Super Mario Multisport

CLOSING IT DOWN

2012-01-05T11:56:00.000-08:00

This is possibly the last blog post on this site. Why? Several reasons:

Other than race recaps, random training stuff, and a random topic here and there, there isn't much this blog is used for
I don't have a specific theme. Not that that is a purpose of every blog, but if you have a blog that is completely random and theme-less, that is sort of a theme in and of itself
I log all my training on Beginner Triathlete (BT) and put recaps there as well (so its sort of double the work)
BT has a blog of there site and a blog roll that shows the latest posts by their bloggers/members. People who log workouts thru BT can elect to activate their 'blog' so that their training or other things they write are viewable to members, friends, or the general public (depending on their settings).

SOOOOOO, that is what I am going to go with--I am sticking with BT and making my 'blog' there open to general viewing. With that said, if you want to follow my training updates, race recaps, and anything else I might write in my training log, please click the link below to be redirected to the new SUPER MARIO MULTISPORT at the BeginnerTriathlete dot com. If you want to check out cool blogs, move your eyes over to the left. If they weren't cool bloggers, they wouldn't be there (that doesn't mean that blogs that aren't there, aren't cool, though):

CLICK THIS

Last Two Weeks of Training

2011-12-26T05:59:00.000-08:00

Last two weeks were pretty sub-par with regards to training. That's ok though. Official 2012 training kicks in on Monday, Jan 2 if all goes well.

R: 0.60 Mi
04m 35s

Str:

32m

R: 3.75 Mi
30m

Insanity

S: 1350 Yd
29m 43s

Insanity

B: 13.5 Mi
44m 41s

R: 2.00 Mi
15m 02s

Insanity

S: 1350 Yd

29m 43s

B: 13.5 Mi

44m 41s

R: 6.35 Mi

49m 37s

Str: 32m

Insanity

2h 36m 38s

B: 14 Mi
46m 36s

R: 3.8 Mi
31m 05s

S: 1400 Yd
29m 38s

B: 14 Mi
45m 29s

R: 3.90 Mi
32m 01s

R: 4.52 Mi
32m 30s

1400 Yd

29m 38s

B: 28 Mi

1h 32m 05s

R: 12.22 Mi

1h 35m 36s

TOTAL 12/12 - 12/18: 5h 12m 39s
TOTAL 12/19 - 12/25: 3h 37m 19s

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-23T00:01:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas from the Yeti and Santa!

Best Buy Mom vs. Santa

2011-12-21T05:30:00.000-08:00

Gotta love this one:

Bike Weight and Upgrades

2011-12-20T05:25:00.000-08:00

I am generally not a weight weenie, but I am going to make some modifications to my tri bike over the winter that may bring the weight down a little bit, but decided to weigh it the way I had it set up for Tri-Star 111 and for IMWI. Other than just the bike I had:

an aero-bottle on the front handlebars
2 large water bottles in the rear X-Lab Tail Wing (not the light weight carbon one either)
one large bottle on the down tube
one regular size bottle on the seat tube
repair kit with tube, multi-tool, Co2 inflater with 3 Co2's
Bento Box with one heavy almond butter and jam sandwich in it

Here's my super-scientific method for weighing the bike: I filled the bottles and put them on the bike. Then I got something that weighs about as much as the sandwich and stuffed it in the Bento Box. Probably a little light... Then I hopped on the scale and measured my own weight 3 times. Then I remained on the scale lifted the bike up, noted the weight, set it down and repeated. With the bike in hand I weighed 31 lbs more. THAT MEANS MY BIKE WAS 31 lbs when I took off for the 62 mile Tri-Star bike section and the 112 mile hilly IMWI course. It lightened up during the ride as I was drinking the bottles then tossing the empties in the drop zones, but still. 31 lbs....?!?!?

Vuelta XRP Team SL

I am making some mods to my bike for a couple reasons... First off when I bought the bike over the 2007/2008 winter to race in 2008, I went for the lowest end bike that got me the most for the price. I didn't care about brand. I ended up with the Quintana Roo KILO (their lowest model at the time--still might be). It came as a package deal with several extra's to set you up for tri racing. Right when I got the bike I put some new wheels on it (Vuelta XRP Team SL) as it came with some stock wheels good for training, but not very good for racing. I sold off the stock wheels which helped with the cost of the Vuelta's. I figured I'd race it for a couple years and if I like the 'tri thing' I'd upgrade. Well, upgrading is FREAKIN EXPENSIVE so I decided to replace parts, but upgrade the part being replaced. In 2009 I scored some carbon Vision handlebars from a friend who even installed them too (thanks Joe). In 2010 I replaced the crappy cranks that the bike came with as the chain rings were on their last leg and it would have cost more to replace one ring than it was to replace the whole crank--and I got a sweet Ultegra set on eBay. I put them on a few days before the Waseca Sprint--my chain shifted off when I when to go from the little ring just 15 seconds or so after leaving T1. It didn't affect my bike split (brag alert: I still had the top bike split), but did it affect the overall???? In 2011, this past August, I replace the crappy stock brakes with Shimano Ultegra's that I picked up on eBay (some guy bought brakes, but then realized he need long reach ones so he had to sell'em off). I finally discovered what its like to slow down when I lightly squeeze the brakes : ) BTW- Had I not had them I would have probably crashed out on one of the descents in IMWI. Finally, I know its still 2011, but my replacement part/upgrade for 2012 are the wheels and saddle. Maybe its just me, but I feel like my saddle has been flexing more than usual. I ride right off the tip so all my weight is right there and it felt really flexible in the last few rides. Can the rails fatigue? This change isn't to to wanting a new one, but I'm looking at it as a necessity--like replacing a tube with a slow leak. I got a Selle Italia T1 saddle (photo above). Finally, after four years of racing on the Vuelta wheels its time for a change. They are still solid and very true , but the cassette loosened up a couple times this year and it caused some nicks/gouges in the some of the splines. I still raced with them in the Douglas TT's, TriStar, and IMWI, so they're fine, but for how long? So for the new wheels--they not really new, but new to me. I snagged some HED 3's on, you guessed it, eBay.

2011-12-15T06:56:00.000-08:00

Last couple of weeks of ~~training~~ staying active look like this:

Monday

Tues

Wed

Thurs

Friday

Sat

Sunday

Week Tot.

Insanity

Cardio

R: 4.00 Mi
32m

Insanity

Cardio

S: 1200 Yd
27m 05s

Insanity

Cardio

OFF

R: 4.00 Mi
32m 04s

Insanity

Cardio

OFF

Insanity

Cardio

S: 1200 Yd

27m 05s

R: 8.00 Mi

1h 4m 4s

Insanity:

4h 20m 57s

TOTAL:

5h 52m 6s

R: 3.70 Mi
30m

Insanity

Cardio

B: 9.50 Mi
32m 08s

S: 1250 Yd
30m 45s

Insanity

Cardio

R: 3.75 Mi
30m

Insanity

Cardio

B: 13.50 Mi
45m 54s

S: 1200 Yd
29m 11s

Insanity

Cardio

R: 3.75 Mi
30m

Insanity

Cardio

S: 2450 Yd

59m 56s

B: 23 Mi

1h 18m 2s

R: 11.2 Mi

1h 30m

Insanity:
4h 18m 54s
TOTAL:
8h 6m 52s

I Got Me Some Mags

2011-12-13T06:52:00.000-08:00

Ah yes, remember mags?? Why don't they call the ones for tri-bikes 'mags'? Instead they call them 'tri-spokes' or 'quad spokes' (that would mean 4). Anyway, I had my mind set on getting some HED 3's, but for brand new

ones, they were a bit out of my price range. So for over a week I have been watching them on eBay. I was out bid on a few sets, but there were two more sets with auctions ending last night so I was determined to get one. However, I was not going to go over what I had in mind as my limit. I ended up getting a set for about $100 less than I actually went to on the last pair that I lost out on, so that was nice. They are a little older (2005 or 2006), but the guy I bought them from claims to have had them stored for a couple years. He says he was the only owner, raced 4 long course races with them, plus some training rides for race prep. We know everyone is honest online so I figured I was getting a set of wheels for a fraction of the price with low miles on them. They cost a lot less than the price of one new HED 3 wheel. Nice. Here's what they looked like on eBay. Wheel see how they look when they arrive.

My 2012 Race Schedule

2011-12-05T05:58:00.000-08:00

Tentative races for 2012...not including running only races (except for a marathon maybe) and the local TT's.

April:
28- Falls Duathlon A great way to kick off the 2012 multisport season. I've done this one all three years of its existence and am planning on a fourth.

May:
26- Apple Duathlon For several years this race was the USAT Regional Championship and qualifier for the ITU Duathlon Short Course World Championship. USAT restructed--2009 was the last year this was a championship/qualifier, but I believe it is still USAT sanctioned. It might be the only USAT sanctioned du in MN--not sure about that.

June:
10- Trinona (Olympic Distance) Other than "the climb" up Galvin Heights, this course is pretty simple and somewhat un-eventful. Its cool that they split out your hill climb though. The descent back down into Winona on the bike course is fun and really fast. The run is a flat out-n-back that goes about 3/4 around Lake Winona then back.
24- Graniteman St. Cloud I haven't fulfilled the race minumums in a race series since 2008, so I am looking forward to racing in all 3 races in this series. Hopefully I can swing it. Also, I am looking forward to my return to Sprint distance racing--the opposite of last year where I raced one Olympic and 3 long courses.

