I'm cooked...

This is my last week of long and hard training before the taper begins for IM Canada and I'm feeling pretty shredded right now.
My legs are cooked, my lungs are burnt, and any remaining muscles that have a hint of strength left, are being sucked dry by the heat and humidity that takes my sweat rate to it's maximum....just over a half gallon per hour. No kidding. I perspire about 4 pints per hour during a hot training ride or run. I have to drink every 2 to 3 minutes just to break even.
On that note. My swim this morning sucked donkey kong because I was still dehydrated from my brick last night. I was about 3 pounds underweight (water weight) after my swim. Lesson learned.
I can't believe I have to weigh myself every other day to keep track of my hydration level. What a pain in my ass. I sweat like a honeymoon couple in July on a feather bed. Gad!
Another beer here please! and keep'm come'n.
Otherwise I'm hanging tough and looking forward to the race.

I got a little pick me up from a tri-buddy who did IM Switzerland with me last year. I had no idea this picture existed. I think his wife took it while I was basting myself in transition with BodyGlide before donning my wetsuit.
It was the power of the platinum speedo torpeedo (EQ Swimwear) that got me through a good swim....after that, a couple things went wrong on the bike and my run was mostly walking....dehydration = leg cramps = walk, hobble, jog, repeat.

Warning: Rated 'R' for RACEY!


You don't want to look but you can't help it.






4 days to taper time.

Good Morning Swimmers

Just another beautiful 6AM lake swim.






And they're off


Strong and steady


Right on course


Rescue dogs. All swimmers accounted for.

How to Impove Your Bike Split. And good Karma

Go for a ride with these guys

Simon Whitfield, Paul Tichelaar, Colin Jenkins.
2008 Canadian Olympic Triathlon Team

and All American, Kevin O'Connor.


Last night I had the privilege to go on a ride with the men's 2008 Canadian Olympic Triathlon Team. Simon Whitfield, Colin Jenkins, Paul Tichelaar, and with the added bonus of All American, Kevin O'Connor.
We started the ride as a group with the Gear West Triathlon Club. My training schedule had me slated for 60-90 minutes tempo so I was looking forward to a good butt kicking...and I got it. After a usual group roll out and warm up. The pack sort of split up and that's when the pain began. A guy in my small group flatted right next to me so I stopped to help just as Kevin rolled up and whipped out his repair kit. We changed the flat in a couple minutes and Kevin told me to "go ahead, we'll catch up".
I made a wrong turn and had to double back to try and catch Kevin and the crew.
I had to hammer for 15-20 minutes before Kevin finally looked back and saw me so he slowed up a bit for me. Thank goodness. I was red-lining.
He let me draft him and I was still in my tempo pace and thus doing my prescribed training. Kevin is one bad ass triathlete. He's done Kona a few times and just last year, he finished with a 9:40 something. No wonder he's an All American.
I had to stick to Kevin's wheel for at least 30 minutes, after he let me catch up, to recover from being on my own (read as 'dropped') for about 20 minutes at LT.
I was happy to realize that I could hold that LT pace for that long and not completely blow up. Thanks coach Kris, you're gonna get me there in good shape.
After the most fun ride I've had all season, we all hung out and socialized and I got Simon, Colin and Paul to autograph my jersey.


Me and Simon chatting before the "drop"

The good karma in all this is that I'll be racing at IM Canada on Aug. 24th and I got to train with the Canadian Triathlon Team. It's gonna be great.
Very nice guys.
If you ever have a chance like this, don't pass it up.

Welcome to the Rock

Gull Rock, that is.



Last week I took my annual trip to the Gull Rock Lighthouse in Lake Superior, Michigan.

A little background here.
Gull Rock is a half acre rock 2.5 miles east off the Keweenaw peninsula in Michigan's upper peninsula...eh.
For some details and recent happenings on the Rock, check out this article.
For the first time in over 100 years, we we're able to get a newspaper and TV reporter out to the rock during the first phase of the restoration. The last time Pete tried to get the media out to the rock, the weather got rough and he had to cancel the trip.



