Big Warm Ride

Two years ago I road to the families (in-laws) cabin in Sherburne, MN. Total miles of 129.9. I did it in about 6.5 hours (6:16 ride time). I had a slight tail wind so that helped a lot. This Saturday I am planning the same ride. As luck would have it, they (the ones in control of the weather) are projecting a light wind from the SE. NICE! Hopefully, this remains true because I am going west. It's going to be a warm one so I think I'll head out at about 5:30am and with any luck and GodSpeed, I'll be there around noon.

For the route, click THIS.

Tempo Run Tuesday

Ok, so it was a Tempo run, but it's not what I do every Tuesday. This evening though, I did. I ran out the door at about 5pm, in the heat, and ran the 10k loop on the Festival Run course...again. This time my goal was to get in 20 to 25 minutes of Tempo paced running. For those that don't know what that is, to keep in really simple, its not quite race pace, but its harder than the pace you would do a really long run at. Generally zone 3. I ran the first half in zones 1 and 2, then the second half, which has all the rollers going up, up, and up, in zone 3. Sometimes I was in low zone 4. I started imagining the race and I actually went over my threshold for a brief moment...ouch.

The whole 10k took me just over 44 minutes at 44:07. My goal for the actual 10k race (which is more like a 6.4 mile as noted in an earlier post) is around 38 so I think I am moving in that direction. It's just a week in a half away.

R&R Week Run Test

On Sunday, last day of my R&R week, I did a 1 mile run test. This wasn't to see how fast I could run a mile, but to time the mile at a controlled heart rate--staying 9-11 beats below threshold. This is basically a measure of aerobic fitness because you're not quick anaerobic yet, but are approaching the upper end of your aerobic capacity. Back in March I ran at 11 beats below threshold and clocked the mile at 6:21. I ran the same stretch of road to keep the conditions mostly the same and clocked the mile at 5:59. There is some room for error in there as my warm-up this time was about 5 minutes longer, but for the most part this is an improvement.

Training for the big race is on track...so far. I was going to provide a link here for more race info and the World Championship roster, but USAT just re-vamped their site and are still working on it. Check back later... Wait a sceond, its working again--click THIS.

10k Running

Yesterday I needed to do an easy run staying in zones 1 & 2 (1=easy/recovery; 2=endurance/steady jog/light run). Since I will be doing the Festival Run 10k in Kasson in a couple weeks I figured it was a good time to jog that route. I've done it a few times this summer, but haven't paid much attention to pacing on it. From my driveway, around the loop, then back to my driveway, its exactly 6.2 miles. For my heart rate I was able to average 145 (two beats up into zone 2) at a 7:36 pace. Last year, with not much running and only one run of 6 miles, I did the race in 41:10. It hurt. I think I am a little more prepared this year. I would like to post a time around 38:00. That would mean I have to pace at 6:12. However, I measured the actual course (which starts and finishes at North Park--2 blocks off the route each way) on two different bikes and it turns out the course is more like 6.4. That makes a big difference. 6.2 at 41:10 is a 6:38 pace, while 6.4 at 41:10 is a 6:25 pace. If I want 6.4 miles at 38 min, I would actually have to pace at 5:56. Good luck...

Studio Cycle starts at 5:30am...gotta go.

Heart of the Lakes Tri (my last tri of the season?)

Quick summary... I felt really good during all 3 legs, but my swim was still pretty weak. I didn't feel like I was working as hard as I could of on the bike because I knew the 5.3 mile run to finish up the race would be tough. I've never done more than 3.1 miles at the end. Of 460 competitors including Elites, I was 17th on the bike with an average speed of 25.9. I think the bike route was estimated a little long because I've never averaged that high of a speed, but who knows. Results, three ways:

Among everyone (overall)-
45th: 308th swim, 17th bike, 41st in the run

All Men, Non-Elite-
19th: 202nd swim, 3rd bike, 17th in the run

Age Group 35-39-
5th: 29th swim, 1st on the bike, 6th in the run

I don't have any tri's or du's scheduled until the World Championship in September, but I have to put something on there to gauge my training. I am planning some running events though.