July:
14- Graniteman Clearwater Ditto above.

August:
4- Graniteman Big Lake Ditto ditto.
25- TriStar 111 Probably my favorite race from 2011 (that and finishing IMWI). An AG 40-44 win (although two guys in my AG were ahead of me, but were DQ'd for cutting the course short by accident). If I can get in a few 75 mile rides in between Graniteman Clearwater and this race, I'll do TriStar again. I'm sure the guys that were DQ'd will be back to try and claim the top spot in our AG.

September:
22- Treadman Duathlon The T-man was the first multi-sport race I ever did. It was this innagual event 2006, I had never done an actual run workout other than a several 3 mile jogs before this race. Even though I could barely walk the next day, it was a blast and got me hooked on du's. I've missed it twice since then (2008 & 2011), but took 2nd overall in 2010. I'd like to compete in T-man 7.

October:
22- Mankato Marathon I was registered for this in 2010, but skipped it due to a pulled calf muscle. To-date, I have not ran a stand alone marathon. My marathon time in Ironman Wisconsin is not worth saying that I've ran a marathon so I'd like to do one someday. However, I am only planning on 10 miles being my longest run thru July. If I can somehow start to build running mileage thru August and September and get in an 18-20 miler by the end of September, I might register for this.

Make Stuff That's Bad For You Less Bad

2011-11-28T06:00:00.000-08:00

Here we are... the time of the year between Thanksgiving and New Years. "They" say if you are going to gain weight, its going to happen during those 5 weeks. I don't think athletes are exempt from this. Not because we increase our consumption, but I think it has more to do with our decrease in exercise that often coincides with this time of year. Unless you cross country ski, this is typically the 'down time' or period of time off that multisport and cyclists.

This is an out-of-the-ordinary post since I don't typically write anything about food, but since this is the time of year that many indulge, I figured I may as well put something together...

Some say you have to live a little or you only live once or this time of year needs to be enjoyed and you can't deprive yourself of the holiday treats. Whether you any believe that, buy into that way of thinking, or simply don't care and what you eat or you want and gamble on being able to burn it off, I've put together a list of a few things that you can enjoy that are slight alternatives to the regular holiday indulgences. Some easy changes to the regular holiday treats and dishes can keep the calories down, but more importantly, the fat goes down and the cholesterol pretty much disapears.

1/2 cup of So Delicious! Nog has 90 cals, 3 gfat, and 0 cholesterol.
1/2 cup of Kemps Premium Eggnog has 190 cals, 10g fat, 70 mg cholesterol.
(not comparing Nog to Light Eggnog because Nog does not taste light)

EGG NOG. I love it. Always have. A few years ago when I went "mostly vegan" I quit eating eggs so out went the eggnog and the McDonald's Eggnog shakes. Surprisingly I realized pretty quick that just about the only thing you need eggs for is for eating eggs or a dish that is mostly egg. They're pretty much unnecessary in recipes that call for them too. They're not needed in cookies, cakes, pancakes, French toast or even EGG NOG. Yep, true. You can have 'Nog' that I guarantee you'll like just the same if not more. Seriously. I thought Silk "NOG" was the best eggnoggish drink there was until I tried So Delicious! Coconut Milk Nog a couple weeks ago. If you hate coconut that's ok, you can't taste the coconut. You don't taste beef when you drink cows milk do you? Same dif. Check out the numbers below the photo (right)--you won't believe the difference--especially when you taste it.

GRAVY. Mmmm... blood, fat, and other animal secretions in the form of broth all mixed with flour/starch, maybe some more fat (butter) then dumped over everything on your plate. Not to mention the chemicals and animal growth enhancers that find their way in there too. Wow.. how appetizing. Ok, now that you don't want gravy at all, there are other ways to make beef and chicken/turkey gravy that are cholesterol free and just about fat free too, but still have that savory, salty taste. Basically you can just thicken vegetable broth as you would beef or chicken stock broth and use that for gravy. If you really need that chickenish or beefy flavor, try McKay's seasoning. You can buy it by the scoop at a co-op (Good Food Store in Rochester) or get jars of it. Make broth and thicken with flour or starch. Add olive oil if you want it to have a richer taste. There are a million variations on the web too or go to http://www.vegweb.com/ for a thorough list all in one site. Another great brand is IMAGINE. They make the regular standby soups, but also have a line of vegan/vegetarian products. We made a mushroom gravy using their Creamy Portabello soup and brought that as an option to Thanksgiving dinner. I prefer McKay's chicken gravy, but the Imagine worked.

http://delectable-victuals.blogspot.com/

GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE. Use the regular recipe from the French's Fried Onion container, but instead of condensed Campbell's Cream of Mushroom soup, use Imagine Portabello Mushroom soup (use same amount as a can of Campbells), heat and stir in corn starch a little at a time until its thick like a condensed soup. If you can find the powdered mix of the Imagine Mushroom soup you can use that--I think that would be easier to make a condensed version from, but I couldn't find it locally. You can, but don't have to, let it cool in the fridge overnight so it thickens even more. The original GBC recipe also calls for milk so use unsweetened soymilk or unsweetened almond milk instead. By the time the crunchy onions are stirred in and spread over the top of the beans you'll have almost the same taste as the original, but with fewer calories and no cholesterol. Everyones recipe turns out a little different anyway, right. Also, there are only a few grams of fat in the soy/almond milk--and of course the fat in the friend onions.

ICE CREAM / WORKOUT RECOVERY ICE CREAM. This is my latest indulgence. I haven't tried it with any other blender other then the Ninja, but others may work. Take a cup of soy or almond milk (or juice), 1 to 2 cups frozen fruit--banana's work great for a smooth consistency. Stopping there is just fine and you'll have some awesome ice-cream that can end up thick enough to scoop right from the blender (freeze for a few hours and it will be). If you want to make this a recovery (after working out) snack, blend in some non-dairy protein powder like GNC Soy Protein 95--they make chocolate, strawberry, and banana), or use hemp, rice, or pea protein. If you want it drinkable, obviously just use more liquid, or less frozen fruit. Banana's, vanilla soymilk, and chocolate protein powder is awesome!

CHOCOLATE. Sorry, but you still need to eat this as is in any form possible : )

FRUITCAKE. Stay clear of this stuff. If you think you want fruit cake, eat some chocolate cake and some real fruit. Seriously though, I think there are 100 loafs/blocks of fruitcake in circulation worldwide that just change hands thru the "re-gifting" process. Look at that crap. Seriously.

Training Hours Ketchup Post

2011-11-28T05:40:00.000-08:00

This time of year can be busy and slow... Busy because of the holidays, but slow for training--at least for me. Maybe that's just an excuse. I was trying to stay on the Insanity training plan, but as soon as it ramped up, I wimped out. The first day after the R&R week (which for me was Nov 14) they hit you with a Fit Test that takes about 25 minutes, then the regular workout for that day is 59 minutes. The plan is set up to do them one after the other. That's 1 hour and 24 minutes of high-intensity jumps, squats, push-ups, etc. I made it till about 1 hour 5 minutes then called it quits. I maid it thru a couple more days of that week, cutting one workout short, then did the Recovery workout and had to cut that short. I was too tired and needed some rest for the Turkey Trot 5k on the 19th. I decided to re-do that week starting on Nov 21. It went better. I did 5 of the 6 workouts. Three weeks of Insanity to go. The last two weeks of training are below.

14 NOV

Insanity

Cardio

R: 4.50 Mi
30m 44s

Insanity

Cardio

S: 1300 Yd
29m 52s

Insanity

Cardio

R: 5.20 Mi
40m

Insanity

Cardio

B: 12.00 Mi
40m

R: 2.57 Mi
19m 48s

Turkey Trot

R: 3.11 Mi
17m 55s

OFF

1300.00 Yd

29m 52s

12.00 Mi

40m

15.38 Mi

1h 48m 27s

Insanity

3h 5m 3s

TOTAL:
6h 3m 22s

Insanity

Cardio

Insanity

Cardio

R: 4.59 Mi
31m 45s

Insanity

Cardio

Insanity

Cardio

B: 14.00 Mi
46m 22s

Insanity

Cardio

OFF

R: 6.2 Mi
44m 59s

14.00 Mi

46m 22s

10.79 Mi

1h 16m 44s

Insanity

3h 34m 30m

TOTAL:

5h 37m 36s

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

2011-11-24T06:00:00.000-08:00

Turkey Peloton

Teeccino Herbal Coffee

2011-11-23T05:50:00.000-08:00

I tried this over the weekend, actually on Friday. I don't know how I heard of it, but it popped into my head when I was debating on getting a cup of coffee or throwing a bag of Lipton tea into some hot water. I really like lattes' and mocha's (soy versions), and coffee with Coffeemate and sugar, but have to be in the right mood for straight, black coffee. Coffee has such a high acidic level that I'd like to do away with it (I only like one cup a day so its not like I throw down a pot every morning). I took a chance and picked up a box of Teeccino. It was around $5 for a box of 10 bags so at 50 cents a cup it was worth a try. They also sell in it 11 oz bags for about $10 that you can brew like regular coffee, but I thought "If this stuff sucks I'll be out ten bucks instead of five." Plus, I could keep tea-style bags at work or make just one cup at a time really quick. It says it 'herbal coffee', but contains no actual coffee. Sort of like 'herbal tea' -- there's no actual tea in that so....same difference.