I've been going up to this lighthouse since 2004 when my good friend, Peter Annin, suggested a fishing trip and surprised me with a tour of the deteriorated lighthouse during that trip. It was then that he told me of his plan to create a nonprofit organization and completely restore Gull Rock Lighthouse to it's original condition. "I'm in" I told him.
The past few years we've been patching holes in the roof and delivering some lumber for other basic repairs...and doing a little fishing. One of these days, I plan to swim the 2.5 miles from the mainland to the rock. Pete has told me that the best time of year to do this would be late August when the water is the warmest...55 degrees. Timing for good weather is the other factor that has to be dealt with. The wind, waves and currents have taken a few boats, ships, and people over the years and I don't want to make that list.
added safety note to recent comments: I would have Pete in his Zodiak boat as escort and safety support...and blankets, hot buttered rum, and warm pasties at the swim exit.



I've known Pete, and his younger brother and sister, since high school swim team and it's been a non-stop series of adventures ever since. We've been hunting, camping, fishing, swimming, SCUBA diving, backpacking, and having the occasional drink for the past 29 years. He's always got my back and I do the same for him and his family.
This trip was a great 3 day break from Ironman training and I'm now fresh and ready for the next 3 weeks before taper starts.

See what I see

I'm still trying to bike commute a couple days a week and thought I'd share some of the scenery along the way.
It starts on my front Patio.

Meet Rosa, my red hot commuter companion.
She's a 1996 all carbon roadie. My first love. Smooth as silk in the wind. She has never let me down.


The bike trail and a bridge.


A newly rebuilt underpass along the trail.


Half way to downtown under a RR track.


Under a freeway. No traffic jams for me.


Cedar Lake.


Minneapolis downtown skyline...and still no traffic jams.


Downtown Minneapolis. Dedicated bike lane.


Hennepin Ave. bridge over Mississippi River.


Mississippi River. Minneapolis Locks.


A Construction zone...riding slowly, not walking my bike.


Interstate 35W bridge re-construction over Mississippi River.


New Gopher stadium under construction.


Aid station. Ahhh, frosty amber nectar.

Consider yourself tagged (if you wish).
Post some pics of scenes along your bike commute or your bike training route.
and...
Stay hydrated. See photo above.

A 2-fer

Races the past 2 weekends. June 21st and 29th.

Lake Minnetonka Sprint, June 21st.
race report
Sunny, 70's, NW wind 10 mph. Water temp. approx. 68-70 deg. F.
Nearly ideal weather for a race.

My plan was to just go strong and steady with some hard efforts to push my heart rate to threshold and use this race as a speed workout.



Beautiful sunrise over the bay and everyone had a smile on. Oh sure, there were a few nervous smiles, but smiling none the less.

The Swim course was a point to point in an arc shape with 6 big red buoys marking the course. Since the water temp was decent, I opted for no wetsuit.
Elite wave went off at 7:30 AM.
My wave, 3rd, was held up a few minutes because the first 2 waves were off course and were cutting the 2nd buoy. I had a little shiver going while waiting on shore. Dang, should have wore the wetsuit.
After the first buoy, a minor right turn headed the swimmers directly into the sun and spotting the second buoy was impossible. The race director radioed out to the support boats and kayaks to re-direct the swimmers back on course.
Having the advantage of watching the "sheep effect" from shore helped to plan a little strategy.
The blast off from shore was good. I was able to hang with the leaders of my wave until that second buoy (into the sun) and then settle into a steady pace to the exit.
0.5 mile swim time 13:33 (1:32 per 100 yd.)

