Looking Back and Pushing Forward

Badger State Games for me are now over as today was the final event for the 2009 winter games.  The games started for me on Saturday Jan 25th as I lined up for the 10k classic xc ski race in temps well below zero.  I got off to a great start and posted a strong 1st place finish.  From there I lined up again right away the next morning with of course the same below zero temp I'd seen the day prior in the Quadrathlon which included the 5k run, 5k bike, 5k snowshoe, and finally a 5k xc ski.  To make a long story short, run was conservative, my bottle froze within 5 minutes after I mounted the Redline, lots of climbing in the snowshoe, and finally I had no tech skill on the skate skis.  All in all a good race with a 4th place finish despite the fatigue.  Finally, today, the 3rd and final race which was simply a 5k trail run.  I was thinking it was going to be a fast race on some roads but it really was in fact a trail run.  Picking your way around the trail was the hardest part as it rivaled that of beach sand, but I managed to come out with a good result and my second gold in my final Badger State Games race of 2009.  I was able to utilize the fluid recovery (berry treasure) drink just in time before this last race and it did wonders I wish I had it the Saturday night before the Quadrathlon I like the taste more than others out there as well.

Friday was like the second coming of Christmas as a box of EVOMO goodies arrived. Including the key ingredients to the Nitrous diet plans thanks to Titec, Simbree, EVOMO, Fluid, and of course did I mention EVOMO.  As I mentioned above I've already begun to use some of the great items.  The new long sleeve team jersey was great for xc skiing.

The Gravel Road to Trans Iowa Begins 2/9/09 at 7:00 am!  The Coach Lynda plan has me doing  a couple of hours tomorrow with the 20 minute max effort as which I will enjoy.  I don't want to just make it through I would like to also get a good result in my first attempt.

Skating...We'll Leave it at That

So now after swearing off skate skiing I gave it another shot and finally...this time...it's better.  I can at least surpass the time it normally takes on the classics which makes it worth sticking with.  The one problem I am having is going up hill which at time it seems like I come to a complete stop so if anybody has any pointers let me know.  

I think this is going to be a better form of training for me due to the power it takes as compared to striding.  It's almost like striding is awesome for aerobic while skating is great for building power.  Well I'll just stick with it as it can only get better from here....right?

Balancing Life and Racing With Dave Wiens 6x Leadville Winner

Want to know how to balance life, work, family and racing?  It's a tough task that I am sure anyone that goes through it can attest to, but in a 2 part series, EVOMO interviews the 6 time Leadville 100 champion as he explains how he balances his time and still managed to keep the streak alive by knocking off 7 time Tour De France champion Lance Armstrong.  I along with other teammates on the EVOMO team were able to ask questions in regards to training and prep for this race with the type of schedule he has and more. 

To be honest my wife and I don't have kids yet, but the balance is still difficult with family and work taking up the better half of the day while sleep takes up the other.  I really have to give it up for guys like Dave Wiens and Scott Cole for bringing the rukus the way they do with their busy lives off the bike, but to get a better Idea of how Dave goes about it click here for the first part of the interview with part 2 here.

As far as today goes, I got a good 1.5 hours in on the skis (need more klister by the way) and another 1.5 hours on the trainer.  Big weekend ahead.

As Any Other Day That Ends With a "Y"

Skis were prepared, breakfast down, looked outside......and I about crapped myself.  Once again the skies opened up and dumped about 4-6 inches of pow pow (yeah that just happened) freshly on my deck leaving me with two things to think about. 1) I get to shovel the crap when I get home and 2) my skis were not set up for fresh snow ooops this will teach me to not check the weather the night before a race again. It was too late to re-wax, so I packed up my brown blazer and headed to nine mile.  I was gladly relieved that they mentioned the fresh grooming had taken place so I had a snowballs chance to glide efficiently and later found I couldn't be more wrong even if I was George W. Bush the last eight years.  The trails were not groomed and people made paths in the skate lanes which really left me scrambling and only after bringing forth the rukus on the first large climbs, it all went down hill and I couldn't catch a nice track to stride in, but all in all it was good prep for next weekends beating I am lucky enough to bring on myself.

Tickets for Sea Otter are purchased and accounted for now.  Last things to do is find a place to crash for the few days I'm there.  The course is about 38 miles which is nice, but rumor has it that it's not super technical which can be boring but this early in the season an easy race technically might be a better option as I prepare for the human sacrifice that is trans iowa.  Salsa 24 fest looks to be a place to be at in 2009, but I am not sure I am up for it if the performa crew doesn't go as it falls the same weekend as the Green Bay WORS race.

Winter Racing and Unfortunate News

It's 1:00 am and I've been watching the uncut version of "Comedy Central Roast of Pam Anderson" with half of my head clogged full of snot. I've been getting my winter racing schedule wrapped up a 21k xc ski race, 5k snowshoe, and the quadrathon (which is a 5k run,5k bike,5k snowshoe and 5k xc ski) this makes the xterra look one weekend and a 5k trail run the week after and 12k xc ski race the week before all of it.

It also looks as though the sea otter is a go this year. I've been really wanting to get out west and do this race since I bought my first mountain bike...a mongoose sycamore complete with RST front fork and chromoly frame....technology has come a long way hasn't it? Anyway I made the attempt to get out and ride the trails across redbud at nine mile that i've tried to create but still too soft I may just scrap the idea and focus on skiing as I am going to have plenty of time on the bike with all the racing I've got lined up during the 2009 season on the EVOMO team.

On a saddening note a fellow racer had passed away recently and while I did not know him personally, Kyle was a great competitor and just by chatting in passing from point a to b I can honestly say he was a stand up guy and represented the sport well. We were in the same age group so I got know him a little bit, but never the less, Thoughts and prayers go out to him and his closest friends and family.

Workin in a Coal Mine

So with the last two weeks worth of snow I was able to make it out to 9 mile for some winter snowshoe fun across redbud road for more of a marking run through the woods so that I can lay down a good base for some mtb riding.

Not much for racing plans until January in a 12k XC ski race.

Check Ergon for the contest of all contests.  Send a pic of your haggard grips and you may win a grip of your choice.

Merry Christmas to all.

Back to the basics

Okay so after the experiment with the mac had me scratching my head, I think it may have been a little to busy for the blogger folk out there.  So I made the executive decision to bring it on back to the blogger world.  Simple, easy and to the point. 

Thoughts of Trans Iowa occupy my mind on a daily basis.  I already am training and getting lists of things needed to conquer the course.  I am not going to Iowa to make a half assed effort I am going to ride strong from start to finish if it kills me.  Tim Ek-zilla will be joining the Rukus that of Trans Iowa.  I am really looking forward to this and am counting down the days to May 2nd.