I NAILED IT

Saturday’s 16 miler gave me 56 miles for the week on 5 days of running. It helps the weekly mileage category when you run long on Sunday and Saturday – the first and last days of the week. Yesterday was my “official” start of Pfitz’s 12-week, 70 mpw program. How can you not like a training program that starts with a day off or a day of cross-training?

I nailed it!!!

Now if I can just nail the next 83 workouts, I’ll be all set come June 20th.

Although Pfitz doesn’t have any hill specific workouts in his program, I included 6 hill repeats this morning, along with 6 strides. That’s 4 weeks in a row with at least 1 hill/strides workout. I’m also trying to be consistent with my strength/core training. Normally I’m pretty good for about 3 weeks, before totally forgetting about it. Maybe if I include it in my blog, I’ll be a little more motivated to keep it going.

I’m a coffee lover, but rarely drink it before I race. Thanks to Eric for sending this article. I may have to reconsider my pre-marathon ritual, since it sounds like a cup of java may help my performance more than the quart of Gatorade I’m used to chugging. I’ll have to take the pee factor into account though. When I used to run at lunchtime, a morning cup of coffee would lead to two stops during a 6-mile run and three stops during an 8-mile run.

No, I’m not kidding. You can ask Eric, since we used to run together.

Quote of the Day;

"The marathon destroys talent, doesn't create talent." - Greg Meyer

12 WEEKS

I actually did go back and re-read all my Human Race reports since 2005. Last year I ended my report with this;

Anyway, normally I bust my ass all winter, have a great Human Race, and then slowly get worse throughout the year. This morning I was looking through my old logbooks and came across one instance where that didn’t happen. In 2003 I did triathlons. In 2004 I switched back to running and really struggled early on. I ran 30:44 at Human Race then ran 3:50 in the heat at Boston. While that was my worst marathon ever, I ended up having a great summer of road racing.

Well I don't have to worry about Boston this year. Since Grandma's is in June, I have an an extra 2 months that I didn't have in 2004. Of course after the marathon it means I have less time to recover.

Speaking of Grandma's, we're 12 weeks out as of yesterday. I finally sat down and laid out Pfitz's 12-week plan. I'm going to try and hit the 70 mpw program. I figure it starts with 55 mpw, which is where I'm at right now. I'll just have to adjust things as I go for the races I want to run.

I guess the good news is that I put storage wax on my skis and now I'm motivated and focused on running. I had a nice 16 miler yesterday - by far my longest sustained run since TCM.

Quote of the day;

"I cannot name one individual heroic workout that will take someone to the next level, but there are a few workouts that, when done consistently and repetitively as part of a training schedule, can lead to substantial progress for the majority of runners." Joe Rubio, from Run Strong

HUMAN RACE REPORT

I doubt there is another race around that I am more loyal to than the St. Patty’s Day Human Race in St. Paul. For me, it’s usually the first race of the spring and everyone is buzzing after not racing for 4-5 months. Looking back, I see that I’ve run this race 10 times in the last 12 years;

Race History Date Time Pace
Human Race 8k 3/16/1997 32:14 6:29
Human Race 8k 3/28/1999 34:19 6:54
Human Race 8k 3/19/2000 30:09 6:04
Human Race 8k 3/18/2001 29:52 6:01
Human Race 8k 3/24/2002 29:20 5:54
Human Race 8k 3/21/2004 30:44 6:11
Human Race 8k 3/20/2005 29:56 6:01 – 116th
Human Race 8k 3/19/2006 29:15 5:53 – 110th
Human Race 8k 3/18/2007 29:33 5:57 – 104th
Human Race 8k 3/16/2008 30:02 6:02 – 108th
Human Race 8k 3/22/2009 31:43 6:23 – 162nd

If it’s a slow Monday and you’re really bored, you can even go back and read my race reports from 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008. Or just keep reading for a recap of yesterday’s race.

