Moving!

It's been a crazy couple months.  I received a job offer I couldn't refuse in Minnesota, so that turned Chris and my world upside down quite a bit!  It was a great opportunity for me to do what I love and the area is BEAUTIFUL!  The bluffs and river are scenic and the city of about 30,000 offers enough for us to do but is still small enough to not be too chaotic.  It's great to be able to get everywhere in 5 minutes too!  There are trails around the lake, other hiking trails, a YMCA, running clubs and all sorts of activities that we can do to help maintain a healthy lifestyle!  There's even a triathlon right here in June!  Here's a few photos of the area....enjoy!

Ann

New running shoes!

I needed a new pair of running shoes so I thought I would give the Hoka's a try since Chris loves his soooo much!  Got a great deal on them since they were last years model.  Also ordered some "Speed Laces" with Zero Friction guides.  Now we just need some better weather!

Ann

New Personal Record on leg press!

What started out as a slow workout ended awesome with me hitting the 700 pound mark on leg press for 6 reps!  So stoked!

Ann

Rehabbing herniated disc-Update

Well, I'm about 11 weeks post herniated disc, L5/S1. Didn't have much relief until I received an epidural 5 weeks ago. Shooting pain down the leg and calf almost gone but my back and hip still get sore. Since the shot and initial improvement following it I have seen a little improvement but nothing earth shattering. Slightly concerned that I'm approaching the 3 month mark and don't feel anywhere near healed. Haven't been able to do much other than light walking on the treadmill and some swimming with a swim buoy between the legs. Hoping this doesn't drag out 4, 5, 6 months and they say "let's operate". It would end my season. As it is I wanted to do a 70.3 and thinking that may be a long shot at this moment since I would need to start training around mid Feb or by the first of March. Trying to keep perspective of things saying to myself it's ok if I have to stick to sprints or maybe a late season Oly vs. not doing anything this year. Also doing some hanging on the inversion table to see if that helps!

Thoughts on the 2013 Race Season......

This year has been one of ups and downs. I certainly did not achieve all of my goals, but that gives me something to shoot for next year.

First the downs. I found training very difficult this year. Between the winter that refused to leave, an extremely intense work schedule and injuries, it has been a mental as well as a physical challenge to keep going. Ending the year with a stress fracture of my foot would certainly bring anyone down and there were days that I have questioned if I want to keep doing this after I heal.

Which leads me to the positives. Throughout all of the frustrations, I DID keep training. I ran, I biked faster than I ever had before and I swam further and longer than I ever had before. I did the last tri of the year in the fastest time that I ever had....with a broken foot! How cool is that! Will I do this again next year when my foot is healed? DAMN RIGHT I WILL!!!  It is by overcoming the obstacles that are in our path that we prove to ourselves who we really are, and by simply getting up off the couch and moving, I am already a winner, even if I finish dead last.

Races:

2 5K's
1 Duathlon
2 Sprint Tris

Ann


As Ann said, it's been a year of ups and downs.  After recovering all last winter from rotator cuff surgery and a winter that would never end, I was anxious to get outside and start training.  The spring stayed cold and wet but I did my best to get out and train.

My first race of the year was a 5K.  My time was horrible which early season races always are for me but for whatever reason I podiumed!  My second 5K in early May was a little better time wise and for the second time I podiumed!  Ann and I did a Duathlon towards the end of May and it was a decent start to tri season with a good first run and decent bike.  Second run was a little rough.

The first tri of the year was a sprint race in the rain.  For whatever reason I panicked on the swim which never happened before.  I managed to pull it together and have a good bike and decent run.  The second sprint race I had some redemption having a great swim, and a good overall time.  Third sprint race was a small event.  My head wasn't in it and once again, I had a bad swim and struggled. I was frustrated.  Wanting to up the challenge, I did my first olympic distance tri in September.  Had a good overall race and was thrilled to end the season on a high note!  Currently I am dealing with a back/hip problem since the oly tri that's prevented me from running or biking and frankly it frustrating  I have however been able to get back in the gym and do some lifting.

