed with actual ironman footage. its available as a streaming movie on netflix until the end of the month so check it out! to tell you the truth i got a bit misty eyed at the swim start but i always do!

two days ago louis garneau sent me some sweet shoes! woo hoo! being associated with a bike shop/team has its benefits!

yes its a stock photo because im lazy. but they are super snazzy and i love them! they are the carbon hrs model. today was my first time riding in them. yes i used shoes for the first time in a race because im a rebel. i also once bought brand new brooks shoes that i had never tried before the day before a marathon. i dont seem to have a problem with using new stuff on race day. unless its food then its probably going to come back out and whichever end is anyones guess! eewww.

im tired so its off to bed. im going back to school to start a new career and have class tomorrow. it should be fun. yay first day of school!

p.s. holy crap the ironman is in 3 weeks!

fuck drunk drivers

2009-08-01T16:12:00.000-07:00

thats really all there is to say. i absolutely loathe drunk drivers.

im guessing that the family of this triathlete killed during a race feels the same way.

BREAKING NEWS!!!

2009-06-17T06:44:00.001-07:00

what did i just do?!?!?!

its official. the fall is shaping up as a real endurance challenge. here is what it looks like so far:

september 13th ironman in madison
october 4th twin cities marathon
october 24th the north face endurance challenge

ARE YOU READY TO TAKE ON THE ENDURANCE CHALLENGE?

In 2009, The North Face® Endurance Challenge again welcomes you to run farther than you ever have. Whether you're an aspiring 10K trail runner or an elite ultramarathoner looking to boost your performance, The North Face® Endurance Challenge holds something meaningful for you. Every Endurance Challenge event offers four epic courses: 10K, Half Marathon, 50K, and 50-Mile. Explore your potential.

this is exactly what im going to do. ive wanted to run an ultra marathon for a while and yesterday at work i swapped my triathlete magazine for a coworkers running times magazine. flipping through it i came upon the full page ad that is full of people running through harsh trails and in bold letters it says:
five opportunities ro run your self-doubt into the ground.

i saw they had a race in madison. i asked my family what they thought of me adding another race in madison a month after the ironman and they gave me the go ahead. (they are seriously the most supportive family an athlete could have!) two minutes after reading the ad i was on the phone with my coach and he thought i would definitely be able to finish. he said "well im training you to go aerobic for 11 hours so it will be hard but it wont be a problem" i thanked him and hung up. five minutes after seeing the ad i was signing up!

FIFTY. the big 5-0! im running 50 miles through singletrack trails outside of madison. now i just need to assemble a support crew. anyone wanna go?

oh yeah its been slow comming but ive got two race reports on the way!

go to steve in a speedo for a chance to get some free shoes!

sleep? whats that?

2009-05-29T07:40:00.000-07:00

whew its been a long week! after westin was born i didnt workout a single bit for a week! thats freakishly long. i anticipated taking a few days off but not a whole week. what happened was westin was born on tuesday and we went home from the hospital on thursday. when we left the hospital he had a moderate case of jaundice just like most babies but his was a little high. a nurse came out to our house the next day to follow up on his jaundice levels and they had almost doubled overnight! he ended up gettin readmitted to the hospital for two more days. how stressful! thankfully he is fine now! we came home from the hospital on sunday evening.

so on monday i finally got to workout! i went for a run and felt great. on tuesday i had to bike for an hour. because i spent most of the day cleaning and taking care to the baby i didnt get to start my workout until 10:30 pm! ive never started a workout so late. i did my workout on the trainer while watching episodes of arrested development. thanks hulu! i knew i would have to be a little creative when scheduling my workouts but didnt think i would have to do it that late!

yesterday i had a really fun workout. my coach had me do a race simulation for my upcoming olympic races. there was no swim but i had to do the bike and run at race pace. i got to workout in the afternoon this time! i loaded up my stuff and headed out the door. i parked at the monument next to the river at the end of summit st in saint paul. i felt tired from all the middle of the night diaper changes and feedings this week so i loaded up my bottle with a caffeinated electrolyte drink. i set up my transition area in the back of our minivan and hopped on my bike. i rode the entire 40k up and down west river road. it was awesome! i rode a fairly consistent pace and finished the bike in 1:10. thats a 21.3 mph average. im hoping to be better than that when i get on a closed race course. i threw my bike in the van, put on my running shoes and headed down the running path. i felt tired but finished my first mile in 7:12. i was hoping to be a bit faster but i was happy with that. my second mile was a few seconds slower then i glanced at the time and realized that if i ran the whole 10k then i would be late picking up my daughter from school! so i turned around and headed back. i finished with a 7:23 pace and felt great even though i was so freaking hot! as long as i hold these paces in my races then i will finish around 2:24. that would be a pr!

ive got two chances in the next 3 weeks and im excited! im doing the buffalo olympic on the 7th then the following weekend im doing the liberty olympic! ive never done two olympic races like that so im looking forward to it and ive got friends in both races! if you come you will get to meet Westin!

see you there!

2009-05-21T13:58:00.001-07:00

on Tuesday May 19th at 3:54 pm we celebrated the birth of
our beautiful son, Westin!

until his birth we had no idea if baby was a boy or girl.

on monday at around 7pm carly started having contractions during dinner. after dinner we relaxed by watching a movie. we really felt like it was real labor and not the false labor contractions she had been having the couple days previous. after the movie carly decided to go to bed and try to get some sleep. i couldnt because i was too excited! i stayed up to try and get some chores done but kept checking in on her. in the beginning she was able to get some sleep but my midnight the contractions were getting stronger. we started timing them and they were staying about 7 minutes apart really regularly but after a couple hours they suddenly jumped to 5 minutes. they stayed like that for a while and we knew it was time to head to the hospital! We called our parents to let them know and headed out the door a little after 3am. My mom and our brother in law Andy met us at the hospital. My mom took care of our daughter Anastasia and Andy, a photographer, was there to take photos. Carlys mom had a long drive to get here so it would be a few hours before she arrived. Once we got checked into the hospital Carly was doing her best to get some rest. Everyone kept insisting that i go to sleep as well but there was no way that was going to happen! i pulled up what happened to be the most uncomfortable chair in the world next to Carlys bed and held her hand. This would be my spot for many hours.