Hotel & Flight

Cory and I booked our flights for Italy. Arriving in Amsterdam on Sept 24, then Italy on the 25th. The race is on Sept 28th so I hope I am on some sort of a regular sleeping pattern by then.

Rimini is one the most populated tourist spots in Italy, however, by late September, word is that most tourists/time-sharers are cleared out by then so the hotels want to give you good rates. We will be staying at Hotel Biancamano for about the same price you'd stay at an AmericInn here in MN. However, they are including 3 meals per day w/ local wine! http://www.maximilianshotels.it/biancamano/eng/hotel.html

Going to the WC DU

At this point I am planning on being in Rimini, Italy on September 23 to race in the age group World Championship Duathlon (WC Du). I am going to keep a better training journal here at my blog, formerly titled, but still located at http://supermariocycling.blogspot.com/. I am not quite sure how I am going to fund this trip because although qualifiers have to join Team USA in order to compete, there is no finacial support. This is an age group, or amateur, championship. Not the Olympics, not the professional World Championship. So far the Rochester Athletic Club has offered $100. Cory Mortensen, president of Ekho Heart Rate Monitors, has pledged support and plans on traveling with me to the event. I may try to raise funds thru other means and donate some of what is raised to youth sports programs. Not sure yet, but we'll see what develops.

Some of you may not think this is a big deal, but to me and others who don't get opportunities like this....it is big deal. This is truly my first year of solid multisport training, but I have been plugging away at racing since 1995. In some ways I think I was building towards this. Also, I think I am hanging up the bikes, when it comes to competing, at the close of this season so I want to make the most of it. Locally and regionally I think I can compete within my age group. Against the 'world' it may be a different story, but we'll see. I have two months to refine and dial in my training. This race comes at a perfect time for a second peak and its in a perfect place.

Please pass this blog on to others and spread the word of TEAM USA and the Duathlon World Championships. Also, if you know any businesses/companies that would like their name & logo on the TEAM USA uniform pass them on to me. I am going to put 4 company logo's on it so there is room for two more. More than that and it would look cluttered.

Heres the link to the race information: SHORT COURSE DUATHLON

Endurox BLOWOUT SALE

If you want to purchase some Endurox recovery drink for WAY less than regular price, click HERE . Then go to CLEARANCE SALE near the bottom. Endurox changed their look (the label) so they are selling the remaining products with the prior label on it for cheap. Also, when you make a purchase, only thru the link on this blog, you get entered in a drawing for a SRM Pro Training system with Garmin enabled GPS.

How cheap is the Endurox? A $54.99 (28 serving) canister is on sale for $34.99. Then you get another discount because you went thru the link on this page which knocks the price down to $24.49. There is a flat rate shipping of $5.99, but that gets waived on orders over $50. Actually, I just put in an order and it came to $48.99--the shipping dropped to zero. Check it out.

You can also

CLICK HERE

2 mile, 5 mile, and a little cycling

The 4th of July... There are several events that take place over the 4th. Pick just about any town and there is a 5k race or fun run of some kind going on. Jace and I decided to do a run over in Blooming Prairie called the Awesome Blossom (5 mile or 2 mile) Run. What was especially nice about this was that the 2 mile started after all the 5 milers were finished. I raced the 5 mile, felt like I was dying at about mile 2, but with a time of 30:35 I scored 3rd overall (behind two guys in the under 20 division) and 1st in my age group. I don't know what it is about time trial bike races or running races that makes them feel so hard. I PR'd my 5k time at the Rochester Fest Tri, but a 5k alone and I feel lucky to survive. This was a 5 mile so I had a little more reason to feel like I was suffering, but come on...

What was more exciting than the 5 mile race, was to run along with Jace as he did his running race. He bested his mile PR of 8:08 by a lot. In fact, in this 2 mile race he ran the second mile faster than the first. His time for the Awesome Blossom 2 mile was 15:36. He did the first mile in 7:50 and the second one in 7:46. Jace is 7 years old so he was in the 9 and under category and scored 2nd place! The kid in front of him had a gap of about 20-30 seconds or so. Fast little runners! I love racing with Jace. It's so fun to watch him compete.