I guess the big question going in to the race was; how is skiing going to affect my running? Just looking at the averages from 2004 – 2008, it looks like it “cost” me roughly 1:30 – 2:00 and about 50 places. Now the big question becomes; how does the rest of 2009 turn out? Normally, Human Race is one of best races of the year – often my times don’t improve much between now and September. This is the year to change all that. Hopefully, skiing has left me fresh, recharged and ready to attack the 2009 racing calendar.

As for blow-by-blow details, we had great weather - probably 50 degrees. There was some wind, but it was during the first half when we had more people to tuck behind. Then there was a nice tailwind during the second half of the race. As usual, my splits were very even with my first mile being my slowest and my last “mile” being my fastest; 6:31, 6:22, 6:21, 6:30 and 5:58. If I had to guess, I’d say mile 4 was a little long because it didn’t feel like I slowed down at all. And the last .96 might have been a little short because it didn’t feel like I sped up that much.

Training-wise, I’ve put together back-to-back 45 mile weeks, added hills and strides. And the long (7 mile) cool down – which I bitched about the whole time – gave me my longest day (14 miles) since TCM. It also means I’ve run 59 miles in the last 7 day. Now I just need A LOT more of that.

If you’re interested in the full results, you can check them out HERE.

Quote of the Day;

“People always blame the shoes, but a lot of time it's the training." - Kevin Paulk

HAPPY SPRING

The author of one of the blogs I follow recently pulled the plug, saying something about simplifying their life. I like the idea of simplifying things. But while I’m not ready to pull the plug completely on this thing, I have been gradually cutting back on the number of times I post a week. I figure after 4 years of blogging, I’ve probably spewed all the things I can think of – twice. I’ll continue to post links, race reports, articles and stuff that I think is blogworthy, but I’d like to cut out all the mundane writing that no one really cares about.

I’ve talked about not understanding why people I haven’t seen in 20 years want to be friends on facebook. We never talked in high school, why do you want to know anything about me now? However, the other day I became friends with a gal I used to run with in high school. We’ve been able to catch up through emails, which has been really cool. She’s run 35 marathons, 2 ultras and an Ironman. So “thanks” to facebook for re-connecting us.

A little while ago, I posted a link to a site that contained interviews with older runners. They even posted an interview with a guy who runs and skis. The guy also has a blog. I haven’t checked it out yet, but since Adam says he can’t find many ski blogs, I thought I’d throw the link out there.

Quote of the Day;

“It's hard to say if I'd be a better runner or skier if I focused solely on one or the other. But in a big way, that's not even the point… The truth is, I'm just as enthused about running during summer as I am about skiing in the winter.” – Roger Sayre

TOO MODEST

Because he is too modest to say something himself, I’m going to post this Person of the Year link regarding my good friend Jim. I don’t know much about snowshoeing, but I’m sure they couldn’t come up with a more deserving person if it were the most popular sport in the world.

Here’s a recap of the National Championship race. Congrats to Kelly Mortenson for his 2nd place finish and to former Minnesotan, Brady Erholtz, for her victory. And if you like stunning photos of snow, mountains, trees, etc., check these out.

Quote of the Day;

"The faster I got, the faster I wanted to get. I was a greedy runner." - Claudette Groenendaal.

CAN'T PROMISE

I can't promise that this will be the last thing I mention regarding skiing - at least for this ski season - but it has to be near the end. I came across this 3-minute video of the Birkie. It doesn't matter whether you ski or not, I think it's worth viewing. Just look at how smooth the leaders are and look at the incredible rolling wooded terrain. I'm tempted to drop $25 for the 2 DVD set.

RESULTS AND PHOTOS

Just look at this "flawless" form. Maybe if I got one of those fancy lycra ski suits, I could shave 2-3 minutes off my time.

I couldn't find the results on the race's website or the website of the company that did the timing. Good thing we have skinnyski.com Apparently, the results that were posted in the chalet left off the top 11 finishers.

