Reeeeeeeeeeally Cool, If You're a Poly Sci/Stats Geek

It is political season now (is it ever not?), and I just found a really cool sight that tracks polls nationwide better than any I have found. The site http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/ provides a daily update of the weighted likelihood of a candidate winning. The vast amount of data with charts and graphs provides a great window into the future.

Ironman Videos

Here are two video series on YouTube that I think are the best. The first, Becoming an Ironman, is a great series. The entire video, all the parts, are about an hour or so, but watching it is well worth it. This is the best example I've found at to what it is like to compete in Ironman Wisconsin. The second is a great preview of the course, although the course this year is a bit different. Stu mounted a camera on his car and drove the course. This is a great method because it allows the viewer to watch the road and see how it pitches up and down, it really gives you a perfect idea of how steep each hill is.

Becoming an Ironman:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6 (1)
Part 6 (2)
Part 7 (1)
Part 7 (2)
Part 8
Part 9
Part 10

SimplyStu:
Swim
Bike
Run

...And Again

I'm doing Ironman again next year. This morning I got in line early at the Monona Terrace in a special line for people who volunteered during the weekend who wanted to race next year. The athletes who raced this year were able to sign up Saturday, next came the volunteers, non-volunteers signing up in person, and people signing up online. When I got to the Terrace, there was a long line, which was very disappointing, but by the time I we went in, the line more than doubled (both lines were approximately the same length). Fortunately all volunteers and non-volunteers were able to sign up, to my knowledge, because my cousin Mark Rickbeil was able to sign up online today. Mark called Kathryn yesterday asking how I was doing, assuming I was racing this year. I told him I wasn't and he told me that he wanted to sign up for next year. I suggested he try to find a fast computer and internet connection just in case there were only a few slots available online. So now the two of us are signed up to race next year, Sunday, September 13, 2009. Hopefully some cousins, spouses and kids will also be able to make the trip. We'll update you with t-shirt information when it becomes available.

Mountain Biking for 24 Hours

...because 23 hours just isn't enough.

I'm doing a 24 hour mountain bike race this weekend with my friends Jake Valentine, Eric Rowe, and a guy Jake works with. We're each going to ride two hours, and then be off for six to eight, so it shouldn't be too bad. It will be enough time to refuel and rehydrate. The temperature and humidity should be high, but it is in north-central Wisconsin so it should be a bit cooler. Check back next week for the update and pictures.

My Girlfriend's Back, But Now She Isn't

So my girlfriend Kathryn is now back from her clinical internship, but now she isn't. Yes, for those of you who had Kathryn and I in various engagement pools, congratulations, don't forget to share your winnings with us.

This past weekend, I was up in Duluth to run Grandma's Marathon (posting on that later). After weeks of ring shopping, going to ten places and looking at a thousand band/stone combinations, I finally found a ring that would be perfect for my girl. Friday, we went up to Gooseberry Falls State Park for a picnic. When we got there, it was warm and sunny, perfect picnic weather. After scouting the area, we found a great spot to sit, but as soon as we got back to the car, it poured rain for fifteen minutes. After the rain let up, we went for a walk along the Lake Superior in the bright sunshine...bright sunshine which was perfect for seeing all the facets of a sparkley engagement ring! Yes, I got down on one knee, told her how important she is to me and asked her to spend the rest of her life with me. She said 'Yes'.

Now, we are looking forward to planning our wedding and the rest of our lives together!


A picture of her ring.

This Puts Cricket to Shame

I've gone to the girl's state softball tournament for several years, so I am used to rain delays, but this year was the worst. Verona was scheduled to play the third game of the day at 1:30, but with rain overnight and in the morning, Verona was rescheduled to 4:00 but didn't start until 5:45. I was able to get off the afternoon through the benevolence of my boss. Even though I knew that the Verona game wouldn't start as scheduled, I was mentally ready to check out at noon, so trying to stay later would have been tough mentally. I ran a few errands, and they headed over to the field to meet my Dad. The stadium should be cleared out after each session (two games), but they didn't, so I watched most of the previous game too.

Verona was scheduled to play a tough Middleton, a local rival. Verona was only able to manage one run in the bottom of the first inning, but that was enough to beat Middleton. The pitcher, Bev Nordin, was able to continue a strong Verona tradition of great pitchers as she struck out eight with a combination of speed and a very slow change-up.

