Saturday, December 14, 2013
Pesto Calzone!
Pesto calzone! Thin artisan crust. Inside is onion, tomato, garlic, feta cheese, parmesan, basil, and a little olive oil. on top of crust sprinkle a little Sun Dried Tomato Mrs. Dash and mozzarella then bake at 400 for 22 min. Yum!
Friday, December 6, 2013
Rehabing my Herniated Disc
Well, I'm about 6 weeks into my herniated disc problem. The disc is pressing on the nerve root coming out of my spine at L5/S1 that goes to the left side. My back hip area was hurting pretty good and after 2 rounds of predizone I honestly didn't see much difference. I have been doing cobra stretches which haven't helped much but I'm told they work to compress the disc back into the spine over time. Instead of prednizone which caused me some sleepless nights and irratibility I opted for a heavy round of Advil which seemed to work as well, if not a little better than the predizone. This past Tuesday I went in for an epidural shot of cortizone in my back. I will tell everyone right here and now that when it comes to needles I am a wuss! I was a little scared to do this but the doctors gave some IV to sedate me a little and before I knew it I was done! Over the past couple days my back has felt a little achy like when you do too much yard work but the nerve issue into my butt and leg is almost gone. I still get a numb feeling in my toe which I'm told is not a good thing. They want the numbness and pain to be moving up towards my back and out of my leg. Stay tuned.......
Chris
Chris
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
Down for the count......
Well, after having a back hip issue since mid Sept, a couple weeks ago it got worse. I went back into the doctor who ordered an MRI and the result is I have a disc herniation at L5. So now I'm on another dose of predisone and doing PT. He is being rather aggressive knowing I have some big plans for next tri season, so on Dec 3rd I am scheduled to have an epidural injection into the spine to help with inflamation. If all this doen't work then the last resort is surgery which I'm told only about 10% of the patients need but the way my luck has been going I'll be in that 10%. Not the way I envisioned my off season.
Chris
Chris
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
What a classy legend.....Craig Alexander's (Crowie) post interview from Kona 2013.
This guy shows what class act he is, as he talks about the possibility of being at the end of his career.
Sunday, October 13, 2013
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
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
Friday, September 20, 2013
Last Chance Tri - White Bear Lake, MN
Well, the season is closing fast but Ann and I wer able to find a tri relatively close to do. I have wanted to do a long distance/oly race all year but timing was bad. This was my last chance. I signed up for the long distance and Ann did the sprint distance. The long course a little shorter on the swim portion at 1/2 mile but the bike was a 27+ mile ride and the run was a 10K.
Stayed at the in-laws the night before which was about an hour and a half away from the event. Woke up that morning around 4AM and it was raining pretty good, uggggg. I had to battle the demons in my head that were telling me how easy it would be to go back to bed and forget it. Woke ann up and we got ready for the drive in the rain and dark. Brought oatmeal with us to eat in the car since the race didn't start until 8:45 for myself and a little after 9 for Ann. Left the house at a little after 5:30.
Got to the As we got closer, the rain ended....Horray! Got to the site and registered, got our numbers and proceeded to try and find a spot for our bikes. People were using way too much space to rack their bikes bt we were able to find a spot across from each other. We proceeded to get ready first me helping Ann get into her wetsuit and then vise verse. AsI put my suit tore around my forearm! NOT GOOD! It was about a 2 inch tear. I hoped it would last through the race. I haven't been too happy with this suit but I'll save that report for another time. We walked about 1/4 mile down to the start and did some warmups in the water.