The results online make a lot more sense. They show that I finished 13th overall and 2nd in my age group. If anyone knows Jason Midgarden from Golden Valley, tell him I have his 1st place 30-39 medal. Out of 43 individuals, I was 26th in the ski, 17th in the bike and 8th in the run. I don't know if I should be surprised that I was so far back in the ski or so far up in the bike.

What's up with my helmet? Maybe it's off center because I never worn it with a winter hat underneath it.


Here I am heading out for the run. Yes, the day was as beautiful as this photos make it look; about 30 and sunny at the start. Later in the day it got up to 52 degrees - finally! A great day for my last ski and first bike ride of the year.

If you're local and wished you could have participated in this event, you have another opportunity next weekend with the trinNordique.

POLE PEDAL PANT

It seems like year after year I end up doing a lot of the same races. Around here you've got your Human Race, Get in Gear, Hennepin Lakes, Victory, etc. Well so far this year I've completed 3 races and they've all been new to me.

This morning I became a triathlete (again) when I participated in the Pole Pedal Pant winter triathlon. While this was the 20th annual race, it's been held in 3 different locations. Today's event was held at the fabulous Elm Creek Park Reserve and was made up of a 10K x-c ski, 7K bike and 7K run. The bike and run were along the same "packed" snow trail. At least it was packed before a bunch of bikers and runners went over it. Just look at this transition area. Does it get any better? Seriously, replacing wetsuits with skis may be the best idea in the history of triathlons.

Overall, I had a great time racing. One of the things I love about skiing and these kinds of events is that I don't have any preconceived notions about how fast I should be going or who I should be in front of or behind. It's a race and I just listen to my body and go as hard as I can.

I continue to be amazed by how fast people are on skis. We skied four 2.5K loops and I was only about 8K in when the leaders were mounting their bikes. I'm not sure what place I was after the ski leg, but it sure felt like I was at the back of the pack - or at least in the middle of it.

The bike was really interesting due to the combination of rutted snow and stretches of ice. I couldn't take my eyes off the trail in front of me for fear of wiping out. Even though we were really spread out by now, it was still a little difficult getting around people at times because they were swerving all over due to the terrain. Somehow I managed to pass probably 10-15 people during the bike.

Coming out of T2 I was a little worried because the guy who was about 30 seconds in front of me didn't really look like a runner, but he was hauling ass. I finally caught him after about a half mile and then when we got to the first hill, he started to walk. Go figure. After that I settled in and focused on finding the best footing around. Before the race I wasn't sure if wearing my Yaktrax was legal or not. Then I saw some guy with medal studs in his bike tires and I figured anything goes. Besides it's no different than applying top of the line wax to your skis. I'm not sure how much they helped - definitely not as much as the 30 years of training - but I was able to pass another 10-15 people during the run.

After finishing in around 1:44 I walked out onto the course a little ways so I could talk with one of my all-time favorite runners, Dick Beardsley. I'm not sure if any of the skier and biker-types even knew who he was. That was great for me because I was able to speak with him for probably 15-20 minutes. He's super nice and super easy to talk to. He travels to races all over the place. If you ever get a chance to talk to him, I highly recommend it. And I recommend listening to his speeches at marathon expos. He's an awesome motivational speaker.

Looking at this photo, you can tell this was a pretty small race, but not as small as the results would have you believe. When I returned to the chalet I was SHOCKED to see that I finished 2nd overall (less than a minute out of first) and that only 2 relay teams beat me. To be honest, I don't believe the results. Given that they didn't use chip timing and that everything was being written down by hand, also makes me a little suspicious. Plus they only had like 23 individuals listed along with 9 relays. I'm telling you, there are more than 32 bikes in that photo. I know that I'm a decent runner, but I rarely ride a bike - and never on snow packed trails. I find it hard to believe that I caught up to the people that skied probably 6-8 minutes faster than me. It'll be interesting to see what gets posted online.