After the Verona game, we watched a few innings of the next game and walked over to the Blue Moon bar for a burger. The food was great there, as usual, and we headed back to the stadium we caught the last inning and saw Heartland Arrowhead win, our next opponent. We watch the other semifinal game, which Steven's Point won to stay undefeated for the year, but Dad left early because he was thinking that Verona played the early semifinal game. He couldn't stay up for the Verona game because of work next day, so he left early, which was good, because the Verona game didn't start until 10:40 pm.

I decided stick it out, I'd been there for a few hours anyway and I didn't have anything better to do, so I settled in for the first multi-day softball game (more about that to follow).

It was a tale of two games. I don't necessarily believe in the 'witching hour', but something strange happened to both teams. Arrowhead looked (I can't think of a more kind way to say this) terrible in warm ups, and this terrible play continued in the first few innings. The pitcher couldn't find the strike zone and when she did her pitches were easy to hit, the fielding was poor, the catching was a joke, the throwing was weak and off target, and the errors were numerous because of all this. Verona managed four runs in 2 1/3 and Arrowhead none, before Arrowhead's starting pitcher was pulled. After that, Verona only scored two more runs, and Arrowhead scored three, including one in the bottom of the seventh (the last inning in regulation softball) which made the game much more interesting. Verona was able to pull it out in the end and won with six runs on eleven hits and Arrowhead scored three runs on eight hits. The game finally ended at 12:30 in the morning.

Verona was scheduled to play SPASH (Steven's Point Area Senior High) later that day at 5:30, but the way the weekend went, I really wasn't sure. Sure enough, the morning was fine, but the afternoon games were postponed. I went early to Watch the D-2 championship game, assuming that I could buy a two-game session ticket. For the championship, you could only buy single game tickets, so I again went to the Blue Moon and caught the end of the game.

The Verona game started at 8:30, right on time again, and both teams looked good with both pitchers looking exceptional as usual. SPASH was undefeated and looked good with three hits, but managed no runs. Verona had a hit but no runs. In the second, it started raining and by the end it was pouring. I headed to the parking garage next door (very nice) and waited half an hour before I decided to drive away. Just as I did, I noticed the rain had stopped, so I put on my rain pants and jacket and headed in. Just as I got into the stadium again, they announced that the game would be postponed two days and resume Monday noon! Monday was very rainy so the game started Tuesday. SPASH scored right away when play resumed. Verona was only able to manage one run, and that was in the bottom of the seventh, and left a runner on third to end the game.

Even though they lost (again for the third time to SPASH in the championship game), this was the best Verona had ever played in the final...and they were so close to winning. Eight straight to state, and to championship...yet.

I Am Officially Caucasian

I found this funny site Stuff White People Like that describes me and most of my friends. I wasn't sure before this, but I guess I am white, and according to this, very white. What are some of the things I do that make me white? Rugby (check), bicycling (check), wine (check), outdoor performance clothes (check), public radio (check), study abroad (check), micro brews (double-check).

Guess I'm white. Who knew?

Running 26.2...Because 26 Miles Just Isn't Enough

Why do I run 26.2 miles? Because 26 miles just isn't enough.

I ran the Madison Marathon because I've done it every year to train for the Ironman, but this year, I'm trying to qualify for the Boston Marathon. I need to run a 3:10 marathon, about 7:15 per mile pace. Leading up to the marathon, I had no idea how I would do. I had run the Mad City 100k six weeks prior, so most of the time in between was devoted to recovering and a short build before tapering again. Since I didn't do much long or intense running, my legs generally felt a bit dead most of the time. I was just hoping that I would find my legs for the race, or they would find me.

My warm-up and stretch before the race felt alright, nothing special but my legs didn't feel too dead. When I lined up for the race in the second row, I realized that this is where I should be lining up, I might be able to consider myself a runner. When the gun went off, we took off and I tried to stay within myself. When I checked my watch at mile 1, I realized that my conservative mile was actually a 6:40 mile, the fastest of the marathon. Knowing how easy this felt, it gave me a good feeling about my legs and the rest of the marathon.