Race start:
Swim - There was about 68 entries for the long course and 3 waves. I was in wave 2. The horn went off and I was off! I had a game plan this time.....don't go too hard out, stay a little to the outside to avoid contact. I had very little contact, maybe one or two people at first. The first buoy came up pretty fast. As I rounded the buoy my siting was off because the next buoy was at the next corner. They REALLY needed more buoys! I started to go too wide and at one point I stopped to see where I was and I went off course a good 75 feet or so too wide which wasted time. Got back on track,rounded the second buoy and sited for shore. they did have one of those huge, tall yellow blown men with arms at shore which made it much easier to site. I got seemed like I was making time and the next thing I knew my hand hit sand. As I stood up I looked at the watch, a tad over 20 min. Damn! If I didn't go off course I could have came in under 20 which for me would have been good! The run up to T1 was muddy and slippery. Time: 20:26
T1 - Had what I thought was a decent T1 time. Got a little fuzzy with getting the helmet on but overall went well. Time 1:48
Bike - Here's where I thought I would do quite well. The Bike is my strongest of the three events ( again, not saying much...LOL!) The game plan was to go easy the first 8 miles or so because there was a good headwind out of the NorthEast. I took off and for whatever reason couldn't get my dang foot into the shoe! At one point I started to slow down and I had to peddle only to have the shoe hit the pavement. I almost had to stop but recovered and went on. I was right....STRONG headwind. I hunkered down and when I looked at the speedo it read 17MPH a lot. I had some people pass me but not many. As I rounded pass mile 8 I felt it change to a cross wind. Around mile 11 I got the tail wind and took off! Over the next 5 to 8 miles I was well over 20MPH and often in the 24 to 26 range. Hydration was going well taking in fluids when needed. Around mile 22 the roads turned to complete CRAP! Potholes, seems with tar coming out, even a dead porcupine in one of the potholes! I thought I flatted twice during this 4 mile stretch but thankfully I didn't. As I got closer to town the traffic got bad. About a 1/2 mile to 1 mile out the police had traffic stopped and you had to ride i the bike lane and couldn't pass anyone. Came into transition and looked at the speedo. I think it read about 18.5 average. Time per event said like 17.9. Total bike time 1:30:12
T2 - Pretty good T2. Racked the bike, at down to put shoes on. Had a little problem loading gels in the back pocket. Time 1:51
Run - I was hoping I didn't go too hard on the bike and blow my run up. Starting out I felt pretty good but quickly notices my lower quads were cramping up a bit. I had a goal of keeping my pace at about a 9:30 mile or less. Around mile 1 I met up with Ann. I stopped for a couple seconds to wish herluck and ask how her IT band was feeling. We kisses and as I strted to run off someone from behind joked "None of that on the course now!" We laughed and I yelled back "I have no clue who she is, I just met her!" That got some laughs.....The quad cramps were holding in check but I still needed to be careful. The course was motly paved but there was a small stretch of city sidewalk with recessed driveways and curb you had to watch out for. Seemed like the turnaround took forever! Trying to be proactive I sucked down a gel packet at the turnaround to prevent a bonk. Around mile 5.5 my heel started to feel "hot" or maybe like I had a blister forming. I stopped and took my how off which helped. Finally saw the finish line and there was Ann video taping me as I came in! Time: 59:41, pace 9:37
I had two sets of goals.....My pie in the sky time (around 2:35 and the "I really suck" time that I wanted to be under 2:58). I finished in 2:53:55 so no, not great but stil 4+ minutes under my bottom threshold. For my first long course race I will take it! Ann had a good race too finishing in 2:01:16! I NEEDED this race badly. I had 2 so-so sprint races this year and one good one. I needed to do a long course to see where I am and to know what I need to do for next year as I shoot for a HIM. I NEEDED to have agood race to finish off the year on a high note and I think I accomplished that.
Chris
Stayed at the in-laws the night before which was about an hour and a half away from the event. Woke up that morning around 4AM and it was raining pretty good, uggggg. I had to battle the demons in my head that were telling me how easy it would be to go back to bed and forget it. Woke ann up and we got ready for the drive in the rain and dark. Brought oatmeal with us to eat in the car since the race didn't start until 8:45 for myself and a little after 9 for Ann. Left the house at a little after 5:30.
Got to the As we got closer, the rain ended....Horray! Got to the site and registered, got our numbers and proceeded to try and find a spot for our bikes. People were using way too much space to rack their bikes bt we were able to find a spot across from each other. We proceeded to get ready first me helping Ann get into her wetsuit and then vise verse. AsI put my suit tore around my forearm! NOT GOOD! It was about a 2 inch tear. I hoped it would last through the race. I haven't been too happy with this suit but I'll save that report for another time. We walked about 1/4 mile down to the start and did some warmups in the water.