Goals for the winter and into 2014 is to burn some fat off and lose about 10 pounds.  I feel better racing at a lower weight.  I need to do more "dreadmill" work over the winter and I plan on hiring a swim coach.  My swimming needs more work.  If all goes well and I can stay injury free, I plan on doing my first half ironman next summer, maybe Racine?  

Races:

Two 5Ks
1 Duathlon
3 Sprint Tris
1 Oly Tri

Chris

Springstead Triathlon

This race report is coming late but better late than never!  This sprint tri took place on Aug 11th up in Springstead, WI located between Mercer and Park Falls.  It's a small but well run event.  I had Rev3 in the Dells penciled in but between cost and doing some rehab on my In-Laws house the couple days before we felttoo beat up to go to the Dells.  The race consisted of a 1/4 mile swim, 16 mile bike and a 5K.  We were there in plenty of time but for whatever reason got rushed at the last second and didn't get a chance to warm up.  We quickly got our wetsuits on and went to the lake.  The horn went off and we were off!  I had some good pacing to start off and quickly saw the 1/4 mark buoy.  I was feeling good! I rounded the end boat to head back and then for whatever reason I stated to get winded as I did in my first tri of the year.  the rst of the way back I struggled.  UGGGG, not his again!  I exited the water and got on the bike.  The roads were ok to start out with and I had a good tail wind.  I was averaging about 22MPH on the bike.  As I got to about mile 5 or so I had to turn onto a side road that was anything but good surface.  Aseries of blacktop heaves caused me to be careful and spent too much time out of aero.  On the way back I had a good head wing hitting me and was seing 18 to 19 MPH on the speedo.  Ended the bike averaging 20.3 MPH so I'll take t.  Got off the bike and started the run.  Was feeling good!  Garmin was showing about a 8:30 pace.  Bugs were starting to get me on the way back and I got a little distracted with that and the heat.  I started to feel a "bonk" at around 2.5 miles and plugged ahead never stopping.  Craossed the finish lin in 1:30:31, not my best time. Timing was a start and end only so I don't really know what my swim or T1/T2 was.  Looking at the results it appears I came in about 4th overall.  Not my best race of the year but did it to keep the practice up.

Chris

Bear Cupboard 5K

RACE DAY!  Ann's been very motivated and a couple days ago said...."Let's do this!"  We've been upping our workouts and runs so I thought it would be a good precursor to next weeks triathlon.  We arrived, stretched, warmed up, and were ready to go!  I kissed Ann and waited for the horn.  I took off and had good pacing going.  The first mile I was flying (at least for me!) at around the low to mid 7 min mile range.  Mile 2 took me down to around a 7:45 pace and in the third mile I fell to an 8 min plus pace.  I finished at 7:56 per mile pace for a total time of 24:37.  Sad part was I missd the podium by 27 seconds.  I waited for Ann and was hoping he training was going to pay off.  Time went by......Ifinally saw her and after she crossed she said she tripped on a board on the trestle that goes over the lake and fell brusing ans skinning her knee pretty bad.  I took her to the first aid station and they iced it.  Now it's rehab time for Ann and she hopes she can race next weekend.

Swim Training day!

Well, the weather is finally cooperating a little and it turned out to be a nice day for a swim.  Time still isn't coming down much but we have been working on form.

Hoka Bondi B shoe review

Well, I wanted to see what all the hype was about regarding the Hoka Bondi B2 shoes.  I’ve done the research, read others reports and was curious if they are really that good compared to some of my trusty running shoes. 

Over the past two years my “go to” shoe has been the Asics Gel Nimbus 13.  This is a nicely cushioned shoe but also has a tall heel stack at around 12mm.  After going to a run clinic this spring I realized I’m a classic heel striker.  My initial response was I wanted a shoe with less stack between the toe and heel.  I settled on a pair of Saucony Ride 5’s.  I liked the weight of them; the wide toe box and they had a heel stack of 8mm.  I went on a couple runs and did a 5K in them.  I was shocked at how much more beat up my body felt after running in these compared to my Gel Nimbus!  I was upset that this experiment was a failure so I went back to my Gel Nimbus’s until the Hoka’s came in the mail.