Well, I have to admit that I actually like the taste of straight Teeccino better than straight coffee. I can say that seriously when compared Folgers from the tin/plastic jug which really can't be considered coffee since they have to let it go stale so it has the same/uniform taste (see the small print at the end of this post). Seriously, when comparing Teeccino and coffee, there's none of that bitterish, coffee-ish after-taste with the Teeccino. It smells like coffee, tastes similar, but is smoother with a mildly nutty finish. We usually buy whole bean Caribou or Starbucks so this is a little more costly than that, but for a healthier version of a morning cup of hot java, it may be worth it. Not sure I am going to be hooked though--its caffeine free so it can't really hook you like that--but I'm going to keep drinking it till its gone and see what I think.

(Yes, Folgers and other cheap coffee that you get at a grocery store is staled out before it is packaged. Don't believe me, buy some good coffee from a coffee shop, have it ground, drink a cup. Then take some out, enough for a pot, put it in a container and let it sit for a couple months. Drink the fresh stuff till its gone and go about your business. In a couple months, brew the stuff you set aside. It will taste like off the shelf Folgers.)

2011 Turkey Trot Re-cap

2011-11-20T06:28:00.000-08:00

The turn out for the 2011 4th Annual Gilman Memorial Turkey Trot was a little better than last year. In 2010, I think where were 30 something finishers. This year there were almost 60. Not bad. Aside from being what has become almost as traditional as green bean casserole on Thanksgiving, Turkey Trot 5k's (and other length races) also help raise money for local food shelfs, Salvation Army's, or other charitable organizations. The Gilman Memorial Turkey Trot is a fund raiser for the Alzhiemer's Association. From the Dodge Center Chiropractic site:

The 5K Run/Walk with all proceeds donated to the Alzheimer's Association. Alzheimer's disease has probably touched you personally in some way, whether through a family member or friend so you no doubt know the devastating effects of this disease. More then 5 million Americans now suffer from effects of Alzheimer's Disease.

Although I like it that company's and race promoters can turn profits on their races, make a living or just extra income which gives them incentive to improve it and keep it going. With that said, its nice to do a race where the organizers are doing it purely from their heart--especially around this time of year.

Last year was the first time we, Carin, Jace, and I, did this Trot. It was the first "Turkey Trot" for all of us. Returning this year was just as fun--hopefully next year, or maybe the next, Sofia will be able to run it. As for our races we all lowered our times from last year. Carin made the biggest improvement and with very little training:
Carin: 2010= 38:02, 2011= 34:44 (5k PR)
Jace: 2010= 23:48, 2011= 23:23
Me: 2010= 18:37, 2011= 17:55 (ran in Vibram Five Finger's Bikila's this year--last year Saucony A4's)

No, the course did not get shorter : ) GPS measured it at 3.11 (measured 3.08 last year) so it was pretty much right on. However, it was about 15 degrees warmer this year. I think it was right around 20 last year with a brisk breeze. This year, close to 35--a little warmer for breathing. Anyway, last year I really wanted to run in Vibram FiveFingers, but after the warmup my toes were FROZEN. I warmed up in the m this year, with the addition of Injinji socks (toe socks) my feet were ok to run the race in VFF Bikila's-sock combo. We started right in front of DC Chiropractic. Right from the start, two kids that were in Mayo Spartan warmup/track suits bolted out in front along with another young guy, Jesse Delgado. I got in with them and we all made it to the first corner together. While I was behind them, Jesse's pants kept falling down. Don't worry--he had shorts on underneath. I thought this kid is either just goofing around--sprinting out in front--or he errored and wore the wrong running pants. So we turn left and I stayed on the left side of the road, Jesse on the far right of the road, and I am assuming the Spartans were the footsteps I heard behind me. Within about a half mile I can't hear the foot steps, but Jesse is still on the other side of the street even with me. A right turn is coming up so I move over and we turn. Jesse and I exchanged places a few times--he was still having trouble with his sweats. That has to be throwing of his stride and his arm motion if he has to keep reaching down to hold up his pants. We get thru mile 1 at 5:42. Instead of us exchanging places I decide I will just keep him in front of me and I'll run at his pace. We are about 2 minutes into mile two and he starts to fade. I sped up a bit and got a small gap while we were going up a slight incline in the road. Once I got up that I sped up more...bigger gap. A couple corners thru some side roads...little bigger. Within a half mile to go he was about 2 blocks behind me. I hadn't looked at my watch since we split up so I waited until I was just a block or so from the finish to look at my time and it was 17 twenty something. I knew I wasn't going to PR, but want to get under 18 minutes. I finished in 17:55--just 18 seconds off my PR (17:37, 2011 Mac Attack).

After Jesse finished I found out he was 13 years old! WHAT THE....! He said that he runs cross country and his PR is under 17. Thanks baggy sweats. He also said that "I don't know what I was thinking, I just forgot to take them [sweats] off." Lucky for me, right : )

2011 4th Annual Gilman Memorial Turkey Trot 5k

1. Mario Minelli 17:55 (First Overall/First Male)

2. Jesse Delgado 18:27

3. Jack Mallmann 19:48

4. Paul Haase 21:16

5. Travis Turner 21:27

6. Jacob Chapman 21:55

7. Peter Tate 22:16

8. Gary Lovelace 22:19

9. Andrew Galbus 22:27

10. Jace Minelli 23:23

11. Erin Erpelding 23:25 (First Female)

12. Kelly Erpelding 23:42

13. Brad Schrader 24:05

14. Rodney Myer 24:12

15. Sarah Chapman 24:54

16. Lori Yokiel 24:56

17. Melissa Mergen 25:47

18. Jeffrey Haase 26:46

19. Jenny Delgado 26:56

20. Andy Klein 27:05**

21. Jordana Thompson 27:05

22. Michelle Yankovick 27:15

23. Colleen Keuten 27:30

24. Cherie Jensen 27:31

25. Al Keuten 27:37

26. Elizabeth Adamson 27:42

27. Samantha Porche 27:47

28. Chris McKrern 28:53

29. John Cook 29:14

30. Tracy Culbetson 30:13

31. Suzanne Norby 30:56

32. Jenano Delgado 32:14

33. Tina Kasper 34:17

34. Emily Gillard 34:17

35. Carin Minelli 34:44

36. Amy Evans 36:09

37. Ann Greise 38:52

38. Teresa Walter 39:50

39. Tom Haase 45:27

40. Dennis Ross 45:27

41. Keara Ross 45:27

42. Amanda Ross 45:27

43. Susan Allen 45:27

44. Mary Haase 45:33

45. Gabriel Domask 46:37

46. Scott Stroh 46:37

47. Davey Stroh 46:50

48. Lean Stroh 46:50

49. Bob Sponsel 46:45

50. Veronika Spieker 49:52

51. Phil Putratz 49:52

52. Kathy Thielges 53:30

53. Jack Culbertson 53:30

54. Cheryl Gillard 53:36***

** wearing only Invisible Shoes
*** pushing a double stroller

4th Annual Gilman Memorial Turkey Trot

2011-11-18T04:56:00.000-08:00

It's tomorrow, Saturday, Nov 19, and it's goIng to be a cold one!
Go to http://www.dodgecenterchiropractic.com/ , under Office Info, click on Office Events for the details.

Christmas 2011 - Birth of a New Tradition

2011-11-16T17:58:00.000-08:00

The message below was sent to me via email. I thought it was worth posting. It has nothing to do with tri's, bike racing, etc. Unless... Picture a cartoon bubble above my head with these in it...

Made in America (in MN actually)

Christmas 2011 -- Birth of a New Tradition
As the holidays approach, the giant Asian factories are kicking into high gear to provide Americans with monstrous piles of cheaply produced goods -- merchandise that has been produced at the expense of American labor. This year will be different. This year Americans will give the gift of genuine concern for other Americans. There is no longer an excuse that, at gift giving time, nothing can be found that is produced by American hands. Yes, there is! It's time to think outside the box, People. Who says a gift needs to fit in a shirt box, wrapped in Chinese-produced wrapping paper?

Some Ideas: Everyone -- yes EVERYONE, gets their hair cut. How about gift certificates from your local American hair salon or barber? Gym membership? It's appropriate for all ages who are thinking about some health improvement. Who wouldn't appreciate getting their car detailed? Small, American-owned detail shops and car washes would love to sell you a gift certificate or a book of gift certificates. Are you one of those extravagant givers who think nothing of plonking down the Benjamins on a Chinese-made flat-screen? Perhaps that grateful gift receiver would like his driveway sealed, his lawn mowed for the summer, his driveway plowed all winter, or a few games at the local golf course.

There are a bazillion owner-run restaurants -- all offering gift certificates. And, if your intended isn't the fancy eatery sort, what about a half dozen breakfasts at the local breakfast joint? Remember, Folks, this isn't about big national chains -- this is about supporting your hometown Americans who have put their financial lives on the line to keep their doors open. Who couldn't use an oil change for their car, truck or motorcycle, done at a shop run by the American working man (or woman)?

Thinking about a heartfelt gift for mom? Mom would LOVE the services of a local cleaning lady for a day. My computer could use a tune-up, and I KNOW I can find some young guy who is struggling to get his repair business up and running. OK, you were looking for something more personal? Local crafts people spin their own wool and knit them into scarves. They make jewelry, and pottery and beautiful wooden boxes. Plan your holiday outings at local, owner-operated restaurants and leave your server a nice tip. And, how about going out to see a play or ballet at your hometown theater? Musicians need love, too, so find a venue showcasing local bands.