The next few mile went well. I was trying to hold somewhere around a 7:15 mile, running anywhere from a 7:00 to a 7:20. I'm not to good at pacing myself, so I ended up running erratically in terms of pace. After mile 5, we turned south and started through the rolling hills of Madison for the rest of the marathon. For the rest of the marathon, some of my fastest miles were the hilly, uphill miles. I guess I was able to use my power to go uphill, but running on the flats was less comfortable. I chatted occasionally with other runners and tried to maintain my pace. After the halfway turn, we headed south and were hit with a strong headwind. A few other runners ahead of me merged into a pace line (I thought that was only for cyclists and elite runners). It was nice to be at the back so I was able to save some of my energy for a few blocks. The next few miles we pretty uneventful, even the long two-mile climb up Monroe St. With my climbing power, I was actually able to handle it quite well.

Around mile 19, in the UW Arboretum, my feet really started to hurt. In the previous two months, I had developed blisters with the shoes I usually use for distance events. Those shoes had never given me problems before and had always worked well for longer distances because of the good cushioning. The pair I used for the marathon was familiar to me, but had less cushioning. I really noticed this. The bottoms of my feet began to ache and my pace slowed considerably. I went from running 7:00-7:20 to running 8:00-10:00 (including some walk breaks). Eventually by mile 24, I decided that going slower was going to make me stay on the course even longer, so I would just have to gut it out. Once I started running at a pace closer to my race pace, my feet didn't quite feel so bad. I wouldn't have been able to keep that pace, but it was good to know that I didn't have to slow again.

I finished the marathon in 3:18:47, 79 overall, and 15 in my age. It was a personal best for me, but slower than my pace for most of it and slower than I wanted to run. I was hoping to run nine minutes faster than last year, but I was only fifteen seconds faster. My finish was disappointing, but I was pleased that I could comfortably run at my goal pace. Since the race, I have run with a newer two-pair rotation of shoes with better cushioning, so I am hoping for better. I'll let you know how Grandma's Marathon is, June 21.

Back on Form

My next cycling race went much better. I rode my bike to work four days in a row before the race so I was able to tighten up my muscles and lose a bit of weight. Going into the race, I felt like I had good form and that I could be much more of a factor. The race was an eleven mile loop with a long two mile climb two miles into the race. This is the type of race that works very well for me.

I lined up in the front to I could be one of the first to the hill and I could tuck under the shoulder of the riders on my left. There were some difficult winds blowing in our faces along the start/finish, and a bit before and after. The first two miles to the hill where open and allowed the wind to sweep quickly from our left. The first time up the hill, my legs felt good, a bit sluggish, but without any fatigue the first time up the hill. Our group dropped a few riders, but the lead stayed in tact without too much effort. The rest of the loop was just a tour around the country side. Second time, I wanted to have a more even pace, rather than the yo-yo riding of acceleration and deceleration of the first climb, so I moved to the front of the peloton and spun up the hill smoothly with some other riders moved past. My smooth climbing quickly subdued the other riders and no one launched off the front. After the top of the climb, our group was lighter, but still strong. At the top, a rider took off and put in a good solo effort. I monitored his progress and decided that a good chase was not needed since he still had another thirty miles to ride on his own until the finish. I thought this would be helpful to tire the rider while a group of ten rode together behind him. The third climb broke up the group a little more. The group split into several groups of two to three by the top. Three of these groups came together after the top into a chasing group of seven. At the end of the third loop, we caught the breakaway rider. We was in good spirits. He talked that he thought he could get away with the good lead he had, but we closed the gap quickly as he tired a bit. Going into the final climb, we were eight strong. By the top, we were ones and twos. I reached the top alone and just behind my Brone's Bike Shop teammate Garrett Ping. We quickly teamed up and worked together to catch another rider ahead and tried to catch the two riders in the lead. We managed to catch the lone rider ahead, but could not catch the other two, which included the rider who broke away (so much for my strategy). Coming into the finish, we were playing cat and mouse, trying to sprint away from the others without another rider ending up on our wheel. I finally made a jump near the end to cross in third, but because I crossed over the yellow line (due to an incomplete understanding of the rules), I was relegated to fifth, slightly disappointed, but please with my overall finish (and in the money).

I was a good race. All the long climbing suited my abilities well, and I feel like I am back on form. The rest of my cycling summer should work out well.

First Cycling Race of the Season

Sorry for not writing sooner, it seems to be a bad habit of which I find myself.