Carly had big plans on how to handle labor and we had practiced many different methods of working through contractions but really all she wanted to do was lay down. several hours went by with a flutter of activity. with all of the nurses and doctors coming in and out. by about 2:30 in the afternoon she had progressed to where it was time to start pushing.

over the past year i completed 4 marathons and an ironman. carly always is a great cheerleader but says that it sounds too hard and she could never do that. what she did on tuesday though was a far superior physical accomplishment than anything i have ever done. she was a total stud. a rockstar! after laying in bed at the hospital for nearly 11 hours suffering through constant pain of contractions and exams she really buckled down and started to push. she started pushing with great determination that i found awe inspiring. however there was cause for concern during labor and especially pushing. babys heart rate was dropping really low during contractions. this meant that he probably had the cord wrapped around his body and it was being constricted. at the point where we could sort of see babys head his heart rate dropped the lowest yet. i could see a look of concern on the doctors face and she said that this was it. if the head didnt come out on the next push she was going to intervene. she had spoken earlier of a possible emergency c-section. she told carly to push as hard as she could and then dig deeper to push even beyond that. we were all telling her to push. and she pushed like crazy! ive never seen anyone so determined! then out popped the babys head! she did it! as soon as his head popped out we could see the cord was wrapped around his neck. the doctor and nurses moved so fast and in unison without even talking getting it untangled. luckily they were able to get it off of him so that he was safe. then one final push and he burst into the world with a mighty scream that was more beautiful than the finest opera singer! he was immediately placed on moms tummy and i peeked to see if it was a boy or girl and got to announce its a boy! and a few seconds later he proved it by peeing all over everyone!

it was such an amazing experience. and carly was so inspirational how she handled giving birth for the first time.(for those who dont know anastasia is carlys adopted daughter) being as tough as carly was on tuesday is something i can only dream of.

after mom and baby got cleaned up and started getting settled down i got to go out to the waiting room and bring anastasia back to meet her new baby brother. i was met by the small army of friends and family that had gathered and immediately i was swarmed while being hugged and kissed and asked the big question, if it was a boy or girl. but everyone would have to wait because it wasnt time to tell them yet. first anastasia had to meet him and find out. so she took my hand and she was overflowing with so much excitement that she laughed as we raced down the hall to meet the baby!

she is an amazing big sister! she holds him and gives him kisses and has even changed his diaper!

we spent some family time for the first time with just the four of us.

after a while it was time to bring in everyone to meet the baby. so anastasia got to go to the waiting room and tell everyone to come back the room where we got to introuce our son westin to our loved ones. there were tears of joy all around as everyone took turns holding him and introducing themselves to him! he was so alert and staring as if he was listening intently as grandparents, uncles, aunts and friends said hello.

then it was time to do some things like get his foot prints.

then he got a shot.

after a while our visitors left and mom and i spent some quality time together with westin. then i read him a goodnight story.

it was "guess how much i love you." i read it to him many times before he was born. soon mom fell asleep and i sat nearby holding baby and attempted the impossible task of telling him how much i love him.

it was an AMAZING day! i laughed and i cried constantly. i was awake for over 40 hours before i finally got to sleep about 9 hours after he was born. however i only got to sleep for a couple hours before he was awake again but i didnt care. im sure i will eventually get tired of him keeping us up all night but i know that i will cherish every moment.

i also want to thank all of our family and friends who have been so incredibly helpful. they worked together to make sure our dog was fed and walked, they brought us foods and gifts, and gave so much support.

we are going home soon and im excited about that.

it was so nice to finally meet you westin! i will always love you so much more than i could ever possibly say.

even though this is the short version, it took me two days to write this! there is no free time when a baby is born!

today!

2009-05-19T06:34:00.000-07:00

Its now 8:30 am on tuesday and carly has been in labor for 13.5 hours! She recently had an epidural and is finally getting some much needed rest. I haven't slept in 24 hours and the nurses, doctors and my mom keep telling me to go to sleep but I can't bring myself to leave her side. Obviously they don't understand my excitement level. Today is the day I get to hold my son/daughter. I get to see this little person that I've been talking, reading and singing to for the past several months. Today is the best day of the year.

check back soon for the big announcement!

Stay strong carly. I love you.

happy mothers day!

2009-05-10T10:26:00.000-07:00

Happy mothers day! we have much to celebrate this year! our baby is officially due in 5 days! it could come any time now and we are so very excited. i hope its not born late. i cant take waiting much more. i am anxious to meet our son/daughter! (we wanted to be surprised so we never found out!)
it wont be long before i forget what a good nights sleep feels like and i know i will cherish every exhausted sleep deprived minute!

the most beautiful mother

be sure to check back soon? for updates!

compression

2009-05-01T20:42:00.000-07:00

lately ive been having some cramping in my right calf. it sucks. i finally went out and picked up some 2XU compression calf guards.

sexy or geeky? i think we all know the answer to that one! i wore them on my hour long run this evening. they definitely helped a lot! it reduced my crampy calf to a mild dull ache that didnt show up until the last few minutes of my run. they were comfortable except my leg hair made them a bit itchy at times but even that was minor. once i shave my legs that wont be an issue. i even wore them for a while after the run to head out to run some errands but i wore pants so i wouldnt look like a total nerd! i feel they definitely helped for short term recovery. if you have any calf issues i would definitely recommend picking some up!

winter be gone...shortest race ever

2009-04-28T19:31:00.000-07:00

on sunday i attempted to race the winter begone duathlon. my family decided at the last minute to head down with me. as of sunday our baby is due in 19 days but Carly loves to come to races so she really wanted to go along. it is always nice to have my family cheering me on.

once we round the race site the weather didnt want to cooperate for us. wind, rain, hail and lightning had the race director considering to cancel the race.

after a break in the weather he ended up making everyone do the short course.
carly and anastasia decided to wait in the vehicle and stay warm.

they snapped a photo of me through the window as i was getting ready.

my first thought was "its gonna be really hard to place now" there were some really fast guys signed up for the long course but i was doing the short race. my plan was to hold back on the first run then go all out on the bike and hold on for dear life on the second run.
we got lined up for the start.

apparently a bunch of idiots racing in bad weather is news worthy!

i ran the first 2.25 miles at a 7 min pace. i had to keep reminding myself that my plan was to go easy and not speed up as people passed me. once i hit transition i fumbled for a bit with my chin strap but still passed a lot of people who entered before me.

once i took off on the bike i had a goal of catching steve. he can smoke me on the run and he did. i saw him heading out on the bike as i was nearing the end of the first run. i took off and pedaled hard into the wind.

i passed at least 10 people in the first 4 miles. because of the wind my speed was a little lower than i anticipated but i was still keeping it higher than 20 mph average. i figured the ride back would be a bit faster. i had steve in my sights and could see his shiny gold bike as i topped a hill. i pushed hard up the next hill and suddenly heard a CLINK! and lost all resistance on the pedals. i looked down and saw my chain slink to the ground behind me! YIKES!!! i quickly pulled my bike off the road and grabbed the chain to see what happened. my master link had broken off. i tried desperately to see if it could go back on but it was bent. all the people who i passed started going by. i saw Brian (who i finally met in person before the race!) go by. he asked if i was ok and i showed him my chain. a race official pulled up after a couple minutes and grabbed a repair kit out of his truck. he didnt have any of the correct sized chain pins but we threw one in anyway so i could at least finish the race. it didnt work. i pedaled about 10 feet but the wider chain pin didnt want to go through the rear derailleur. i was officially done. my first multisport dnf. the guy who helped me gave me a ride back to transition and i cheered in the racers.

since i didnt have the heart rate data to send my coach from the race he had me do a 30 minute time trial today. it was really windy but wasnt raining. i averaged 21.5 mph which i felt pretty good about since half of it was into a head and and i had to come to a complete stop twice. im hoping to be faster than that for my olympic tri in 5 weeks. depending on our baby situation i may be able to squeeze in the apple duathlon in sartell, mn at the end of may.