Honestly, People, do you REALLY need to buy another ten thousand Chinese lights for the house? When you buy a $5 string of lights, about $.50 stays in the community. If you have those kinds of bucks to burn, leave the mailman, trash guy, or babysitter a nice BIG tip.

You see, Christmas is no longer about draining American pockets so that China can build another glittering city. Christmas is now about caring about each other and our great United States, encouraging American small businesses to keep plugging away to follow their dreams. When we care about other Americans, we care about our communities. The benefits will come back to us in ways we can't imagine.

Let's consider making THIS the new American Christmas tradition!

Re-cap: GAMEHAVEN "TRUE" CROSS COUNTRY RACE

2011-11-14T06:05:00.001-08:00

This race was hard, but fun! The the last trail race I did was the Chester Woods 5k in June (2011). Before that, I think in '02 and & '03 I did the BigWoods 10k races. None of them compare to what GameHaven dished out. The trails at the other races were fairly smoothe and flat, cedar chipped, soft grass, etc. GameHaven had trails that seemed like horses had trotted on them when the ground was soft, then it hardened; there were leaves covering holes, ruts from vehicles/ATV's, there were some long sections that were off-camber (tilted/crooked), some soft sand, dirt that was tilled up prior to the race with the hopes that it would be muddy--it ended up soft so it was like running in sand in a way-there were two water crossings, and finally HILLS, HILLS, and more HILLS.

What made this race really stand-out was the amount of people that showed up as well as their excitement. The temp was in the 40's when we started and there were no less than 30 high-school kids wearing only briefs and body paint. The Byron Bears (body paint and briefs) had a big group there as well as the Mayo Spartans--dressed at Spartans. There was a lot of cheering and craziness going on at the start line. On a not so spirited moment, that the Byron Bears CC team made the best of, was a tribute to college freshman and former Spartan CC runner, Jason Stevens, who died this passed September (I won't go into details). The Byron CC Team presented the Spartans with a photo of Jason framed large with room for signatures on the outside of the photo where the Bears signed. It was a very thoughtful gesture.

The race itself was pretty brutal, but what a perfect place for a cross country race. When the gun went off we followed a gravel road for a couple minutes then it was into the woods. The terrain was either always changing or you were going up an down. During the first half mile or so I was stuck behind a large group of speedo wearing blue guys. Not a pretty site. Up ahead of them were a tight group of 3 guys. I didn't want to get stuck behind this group in the event they were take up the whole trail just to run socially. I worked a bit too hard to pass them, found myself in 4th position for very short time. Then a few guys one by one passed me over the next quarter to half mile or so. I'm guessing they were stuck in a group and finally got by them. I was really feeling the burning in my chest from going to hard to early and slowed quite a bit. A group of about 5 or 6 passed me at that point. Eventually I was running with Devin Olgelsbee. We were a good 75 yards off of a strung out lead group that probably had 12-15 runners in it by now, but there was really no one really behind us that we could hear. We had already went thru one stream crossing in the first mile, now some where between miles 2 and 3 we came to a point where paths went straight or right, but with hay bails that looked like they were blocking the right path. Thinking they were an obstacle Devin jumps them--I followed him and we went straight. About 30 yard into the path straight ahead someone yells from behind "Devin, you're off course!" (I found out later is was Pat Steward who saved us.) We turned around and ran back. As we were getting back on to the course about 10 guys passed us though. We made up some of them and then Devin just took off. After a few minutes I lost sight of him. I could see a guy up ahead that I figured was in my AG, but didn't know who it was. He was wearing a loose sleeveless greenish/mustardy colored shirt over another shirt so he was easy to keep an eye on. I worked my way up to get right behind him, but was joined by another guy (in a green t-shirt) who I suspected was in my AG. For some reason, its getting easier to tell when someone is over 40, but not quite 50. I don't know what it is... Anyway, we are nearing the end of the course because it had been a few minutes since my watch BEEPED off mile 4. I stayed right on the mustard shirt. We got to the castle and had to run straight thru it, but it was one long sand pit. When we got out of that, there as a short descent and we were back on gravel. I could see the time clock up the road and attempted a sprint. Green shirt passed me. Mustard shirt was with a couple younger guys and they started to sprint. We were 50 yards from the finish. I was working too hard to keep it up and wasn't gaining on those who were also sprinting. I was DONE. I looked over my shoulder and there was no one in site. I slowed as I finished and lost a few more seconds, but didn't care at that point.

I found out afterwards that mustard shirt was actually Pat Steward. Here's how the top five in my AG finished:
AG/Ovrl
1/18 Patrick Steward 42 Rochester MN 32:08 6:26
2/19 Mark Brose 43 Minneapolis MN 32:08 6:26
3/20 Mario Minelli 40 Kasson MN 32:15 6:27
4/27 Randy Niemiec 40 Minneapolis MN 34:31 6:55
5/42 Andrew Becker 41 Rochester MN 37:41 7:33

Fun time. Check out the full results HERE , AG break down HERE and the photo's of the race HERE.

There was such a large turnout compared to last year--77 in 2010, almost 200 starters this year with 184 finishing. The high attendence is mostly due to the 65 runners who in 19 years old or under! That's a great turn out for that age group.

Definitely a race to add to the calendar for 2012.

We Got a Dog

2011-11-11T06:45:00.000-08:00

Go ahead, make fun of me. If and when we were to get a dog, I wanted a big one. One that I can take running. Carin and Sofia wanted a little toy puppy. Jace didn't care either way or if we even got one. The girls won (but now there is another boy in the family). Jace, surprisingly, is the most excited about him.

Its not the best picture cuz it was taken with my iPod, and you know those lights--the bulbs that are supposed to conserve energy and last 7 years, but do neither--they give off a yellowish tint in iPod photo's (I think). Anyway, he weighs about a quarter pound, is a Bichon-Shitzu mix. I have to admit, he's adorable. So cute you just want to gobble him up (where did that phrase ever come from? Weird). Anyway, if you did, gobble him up, you'd be hungry in about an hour he's so small : )

Jace got to pick the name, with our approval, so he went with "Percy" after Percy Harvin and he already has a Vikings collar. Knowing that he is a Shitzu mix, Sofia suggested Shitzy for the name, but we didn't think that would work out for the little guy. Since Jace named him maybe he'll feel more responsible for cleaning up his poop.

Training Numbers from Oct 31 - Nov 6 (Monday - Sunday)

2011-11-10T05:51:00.000-08:00

Didn't do to well with the Insanity Training last week. I was frickin' exhausted all week. It was week 4 of that program. This is week 5 which is a recovery week for Insanity. During the regular training season I do 3 training weeks + a recovery week so its a 4 week block. Mentally and physically after 3 weeks of Insanity workouts I think I was ready for a break, but had to go another week before recovery--maybe that's why I was tired last week. I don't know.

Monday

Tuesday

Wed

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

Week Tot.

31

OFF

R: 4.1 Mi
30m 15s

Insanity

Cardio

OFF

R: 4.75 Mi
35m

Insanity

Cardio

B: 14.0 Mi
45m 10s

Insanity

Cardio

R: 6.63 Mi
47m 18s

B: 8.50 Mi
31m 28s

Bike:

22.50 Mi

1h 16m 38s

Run:

15.48 Mi

1h 52m 33s

Insanity

Cardio

1h 57m 10s

TOTAL TRAINING: 5h 6m 21s

GAMEHAVEN TRUE CROSS COUNTRY RACE

2011-11-09T06:05:00.000-08:00

This looks fun--if it was 60 degrees. I don't know if getting soaked with muddy water is going to be very enjoyable when the temp is in the 30-40's. The 5 mile trail run is this Saturday at Gamehaven in Rochester, MN. I might do it. Might not.

Here's what the race director has to say about it:

Come and enjoy one of Rochester's most unique and talked about cross country races. You will get a little wet and muddy traversing 5 miles trails with multiple creek crossings .After the race stick around in the wood heated pavilion for some after race chatter, while sipping hot soup and drinks.

From the 50 caliber cannon fired start to storming the castle near the finish this is unlike any race you've ever run.
Sign up by Oct first to receive a early bird discount price of $15.00 then $20.00 til Nov 9th and $25.00 through race day.
Students take advantage of team pricing $80.00 unlimited entries 4 shirts per team and $5.00 for extra tee shirts.

There will also be a 2 mile fitness walk w/o mud and water.
Here's some links for the event:

2011 ITU Long Course Triathlon World Championships

2011-11-07T06:44:00.000-08:00

The ITU Long Course Triathlon World Championships were held on November 5, 2011, in Henderson, NV (just outside Las Vegas)--the distance for the LC WC is made up of a 2.4 mile swim, 75 mile bike, and an 18 mile run. However, due to dropping overnight temperatures and water temperatures below what's acceptable for the ITU, they cut the swim out of it. So, it was a TT style start on the bike, followed by the run.

Joe, Alex, Diana, Ruth (photo: Post Bulletin)

Four triathletes from Rochester, MN, who qualified for TEAM USA went out there to take on the course and two of them took home world titles!