The first cycling race of the year for me was Saturday May 3rd. The course west of Baraboo was one familiar to me having done it last year. This year, the morning started cool and rainy, for which I planned, but the weather at the race was a few degrees cooler than expected so I did not bring enough gear for rain and cold. I was lucky to know other cyclists with whom I raced with the now defult Atkins' cycling team. My old teammate Brian was nice enough to lend me show covers and long-fingered gloves, a real life saver.

I arrived at the start line hoping I could do some damage with my fellow teammates, the brothers Ping. This is a slight exaggeration since my winter and spring have been dedicated to running and less of cycling. I was hoping to rely on my climbing ability to ride over the two hills three times each during the 39 miles. The ride out to the first hill was uneventful as I stayed near the front and tucked behind the other riders. The first hill stretched out the field a bit. I noticed one of the Ping boys had drifted off the back, so I dropped back a bit to try to help him catch back on. After a few minutes, I realized that he just didn't have the legs and that I needed to get back into the peloton so I wouldn't be dropped too. The rest of the first lap was uneventful withe the second hill stretching the group and dropping a few more. Second lap, I found myself drifting back going up the climbs only to regain the group on the flats. My lack of cycling was really showing. Third lap, I lost contact with the group at the top of the first climb and had to work with a four other riders to get back to the group. We almost made it back by the second hill, but we were just short. The group was fractured again and I spent the last few miles trying furiously to get back to the group against a vicious head wind. I ended up pedaling to the finish on my own, passing one rider on the decent to come in ninth.

At the end of the race, the sun was out, the tempurture had warmed into the 50s, and I had no more energy. It was a good time to drive back to Madison and stop a Culver's for some supper. The nice thing about being moved up to a Category 3 is that most of the races are in the afternoon rather than early morning. This means I can sleep in and race during the warmest part of the day. It does take up the whole day, though, but I could think of worse ways to spend a Saturday.

The Case (Actually a Keg) of the Missing Beer

Last Friday, Kathryn and 80 other PTers (physical therapy grad students) and hangers-on journeyed to Milwaukee to watch the Brewer's at Miller Park. They took two buses to haul all of the 80 people and tailgating stuff. I was apparently the only one who had to work (and Tony too) so we left work early and he rode with me to Miller Park. Since they weren't allowed to bring kegs on the bus (pressurized stuff apparently isn't allowed), I picked up two kegs and brought them with me. That afternoon, it looked like showers were possible, so I brought my rain coat, pants and boots for the game (anyone who has been with me on a Concordia cycling trip knows that I always make sure I am prepared).

When we got to the parking lot (parked in the bus lot without paying because the lot attendant said we could even though we just planned to drop off the kegs), it was windy as all hell, but the third keg had been tapped already, so no one seemed to care. I hung around the buses, held Kathryn so she wouldn't blow over, and talked with other people I knew. Other people were impressed by my meat...I guess when you have a real job, you can afford to buy chicken and steak for grilling. Just before the game started, holy hell was unleashed from the skies...basically, it was really raining. I hopped in my car and changed into my rain pants and hiking boots (which I had just waterproofed) so we could get into the game without missing a pitch. I think I was the only one that actually came to watch a baseball game. The game was good, we got the lead runner on a few times, but neither team scored through nine innings. So, we got free baseball, yeah! In the top of the tenth, the Marlins scored three, the Brewers couldn't answer, so that was...ballgame.

When we came back out after the game, one of the kegs was missing and the tap too. Though the details are sketchy with everyone trying to get on the bus with all the stuff once it started raining, it sounds like the keg was put onto the bus and it was locked during the game. It sounds like another group had it on their bus. It sounds like we might get the keg back, sans beer, but everything is still confusing.

Stay tuned for pictures.

Why Do I Run?

I've often been asked by my cycling friends why I run. To tell you the truth, I really don't like running. Some people run because it clears their mind, gives them a zen feeling, or something else like that, but I've never found my 'happy place' when running. I just run for a quick way to stay in shape and train for Ironman. I guess I do it for the 'I can do this and you can't' bad-ass feeling from running a marathon, ultra or Ironman. I guess until I can find a better reason to not run, I'll keep doing it.

I Am Now an Ultra-Marathoner

Well, at this point I'm recovering sufficiently to be able to type...a bit of drama, but my legs were really sore the next day.