congrats to all the people who finished a wet, cold, windy, muddy race! Borsch even managed a pr!

cold begone before winter begone

2009-04-22T17:32:00.000-07:00

so i talked it over with my coach and he gave me the go ahead to do the winter begone duathlon. his only requirements are that i hit the lap button between runs and the bike and that i go harder than i normally would on the bike. oooooookaaayyyy..... so go hard on the first run, go all out on the bike and hold on for the second run. i can do that! he really wants this race to be all about the bike. i was supposed to do a lactate threshold heart rate test on sunday but if i go all out on the bike then that will count as my test.

im really looking forward to it because i will know several people racing! Brian, Steve, Pharmie and Borsch! it will also be my first duathlon and my first time racing this year! i should be healthier by then since i feel much better today than yesterday. im looking forward to it.

highs and lows

2009-04-21T09:00:00.000-07:00

i recently had an interval workout in the pool. i had to swim 10x100. the last time i did this workout i averaged 1:35 per 100. this time i averaged 1:26! i was toast afterwards but was really excited to see some big improvement! i suppose my coach was correct that i would soon start to see gains in my speed. (i had recently expressed concern that i wasnt getting faster) he has recently started giving me fun workouts with lots of speedwork. they are hard but im excited to see increased speed on the bike and run as well. overall i felt great about my workouts the past week...until sunday.

on sunday i started feeling a little sick. on monday morning i felt really sick. i have a really bad sore throat with a slight fever and that all over achy feeling. its no fun. i missed my workouts yesterday and today and opted instead to lay in bed as much as possible. to inspire my immune system to kick whatever ive got ive been drinking tea out of my favorite mug.

i bought it last year after the ironman.

also i just received my twin cities marathon registration confirmation. im excited about that! im really working for a pr this year and im confident coach David will help me do it! im shooting for boston!
speaking of boston congrats to both of the Jens i know from st paul who ran on sunday and finished within 3 minutes of eachother! way to go girls!

holy smokes!

2009-04-15T20:26:00.000-07:00

today i went on a training ride along the gateway trail. my ride was supposed to be 1:45 long with cruise intervals of 6 min each with 2 minute recoveries. i figured i could ride near Stillwater before turning around and heading back. it was a beautiful day today and i wore short sleeves and shorts for the first time this year on a ride! woo hoo! its been a while since i rode the gateway trail but i remembered incorrectly that there were longer stretches of trail before it crossed roads where i would have to stop. i constantly had to stop or slow down. it was impossible to keep any sort of rythm or steady pace but it was exciting to be out riding on a beautiful trail on such a nice day! until i smelled smoke!
a few seconds later i passed over a bridge and saw this...

i took a look around an noticed that there was no one nearby. it wasnt a controlled burn! i took out my cellphone dialed 911 and described my location the best i could. the operator quickly dispatched the fire department and within 2 minutes the firetruck pulled up and the firefighters extinguished the fire.

quite a crowd had gathered to watch the action. i stuck around for a few minutes before riding off to finish my workout. the rest of my time was pretty uneventful other than the constant stopping and starting but i enjoyed my afternoon in the sun.

woo hoo spring kicks ass!

oh and remember kids...

booo! boooo! BOOOOOOO!

2009-04-11T16:21:00.001-07:00

the crazy lady from the princess bride had to make an appearance on my blog to show her disdain at the craptacular new rule at ironman races.

crossing the line with my daughter in madison meant the world to me. eventually ill post the story of why i do triathlons and why it means so much to me.

sucky!

first 5k!

2009-04-05T07:47:00.000-07:00

yesterday i ran a 5k with my daughter! it was her first. she won entry to a charities challenge race from a contest she entered on steve's blog.
its a good thing it was a 5k because i got very little sleep. i went to a coworkers birthday party and didnt get home until after midnight. i also had to make a late run to buy some "purple gatorade" due to a pregnancy craving! i finally got to sleep around 1 am and woke up at 6 so i could cook breakfast for anastasia.

the race was at como lake which is only a mile from our house. we showed up and got registered.

here we are after registering

carly and anastasia headed inside to stay warm and i helped set up the finish line and sound system. before long it was time to start!

we took off and i had to keep reminding her to slow her pace because she was wanting to pass everyone. we took in the lake scenery and wildlife. we saw a bald eagle, geese, two kinds of ducks, a muskrat and a bear!

sir, look out for that bear!

she was going strong at the halfway point

on the second lap she started getting a little tired but never stopped to walk. once we got into sight of the finish she started picking up the pace and finished strong!

here are the mile splits:
mile 1 9:34
mile 2 9:31
mile 3 10:05
.1 mile 1:06

total 30:18

the official results arent posted yet but looking at past results she managed to do something i have never done. she set a course record for her age group!

we had such a great time together! to celebrate her first 5k we went to izzy's for some ice cream.

hey she has way more than i do!

after enjoying our ice cream the girls headed to the mall and i headed to the gym to do my workout. i had to swim 45 minutes followed by weight lifting. we ended our day by renting a movie to watch after dinner but i passed out on the couch halfway through it. it was a fantastic day!

be sure to stop by her blog later to congratulate her!

now im following several friends at new orleans 70.3! go get 'em athletes!

my favorite running parter!

2009-03-26T20:13:00.000-07:00

im nearing the end of my rest week. my workouts have been short and ive been able to sleep in a few days! today my workouts only totaled an hour so i put them off until after work. i had an easy run and i wanted to do part of it with my daughter. after making sure she didnt have a lot of homework to do i asked her if she wanted to go for a run. she jumped up and all she said was "i better go change!" i love it. its amazing quality time that i enjoy immensely. we do sporadic workouts together but never anything structured. recently she won entry to a 5k from a contest she entered on steve in a speedo. its coming up so we decided we better run together a bit more. on monday we meant to go for a run but we werent able to. on tuesday when she got home from school she said "we better go for a run today since we missed yesterday" it was cold and raining. we got dressed and went for a mile run and talked about how much we both like running in the rain. we finished in 8:23. today we went a bit slower and ran 1.7 miles in the blowing snow. i loved it. she doesnt like running in the snow like she does in the rain. we headed for the park to do a lap around the small lake. we stopped only for a few seconds to snap a quick photo together. along the way we talked but she talked too much and ended up getting a side stitch. we slowed down a bit but before long she was picking up the pace. i commented that she must be feeling better and all she said was "not really i just want to finish." and she took off for the last few blocks home.

me and my daughter, who i will always love so much more than i could ever possibly say.

my weekend

2009-03-23T19:52:00.000-07:00

this weekend we packed up the family and headed out of town for our baby shower!

here are my girls looking pretty at the shower.

i had big plans for my workouts. on saturday i lifted weights. ive never lifted weights up north in sebeka where our family lives so i had to do a bit of research. i broke out my google phone and quickly found the wadena community center.