Alex Hooke took 1st in the male AG 25-29 and was the 9th overall amateur crossing the line at 5:37:59. Ruth Brennan Morrey was the overall female amateur winner (female world champion) also making her the AG 35-39 winner as well. Her time was 6:00:49 and would have put her at 9th of the 27 PRO women on the start list. Joe Moyer crossed the line at 6:02:32 and Diana Koepp came in at 7:13:17.

Check out the pre-race article in the Post Bulletin

Training Numbers from Oct 24 - Oct 30 (Monday - Sunday)

2011-11-02T05:30:00.000-07:00

Well, I skipped one day of Insanity training (last Friday), but moved it to Sunday. I then moved the day "off" which is normally on Sunday, to Saturday, but instead did about 40 minutes of running on Saturday due to the Spirit Run. about a 19 min warmup, a 5k race (18:07), and about a 5 min warm down jog.

Monday, which is a new week and was Halloween, I skipped all training, but got back on track yesterday. I really need to purge my system of all the Halloween candy. I am weak. I can't resist it. Seriously, there were no less then 6000 "fun size" and "bite size" candy bars within my reach on Monday at work. Horrible. I felt like crap and was tired later in the evening--so what'd I do? I drank a Coke. Nice--more sugar. What's with the bite size candy bars anyway? All you do is justify why you can have 5 instead of 2. They know what they're doing. I am going to try to get back on track now. With that said, here's my numbers from last week:

Insanity

Cardio

R: 5.00 Mi
39m

Insanity

Cardio

Insanity

Cardio

R: 3.67 Mi
27m 45s

Insanity

Cardio

B: 13.5 Mi
46m 11s

R: 2.47 Mi
18m 43s

R: 3.10 Mi
18m 07s

R: 0.64 Mi
05m

Insanity

Cardio

13.50 Mi

46m 11s

14.88 Mi

1h 48m 35s

Insanity:

3h 23m 7s

TOTAL TRAINING TIME: 5 hrs 57 mins 53 secs

SPIRIT RUN 5k Disguise (and re-cap)

2011-10-31T05:50:00.000-07:00

Kinda psycho eerie lookin'...

The Spirit Run in Rochester is the annual event that features a 5 and a 10k. Both races start and end at the top of the hill at Holy Spirit school. Costumes are encouraged, but I haven't really dressed up in the past for it--I think I've done it two or three other times. This year I thought I'd dress-up--sort of. I basically wanted to disguise myself so who ever I ran with would have no idea who I was....it worked. The same 3 of us as last week at the NightBeat 5k ran together again: Dallas Davidson, Andy Shulha, and I--they had no clue as to who the freak was that was running with them.

I started warming up about 25 minutes before the start. With about 3 minutes till start time, I moved along side all the people that were lined up to start. With 1 minute to go I worked my way up to the front right behind Andy. Once we started, some kid (later identified as Shane O'Leary--last years 5k winner) darted out in the lead as if this was a 100 yard dash. He got a good 50 yards on us within the first couple hundred yards. Within a minute or so, Andy, Dallas, and I were grouped up. No one was within a block behind us, but we weren't really gaing on Shane--who looked back every minute or so to see if we were gaining ground. He had to fade--right? Andy and Dallas both glanced at me a couple times and I could tell they didn't know who I was. By the half mile mark, because of the neck/face warmer, I was having trouble breathing. Exhaling was fine, but breathing in was hard--I could tell the fabric was preventing the air from coming in. At 3/4 of a mile I pushed the neck warmer down then at 1 mile I threw the wig. Andy and Dallas were elbow to elbow so I just ran with them stride for stride right behind them. They had no reason to look back so they still wouldn't know who was latched on and pacing off them. There were people on the trail (Douglas trail, paved) watching--eventually someone knew both Andy and I and, using out names, cheered for us a bit. Hoax up.... At the turn around we really started to gain on the leader. When we were heading up an overpass I told Andy/Dallas that one of them have to catch him (Shane) after the hill. We were just over mile 2 when we started to spread out. Dallas pulled ahead--making his move to catch Shane. Andy pulled ahead of me, but couldn't gain much on Dallas and Shane. We were heading to the final hill for the finish--I saw Shane a couple hundred feet from the finish, Dallas back far enough to where he wasn't going to catch him. Andy was crossing the line just as the clock was hitting 23 minutes (deduct 5 for the delayed start) so he was right around 18 minutes--maybe under 18--and I crossed at 18:07. I said to Dallas "I was hoping you'd catch him." He says: "I didn't think I'd get him." What?!? I said "You caught him?" He said: "Yep, but barely." Wow! Dallas has some 'kick' !

So that's how the top 4 turned out: Dallas, Shane, Andy, and me. I believe Joe Ryan rounded out the top 5 guys. Rachel Vaubel was the women's 5k winner followed closely by Jenny Shulha.

When they post the results, they can be found here: RTC Results page

SPIRIT RUN 5k, 10k, and 1k - Saturday, Oct 29

2011-10-26T05:00:00.000-07:00

Click on the terrifying image below for info on the Spirit Run!!

Weekly Hours from Oct 17 - Oct 23 (Monday - Sunday)

2011-10-25T04:46:00.000-07:00

Numbers from last week.

Insanity

Cardio

R: 3.8 Mi
30m

Insanity

Cardio

B: 10.5 Mi
36m

Insanity

Cardio

R: 4.25 Mi
30m 30s

Insanity

Cardio

B: 14 Mi
44m

Insanity Cardio

R: 2.25 Mi
16m 37s

Night Beat 5k

R: 3.13 Mi
18m 30s

Insanity

Cardio

Bike:

24.50 Mi

1h 20m

Run:

13.43 Mi

1h 35m 37s

Insanity:

4h 6m 30s

TOTAL:

7 h 2 m 7 s

Night Beat 5k Recap

2011-10-24T05:53:00.001-07:00

I was thinking about it all week, but didn't decide to jump into the 2nd Annual Night Beat 5k until Saturday--the day of. The race is a fundraiser for the Rochester PD/Olmsted Co. Sheriff's Dept so they can build a memorial for officers that have died in the line of duty. Good cause... The race was put together very well. They had a jumping thing there for the kids (one of those inflatable castle things) military style canvas tents for registration and post race food/drink, volunteers all over the place, and a course, that although was challenging, it was well marked. The race was at night (7pm start) so that gave us even more time to think about it or back out : ) Jace decided against it, so did Carin, so it was just me. The problem was that since IMWI on Sept 11, the I haven't really been running all that much--a total of just under 49 miles (48.89 miles) in the last 6 weeks with the longest run being only 5 miles. To top it off I haven't done one run that involved any high intensity intervals, sprints, pick-ups, or even tempo pace. I knew I would be entering the 'pain cave' of 5k running right from the get go. HOWEVER, I have hit some HR's in the 160's, close to 170, while doing the Insanity workouts the last two weeks (threshold HR is usually mid-170's). They are pure cardio, fairly high intensity intervals that involve a lot of simulated running/running drills; lot of jumping, side to side movements with cutting and pivoting. I was pretty confident my legs and body could take the beating, but my lungs going all-out for 18-20 minutes was going to be very questionable.

The race was going to be a bit different due to the fact that it was in the dark. The trails were lighted for the most part, but the first mile or so was a bit odd. We started by running 1 and 3/4 laps (just short of .5 miles) on the gravel track at Soldiers Field--3 of us, Dallas Davidson, Andy Shulha, and I, were off the front pretty quick in a tight grouping. Andy was leading, then Dallas, then me--all pretty tight--just inches from each others heels. After exiting the track, there were about 5 turns in just a half mile of course--in that half mile we hit grass for 75 yards or so, then on to a paved trail that connected to some sidewalks, then across a parking lot and on to a paved bike trail that parallels the river right downtown Rochester. Anyway, we exit the track and an ATV moves in front of us to lead us on the course. It had lights that lit the road a bit, but the lights cast shadows on the smallest things on the road so they look like they're bigger than they are; you find yourself jumping or striding over things that aren't there. Plus, they were blinking lights. Once we got to the paved trail that didn't matter as much as that was lit and I pre-ran so I wasn't worried about debris. Anyway, when we got to about the 1.5 mile mark, Dallas made a move and passed Andy--I followed. Then Dallas got a decent gap on me of maybe 25-30 yards. When we hit the turn around, it looked like we were spreading out and it could end up in the same order were were in. Dallas in the lead, I was in 2nd, now maybe 40 yards back, and Andy in 3rd, but only about 10 feet back from me. On the way back the first person I saw coming was Erich Heneke--maybe a minute back (in 4th). So we get just under 1 mile to go when Andy passes me and is gaining on Dallas. Andy passes Dallas and gets a small gap on him. Dallas and I are slowing (mile 3 for me was 6:01 compared to miles 1 and 2 at 5:47 and 5:48), while Andy is opening a small, but perfectly timed gap. Inside .5 to go and I pass Dallas. We're now in the parking lot next to the track where the finish line is. MY CHEST IS KILLING ME! Its that sore cold I'm-going-too-hard feeling in your chest from breathing in cool, nighttime air. Within about 15 seconds he pulls next to me and I say "Go for it, I'm DONE." I had to slow down. It looked like he was actually trying to catch Andy when he hit the track. I got to the track--just 250-300 yards to go. As I was getting to the straight away toward the finish line I see Andy slows up just before the line and finishes then Dallas, still going full speed, crosses. They ended up only 4 seconds apart. I staggered across 13 seconds later in 3rd overall and 1st AG 40-49. Here's the top 5 and the link to the full results:

1 Andrew Shulha 26 M 18:13 5:52
2 Dallas Davidson 21 M 18:17 5:54
3 Mario Minelli 40 M 18:30 5:58
4 Erich Heneke 32 M 19:29 6:17
5 Cory Feldman* 30 M 19:57 6:26 (WHAT!?!? Cory Feldman, no way!)