Finally, I have to give a shout out to my neighbor, Jason, for tuning my bike. If you like anything about bikes, especially mt. bikes, stop by and check out his blog. And if you happen to be in the market for a new bike, check out the bikes he makes at Salsa Cycles.

PRO WASH

I’ve mentioned some of the emails I’ve received from time to time from companies wanting me to test their products and write a review. Well, it’s that time again and this time it’s ProWash activewear detergent. It looks like they’ve been busy collecting reviews from other bloggers too.

One thing you may notice with these reviews is that they’re nearly all written by women. Not that guys don’t do laundry, but possibly because guys don’t notice the difference between detergents. I wish I could come on here and rave that this detergent “thoroughly cleans without sacrificing the performance of a garment” but honestly I don’t pay that much attention. Do my dirty running clothes smell better after washing them with ProWash? Yes. Does ProWash “work better than ordinary detergent on my activewear garments”? I can’t say for sure.

I mean the high-tech clothing of today has come a long way since the early 80s. I remember the first lycra shirt that I ever owned. It was a blue, skintight long sleeved shirt that probably only smelled good when I first bought it. I think the more I washed it, the worse it smelled. Now if I could put that to the ProWash 100% guarantee, that’d be saying something.

If you’re interested in this product, but would like more in-depth reviews, check out Amazon.com and the 103 reviews for ProWash. Also on Amazon, you’ll see that you can get three 24-ounce pouches for $26.64. I have no idea how the price of this concentrated detergent compares to other products on the market.

If nothing else, hopefully this post makes you aware that there are products out there specifically designed for all our high-tech exercise clothing. You may want to check them out for yourself to see if you notice a difference.

BELIEVE IT OR NOT

Things seem to be coming around slowly for me. I’ve run 6 days in a row. Believe it or not, that’s a tie for the most since August. My lungs feel great, but the legs aren’t very strong. I’m thinking about adding in a hill workout once a week to help with that.

Yesterday I told the TCM that I wouldn’t be back this year. Last year I volunteered to write press releases and collect runner bios for them. While it was an interesting experience, I think the time and energy I use to cover the local running scene are better suited towards my interviews, helping out on DtB and writing articles for MDRA.

Speaking of interviews, I just posted a new one. And thanks to Tim for sending me a link to this site with lots of good stuff. I gave him a hard time that it was “cool, if you’re old.” We’ll I was either wrong or I’m old. Probably old because I liked the Greg Meyer interview, but I doubt that most runners know who he is. Anyway, if you’re into that kind of stuff, check it out. Oh, I just noticed a profile of Ed Whitlock. If you don’t know Ed, he ran a 2:54 marathon – AT AGE 73!

Finally, I got an email about a new documentary coming to town. It’s this Thursday and I can’t make it, but I thought I’d throw the info out there for others that are local and may be interested.

“Beyond the Epic Run”, which is a documentary about a man who runs around the world and his wife who follows behind him and films their entire journey.

We are hosting a screening at the University of Minneapolis on March 12. The screening is free, and please feel free to bring whom ever and as many people as you wish.

Here is some more information about the film:

In February, 2000, a couple left home in Switzerland to run around the world...alone. A small crowd of friends and family gathered in the morning hours in the shadows of the Matterhorn in Sion, Switzerland. They were there to send Serge and Nicole Roehteli off with great fanfare to begin what would be an epic journey. With Nicole as his sole crew support, following him on a motorcycle towing a small trailer, Serge was setting off to run over 25,000 miles, on six continents and through 37 countries. Here is the trailer.

If anyone does go, let me know what you think.

Quote of the Day;

“Even the things that are hard to learn are worth the experience of getting it wrong sometimes.” - Helen Lavin

ROLL THE DICE

After one visit to Jenna’s office and a couple of ski outings, I’m back to running. Things are very slow and I’ve stayed under 45 minutes – but at least I’m running. So I have a lot of work to do before this;

Thank you for submitting your entry for the June 20, 2009 Grandma's Marathon.