i slept in until 8!(im usually up by 5 to do my workouts) and headed to the gym. saturday was the start of my maximum strength phase which means that im supposed to do as much weight as i can for 3 reps and 3 sets. i surprised myself with how strong my legs are! the gym was awesome in the typical small town kind of way. when i walked in i had to wait around for a few minutes before the woman who worked there to come out from the back where she was checking on her baby sleeping in the office. i paid my $4 and she pointed out the locker room and the weight room and i was on my way. there was only a high school boy lifting weights but he finished right as i started. i brought my ipod to listen to as i usually do but put it back since the gym supplied their own music. i pumped iron while listening to 80's rock! sweet! i usually love to hit the hot tub after lifting weights but they didnt have one so instead i headed off to the sauna. that was it for my saturday workout.

sunday was meant to be my big day. David had decided to move my workouts around a bit so my plan was:

:45 run zone 1
3:00 bike zone 2
swim 10X100 followed by drills to total :45

thats 4.5 hours! a half hour short of my half ironman goal. it was also a weird backwards triathlon if you hadn't noticed.

well the run was painfully slow! i have a freaky high heart rate and its really hard to keep it down while running. i only ran 4.5 miles. ridiculously slow for me.

i immediately changed and headed out for my ride. (the highways in this area have really wide shoulders that are smooth and great for biking. ive ridden many centuries through the farmlands there.) the wind had really picked up during my run and i thought it would be challenging for my ride. i took off and kept an eye on my hr to make sure i didnt go above my zone 2. i also kept an eye on my speed which stayed right about 20mph. i was thinking it should be faster but the wind was pretty strong so i didnt feel too bad about that. it seemed that with every mile the wind got stronger and stronger. i was being blown all over the place and actually got blown off the road a few times. after 10 miles i had had enough. i simply didnt feel safe. i was literally leaning hard into the wind just to stay upright. i turned around and headed back. i only rode 60 minutes and 19.5 miles out of my 3 hour ride. i was really disappointed. i checked the weather report and the wind was 26 miles an hour with gusts up to 40! i called David and told him about it and ate a quick lunch before heading off for my swim.

once again i had consulted my google phone to find the nearest lap pool. ive never swam anywhere but the lakes while up there so i had no idea where to go. i found out that the closest lap pool was in Perham. 50 miles away! so off i went. i was soon at the Perham community center.

it was a nice place which apparently is also the home pool for the high school. there was a banner celebrating a local kid who recently won state in the 100m butterfly! i did my workout and sat in the hot tub before heading back. along the way i spoke to David about my rearranged workout schedule for this week since my ride was shortened.

so that was my weekend. it was great seeing family. my new workout week starts tomorrow with my 3 hour ride. depending on the weather i may be doing it inside. (im not a baby about riding in the rain but my bike is! she is too pretty.)

either way i will post my garmin data for brian. i promised to do it on this post but i messed it up! i accidentally left the gps on when i drove to the pool after my bike! the data is all funky looking.

also congratulations to my daughter anastasia for her contest on steve's blog. you can read about it on her blog tomorrow!

2009-03-20T06:21:00.000-07:00

This morning my alarm went off at 4:45 and the first two things I noticed was I had a bad headache and my right calf hurt. After thinking how easy it would be to sleep another two hours before work I thought about my goal, told myself to quit being such a crybaby and got the hell out of bed. A short time later I headed out the door for my run. I walked a bit to warm up the calf and stretched it a little before hitting the timer to start my run. I was supposed to run for 1:15 but had to cut it a bit short to get to work on time. I wanted to do at least 10 miles at a 7:30 pace but ended my run aftter 9 miles. My time was 1:06:29. A 7:23 pace! I felt bad about shaving 8 1/2 minutes off my workout but was really happy with my run. My calf didn't bother me much and my headache never went away but I'm an ironman dammit this is how I'm supposed to feel. As you can tell from my previous post I'm almost finished with my most intensive week so far. Overall I feel awesome. I'm really looking forward to my workouts this weekend but we are heading out of town for our baby shower! Squeezing in workouts is going to be tricky but I think I've got it figured out.

Have a great weekend!

ive been busy!

2009-03-18T20:18:00.000-07:00

well i havent been updating because ive been really busy but i thought id get in a quick update before i head off to bed! here is what ive been up to this week:

first off there is a new blog you should start reading! its by the cutest little triathlete in the history of the web! it my daughter's! she also has a funny story in a contest over at steves blog. she is the only kid in the bunch so stop by and cast your vote for the best (*ahem my daughters*) story!

also i got myself a sweet new toy. its a garmin forerunner 405. its awesome and im still learning how to use it effectively but the important thing is that i can upload sweet graphs of my heart rate data from my workouts everyday and send them to my coach. there is definitely no skipping workouts or slacking off without him knowing!

speaking of my coach...here is what David has me doing this week:

sunday~ i swam 2X1000 intervals with 2 minutes of rest. i was supposed to bike
afterwards but stuff came up so after consulting with my coach that got
moved to monday which means no rest day this week!

monday~ bike 2:45. i wanted to do this outside because it was so freaking nice out
but i ended up spinning on the trainer while watching movies.

tuesday~ a.m. swim :55 nothing hard just steady.
p.m. lift weights

wednesday~ a.m. run 1:15. i ended up going 10.13 miles
p.m. bike 1:00 with intervals every 5 minutes. i just finished about an
hour ago and im sleepy!

thursday~ swim as many 500yd intervals as i can in 1 hour. i get 30 seconds of rest
between them.

friday~ a.m. run 1:15 will i go farther than 10.13?
p.m. bike 1:30. an easy zone 1 ride.

saturday~ lift weights

sunday~ run/bike brick. :45 easy run then 3:00 steady state ride. im excited about
this one!

well thats my week. i also have to work 40 hours and make family time and if there is any time leftover then i get to sleep! which is what im about to do right...now!

goodnight!

busy/lazy me

2009-03-12T05:12:00.000-07:00

im sorry ive not been a very up to date blogger recently! i plan to put up a new post really soon! ive got new toys and have been working my ass off training! also ive got a huge announcement about a new blog coming your way!

check back soon

interviewed by a guy in a speedo

2009-02-21T08:42:00.000-08:00

Steve sent me some interview questions.

Interview Questions:

1.) What's your best and your worst race experience? Explain.
my best experience is definitely crossing the finish line at ironman madison with my favorite training partner and greatest cheerleader Anastasia! my worst experience was druing the buffalo triathlon a few years ago. during the swim i got kicked in the chest really hard and it totally knocked the wind out of me and i swallowed a bunch of water. then i promptly threw up all over my bike. i finished but didnt feel well.

2.) What was the race that got you "hooked?" Explain.
definitely seeing the ironman on tv as a young teenager. i saw it and thought that looks awesomely hard! then i made it one of my many life goals. cross that one off the list!

3.) What brand of athletic gear are you most loyal to? Why?
arcteryx. i used to rock climb a lot and they made the best mountaineering wear. its super lightweight, incredibly rugged and the soft-shell jackets are waterproof and windproof. they also happen to work amazingly well for running in cold weather!

4.) If you had to pick a current game show to be on, which one would you pick? Why?
well as a kid i would have killed to be on double dare! but now i would say jeopardy. when i watch it i seem to know an awful lot of the answers but im sure its more difficult being up there.