* actual name is Cory Felderman

FULL RESULTS

Training Numbers for Week of October 10 - 16, 2011 (Mon thru Sunday)

2011-10-20T05:11:00.000-07:00

First week of INSANITY done. It was tough. Stretching is hard, but made be realize that I am not very flexible. Gotta get that back. Ok, never really have been flexible so I have to work on that.

Insanity Fit Test

R: 4.24 Mi
32m 30s

Insanity

Cardio

S: 1120.00 Yd
28m

Insanity
Cardio

R: 4.00 Mi
28m

Insanity

Cardio

B: 13.50 Mi
46m 20s

Insanity

Cardio

Insanity

Cardio

R: 4.94 Mi
35m

1120.00 Yd

28m

13.50 Mi

46m 20s

13.18 Mi

1h 35m 30s

Insanity

Cardio:

3 h 37 m 8 s

Swim: 28 min

Bike: 46 m 20 sec, 13.5 miles

Run: 1 hr 35 min 30 sec, 13.18 miles

Insanity: 3 hr 37 min 8 sec

TOTAL: 6 hr, 26 min, 58 sec

MDOT Tattoo

2011-10-18T05:12:00.000-07:00

Don't confuse the two:

MN Department of Transportation (MN DOT)

Ironman "MDot" logo

Thankfully, they did the right one:

I was planning on getting this soon after Ironman Wisconsin, but to be honest, I debated a little bit about it. I thought "Do I want something permanent on me?" I never had a reason to get a tattoo, but after a few days of thinking about it, I decided to just go thru with it. I got a hold of a few other people who had been delaying the process too--a couple ladies who did IM CDA in June 2011, and one guy who did IMWI in 2010. So, Saturday night the four of us went and got them done. All except the other guy got the same as what you see above, but he went with a smaller version--about a 1/3 the size. Still looked cool, though.

One more thing to be honest about: IT HURT! Not so much when she did the outline--that felt odd an stung a little. When she started filling it in, that's when it hurt. It felt like I had a fresh burn that someone was poking with a sharp stick with alcohol on it. STUNG LIKE A MOTHER FATHER! From the start of the inking to the end it was only about 10 minutes so it wasn't too bad overall...

It Is INSANE

2011-10-12T05:09:00.001-07:00

I did the Insanity Fit-Test on Monday--it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. The video for that has the host Shaun T along with a guy and a girl doing the test. I was able to keep up with the guy for most of it, but the girl is freakin' crazy fast. I'm sure I'll improve. My form was not the best and you want form before speed so that slowed me down. My lower abs killed yesterday (Tuesday morning).

Last night, (Tuesday evening) Carin took the "before" pictures. If I improve and there is a noticable difference at the end (or middle) of the program, I'll post my lumpy definitionless pics with the "after" photo's. The workout last night was "Plyometic Cardio Circuit". It was repeated intervals that had a variety of different drills including general stuff like jumping jacks, but also had things related to running, basketball, football, climbing, and boxing. I think the intervals were 3-4 minutes each with a 30 sec to a min to recover. It was insane to say the least. If it goes on like that everyday, that just has to be too much high intensity/anaerobic work.

I realize programs like this are geared toward people who want to lose weight, somewhat fast, and really need to get their ass kicked. Sort of puts your body in survival mode and your body has no choice but to shed pounds. However, I can see how someone really out of shape would be discouraged. They do warn you to go at your own pace so keeping up is not the goal--its doing what you can for the entire interval, resting, then starting again. However, from the standpoint of endurance sports, and spacing your intervals out to provide recovery for gains/improvement with longer slower 'aerobic' type work as well as tempo trainng placed within your plan, I don't see how this would provide that much improvement. Too much of anything does not necessary bring improvement. From a strength standpoint, it has to be good as things are constantly changing, working muscles, and forcing you to do high reps throughout. What I did notice during the workout was that it was fairly easy to match or move faster than the people in the video when it came to movements that were similar to running or cycling (high knees, buttkicks, jumps, etc). When it came to side to side movements and pushups, it was a bit tough. My ankles haven't had to stop momentum from side to side in years and although I do some pushups, I just don't work my upper body like I used to--not a whole lot of need for high upper body strength to weight ratio in triathlon (aside from swimming movements). Within an hour after the workout, my ankles were sore/weak, and plantar fascitiits (right foot) was in full flair up mode (ok this morning, though). Cardio Power and Resistance tonight.

Slacker Training: Weeks of Sept 26-Oct 2; Oct 3 - Oct 9

2011-10-10T05:36:00.001-07:00

I backed off of training and did no running outside of a couple warmup jogs in the two weeks following IMWI. Ran a bit on Sept 24 then wanted to get back on some sort of schedule on Monday, Sept 26, but was hit with the body aches, a headache, and thought my sinuses were going to be the next thing to go bad. I felt like I was getting the flu. On Tuesday (27th) I felt ok and actually pretty good by the end of the day so whatever it was didn't develop or just passed thru quickly. I was about to resume with some sort of exercise on Wednesday, but I couldn't get away over lunch and we had a lot of things to get done that evening at home, so.....I used that as an excuse to take one more day off to be sure. Anyway, bad week.

Monday

Tuesday

Wednes

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

Week Tot.

September

R: 0.60 Mi
04m 36s

R: 2.50 Mi
20m

Str:

25m

B: 16.00 Mi
48m 39s

October

R: 4.30 Mi
32m 36s

16.00 Mi

48m 39s

7.40 Mi

57m 12s

Str:

25m

Bike: 48 m 39 sec, 16 miles

Run: 57 m 12 sec, 7.4 miles

Strength: 25 min

TOTAL: 2 hr 10 m 51 sec

_______________________

During the "off season" I like to do around 5-7 hours a week. This passed week wasn't too bad, but didn't feel like I got in as much time as I did. I did, however, finally get to ride a little bit on the mountain bike a little bit yesterday--only the second ride all year on that thing. Mileage may be off as I was using GPS and accuracy can be an issue in the woods. INSANITY starts tonight with the Fit-Test. Last weeks numbers:

R: 44m 36s

B: 12.50 Mi
43m 50s

Str:

40m

R: 5.33 Mi
39m 56s

S: 1400.00 Yd
30m 58s

Off

R: 4.32 Mi
31m 15s

B: 14.00 Mi
45m 54s

R: 4.67 Mi
35m 16s

B: 7.69 Mi
1h 02m 36s

1400.00 Yd

30m 58s

34.19 Mi

2h 32m 20s

14.32 Mi

2h 31m 03s

Str:

40m

Swim: 30 m 58 sec, 1400 yards

Bike: 2 hr 32 m 20 sec, 34.19 miles

Run: 2hr 31 m 3 sec, 14.32 miles

Strength: 40 min

TOTAL: 6 hr 14 min 21 sec

INSANITY

2011-10-07T08:45:00.000-07:00

blurry iPod photo

This is one of about a million blog posts about the INSANITY training system...I know, lame, right. I'm really not an info-mercial-jump-on-the-training-plan-geek. But I needed to do something different in the off-season. A few weeks ago a friend said he was considering the P90X system when I remember seeing the info-mercial about a year ago on INSANITY. At the time I didn't want to do anything different--I just wanted to stick to what seemed to be working with regards to training. A couple of weeks ago I ended up ordering the Insanity program thru eBay for a 1/3 the price and I suspect its a knock off. Do you think since it came from China, its authentic? Anyway, it arrived Wednesday. I am going to check it out, read the info and maybe, go thru DVD #1 which I guess is a fit-test. Apparently, a very humbling fit-test. As with any discipline of exercise, I really don't think it matters how fit you are in one area (and it definitely doesn't matter how fit you think you are), trying something new can be a very eye-opening and humbling experience. I am hoping that is the case. From what I've read, Insanity is P90x's stripped down equipment free MEAN brother. One conversation I read was about a guy who was doing P90x, but thought it was a bit hard so he thought he'd switch to Insanity--a response said if you can't make it thru P90X, you won't survive one day of Insanity. Anyway, here's a video to show you the program:

Let me know if you've tried this program?

Are Humans Herbivores, Carnivores, or Omnivores

2011-10-05T05:48:00.000-07:00

Click the link below and read on if you think you know the answer.
If you are vegan r vegetarian don't bother clicking on the link. If you eat meat, even in small amounts, click the link and challenge your thinking.

Note: This is somewhat related to athletic performance as there is a list of athletes at the end.

THIS IS WHERE YOU SHOULD CLICK : )

Reply to J-No's response--it started short, but became 'rantish', but its not mean or feverishly tyranical:
If you are going to put athletes who eat meat side by side with those don't and compare who's better, that's not really fair to either side. All that you can really get from that is that performance is not negatively affected by a vegan diet. The most notable in the triathlon world is Dave Scott (6x IM Kona champ while vegan). Here's a link to others: ATHLETES
In most all cases, an athlete who switches from meat-eating to no-meat will improve in some ways--IF they don't just cut it out, but replace the calories with nutritionally balanced non meat foods. You're probably thinking of ways to dispute that, but meat, by its very make-up is acidic, has little to no digestive assisting enzymes, no fiber, and contains [bad] cholesterol regardless of how low-fat it is. Cholesterol affects athletic performance so by removing it from your diet will make things run cleaner, which would lead to better performance and/or better recovery. Your body uses energy and nutrients to clear out things that don't belong. There is no nutritional benefit to dietary cholesterol and its only source is from animals. All nutrients that are found in meat are also found in plant-based foods that don't tax your body to digest. Nutritionally optimal foods= whole separate topic.