I’ve been really wishy-washy regarding whether or not I should run this race. Everything I’ve read and heard from other skiers basically says not to run a spring marathon. However, I just have to find out for myself. Maybe I’ll run another mediocre race like at Boston last year, maybe not. There’s only one way to find out. So I’m going to roll the dice and see what kind of shape I can get into during the next 3+ months.

For those of you that know Chris Lundberg or if you checked out his blog from my post last Friday, there’s good news surrounding his possible amputation(s) due to frostbite. You can read the updates HERE.

I just realized I missed my blog-iversary. March 2nd was the 4th anniversary of this blog. That’s hard to believe. Lots of blogs have come and gone in that time. Even my blog reading habits have changed significantly. I can’t remember the last really fun blog that I recommended. But lately I’ve been checking out Steve in a Speedo. Even though he’s a triathlete, I find his blog really entertaining. I have no idea where he gets all his images – or at least where he finds the time to find them – but they is always something to make me laugh.

Quote of the Day;

“The doc was unequivocal about the fact that there will be NO amputation with respect to my body.” – Chris Lundberg

OVERKILL

2009 skiing-related injuries: 0

2009 running-related injuries: 1

One week back and my right calf has already flared up. When our snow melted three weeks ago I was able to run 35 miles in the week along with a 10 miler. I had another 10 miler the following week. So I wouldn’t think 30 miles last week would be overkill. As I transition from skiing to running, it’s hard to get too worked up over this set back. However, it does make me leery of signing up for a spring marathon. And if I continue to get beat up, my “seasonal” sport may become my “new” sport.

Hmm, I wonder if my Saturday morning running group would mind if I roller skied next to them.

I guess the good news is that skiing doesn’t bother my calf and the trails are in fantastic shape. The bad news is that trail conditions can deteriorate in a hurry this time of year.

I finally got around to posting another interview. I would have done it sooner, but when my home computer crashed, I lost everything. I also lost a bunch of email addresses, so if you’re used to getting email updated of new postings, you’re out of luck. I figure with the new year, it’s time to break that chain – people can get a google reader account or something similar.

In other interview news, a week after I interviewed Scott Chapin he experienced heart problems while out training. Here’s an update on his story.

I guess that puts my calf injury in perspective.

Quote of the Day;

“Kempainen was someone I really admired, and still admire. I remember watching him place second in the New York Marathon in 1993. I was a high school runner then, and it was the greatest thing I had ever seen. Then they interviewed him, and I can’t remember what he said, but he was of course extremely humble.” – Chris Lundstrom

NEVER AGAIN

Just a few more things on the Birkie. Here’s the freestyle winner’s race report, along with the classical winner’s race report. If you’re not familiar with Bjorn Daehlie, think the Haile Gabrselassie of skiing – but a little passed his prime.

I took 2 days off after the race and am now trying to get consistent with my running. The problem is that an hour of running seems to beat up my body more than 3 hours of skiing. So I’m trying to be patient and gradually work myself back.

I will say that I feel like I’m in the worst running shape in probably 8 years. It’s funny because during that stretch I always felt like I was in the kind of shape needed to run a 30-minute 8K or a 3-hour marathon. After awhile, you kind of take that running fitness for granted. Now I’m realizing that a lot of work went into being able to do that. When the topic of weekly mileage comes up in the future, I’ll never again proceed it with “just” or “only”. I can remember having a conversation last winter where I said something like I was only running 70 mpw. Right now I’m not even able to comprehend that figure.

Finally, I’ll close the week by throwing out a link to Chris Lundberg’s blog. He's one of the top local runners and he moved out west last summer. He was severely frostbitten on a back-country ski trip last week and there's still a chance he could lose his foot. If you know Chris – or even if you don’t – stop by and wish him well.