5.) Which Simpson's character would you get along with the best? Why?
hmmmm tough choice. probably lisa. she loves learning and she is also vegetarian.

To play along:
1. Leave me a comment saying, "Interview me."
2. I will respond by giving you five questions. (I get to pick the questions.)
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview others in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

valentines week

2009-02-16T08:18:00.000-08:00

I just finished my second week of workouts outlined by coach david. Here is what I did:

Tuesday swim :30 run 1:00
Wednesday weights 1:00 bike :30
Thursday run :30
Friday swim :30 bike 1:00
Saturday weights 1:00
Sunday bike 1:15 run :30

Total 7:45

Overll an easy week with some drills. Today is my rest day and tomorrow I start week 3 which will be 9.5 hours.

On saturday Anastasia and I spent a few hours together for valentines day. We decided to go to the y and workout together. We started by running an easy mile on the track. She hasn't run for a while so we started off slow and ran each lap faster than the previous. We finished in 8:40. I used that as my warmup before doing my weight workout. Anastasia wanted to use some of the cardio machines. She used the rower for a while then ran another mile on the treadmill. We both finished up and stretched before heading down to the pool. She brought along a dice to play a game she invented. You roll the die and swim that many laps. Then the next person does the same thing and you take turns untill you get bored. We played the dice game, went on the waterslide and played "shark" which is another game she invented where one person is the shark and chases the other person and tries to kill them(catch them. We don't try to murder anyone at the y) that's a great game because it like intervasls. Overall we had a great time together and it got us out of the house so carly could prepare our secret valentines dinner which was delicious manacotti! Yum! Happy late valentines day everyone!

high school boys are insecure and gross!

2009-02-10T08:22:00.000-08:00

I'm annoyed. This morning I went to the y to do my swim workout before work and there was a high school boys swim team working out in the pool. There were a couple open lanes so no big deal. The problem was that they finished just before I did and headed off to the showers. I decided to give them some time to clear out so I sat in the hot tub for a few minutes. After about 10 minutes I figured there would be an open shower and headed into the locker room. There were about 30 guys standing around in the showers waiting for an open spot. All of them still had their suits on. How do they expect to get clean when they don't even get undressed? Seriously get over it. If you are scared for someone to see you naked then don't go out for a sport where you need to shower with teammates afterwards. Now this doesn't mean that I'm itching to see a bunch of high school boys naked I'm just amazed at their insecurities.

Now here is the gross part. One of these kids was standing in the shower all sudsy (with his suit on of course) and he was eating what looked to be a ham and cheese sandwich. WTF?!? Who eats a sandwich in the shower? In the locker room shower! Ugh! Trust me.....there are better places to eat. Just because there is soap involved doesn't mean that a locker room shower is a sanitary place to enjoy a meal.

I must say as an aside that this isn't the most disgusting eating habbit I have seen. Many years ago I had a coworker who every single day would spend his first break standing in the bathroom eating a can of tuna with a fork. Read that again and let it sink in. In between bites he would strike up a conversation with anyone within earshot even if they were in a stall. Who wants to have a perfectly good crap interrupted by a guy with a mouthful of tuna?

Anyways bak to my morning. The high school kids took so long in the showers that it made me late for work. I'm going to have to figure out their schedule so I can get in and out before them.

1 down 31 to go

2009-02-09T09:55:00.000-08:00

I just finished my first week of workouts under the guidance from my new coach and I feel great. Great mentally but sore physically. My week was fairly easy but saturday was a really grueling day but that was mostly my fault. I was scheduled for a 45 minute swim followed by a weight lifting session which was an hour. That wouldn't have been a big deal but before I started my workout I played football for two and a half hours. By the time I started lifting weights I was exhausted! But it was a good feeling and I was able to complete my workout although I'm still sore. Sunday was an easier day since all I had was a bike workout. After that I took my daughter to the y for some quality one on one time playing together n the pool. She quickly tired me out and I sat in the hot tub while she swam a few laps. She was a little disappointed that I didn't also take her running. That's awesome. Not many 10 year olds get upset that they didn't get in a running workout! She really knows how to tug at my heart strings! I'm going to have to start running with her on a regular basis. She is pretty fast. She has a 7:20 pr for a mile. I wasnt that fast at her age. When she grows up I don't think I will be able to keep up with her!

Today is my rest day and its also the day I get to treat myself. I normally drink lots of pop but I committed to not drink any on workout days when I'm training for the ironman. I made a deal with myself that if I don't miss any workouts during the week then I can drink a pop on my day off. I'm currently nursing an ice cold bottle of mountain dew and I'm a little surprised that I'm not as excited to drink it as I thought I would be. Hmm. Maybe I will end up quitting completely. I guess there are worse things.

I'm excited for this week! I looked over my schedule and I have 7 hours and 15 minutes of workouts planned. Other than the weight sessions it should be pretty easy. I will post my week totals next monday.

getting my ass kicked

2009-02-05T09:47:00.000-08:00

I'm sorry I pretty much suck at blogging lately. I will offer as an excuse in my defense that my compuer is currently fried. It will be a bit before I can afford to get it repaired. I'm going to do it when I get my tax returns. But onto the tri stuff.

I have huge news. I officially have a coach! I'm super excited about it! It is David Warden from tri-talk. We spent a couple days early this week discussing my goals and setting a plan for this year. Basically it includes getting my ass kicked. A lot. We spent a lot of time talking about past results and extrapolating those to set goals for upcomming races. I'm not going to be doing a lot of racing this year but the races I do compete in will serve as markers to check how my fitness is improving for my run up to the ironman.

Here is my plan so far:
I'm running the eau claire half marathon in early may. I need to finish in under 1:45.(this is my easiest goal)
I'm racing the buffalo olympic tri. In june. I need to finish under 2:25
I'm racing the chisago half ironman in july. I need to finish in 5:00
And I'm racing the madison ironman with a goal time of under 11:00 (this is by far the hardest goal!)
Then I'm running twin cities marathon in october but don't have a goal time yet!

I can throw in a few more races as my budget and free tme permit.

In order to do that I'm basically going to get my ass kicked in workouts all summer. I'm actually really excited about that! I've never followed a training plan from start to finish. For my first ironman I followed my plan for 54 hours. That is acout 3 weeks. I wanted to get a coach so that I am accountable to someone if I don't do my workouts. I know that will keep me motivated and stop me from skipping workouts so I can sleep in.

I also need to stay injury free to meet my goals. I have had some itb problems in the past so david wants to impliment some preventative measures into my training plan. This includes strength training, stretching and a medieval torture device known as the foam roller. I've never used one before but purchased one yesterday on my lunch break. I gave it a shot last night and discovered how horrible this unassuming foam cylinder is. I'm sure this should be outlawed along with waterboarding and thumb screwes. I took a look at the product disclaimer that came with it and here is what it says in the very first paragraph: "The risk of injury from participation in....these exercises is significant, and includes the potential for catastrophic injury or death." WTF!? Well I used it anyway and it was indeed pure hell but I'm going to keep using it since I don't want to have problems. David swears it will get easier the more I use it. I hope so!