I have not eaten an egg in 3.5 years, but used to eat several per week because I thought I 'needed' the protein. I eat fish occasionally (1-2 times a month at most). There are varieties of vegetarians, but I don't consider your typical dairy consuming vegetarian any different than a person who eats meat--cows milk is basically liquid meat. A "strict vegetarian" used to be someone who eats nothing from an animal. "Vegan" is the current term for that, but some vegans consume or use nothing from an animal--no leather, no jello, no honey, etc. I am "vegan" when it comes to whole foods and meals. I am not an animal rights, non leather type. My take is from a dietary standpoint. No dairy, no meat as a whole, but if someone makes something that contains an egg (like cookies or something), or uses non-vegan sugar in a recipe, or honey, I am not going to decline it. It should be said that "vegan" doesn't mean you're any healthier, as most junk food is vegan like soda, candy, many off the shelf cookies and snacks, chips, etc are all junk, but vegan. Any dietary path you follow can be bad. I love oreos...just sayin'.

I don't push or spend time convincing others, but I like to share what I know is a healthier way to eat, with only the risk of better health, I like to throw it out there. If someone wants to talk about it, I'm in. If you want to eat ribs while I have something else at the same table, I'm not there to convince you otherwise, or gross you out, but if we decide to talk about it after, that's cool. I might ask for a piece [ribs] just to taste it. Who cares.

The problem with 'making choices' about the foods we eat is that they are not really choices anymore. They are government pushed, company funded 'requirements' (ie: school menu's, day care minimum servings, etc); Its dairy and meat that is pushed upon us, not veganism or vegetarianism. Meat and dairy are glamourized and advertised by the companies making their products out to be required for good health (ie: dairy products like yogurt and Muscle Milk) who use flawed studies that support their claims or twist their message. For example, Yoplait commercials don't say their product is good for you, they say that some of the nutrients found in their yogurt is good for you. I can say the same about a snickers bar or a pound of deep fried onion rings (both delicious). What dairy companies don't tell you is that the protein type in their products use a lot of bone calcium to process it--sometimes more calcium that their product contains. Do the math. Why do Americans have more osteoporosis than other other people, but we also eat the most dairy? With all they say, it almost makes it impossible that we went for millions of years without them (without eating meat and dairy at every meal). How in the world did we survive without our bones crumbling? Yet, our declining health correlates with the rise in dairy and meat consumption in addition to process junk that passes as food (so its not just dairy and meat). Did you know that that many schools' "health" education is provided by dairy companies and the national dairy council? I thought that was a myth and a lie until I looked at my kids crayola colored happy dancing cow and other 'fun' stuff he learned and brought home from school. Sounds like a conflict of interest and a one sided view to me. For those that eat SAD (standard American diet) it really isn't a choice, but the way we have been convinced and taught to eat. As a side note, I have no problem with companies selling whatever they want and think there should be less rules and guidelines on them including the sale of tobacco, alcohol, etc. (I miss Camel and Hamms beer adds.) But when their money influences and even builds, oh I don't know, the Food Pyramid, I have a problem with that. Ok, I gotta stop somewhere....

IMWI was a good time. Would like to do it again, but training for it was a bit stressful. While you were smokin ribs on that day, I was gettin smoked : )

Football Clips

2011-10-03T05:54:00.000-07:00

Jace had a couple nice INT's the other day in their game. They beat rivals, Triton Cobra's 42-0.

Jace is playing right corner (far side of field), intercepts a screen pass and takes it in for a TD.

Jace #12, right corner. Nice pass, tall receiver. Looks like its going to be perfectly placed and just over Jace's head, but he gets up there enough to pick it off. Brings it back inside the 1 yard line!

Ironman Food

2011-09-28T06:01:00.000-07:00

Quite a few people have asked "What the heck do you eat for that thing?" This mostly comes from people who don't ride, run, or even exercise. One woman asked "Do they feed you between the...things. Like after all that swimming and then between the other stuff?" Its hard to explain it to someone like that because their knowledge of sports supplements or energy food is pretty much limited to Gatorade and PowerBars (they have become the Kleenix of sports foods), and RedBull. So to explain what a "gel" is, is a whole separate conversation that they have trouble wrapping their mind around. Anyway... before I bore you with an explanation of how I decided to consume what I did during Ironman, here's a list of what I took in (explanation follows if interested):

Before race started--morning of:

Large bowl of Trader Joes' Frosted Shedded Wheat with organic soymilk about 2 hrs before start time (about 400 calories)
16 oz of Gatorade (100 cals)
misc sips of water
3 Clif Bloks about 15 min before swim start (100 cals per 3 bloks)

On the Bike:

15 Clif Bloks (100 cals per 3 bloks)
4 bottles of HEED sports drink (100 calories per bottle)
one 20 oz Coke (240 cals; warm, but still carbonated)
1 - 2 bottles of water (20-30 oz total??)
Two Almond Butter and Jelly Sandwiches, but only ate 1.5 (approx 400 calories per full sandwich)
half bottle of PowerBar Perform sports drink

On the Run:

1 Clif Blok (a whopping 33 cals)
20 oz(?) of Pepsi
10 - 20 oz of PowerBar Perform sports drink
20 oz water/ice
a pound of grapes (no idea how much really, but I ate a lot of them)
1/3 of a banana
3 orange wedges

A Little Background on the Food During the Race
This may bore you, but hopefully you get something out of it. I am recounting the experience of what I ate during the race so 1) if you're thinking of doing a long course race, you could maybe skip some experimental trial & error during your planning, and 2) this is for my records so I can remember it while its still fresh in my head.

It wasn't until July that I started to try to figure out what I would/could/should eat and drink during the Ironman. I ended up with a jug of HEED drink mix (Hammer Nutrition) from a drawing at the Rochesterfest triathlon, but never cared for it in the past. I didn't mind it, but its not the best. A friend gave me a bag of Clif Bloks, Chomps, and Hammer Gels she got at a race because she said she doesn't do long races and doesn't have a need for them. I didn't want to use gels on the long rides/runs unless absolutely necessary. To me, gels feel like you're just drinking something thicker, then washing it down with water--the result being a sports drink in your stomach. I didn't have good experience with Clif Bloks in the past, but love the taste and chewiness so I decided to try those again. Many people make a concentrated drink that is somewhat thick, but calorie dense. They sip that followed by water throughout the ride. That did not appeal to me. I wanted some solids. So, thru July and August I experimented with HEED for the sports drink and for the solids I tried Bloks, and the Chomps, and sandwiches. One thing I knew would change the way these "went down" was the fact that you aren't red-lining in long races, rides, and runs. Well, not me anyway. You're moving at a tolerable pace. If you're eating food that isn't too acidic, its almost impossible to have GI problems. If you are eating highly acidic foods, you need to experiment and see what will digest without adverse affects.  Acidity vs. alkaline... I don't want to make this complicated, but pretty much anything in its raw state is either highly alkaline (opposite of acidic), neutral, or slightly acidic. For arguments sake, most any raw fruit or vegetable food is alkaline--many are highly alkaline. Contrary to popular belief, raw oranges, grapes, grapefruit, lemon, lime, etc are alkaline and would actually calm a sour/upset stomach and encourage digestion of foods that you may be having trouble getting to move along thru your system, and can potentially reverse a GI issue while its happening.    HOWEVER, when those fruits/juices are processed, cooked, pasteurized, sugared up, or put thru some other form of processing it changes their 'makeup' and they are less alkaline, often times turn acidic, and could cause issues. So, real fruit would be a great choice for energy food, right? Sort of... although you get high water content and naturaly sugar energy from fruit you're only getting a modest amount of calories relative to the space it would take up on the bike (a medium to large apple is only 100-130 calories). For the most part, if you don't want to worry (as much) about GI problems, and also get enough energy for the long haul, you have to compromise and find things that are minimally processed, packed with energy (calories) and convenient to carry and consume. Clif Bloks are processed, but they digest quick and you feel like you're actually eating something. They are on the acidic side of things, but contain very natural ingredients when compared to other supplements. I experimented with those and they seemed to work well.  I still wanted something more solid--like a sandwich. Not the most convenient, but with a Bento Box, its doable. I love PBJ's so I thought I would give that a shot. Wheat bread is packed with energy, but digests slow. White bread is on the high end of being acidic. Some brands top the acidic chart--its processed, cooked, and usually has a million artificial ingredients and preservatives, but the plus side is that its also high calorie for space it takes up. I decided to use a minimally processed white bread--I went with Great Harvest white. Compared to the 50 ingredient list on 'off the shelf' bread in a grocery store, Great Harvest has 5 to 6 ingredients, no preservatives, no artificial colors or flavors. Peanut butter is highly acidic, but has essential fats, and a lot of calories. To lower the acidity, I went with raw unsalted almond butter and low sugar preserves. Raw almond butter is simple: Unroasted almonds ground up into a paste vs. roasted, salted ones.  I went with a low sugar preserve for the jelly (not sweetened with artificial sweeteners). Trader Joe's has both. When all said and done, a two-slice sandwich packs around 400 calories! I used the HEED, sandwiches and Clif Bloks during long rides and during the Chisago Half Iron and TriStar 111 and everything worked fine so that was the plan for IM.