Quote of the Day;

“For 2k I skied nearly as hard as I could. I was passing skate skiers like they were standing still. Spectators and road crossings whizzed by. Suddenly, the vast openness of the lake appeared before me. I decided to have a peek back behind me. No sign of Mike, no sign of Geir, and Bjorn Daehlie is standing on the back of my skis. Crap.” – Gus Kaesing

BIRKIE VIDEOS

HOW TO IMPROVE

Of course, now the question becomes; “How can I improve upon my performance?” Or as Adam asked; “What would I do differently with my training?”

I guess the first thing would be to get some lessons to help me with my technique. Given how I felt at the end of the race, I definitely think technique is slowing me down more than my engine. I mean I was passing people that looked like they had great technique, but they were exhausted. One guy in particular looked really smooth. He kept pulling away from me but I seemed to catch him on the hills or at the aid stations, due to the traffic. Towards the end of the race I thought for sure that he dropped me. However, I was surprised to catch and pass him on the lake.

I think simply replacing an easy run with an easy roller ski once a week will help too. And then once the fall marathon season has passed, I can increase that frequency until we have snow.

As for specific training ideas, one would be to take what I know about marathoning and apply it to skiing. I’m thinking something as simple as MP skis and tempo workouts.

I always tried to end my long ski sessions by including some hills towards the end. I think that really helped prepare me for the Birkie. However, the race does finish by crossing Lake Hayward for the last 2K. So throwing in a hard tempo effort or two at the end of those long skis would probably pay dividends on race day. I’d say doing the City of Lakes Loppet race also helps with that because it finishes by crossing a bunch of lakes.

One other technique that I could work on too is the Herringbone. I didn’t use it in training much, but when some of the Birkie hills get congested and the snow is like mashed potatoes, then the Herringbone seemed to work best.

As far as strategy goes, I’d probably get to the start earlier and make sure I was near the front of my wave and then try to get out hard. Given I had no idea what I was getting into, I went out conservatively. The problem with that strategy is that you use more energy trying to get around people when the course narrows or you just get stuck behind them on the hills. I think getting out hard and then settling in would be a better strategy.

I’m sure I’ll come up with more ideas, but these are what come to mind right away.

Quote of the Day;

“Skiing down Main Street was a highlight of my life--looking back across the trail and the 51km, I knew I had tamed both the Birkie trail and my own personal demons; it was truly a wonderful moment.” – Martin Gibbs

THE BIRKIE

I don't think most people want to go through life with a bunch of regrets. Luckily, I think I've been pretty fotunate in that regard. Quitting high school basketball, instead of waiting to get cut, may be my biggest regret - at least until this weekend. Now my biggest regret is that I didn't start skiing earlier in life so that I could have more Birkies under my belt.

Now I'm not going to say this is the absolute greatest event I've ever participated in - mainly because I don't think it's fair to compare the likes of a Grandma's, an Ironman or a Birkie - but it's right near the top. I do think all these great events have a couple of things in common, namely a leader with a vision - whether it be Scott Keenan, John Collins or Tony Wise - and unique, albeit small, beginnings that have grown into international events.

The Birkie's humble beginnings included 35 classical skiers making a 55K trek mainly using a trail in the ditch next to the highway. 36 years later the weekend of events consists on nearly 10,000 skiers making their way along the most beautiful and challenging trails I've ever skied. Along the way there are such landmarks as the Powerline - a series of hills within the first 5K, Bobblehead Hill - a long downhill with a 90 degree lefthand turn where a bunch of snowmobilers (the bobbleheads) gather to cheer, jeer and wait for skiers to wipe out, Bitch Hill - a long, steep hill 42K into a 50K race - think Heartbreak Hill, and a great finish on the streets of downtown Hayward.