So that's it for now. I'm really excited for this year! I'm sure it will be my best race season ever!

its a beautiful day!

2009-01-18T12:59:00.000-08:00

First off I can't seem to post photos; for some reason the icons are disabled. I have some great photos to post and I will as soon as the icons work.

My workouts have been fairly boring lately and its because they have all been indoors. Yuck! I don't like spinning on my trainer because I tend to watch the clock too much. I do at least entertain myself by playing video games, watching tv, reading or surfing the internet. Yeah I manage to surf the internet while biking! But I would much rather just listen to my ipod and pedal down the road for hours.

I have been swimming in a pool of course because the ice on the lakes makes swimming difficult. But I did manage to hurt myself the last time I was in the pool. Not too big a deal but on my first lap I went to stand up to adjust my goggles and I managed to kick the bottom of the pool and tore a chunk of skin off my big toe. It throbbed for most of my workout and still hurts a bit every time I take a step. So when I run I'm aware of my toe. Its not horrible but its an annoyance.

Running inside during the winter is both good and bad. It is nice to be able to run without losing traction on snow and ice which slows you down. And wearing shorts and a tshirt is way more comfortable than bundling up. But today I was determined to get outside since the temp is finally above zero! I was supposed to meet with friends for a run this morning but I didn't set my alarm correctly and overslept! Whoops! So instead I ran by myself. Nothing real amazing just 10k but it was my longest run since the begining of october when I ran the twin cities marathon. The weather was a perfect winter day. 20 degrees and snowing with no wind. The snow accumulating on the ground definitely slowed my pace but it felt great.

Now I'm watching the cardinals massacre the eagles in the nfc chanpionship game.

A snowy run and watching footall is definitely a great way to spend the day!

runnin in the dome

2009-01-07T11:11:00.000-08:00

Last night I headed to the metrodome for some warm indoor running with my friend mike. I got there before he did and found a spot to stash my jacket and change into my running shoes. as I did that pharmie ran by so I decided to do a few easy laps with her. Mike showed up after a bit and joined us and somehow the few easy laps turned into a few miles! Pharmie finished her run then mike and I picked up the pace for 2 more miles when I decided too try and get in a quick stair workout. The only problem was that all the entrances to the stadium area were closed with large garbage cans blocking the doors. I somehow managed to find one that someone moved so that the door could be easily opened. (it wasnt me no one saw me do it and you can't prove anything!) I did several laps up and down the bleachers but had to dodge a lot garbage left behind from the vikings game on sunday. After the stairs I did a couple cool down laps with mike and headed home. Overall it was an easy laid back 5 miles filled with conversation.

Carly and baby are doing much better now! Check back soon to see a pic of the baby!

im back!

2009-01-05T22:14:00.000-08:00

So the new year is here and one of my resolutions is to keep up with this freaking blog through the entire year. Can I do it? Time will tell! I have very ambitious plans for this year. My first race of the year will be the securian half marathon on the 24th. I just registered for it today. I really need to get running and I'm planning on running 3-4 days a week for the year and I am supposed to go out for a short 5 mile run in 5 hours but I'm currently sitting in the hospital with carly who has an iv in her arm. She is very ill and dehydrated. Did I mention she is also 21 weeks pregnant!? Its obviously going to be a fantastic year and I'm looking forward to having a new family member to cheer me on for my second ironman this september! Four month old babies care about ironman races don't they? Either way it looks like I'm going to have to get creative with my workout schedule. So happy new year from a very tired irondad! And please check back for regular updates! I will do them from my cellphone if I have to which is what I'm doing now.

here it comes....

2008-05-08T08:27:00.000-07:00

stay tuned for photos of one sexy lady.....

i did ok i guess

2008-05-06T10:12:00.000-07:00

i ran the 5k as planned but i didnt run as fast as i thought i could have. i stuck with the lead group of about 5 people until the first mile marker which i hit in 5:30. after that i started having trouble breathing and so i slowed my pace a lot. i definitely could have used my inhaler the last mile. but i finished 19th overall. im happy with that. i finished out my weekend with a 15 mile run with andy (my brother in law) and im still a tad sore. im looking forward to running 18 next weekend.

no blizzards in the forecast

2008-04-29T10:21:00.000-07:00

i am running the melpomene 5k this saturday. its only a few miles from my house so i plan on biking over. the weather forecast says it will be in the 40's with a 40% chance of rain. awesome!

my non race report

2008-04-28T11:10:00.000-07:00

too bad i didnt receive this email before i drove 175 miles! im a little disappointed that i didnt get to race.

I regretfully had to cancel the Tinman Triathlon today. After
consulting with my superiors and some experts in the triathlon field, we
came to the decision that we couldn't safely pull it off. If it had
been just rain we would've handled it. If it had been just snow, we
could've still done something, but with the amount of snow we're getting
combined with the high winds and the distance participants would've had
to travel we ruled on the side of caution.

The event is NOT postponed, it is canceled. Those of you who
preregistered, although you will not be getting a refund of your money,
we will be mailing your t-shirts to you.

For everyone who was signed up to volunteer, you'll also be getting your
t-shirts. Just stop by the office of student activities sometime next
week and pick it up.

Corey Phelps
Intramural, Recreation and Club Sport Coordinator
Tinman Triathlon Coordinator

holy crap what day is it?

2008-04-24T11:02:00.000-07:00

im sure taht my lack of posts have caused me to lose the small handfull of readers that i ever had. i simply havent had any freaking time. i have been working 65 hours a week. trying to squeeze in training and spending time with my family has prooved just about impossible. so naturaly updating my blog gets pushed aside. im trying to get my life back to normal so that i can have regular updates again.

onto tri stuff!

i have my first triathlon of the year this weekend in morris mn. its the tinman triathlon in morris mn. the weather is supposed to be crappy so im realyl looking forward to it! i not looking to set any records. im using this race as a workout to dust out the cobwebs and get the taste of racing for the upcoming summer. the forecast for the weekend lists fridays high 34 with some snow. saturday, the day of the race, will have a high of 46 with rain showers. i hope the meteorologists at weather.com are wrong. i hope its colder and with freezing rain. i want an epic triathlon where half the participants wimp out. the worse it is the better my future races will feel. i will let you know how it goes.

randomness

2008-03-13T07:00:00.000-07:00

steve tagged me a while back so now i need to list 7 random things about myself.

i hate cheating. i love being competitive and succeeding but only if its done fairly and with good sportsmanship. i dont mind losing as long as the competition is fair. i will even cheer for my opponents when they do well. but i will never ever cheat.

i eat gas-x before long runs. not because i fart when i run but because my stomach sometimes gets bloated. when that happens i wish i could fart then i wouldnt have to buy gas-x. ironic huh!

i cry. often. not from pain but from movies and the news. oh and watching the ironman on tv.

no one has ever loved anyone as much as i love my daughter. not ever.

people often think im gay. theres just something about me i guess. maybe if i didnt cry at movies like the notebook....

ive been vegan for more than 12 years.

on nearly every workout i imagine that im winning. its probably the only time i will.