The day started off with temperatures in the thirties and snow flurries, which I don't know how it could snow and be above 32, but that is a different blog entry...see 'The Crazy 2007-2008 Effed-up Madison Winter', to be posted. The week before I swore off junk and tried to drink as much water as possible, but it really wouldn't be too helpful. With the temperature at an odd degree, I was not sure how warmly to dress, with the cold and wind. The day before, I purchased a clear running/riding raincoat to keep on for the first lap until I warmed up...which only took a mile. So, I ended up wearing a vinyl raincoat with minimal ventilation for the first loop because I didn't want to ditch it somewhere and loose it. So I ended up getting sweaty instead and dehydrating myself much earlier than needed.

I never felt like I was really going that fast, I felt like I was running efficiently within myself, but looking at my pace, I needed to listen to my head more than to my body. My first lap went well, I ran 49:15, 7:56 pace. I grabbed Gu and took off again for another loop. My second was even faster, a 47:05 loop for a 7:34 pace. My third was a bit slower, 50:29 and 8:08 pace, but I stopped to use the bathroom for a bit, so it was probably just about as fast as the second. My fourth was 50:54 for 8:12 pace. At this point, my stride that was easy and efficient for the first four loops because labored an fatigued. I had to stop, stretch my legs and shake them out to try to keep my legs from shutting down completely. It helped the first time or two, but after I left the 6km aid station, my legs were almost completely shot. My hands were freezing running back along the lake with a north wind coming across the lake with no wind break. At the end of the fifth lap, I was questioning whether it was worth continuing. I had only decided to do this on a whim. I thought running 62.1 miles would be an interesting proposition. My goal this year is to qualify for the 2009 Boston Marathon at Madison in six weeks or Duluth in ten. Rather than continuing another five, six, seven, eight hours or more, I decided that sounded like an extremely dumb way to spend a Saturday, so I decided to shut it down. After questioning Kathryn if it is worth it, I ran across the timing mat to complete my fifth loop and notified the race director that I was dropping out. The jog across the mat was enough to know that it would have been a long second 31 miles.

So what did I learn? Running 100km is a long race and you really should train for it, rather than deciding to run it three weeks before the race. It is also best to run a conservative pace even if you are feeling pretty good. If I can qualify for Boston this year, I will run Boston next year and run the 100k the following year. I ended up finishing the 50k in 4:21, a 8:25 pace, with the stopping at the end trying to decide if I would continue. It didn't seem like a long race to me actually because I was able to get back to the start/finish line every fifty minutes. It felt like a criterium to me, though the laps were a little longer. I did enjoy it in the end and will do it again. I still can say though, that I am an ultra runner after completing a 50k. It just wasn't the 100k I had planned.

Go here for the results.

Photos to follow.

Go Brewers...

...where our magic number to clinch a spot in the playoffs is 140!

It is too difficult to keep up with the Brewer's magic number every day, so instead, I recommend the UC Berkeley's RIOT baseball website. Click on the American League and National League icons to see the magic numbers for each league. The website is automatically updated every morning, so the information is always accurate.

RIOT (Remote Interactive Optimization Testbed) is a website that has solutions to many optimization problems, basically 'What is the best way to solve Question/Problem A? What solution to Question/Problem A gives us the greatest return/result?'. It's a computer science/mathematics thing, if you don't get it, you don't get it. I can only do so much.

Go Brewers/Twins!

Mad City 100k

For whatever reason (mainly to do something else bad-ass), I've officially signed up for the USTF 100k Road Racing National Championships, aka the Mad City 100k. I'll do the solo race, running all ten loops of the UW Arboretum 10k loop by myself, 62.1 miles in total, on Saturday, April 12th. The race starts at 6:30a and I should get done around 3:00 or 4:00p. I'll post again after the race to let you know how it went...if I didn't die. You can visit the Results website during the race to view my pace and progress, and read the live race blog.

Happy Birthday To Me!!!

Haven't written anything in a month, but nothing new has happened of note, so don't get on my case. A daily post saying 'I did noting today' would be pretty lame.

So, I now have a little time to write, I'll let you know what I did for my birthday. Last year, I had a big celebration, going out with friends for supper, then the Comedy Club and out more later that night. After planning something that involved last year, I didn't really feel like planning as much this year. I still had a busy day, it was long and tiring, but it was more low key.