It was difficult for me to think of a time goal for this race. It was only my third ski race ever and it was the longest by 17K. I thought 3:20 seem pretty reasonable - plus or minus 10 minutes depending on whether I was have a good or bad day. For a non-time goal I was hoping to ski well enough that next year I'll move up from this year's 3rd wave.

When it comes to running marathons I've talked about 2 distinct races depending on what I'm thinking around mile 16. If I think, "Damn, I still have 10 miles to go." I'm in for a long day. If I think, "Damn, I only have 10 miles to go." I'm having a great day. Since this was my first skiing marathon, I have no idea if they follow similar criteria. I do know that I didn't want my first Birkie to end. I felt great the whole way and seemed to feed off of passing people from waves that started 10 and 20 minutes in front of me. I ended up crossing the finish line in 3:12 - a time that should definitely put me in wave 2 next year.

After changing clothes and grabbing a bowl of soup I walked 2 blocks to a great coffee shop that was playing Neil Young. Does it get any better than that? Well maybe if I knew some other skiers.

While I didn't come out and proclaim the Birkie the greatest event ever, I will pay it this compliment - with apologies to Jack Nicholson in "As Good as it Gets". The Birkie makes me want to be a better athlete. The Birkie makes me want to work on my core strength. The Birkie makes me want to eat my fruits and vegatables. The Birkie is enough to make winter my new favorite season. The Birkie is an event I can see planning my entire season around. And maybe the best compliment of all; I can't see not doing this race in the future.

BETTER THAN SEX

Good news…

HAYWARD, Wis., Feb. 17, 2009 – With just 4 days til the 36th anniversary American Birkebeiner in Cable and Hayward, Wis., Executive Director Ned Zuelsdorff today announced Birkie skiers will ski a full race with finish on Main Street, Hayward.

“The trails from the start line to Lake Hayward are in excellent ski conditions, very firm, clean and fast," reports Zuelsdorff. "In preparation for a Main Street finish we have a crew who will be finishing the route across Lake Hayward on Wednesday.”

Now my only concern is that this event won’t live up to the hype. Given all I’ve read and heard about this event over the years, if it’s not better than sex I’m going to be extremely disappointed. All right, maybe my expectations aren’t quite that high, but it’s close.

I think a good comparison would be when a movie gets a ton of hype which makes you expect great things from it. But then once you see it, it’s just okay. That same movie without any expectations may in fact be great.

That’s what I’m hoping to avoid this weekend. Somewhere between Grandma’s Marathon Weekend and sex would satisfy my expectations.

Quote of the Day;

“I skied across the lake yesterday and anticipate that skiers will have very good trail conditions over their final kilometers of the race.” – Ned Zuelsdorff

STRANGELY SATISFYING

The problem with spring melt we had a week ago is that now everyone thinks winter is over. However, we still have a good 4-6 weeks left of cold and snow. And with “all” of the snow gone, skiing isn’t much of an option. I did manage to make my way to Hyland Park on Sunday and ski on the manmade snow on their downhill ski area. Going into this Saturday’s race without being on skis for 2 weeks would not have been a good thing, so now I feel a little better. I will say that there’s something strangely satisfying when you ski to the top of a hill used for downhill skiing. Granted this is Minnesota I’m talking about, not Colorado, but it was still pretty cool.

I also managed 35 miles of running last week. While everything seems to be a little sore – especially my hamstrings – it feels like my running legs are coming around a little. And if, like me, you needed a little extra motivation to get out and run, be sure to check out Ryan’s blog and congratulate him on his first sub-3. This is a guy who’s path to sub-3 is fairly similar to mine; “had to” give up a sport he loved (hockey for him, basketball for me) to make it happen, kept adding mileage to his programs, and had a bunch of near-misses. His training since running 3:06ish at TCM has been amazing and he definitely earned his sub-3.