buster martin kicks ass

2008-03-12T07:30:00.000-07:00

yes my promised new update is on its way but i couldnt wait to post this news clip. at 101 buster martin spends his days kicking ass, drinking beer then kicking more ass. oh yeah he is also about to be the oldest person to EVER complete a marathon. and back in the day his "boys" were obviously great swimmers. did i mention that he kicks ass?watch buster

long time

2008-03-11T08:20:00.001-07:00

its been nearly a month since my last post but im still here! i promise a new post in the very near future. here are some teasers in the meantime....how i ended up in the e.r. after a swim workout, my top secret project that has kept me holed away in my basement and how it will make me faster this year, 7 random facts abut myself, and last but definitely not least, how much my daughter kicked ass in her very first usatf track meet!!!! all that and more comming up on "my ambition". (yeah i stole your line david)

no pain no gain

2008-02-13T08:47:00.000-08:00

this commercial pretty much sums up what it takes to be an endurance athelete-a little triumph with lots of pain. the most painful thing in the commercial is seeing gail devers tripping over the hurdle. it was the 1992 olympics and had she stayed on her feet she would have taken home another gold medal. instead she slid across the line in 5th place. which reminds me, no matter how perfect a race is going something can always go wrong. and for me it definitely has. last year i raced a triathlon in buffalo, mn. the swim started awesome. i had a new wetsuit and i had the best start of my life. i managed to dive into the water in the front of everyone else in my wave. i was flying. by the time i hit the turn around bouy i had caught the wave that started ahead of me. i had to bring my head out of the water because the congestion of swimmers brought me to a stop. i quickly spotted an opening and just as i went for it i got kicked in the chest by another swimmer which caused me to swallow and inhale a huge amount of water. i was never able to regain any sort of rythm. not one to quit i got to my bike and took off. i wasnt happy and definitely wasnt feeling good. i threw up five times on the bike. i finshed the race but no where near where i expected to.

i use those memories of bad races, and there have been many, to push myself when i am in pain or not feeling well. "at least i dont feel as bad as.... i got through it then so i can get though this now even faster." without ever feeling pain in a race you will never know what it is like to do your best. and that feels damn good.

skippin workouts and saving lives

2008-02-11T08:29:00.000-08:00

i only managed one workout this weekend and that sucks. the only redeeming thing about that is the reason i was unable to workout. i donated blood. once a year the red cross comes to my place of employment to draw blood donations and since i have blood i decided i should donate.

it was a pretty sweet deal. i got a 45 minute break and got to lounge around while answering questions about my sex history, drug use and travel destinations. it was like some goofy game of truth or dare and since i answered all the questions correctly they jabbed me with a large needle. that was the dare.

but it wasnt that bad, and i feel good knowing that my blood will hopefully save someones life. when i finished they gave me two cans of cranberry juce, two packages of shortbread cookies, one package of oreos and a box of raisins. after eating my snacks i went to lunch! i also learned that i have a higher than average amount of hemoglobin in my blood which i was excited to hear since i am an endurance athlete.

i skipped my workout friday since i had just lost a pint of blood but headed to the gym saturday with the idea that i would take it easy. i planned to spin for 45 minutes before heading to the pool for some quality time with my old friend, the black line. i hopped onto the bike and started off really easy. ridiculously easy. i was pedaling a whole 5 miles an hour and felt out of breath. i checked my heart rate after a few minutes and was astonished that it was at 155 bpm! thats what its normally at when im riding 20 mph. i broke out laughing at myself and decided it was time to stop. i chalked it up to my blood donation and instead of swimming laps in the big boy pool i headed for the kids pool to play with anastaisa. i usually do this after my workout but for saturday it was my workout.

on sunday my brother in law, andy, and i planned to run together. we mapped out a sweet route from his house to the ywca. 8 miles of paved trail that ends a block from the y where we could immediately immerse ourselves in the hot tub. we met in the parking lot, left my car there and drove his car back to his house.

on saturday it was 21 degrees f with light snow. perfect running weather. when we headed out the door on sunday it was -39 f with 20 mph winds. the trail was completely covered in snow and ice from saturdays snowfall. the longest andy had ever run was 6.5 miles 2 weeks ago so we decided to keep it at an 8 minute pace and not push too hard. it was also the first time he brought water on a run. (he was a wrestler in college and and is used to dehydrating himself to meet a certain weight class. not a good idea in endurance sports.) we werent 4 blocks from his house before my eyelids started freezing shut and by mile 2 i was feeling like shit. i figured i wasnt back up to 100% but was able to keep going since we were at an easy pace. having someone to talk to made the time fly by despite the cold bitter wind. we made it to the y in 1:05:20. a bit off our 1:04 goal but given the conditions and it being andys longest run of his life i was happy with our time. we snapped a quick photo with my phone before heading into the hot tub to thaw.

you can see the ice on my eyelashes and that isnt a fashionable earring on andys left ear. that is an icicle!

after a nice soak we headed home. i managed to stay indoors for the rest of the day.

running does a mind good.

2008-02-07T09:07:00.000-08:00

its currently snowing outside my office window and i desperately want to go for a run. there is something about running that i find immensely therapeutic. regardless of whats going wrong in my day it can easily be fixed by lacing up my shoes and pounding out some miles. running fixes everything. and for some reason i love running in the snow and rain. the greatest run i ever ran was last summer while training for the marathon. it was a 20 miler in a light rain. i only passed two other runners the entire time but for those few seconds that we made eye contact and said hello we were best friends in the unexplainable way that only runners understand.

i also find that i am in awe of how fast elite runners can breeze through a race but i am not that inspired by them. i draw the most inspiration from the overweight and out of shape runners i pass who are drenched with sweat and panting as if their next breath will be their last. but as slow as they may be....they are running. and that kicks ass.

its official....im a nerd!

2008-01-31T08:16:00.000-08:00

i went to see a pneumologist and confirmed what i have long suspected. i have asthma. more specifically i have exercised induced asthma. ive had a few asthma attacks since last summer during really intense periods of my workouts. steady state efforts dont usually bother me if im running or biking at a descent pace but once i suddenly increase the effort then my body starts trying to turn itself out through my lungs. it never happens when i swim and the dr feels this is because of the higher humidity near the water.

the annoying thing is that my legs can always take me faster than my lungs will allow. i rarely have to slow down because my legs are tired or burn from lactic acid buildup. i can run 6 minute miles before my lungs start to give me problems but once i start dipping into the 5 minute range i can no longer breathe. but im hoping that will change now that i have some medical help.

my visit o the doctor was interesting. after all the usual conversations detailing history and bla bla bla we got started on some tests. first they measured my lung capacity. "wow thats really good" was what the nurse said. "you must be in good shape." (i guess my training is doing some good!) then i was subjected to a horrendous torture. the allergy scratch test. when it comes to pain im about the best there is at ignoring it. i once nearly cut off my thumb and didnt blink. but when it comes to being poked, my body just goes nuts. i dont know why but touching me with the tip of your finger or something small and i get furious! i know its irrational but it really is a physical and not mental reaction. so the nurse has me lay down so she can write on my back numbers 1-46. with the tip of a pen! oh the horror! it took all my super powers to let her do it without jumping up and freaking out on her. but she finally finished, and then had to go back and poke me some more! 46 more times! holy shit there has to be something in the geneva convention about this inhumane treatment! but i made it through still alive and even snapped an akward photo in the mirror while waiting for the results to develop.