ON THE BIKE DURING IM
My bike was loaded down and I didn't use the Bike Course Special Needs bag they provided. Instead I wanted to carry everything I needed. I had 3 large bottles of Heed, the Aero Drink was filled with Heed, a 20 oz Coke and a sandwich in the Bento Box--all on my bike. In my jersey pockets I had another whole sandwich, and 15 Clif Bloks. The Bloks come in packs of 6 that I cut in half so I'd have a serving of 3 ready to grab.  As soon as I started riding I was sipping on the Heed. When I was on the bike for 30 minutes I had a half sandwich; 30 minutes later, 3 Clif Bloks. Then I alternated half sandwich, 3 bloks, drinking Heed thru out. For some reason I was going thru the Heed pretty fast. I saved one bottle for the last 20 miles so at some point I grabbed a bottle of PowerBar Perform and a bottle of water as I passed a feed-zone and went to work on those. I never trained with Perform, but I figured if I have it early enough and its out of my stomach long before I run, I'd be fine. It worked and it was nice to have a different taste. At about 70 miles into the bike ride I stopped and drank half the Coke. About 20 miles later I drank the rest of it. I FELT GREAT on the ride back to Madison. I had one half of a sandwich left, took two bites and was sick of it--couldn't eat anymore of that.

ON THE RUN
Knowing they'd have cola on the run course I experimented with Coke during long rides and runs. Surprisingly, I could run a 7 to 7.5 min pace, swing home after about 6 miles, slam a half a sandwich or some Clif Bloks and a half a Coke, go back out running and I felt fine. Yes, the Coke was carbonated. I thought t was odd that I didn't get sick, but sometimes you need not question why something works, just accept that it does and move on.

If you read my re-cap of the race, you know it was my own dang fault that I had trouble with the run due to starting WAY TOO fast. I had 15 more Clif Bloks in a pouch on my Fuelbelt and ate just one Blok throughout the run. I had a whole sandwich and a bottle of diluted Heed at the Run Special Needs area that was accessable on the out when you start the run, or when you start the second 13.1 mile lap. I was not in the mood for it at either passing. After the near total bonk experience after the first 4 miles of the run, I wanted nothing to do with food--or at least not the same food I had been eating all day. I did continue to drink as much as I could in small amounts. Pepsi, Perform, water, chewed on ice.... Eventually I was craving the taste of something chewable and sweet so I started with a small chunk of a banana, then went for some grapes and oranges. Before long, I bounced back a bit.  Have you ever been sick--down and out in bed with the body aches and total exhaustion, but then at some point you suddenly feel almost normal again? I felt like I was walking in that state while on the course then with the flip of a switch I felt pretty good.

I could go on with more miscellaneous details of little or no value, but that's about all I feel like writing. Again, this post took a couple weeks to write....

Ride On!
Mario

AVERAGE TRAINING HOURS FOR IRONMAN and OTHER STATS

2011-09-23T04:54:00.000-07:00

I crunched the numbers to see exactly how many hours I trained for Ironman Wisconsin (IMWI) throughout the year. My training for 2011 officially started on Monday, January 3, 2011. However, I didn't really ramp up the cycling time till mid-June. From Jan 3rd thru mid to late June I basically trained as I usually do gradually increasing hours up to about 10 or 11 per week, with R&R weeks of 5 - 5.5 hrs, so I averaged about 8.5 hours per week for the first 6 months or so. After the Rochesterfest Tri on June 19, I considered this the time I would make my training more IM focused--less interval training, more steady zone 2 & 3, and a little longer distance--mostly on the bike. I gradually added a little more per week until I started to taper down in August (but I still reduced training for R&R weeks, of course). The figures below are the averages from Jan 3, 2011 thru Sept 10, 2011 (IMWI was on Sept 11). For the training I put in, I am very happy with the time it took to complete an Ironman (12:12:20). I'm pretty confident that I could have been closer to 11:30 had I not messed up and started that marathon like it was a solo half marathon. Oh well, here are the numbers with some miscellaneous stats at the end.
NOTE: Training time includes indoor/outdoor training and all race time.

TOTAL TRAINING TIME/DISTANCE PER DISCIPLINE (Jan 3 - Sept 10)

Swimming: 51 hrs 27 min 3 sec, 128,832.9 yds (73.2 miles)
Cycling: 150 hrs 47 min 51 sec, 2848.12 miles
Running: 101 hrs 20 min 4 sec, 821.25 miles
Weights/Strength: 19 hrs 58 min, NA

WEEKLY AVERAGE TRAINING TIME/DISTANCE PER DISCIPLINE (Jan 3 - Sept 10)

Swimming: 1 hr 25 min 47 sec, 3593 yds (2.04 miles)
Cycling: 4 hrs 12 min 6 sec, 79.44 miles (18.9 mph average)
Running: 2 hrs 49 min 11 sec, 22.9 miles ( 7:23 per mile average)
Weights/Strength: 33 min, NA

WEEKLY AVERAGE TRAINING TIME

9 hrs

MISC STATS

LONG BIKE RIDE. 112.21 miles was my longest bike ride prior to IMWI. It was on August 6, was point to point with about 12 turns, slight cross winds when going west, slight headwind when riding south. There were some rollers, but no significant climbs at all (pretty flat ride). It took me 5 hrs 37 min 32 sec. Average Heart Rate was 135 (zone 1), Average Speed 19.95. I did stop twice to refill bottles/fix a flat, but paused the time/mileage. IMWI's 112 mile ride took 5 hrs 53 min 38 sec, Average HR 144 (low zone 2), Ave Speed 19 mph. Stopped once for a few minutes for bottles, but clock keeps ticking.
LONG RUN. Longest run in preparation for IMWI was 18 miles on August 10 which took 2 hrs 15 min 37 sec (7:32 pace per mile), 138 Ave HR (zone 1). Stopped twice for quick refill of Fuel Belt Bottles, but paused time/GPS. It was on the Sunrise-Sunset Trail in Kasson which is a 6 mile loop that has a few long flat stretches, but miles 5 & 6 are very hilly. First 15 miles were 7:10 pace, but slowed down for last 3 to about an 8 min pace.
LONG SWIM. Don't laugh, but the longest swim I put in was an hour. Actually, I did 3 of them: July 8, 14, and Aug 3. They ranged from 2100 to 2600 yards. All other swim sessions were between 20 and 50 minutes.

PR's SET THIS SEASON WHILE TRAINING

5k= 17:37 (5:41 pace) @ Mac Attack
5 mile= 29:10 @ Awesome Blossom 5 miler
10k= 36:45 (5:56 pace) @ Stay Out of the Sun Run
15k= 56:09 (6:02 pace) @ Spring Classic (ok, I never raced a 15k before, but I don't think I'll beat that time)
Falls Duathlon= 1:07:01 (Masters Course Record)
Douglas Time Trial, 18.9 miles= 45:03 (25.17 mph)
Half Iron Distance Triathlon (Chisago)= 4:47:57 (not an official 70.3)

They're not record setting times by any means, but at age 40, I can't complain.

Monthly Training Numbers for August 2011

2011-09-21T05:33:00.000-07:00

So its almost October and I am just posting the monthly totals from August. I know, who cares, but I started looking at the numbers and thought I'd post them...

Monthly totals:
Swim:  19000.00 Yd - 7h 08m 05s
Bike:  484.47 Mi - 24h 16m 32s
Run:  121.69 Mi - 14h 54m 15s
Strength:  1h 12m

TOTAL Training= 47 hrs 30 min 52 sec

Super Mario Multisport

CLOSING IT DOWN

Last Two Weeks of Training

Merry Christmas!

Best Buy Mom vs. Santa

Bike Weight and Upgrades

I Got Me Some Mags

My 2012 Race Schedule

Make Stuff That's Bad For You Less Bad

Training Hours Ketchup Post

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Teeccino Herbal Coffee

2011 Turkey Trot Re-cap

4th Annual Gilman Memorial Turkey Trot

﻿Christmas 2011 - Birth of a New Tradition

Re-cap: GAMEHAVEN "TRUE" CROSS COUNTRY RACE

We Got a Dog

Training Numbers from Oct 31 - Nov 6 (Monday - Sunday)

GAMEHAVEN TRUE CROSS COUNTRY RACE

2011 ITU Long Course Triathlon World Championships

Training Numbers from Oct 24 - Oct 30 (Monday - Sunday)

SPIRIT RUN 5k Disguise (and re-cap)

SPIRIT RUN 5k, 10k, and 1k - Saturday, Oct 29

Weekly Hours from Oct 17 - Oct 23 (Monday - Sunday)

Night Beat 5k Recap

Training Numbers for Week of October 10 - 16, 2011 (Mon thru Sunday)

MDOT Tattoo

It Is INSANE

Slacker Training: Weeks of Sept 26-Oct 2; Oct 3 - Oct 9

INSANITY

Are Humans Herbivores, Carnivores, or Omnivores

Football Clips

Ironman Food

AVERAGE TRAINING HOURS FOR IRONMAN and OTHER STATS

Monthly Training Numbers for August 2011

Christmas 2011 - Birth of a New Tradition