Race start:
Swim - There was about 68 entries for the long course and 3 waves. I was in wave 2. The horn went off and I was off! I had a game plan this time.....don't go too hard out, stay a little to the outside to avoid contact. I had very little contact, maybe one or two people at first. The first buoy came up pretty fast. As I rounded the buoy my siting was off because the next buoy was at the next corner. They REALLY needed more buoys! I started to go too wide and at one point I stopped to see where I was and I went off course a good 75 feet or so too wide which wasted time. Got back on track,rounded the second buoy and sited for shore. they did have one of those huge, tall yellow blown men with arms at shore which made it much easier to site. I got seemed like I was making time and the next thing I knew my hand hit sand. As I stood up I looked at the watch, a tad over 20 min. Damn! If I didn't go off course I could have came in under 20 which for me would have been good! The run up to T1 was muddy and slippery. Time: 20:26
T1 - Had what I thought was a decent T1 time. Got a little fuzzy with getting the helmet on but overall went well. Time 1:48
Bike - Here's where I thought I would do quite well. The Bike is my strongest of the three events ( again, not saying much...LOL!) The game plan was to go easy the first 8 miles or so because there was a good headwind out of the NorthEast. I took off and for whatever reason couldn't get my dang foot into the shoe! At one point I started to slow down and I had to peddle only to have the shoe hit the pavement. I almost had to stop but recovered and went on. I was right....STRONG headwind. I hunkered down and when I looked at the speedo it read 17MPH a lot. I had some people pass me but not many. As I rounded pass mile 8 I felt it change to a cross wind. Around mile 11 I got the tail wind and took off! Over the next 5 to 8 miles I was well over 20MPH and often in the 24 to 26 range. Hydration was going well taking in fluids when needed. Around mile 22 the roads turned to complete CRAP! Potholes, seems with tar coming out, even a dead porcupine in one of the potholes! I thought I flatted twice during this 4 mile stretch but thankfully I didn't. As I got closer to town the traffic got bad. About a 1/2 mile to 1 mile out the police had traffic stopped and you had to ride i the bike lane and couldn't pass anyone. Came into transition and looked at the speedo. I think it read about 18.5 average. Time per event said like 17.9. Total bike time 1:30:12
T2 - Pretty good T2. Racked the bike, at down to put shoes on. Had a little problem loading gels in the back pocket. Time 1:51
Run - I was hoping I didn't go too hard on the bike and blow my run up. Starting out I felt pretty good but quickly notices my lower quads were cramping up a bit. I had a goal of keeping my pace at about a 9:30 mile or less. Around mile 1 I met up with Ann. I stopped for a couple seconds to wish herluck and ask how her IT band was feeling. We kisses and as I strted to run off someone from behind joked "None of that on the course now!" We laughed and I yelled back "I have no clue who she is, I just met her!" That got some laughs.....The quad cramps were holding in check but I still needed to be careful. The course was motly paved but there was a small stretch of city sidewalk with recessed driveways and curb you had to watch out for. Seemed like the turnaround took forever! Trying to be proactive I sucked down a gel packet at the turnaround to prevent a bonk. Around mile 5.5 my heel started to feel "hot" or maybe like I had a blister forming. I stopped and took my how off which helped. Finally saw the finish line and there was Ann video taping me as I came in! Time: 59:41, pace 9:37
I had two sets of goals.....My pie in the sky time (around 2:35 and the "I really suck" time that I wanted to be under 2:58). I finished in 2:53:55 so no, not great but stil 4+ minutes under my bottom threshold. For my first long course race I will take it! Ann had a good race too finishing in 2:01:16! I NEEDED this race badly. I had 2 so-so sprint races this year and one good one. I needed to do a long course to see where I am and to know what I need to do for next year as I shoot for a HIM. I NEEDED to have agood race to finish off the year on a high note and I think I accomplished that.
Chris
Monday, September 2, 2013
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
Chris
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