Quote of the Day;

“I achieved my goal and made personal running history this morning at the Austin Marathon.” - Ryan

IN SHOCK

I am seriously still in shock by how quickly the snow has disappeared. If my computer worked at home, I’d take a picture to prove it. Since I can’t, you can check out a photo or two on Jean’s blog.

Here’s the official report from the Birkie office:

Tuesday, February 10th, 2009 12:00:00 PM

The weather in Northwest Wisconsin has not been cooperating or making it easy for the event. The weather has cooled since Monday and the rain is no longer falling. The high on Monday night reached 44F. A first assessment of the trail was done this morning and a second will be done on Wednesday morning.

The trail base remains strong and frozen with 4"-7" of good base. The crews will begin tilling on Wednesday night or Thursday morning. We anticipate that the trail will groom up nicely and conditions will be very good again. However, the trail is becoming icy as temperatures drop and we ask that people not ski on the trail until we've been able to re-groom.

A couple of sites I visit say it’s not a lost cause yet and that they can do amazing things with their high-tech grooming equipment. Probably the biggest problem is that as the race comes into town, it crosses Lake Hayward, which I’m sure is just a sheet of glare ice now. So I’m guessing we’ll probably be racing, but it may be on a shortened course. Who knows, maybe that’s a good thing when you consider that I might be heading into this race without touching ski to snow for over 2 weeks.

I have been running more and will actually be over 30 miles this week. Woot, woot!!! Thinking about my last post and checking out a calendar, I see that Grandma’s Marathon will be 18 weeks away on Saturday. Hmm, that seems to tie in nicely with a Pfitz plan.

I’ve mentioned that my (nearly) 8-year-old has taken an interest to skiing the last 2 years. We usually just go to the local county park and rent skis for her. I’ve been thinking about getting her some skis and mentioned to my wife, who wasn’t as gung-ho. I see her point, financially, it’s like $7 to rent versus probably $100 or more to buy. And since she’s growing like a weed, it makes even less sense. However, I think my wife only sees it as money out the door, where as I see it as laying a foundation to exercise that will last a lifetime. As someone who started running at age 10, I can’t even imagine what my life would have been like without that introduction to endurance sports. Sure we can continue to rent, but I think she’d have more opportunities if the two of us could go whenever we wanted. Sounds like I have some convincing to do.

Quote of the Day;

“As my girls get older I've realized my workouts aren't only for my own benefit. They benefit my children too because I am (along with dad) their role model for fitness. When your kids include triathlon in their creative play you know you're doing something right. I've read that studies show if parents exercise, children are likely to grow up exercising too. That's very important to me. Fitness is a family value in our house.” - Kara Thom

SUCKS FOR EVERYONE

I think it’s safe to say that 40 degrees and rain sucks for everyone. Our awesome ski conditions have basically disappeared overnight. I guess the good news is that most of my “training” for the Birkie is complete. The next two weeks would have been maintenance anyway. However, if we don’t get any more snow in the next 10 days, the whole thing could be off.

The thing I’ve been struggling with the most lately is whether or not I should sign up for Grandma’s Marathon. Based on my experience at Boston last year and on what other skiers have told me about transitioning from snow to a spring marathon, I’d be smart to skip it. However, it’s very hard to skip your favorite marathon. I mean, they only come around once a year.

I think one of the cool things about endurance events is that they’re a whole different creature than the every-weekend 5K and 10K. All our training focuses on one or two events a year and we get really fired up for them. One of the things I wrote about last winter was how skiing would allow me to add to the number of these types of events, so I’ll be able to do three or four big events each year, instead of one or two. With that in mind, it makes skipping Grandma’s even less of an option.

I guess the lack of snow will “force” me back in to my running shoes a little earlier than I was planning. In fact, Rick dragged me out for a 10 miler this morning – my furthest run in 3.5 weeks.

Quote of the Day;

“The only problem is that you end up being really fit in March and you have to be really careful getting back into running to make sure you don’t get injured.” - Jan Guenther