I'm training to run the US Track & Field 100k National Championships, see next post, so I used the day to train. I ran twelve miles in the morning, refereed three soccer matches, and ran fourteen more miles with my friend Andrea. My twelve in the morning were pretty easy. I went at an easy pace and felt pretty good, but I somehow got a very large blister. I've never got a blister before, and the shoes and socks are ones I've had for a while and are broken in, so there should have been no reason. I popped the blister before soccer and bandaged it for soccer and my afternoon run. My afternoon went less-well, but the blister wasn't a problem. I was later than the time I planned to meet Andrea. I was planning to run some loops of the UW Arboritum, the course for the 100k. I was going to be late to meet Andrea, so I ran the first loop by myself at a pretty fast pace, grabbed a swig of water, and then took off with her at a slower pace. By then, my legs were feeling a bit sluggish, but still good. By the end of our run, I was 'bonking' pretty hard. That means that my glycogen (sugar) stores in my body were completely depleted and I had no more energy. When that happened, I got the chills, my head started to get a bit foggy, I got dizzy and was in pretty bad shape. I walked a little bit to allow my body to catch up a bit and I consumed some food and drink once I got back to the car. In a minute or two I was feeling much better.

After the physical part of my day, Kathryn and I met my parents and my friend Sarah at the Great Dane downtown for supper. The place was packed because it was a Saturday night and the Badger men's hockey team played that night. It was fun to catch up with Sarah since I hadn't seen her for a while.

Happy Birthday D O!!!

Yesterday was my dad's 60th birthday, a culmination of a weekend of fun with family and friends. Friday, my mom's sister and husband arrived in Madison for the weekend. Since two of their kids (Dan and Anne) went to Mankato State and Anne played hockey for them, going to the Kohl Center to watch the MSU women take on our beloved and two-time, back-to-back national champion Wisconsin Badgers in the great and glorious game of hockey seemed like a good idea. We went to the game which Wisconsin won 4-2 (and the UW won 5-0 Sat. to sweep MSU and move on in the WCHA playoffs) and then to Dottie's for a burger after. Saturday, Dick and Judy (mom's sister and husband) and my parent's friends Allen and Lollie came over to my house to see it. They were very impressed by the house and enjoyed the tour. Saturday night, we celebrated dad's birthday with fifty of his closest friends at The Stable at Quivey's Grove in Verona. It was fun to see many of my parent's friends, most of which I hadn't seen since my brother's wedding.



Dad, Jake and me



Jonathan, ex-neighbors Tom and Linda (also great volunteers in the IM medical tent), Jake's parents Jake and Carrie, and Jake.



Jonathan, Megan and Kathryn



Singing and drinking in a barn. Does it get more Wisconsin than this? (The correct answer is 'No'.)

Sunday, I again, with Kathryn, met my parents, aunt and uncle, and Allen and Lollie for brunch at Cafe Continental. It was the first time I'd been there and I was really impressed. Good and interesting food. Sunday evening, Kathryn and I met my friends Chris and Jen for supper at Chili's. We see them often at Chris and my weekly soccer match, but we haven't done anything together. It was nice to see them, but all of our lives are pretty boring and we seen them often, so we didn't talk about much new. Just catching up on how their 14-month daughter Hanna is progressing.

That's it for now. Still running for the Mad City Marathon and Grandma's Marathon, and training for my next Ironman Wisconsin, September 6th, 2009.

Oh, and for those of you wanted to see the fabled UND-MSU women's hockey fight, here it is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZAehXzjG0w. YouTube has confirmed my thoughts that UND are just a bunch of goons...and the women's team is just goons with ponytails. Check out some of the other YouTube UND hockey videos. There is a UND-Gopher and UND-Badger men's fight from this year, and an old-school UND-UW hockey fight from the 80s that spills out into the tunnel and the beer garden. 'Honey, I went to the beer garden and a hockey fight broke out.' Kind of a new play on the old adage, 'I went to a fight and a hockey game broke out.'

You Know I Would

What would be a perfect storm for someone who likes (really) cold weather, (lots of) snow, endurance sports and is able to run?

http://www.arrowheadultra.com/index.html

It would be a lot less taxing on friends and family than RAAM (http://www.raceacrossamerica.org/). At least I could just go up there by myself for the weekend.

...I'm not saying, I'm just saying.

More Snow (...and you expected something else?)