Saucony Ride 5 weight 10.6oz

Asics Gel Nimbus 13 weight 10.4oz

Hoka Bondi 2 weight 11.1oz

 Now depending on where you buy them, Hoka has a 60-day no question asked return policy!  Pricing is a little higher than a standard running shoe.  I paid around $120 for both my Gel Nimbus and the Ride 5’s, the Hoka’s were about $150.00 but with the return policy I figured what’s to lose!  They showed up in the mail, I quickly put them on and took off!  I was AMAZED at how these things felt!  It was like running on pillows.  Some believe the height of the show makes them more unstable compared to a standard shoe, but that’s not the case because the overall footprint of the show is larger making the shoe very stable.  Some argue they like to “feel” the ground and pavement but I think there is still enough “feeling” to know when you are uneven surfaces, gravel, etc.  The toe to heel stack is also lower, coming in at around 4mm to 5mm.  They put more cushioning in the midfoot of the show and the heel is “rockered” allowing for a more seamless transition from planting to take off.   

Ride 5 on Left and Hoka on Right

Gel Nimbus on Left and Hoka on Right

Notice the larger footprint of the
Hoka over the Ride 5

Gel Nimbus footprint vs. Hoka

Notice the "Rockered" heel of the Hoka vs.
a more standard running shoe

I have now put some good runs in on these from a duathlon race to a 10K and my body doesn't feel as beat up as in the past.  I don't think they are any “faster” of a shoe than my previous ones but I did have a very good first run in my duathlon and PR’d.  I have no idea if the shoes helped or not.  If I have any criticism of the shoes I would say that my feet get a tad warmer in them but not much.  Overall I think this may be the future of running shoes.

Chris

Weight training day!

Love lifting days!  Chris had me do Chest and Biceps and I threw some side Kettle Balls in as well.  Strength is getting better.  I was able to do a third rep (struggled but did it!) at my max of 120 pounds on the Smith Machine Bench Press when last time I could only do 2.

Ann

Great couple days of workouts!

So Sunday we went to the gym.  I did some"speed work" on the treadmill.  I ran 2 miles and did it in 15:45 so I was happy I was able to get it down below 8 min per mile.  Even when I train outside I rarely do that speed!  Hopefully it's a start of a good thing.

Ann swam on Saturday, so she wanted to do some lifting.  I had her do chest and core.  She did an awesome job, benching over 120 pounds and was able to hit 135 pounds for one rep!  She also was able to go p in weight on Pec Deck and Cable Crossovers.  She finished up with a medicine ball bounce for 3 sets and 3 sets of Kettle ball swings!

First "Brick" of the year!

Decided to try my first "Brick workout of the year.  Started off on the treadmill and ran 2 miles at around 7 MPH or so and came out to 16:20 for a time.  Then jumped on the bike and kept in the 90 RPM range for 10 miles.  Of course I didn't want to end it there so I jumped back on the treadmill and ran another mile.  So in effect I guess I did a super sprint Duathlon!  LOL!

Chris

Triathlon Endurance Training

My endurance for whatever reason is down from a few months ago so I've been trying to add more metabolic training to not only burn some fat but to build up endurance.  Yesterday I had a simple but effective workout:

10 minute cardio warm-up on the elliptical machine

5 sets of the following:

2 minutes boxing

1 min wall sit

30 seconds plank

30 seconds decline situps with medicine ball

On about set 4, I started to crash/bonk.  I took a short break then decided to push through.  Good and short workut that burns a lot of fat and helps with endurance.   

Ann

Chest Workout Day!

Had a great chest workout today! Since Chris's rotator cuff surgery, I can't do normal free bar bench presses, so I have to do them on the Smith Machine.  On my 4th set I was able to hit 120 pounds!  

Ann 

Swim Training

Had an opportunity to get to the pool to start training on my swim.  It's only been the second time I've been in a pool since September 1st so I felt the workout went pretty well considering.  I'm trying to get better form and become more streamline so if I have to do an event without a wetsuit I don't freak out.  After the holidays I will be hiring a swim coach to try and help me even more.  My goal is to get in the pool at least every other week if not every week.  The pool is about 30 min away which makes it difficult sometimes to get to.As you can see, my feet tend to go wide when I rotate and my arms are too wide through the stroke.

Ann