T1 was good and then out to the 15 mile, rolling hills, bike route.
A minor uphill exit was no big deal but a couple guys passed me until I got my feet into my shoes. Then I hammered and passed them before the first mile and settled into a slightly uncomfortable pace to push myself. By the halfway, I was getting that slightly heavy and stinging feeling in my legs so I backed off ever so slightly to flush that out a bit. A couple minutes is all it took and I settled back in. With the few small hill climbs that were on the course, I decided to stand and push until I could feel the ache and then keep it there until the crest of the hill before sitting and easing off a tad.
Only one minor mistake occurred when I caught a little cross wind that pushed me over to where a seem/crack on the road met the curb and my tires got sucked into that crack. A quick pucker of my butt and a reflex back to my mountain biking days...grab the bars and hop out of the crevice.
Whew! back on course.
15 mile time 41:57 (21.46 mph ave).

T2 was quick and clean.
My legs were a little heavy as usual and my weakest event was beginning. I've never been a quick runner so I wanted to see what would happen if I pushed close to my threshold. It kinda hurt for the first mile and I started getting a side stitch so I had to back off a bit. A few minutes later, the stitch released so I kept it as steady as I could. I took a quick water gulp at the last turn and tried to pick it up a bit for the last half mile to the finish.
"Picking it up a bit" for me is an 8 minute mile (it's all relative).
3 mile run time 24:16 (8:05 per mile ave).

Pleased with the results. No mistakes and recovered quickly.
Bar-B-Q and yard games all afternoon. Sweet.


Lake Waconia Tri. June 29th.
Sunny, 70 deg. F. Northwest wind 18-20. Rough water. white caps 1-2 feet.

Elite and Relay teams went off as first 2 waves. Time-trial start every 3 seconds for the rest of us.

The swim was uphill, upstream, against the current.
No kidding. The wind was steady from the NW at 18-20 mph and the first 1/4 mile of the swim was straight into it. The whitecaps were breaking on shore at least 2 feet high.
The roughest swim I've had so far.
The race director even made a cautionary announcement to "not so strong swimmers" that the water was very rough and to be prepared to get knocked around and "use the rescue boats if needed".
I was stoked. I love the swim and I was really excited for this challenge.

3----2----1----Blast Off!
I sprinted into the water and dove through the waves.
Sprint for 20 strokes and attempted to site the course buoys.
I picked up my head and saw a 2 foot wave about to jam itself down my throat.
I ducked and then looked up again...on course so far. Dig in and swim.
Long strokes with any attempt at gliding was not effective.
I shortened my stoke to more of a jab-and-chop style to cut through the waves like Kuia Chang Kane thrusting his finger-tips into bags of rice.
That was working but then I had to time breathing with the troughs of the waves so I wouldn't over hydrate with lake water. Yuk.
The first turn buoy wouldn't come fast enough.
Right turn and waves were coming from my left and washing over my back. Breathing to the right was the only way to keep from drowning.
50 yards to the next buoy and then a right turn.
Thank goodness for that final right turn. Now it was back to the shore going with the waves and wind.
Changing my stroke again to glide and kick more during the wave trough gave a bit of a body surfing effect. Sweet.
I felt my heart rate and breathing settle down and by the time I hit shore, I was slightly recovered and feeling good.
0.5 mile uphill swim, 15:58, 30th out of 431.

T1 was a little slow cuz I had some tangle with stripping my wetsuit. No biggie.
Bike out with that bloody 20 mph. crosswind for 2 miles. Then strait into the wind for another few miles and then a crosswind again until mile 12. Can I get a break here?
Turned south and got the tailwind. This was awesome.
I ran out of gears and was flying along at 30 mph. for 4 miles. Yeehaw!
Then a left turn put a stop to that and the crosswind took over again.
Back through town with a few high-speed zig-zags and hills and then back to transition.
24 mile bike, 1:09. 20.7 mph. ave.

T2 was on par and then onto the run. Again, my weakest event was ahead of me.

Rolling hills out and back.
Within the first mile. There's an uphill passed a Cemetery.
Great, just what I need for a positive mental boost...not.
I managed to keep a steady pace and was happy to finish.
4 mile run, 34:40. 8:40 pace per mile.

2:03.35. 10th in Age group. Pleased.


Held him off to the finish. Fun.