turns out the only thing im allergic to is dust mites. number 3. that means i was unnecessarily poked 86 times!

but in the end we did learn that allergies werent to blame for the asthma. after more investigation it turns out that i have bronchospasms brought on by exertional gastroesophageal acid reflux. basically i get heartburn and it triggers my asthma. i was given a prescription for two inhalers! advair, pro air and prilosec! im super excited to see how they work for me even if i do look like a nerd carrying around my cartload of medications. can i now run faster without leaving behind coughed up bits of my lungs? will i be able to run better than my 5:30 mile? can i run 5:00? i really hope this breathes new life into my fitness. ill keep you posted.

half marathon

2008-01-28T11:24:00.000-08:00

this past weekend i ran the securian frozen half marathon in saint paul. my preparation started friday evening by making my feet look pretty. you see i had an ugly toenail. it was black and blue and unsightly so anastasia(my daughter) painted it purple for good luck. take a look at the photos.

before

making it pretty

much better!

on saturday morning the lovely carly got up a little early and made me oatmeal for breakfast! thats the best race support there is! after eating my fill we headed off to the race. i got my race number and we started hunting for a super secret indoor bathroom. we were given some information by an informant who works in the building but when we got there it was locked. damn we wold have to use the outdoor port a pottys with all the other racers. while waiting in line i saw steve of steve in a speedo fame and had a quick chat. we ended up lining up together at the start of the race but once we started he took off like we were running a 5k instead of a half marathon. my goal was to use this race as a training run and not try for a pr. i had a 1:45 goal which is a 8 min pace. once i hit the 2 mile mark in 15 minutes i realized i was running faster than i wanted to and slowed my pace. i made a point as i always do to high five the kids who come out to cheer and hold out their hands but im not sure who likes that more, them or me. shortly before the turnaround i saw steve on his way back and we shouted to eachother but due to his speed and the doppler effect all i heard was eeeewwwwooooowwww. after i hit the halfway point and started my way back it started snowing which was amazing. i love running in the snow. i wished it had snowed harder but i will take what i can get. the second half was harder than the first because it was more uphill. as i neared the finish line i heard my name being yelled from both sides of the course which made me feel like a rock star. as i neared the end of the race i saw my family and friends standing at the finish so i was able to high five my daughter as i crossed the line.

definitely the best way to end any race. i ended up crossing the line in 1:45:55 on the race clock but my chip time was 1:45:22. i was happy with the run and my knee didnt hurt at all afterwards. must have been because of my lucky toe.

later that night we attended a rockin party at steve and pharmies house. thanks guys!

here are the official results.

mapping your runs/swims

2008-01-21T14:14:00.000-08:00

there is a great tool i use that is available on the usatf website. i use if before heading out for most of my runs. its a mapping program that allows you to plot exactly where you want to run and it will tell you your mileage and elevation changes as well. it takes the guesswork out of your workouts. no more driving your route to see how far you ran!

for instance if i want to go on one of my usual routes before work, i start from downtown st paul and merge onto 35e going south to kansas city then i turn up towards chicago before circling back home again. to save time i cut across countless fields and yards. but you can see from the map that i cover about 1080 miles. (im trying to build my base) i really love the days when i have a running parter because then we can use the carpool lanes when available.

it couldnt be easier to use. start by entering the zip code of the area where you want to run then zoom in on the map and start clicking points you want to run to. it will give you distances across fields, down trails, through yards and everywhere else you may want to go. there are options to view your route as a satellite image if you prefer to see landmarks or trails that arent visible on the map.

as a super bonus i use it to measure my open water swims. ploting distances between beaches lets me know exactly what i swam and its much better than counting laps at the y! here is an example of a workout i may do after work. its an out and back swim just shy of 850 miles. as you can see i swim from duluth up towards thunder bay and then along the us/canada border until i hit sault ste marie in nothern michigan. once i hit the shipping lanes i can usually find a cargo ship to draft off of. and as an added bonus there is a water fountain right near the shore where i can take a quick drink before heading back.

now if i was to do that at the pool that would be about 29,920 laps. i cant keep track of that. my brain gets tired just thinking about it!

if you dont have the time to do one of these proper workouts then you can just as easily use the usatf map to plot your run through your neighborhood and chart your swim at a local lake. i hope you will take advantage of this useful tool when planing your next workout.

2008-01-17T06:52:00.000-08:00

Dear Jeremy:,

Congratulations! You are officially registered for the 32nd annual Grandma's Marathon on June 21, 2008. We are looking forward to welcoming you to Duluth, and providing you with a world-class race.

its official! i am running grandmas marathon this summer with my brother in law andy. first off i want to thank andy for staying up till midnight to sign us both up and letting me get my much needed beauty sleep. (on a side note he may need it more than i do but he has to forgo sleep to take care of my 6 month old niece. he can sleep in a few more months.) now i owe him 79 bucks!

it will be my second marathon and andys first. i am really excited to have someone to run with the entire race. i just hope we dont get separated like my friend jenn and i did at twin cities. we somehow got seperated at the first water stop and never saw each other again. i am also looking forward to ~~hanging out in nudie bars a lot~~ training together. its going to be a great start to the summer!

andys goal: break 4 hours
my goal: make andy run 3:30

i have a weak butt!

2008-01-15T10:51:00.000-08:00

i went to see dr chicanowski an orthopedist at a sports medecine facility this morning because ive been experiencing some knee pain after my runs lately. noting too serious and it doesnt hurt while im running but after i stop and the next day. i smartly remembered to wear some underwear to my appointment because i knew i would be taking my pants off. turns out i didnt need to since they gave me some designer paper shorts to wear. i got all kinds of x rays and then waited around for the doctor. after i got bored snooping through the bandage drawer i laid down for some quality cell phone poker. i managed to win a few hundred thousand before dr chicanowski came in. (maybe i should quit my job and head to vegas) she made me point to where it hurts, stand in funny positions and squat awkwardly. then i laid face down on the table so she could "feel for muscle imbalances" and started pawing at my butt with both hands. at this point she officially became dr chica-wah-wah. when she finished she showed me my x rays and told me her diagnosis: my gluteus maximus muscles are weak and arent firing they way they should. now anyone who lives with me would tell you that my glutes fire all too often but who are they to argue with the good dr? she referred me to a physical therapist who specializes with runners to tell me how to work out my ass. hopefully it wont be too long before i will have sir mix a lot singing jeremy got back!

oh yeah this is my actual x-ray!

i can do this

2008-01-14T12:13:00.000-08:00

welcome to my new blog. it will detail my athletic struggles leading up to my attempt to become an ironman in madison wi on 9/7/2008. the ironman has been one of my life goals since i first heard about it sometime in the 90's. funny that im only just getting around to it.

i cant wait!