Summer Roundup

I've been busy since my last post. Traveling, racing, training... all that good stuff. First up was Powerman Alabama where I was 10th. Still one of my favorite races around. Definitely enjoyed the new course at Oak Mountain State Park as well as the usual awesome Southern hospitality in Birmingham... but would have liked a better result.

Next was the first of the Mile High Duathlon Series, the Barkin Dog Duathlon. This sprint series has never been my forte, but still a fun day & fun workout. Had a solid effort and finished 4th. Pretty happy with that, especially considering I had so little high intensity training. The big goal for the Spring was the long distance American Zofingen Duathlon on the following weekend. AZ, as its known, is known as a brutally hard & hilly race in New Paltz, NY. This intersection of the Shawagunk & Catskill Mountains did not disappoint the "Hard & Hilly Course Department." My race there started out good, coming into transition in 4th, right behind the others. On to the bike, my luck changed for the worse. About 18miles in I ran over a screw and flatted. It was un-repairable. Needless to say, I was very disappointed to have that opportunity slip away. Just have to use that as motivation for the next one...

The Screw that got me at AZ

After a little mental break from the Spring racing, I was back in gear for my Fall goal race: Powerman Zofingen. Long & hilly training is the norm. Yet, my summer races were sprints again. First was the Big Sky Duathlon out in Bennett. My shortest multisport race of the season at 4km run/25km bike/4km run. It was rather uneventful other than the weather (about 50degrees & raining, a deluge at times). I didn't have a stellar result (7th Elite), but this is not what I'm training for.

A cool & wet day in Bennett at the Big (wet) Sky Duathlon

Next was the last of the Mile High Series, the new Westside Duathlon in Arvada. The new course was great--several fun rolling hills on both run & bike. Hope they can have this same venue for next year. Here I was 8th Elite... good enough to get 4th overall in the series.


Inbetween all this has been some solid running & riding for Zofingen. Even jumped into a 10mile run for fun at the end of a very hard week of training--ran a 1:00:25, nothing earth shattering, but very good in the big picture. Definitely in my best hill climbing shape. My farmer tan is probably the darkest ever, and I'm wearing SPF70 these days! So the work has been done... just have to go take advantage of it. 13 days to go!

Learning

I've always enjoyed learning new things. I was reminded why I'm like this recently with a trip to Georgia to visit my family. I have an awesome grandmother that is 88 years old and still super sharp. She is still active and in great physical shape--walking a few miles almost every day. Whats really amazing is how dang smart she is. She got her Master's degree in 1948. She reads the newspaper daily, as well as all sorts of books all the time. She's a killer crossword puzzle solver. Without a doubt, a razor sharp mind and body that is truly amazing and inspiring.

So that I can keep up with my Grandma, I'm learning some new stuff myself. For starters, I got an acoustic guitar for Christmas (thanks Mom!). I've always wanted to learn to play--no time like the present! Despite a severe lack of musical talent, I can now play a few song intros that actually resemble what the artist wrote! Its definitely a challenge learning this new 'language' and especially the specific finger coordination. I doubt I'll ever master it, but looking forward to learning a good bit on it.

I'm also learning to ride a unicycle. Always wanted to learn, so I'm playing around on it this winter. Not going nearly as well as the guitar... but I did ride it 30 feet last night... so there is some hope.

Probably the biggest thing I'm learning is how to run. Yes, I'm totally changing my run form. With major help from my new coach, I'm working hard to improve my run speed. Right now, I'm early in the transformation, but making progress. Hopefully we'll see the results come in 2010 and beyond.

So, cheers to learning and a great 2010!