On July 5th I headed to Austin to do a race I've always wanted to do, but I either space it out and forget about it or we have something else going on over "the 4th." This race is the Dan Ulwelling Road Race. A 25 mile open category race. The divisions are simple like road runs: men and women, 19 and under, 20-29, 30-39, etc. This race was only 25 miles, but it started out as if we were at mile 50 in a 75 miler. Rick Hoover (Tri Rochester) told me earlier in the week that he was thinking of going there and just TT'ing at the front and who ever follows, follows. Within a mile from the start he moved to the front and that's where he stayed--THE WHOLE TIME. I'm not kidding. He pulled the all 25 miles. It was freakin' windy, but he stayed there. I don't know how many participants there were, 75, 80, but his pace was too much for most of them. A couple Silver Cycling/Hollywood Cycle guys were in the front, behind Hoover; I was there; a handful of other random guys as well. We hit about the 10 mile mark and all but 15 of us were gone off the back. Dropped. Hoover kept pushing the pace. At that time I was in 5 position as Hoover sliced thru the wind for us. Couple minutes later I looked back, I was still in fifth, but also bringing up the rear. Yep, everyone was dropped, but 5 of us. In this order it was Hoover, Jay "Hollywood" Henderson, Ben (racing for Silver/Hollywood), some SMBC guy in yellow, then me (Peace Coffee Racing). We pretty much kept this order for the rest of the race. Once in a while we'd change up behind Rick, but then it would settle back into the order above. At the tail of a breakaway is not the best position, but I was in the slipstream most of the way. With only 5 the yo-yo effect isn't that bad. Turns would whip me off the back a bit, but I managed to hang there. The field never caught us. We started the race on about a 2 mile stretch with a tail wind. This was a 25 mile loop so the last turn had us returning to the start straight into a head wind. We made one final left hand turn--our last turn--and had about 2 miles to go. I knew we where on the finishing stretch, but at the time, didn't know we only had 2 miles to go (I errored later). Hoover stayed at the front. I moved into 2nd position then let up so he could get a gap--I thought he deserved the win. I thought if he had a gap he could hold it for the next few miles or how ever much we had left, but Hollywood went around and bridged. Then I don't know what happened, but a gap started to form. Hoover had about 100 feet. Then Ben chased down Hoover and got on his wheel. Hollywood, SMBC guy and I just stayed back and the gap got bigger. Then Hollywood went. I asked SMBC how much longer and he said "About a 1/2 mile...dude, its over." Hollywood was now dangling between Hoover/Ben and SMBC/me. I got out of the saddle and got about 100 yards ahead of SMBC, and within 100 yards of Hollywood, but never caught him. After I crossed the line I learned that at the 1/4 mile to go mark, Ben went around Hoover and won. Hoover kept his same pace, taking 2nd. Hollywood 3rd, I was 4th, SMBC guy took 5th. A few minutes later a chase group sprint for 6th played out. Ben, Hollywood and I were all in the 30-39 age group so I scored 3rd, 4th overall. Hoover was 1st in the 40-49. Nice race.

Rochester Fest Triathlon a SUCCESS!!

The Rochester Fest Triathlon took place Sunday, June 29 and it was a big success. Director Bill Nevala (www.winmultisportevents.com) was the director and had the race full, and then some, by the time the weekend of the race was upon him. I raced it and it was one of the best directed races I've ever been in. The volunteers were knowledgable and knew how to direct people. Even if it was obvious where to go or turn, they still pointed it out. Newbies need that, but so do experienced athletes when they are at their limit and only want to move fast and forward. There is also the occasional person that may have known where to go before the race, but now dehydrated or tired, the extra arrow or "Go this way" helps.

Click HERE for recent article in the Post-Bulletin.

Click HERE for Sprint distance results, and/or click HERE for Olympic distance results.