UPDATE:
As of 2/21/08, we currently have 83.7 inches of snow for the season, which broke the old record of 76.1 by a good amount, and we still have much more winter to go. I figure, if we break it, we might as well smash it. I'm hoping for 100 inches by the end of it. Don't mind me, I'm just nuts.

Sunday had the potential to be epic, and it was, but not in the way I was expecting. We were forecast to get 5-9 inches of snow. Big deal. This winter we broke the old seasonal snowfall record total of 76.1 inches. Right now, we have over 80 inches of snow and it is only mid-February. There is a good chance we could get to 100 without much effort. Sunday, it began raining at 1:00am and continued for twelve hours. At first the rain fell and froze on the roads, but then as more rain fell, it melted the ice and produced huge puddles since the water couldn't drain with all the ice and snow. Finally it started snowing around 1:00pm and continued most of the night. We only received a few inches of accumulation, but the snow on top of the water and ice shut down the whole city. This morning when I awoke, we had a new band of snow...no surprise this winter. It snowed a little today. Tonight, I'll scrape off the driveway and hopefully get all the ice the accumulated yesterday. I used the snowblower yesterday to removed the top few inches of snow and then I was planning on scraping the ice tonight. But, there's more snow, so I'll have to shovel that too.

All this weather comes as I'm trying to start my marathon training program. I've put in all the required miles for the schedule, but yesterday was absurd, so that eight-mile run will be moved to today. I don't know if that will be outside or inside, with the conditions still probably slick and the temperature dropping to the low single digits. Inside it is.

...regardless of conditions, it's still better than 40 with grass showing. That's not winter, it's hell.

The Official Start of Ironman Wisconsin 2009 Training

It begins. We are 'T minus' one year, six months, three weeks, four days, twenty-two hours and counting away from Ironman Wisconsin 2009, September 6th, 2009. Today I start my Mad City Marathon training program from Fleet Feet in Madison, WI (a very good running store and a recommended stop). This training program will hopefully help me to break three hours, ten minutes to qualify me for the 2009 Boston Marathon. My best marathon was 3:19 last year (7:35 minute/mile pace), so a 3:10 marathon (7:15 pace) is certainly within the realm of possibility. Stop back often to see how my training and racing is progressing.

Happy Birthday K-Steph

Today, my wonderful mother Krista celebrates her birthday. I won't say exactly how old she is, but she's in her AARP years and doesn't look a day over 40. Right now, she's in a holding pattern until she can retire and really live it up. After several snow days and late starts the past few weeks, I think she's in retirement mode already, or at least practice mode. My dad has been practicing retirement often. He says it's because he's accumulated so many vacation days (thirty years working for the federal government will do that do a guy), but we know he's just practicing. I think mom's getting the hang of it, but don't get too comfortable yet, you're not there quite yet. Happy Birthday.

Snow!!!

Tuesday/Wednesday we had the second-largest snowfall amount ever in Madison. We officially had 13.3 inches of snow Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday evening. Most schools were closed around Madison and Milwaukee. Madison closed for the second time in as many weeks and has only closed three times in the past seventeen years. We only received an inch Tuesday, but the snow started again Wednesday morning around 8:00a and continued through the day until the evening and included wind and accumulations of two to three inches an hour. When I got home, I brought my nine horsepower, two stage, six forward speeds, two reverse speeds, power steering, 30 inch wide by 24 inch high clearance snowblower and cleaned of the 12 - 24 inches in my driveway in about fifteen minutes. That wasn't quite enough, so I cleared off the sidewalk in front of my two neighbors on each side and two of their driveways as well. When you have a cool toy, every boy just wants to play with it as much as possible. Boys will be boys.

Right now, we are only .7 of an inch away from a new snowfall record for a season. We already set a new record for the month of December, and the total season snowfall looks like it should fall tomorrow. We are forecast to receive 3 - 5 inches of snow from Monday afternoon to Tuesday morning. This is the coldest, snowiest winter we've ever had...and I love it.

PTs Everywhere

Last Saturday, to welcome the 'Nebraska Girls' (Ashley and Sara) to Wisconsin and introduce them to some of the UW Physical Therapy students, Kathryn decided to host a dinner at my house for Ashley, Sara and her PT friends and their significant others. Jake spent all Saturday cooking the entire meal from scratch for all twelve, myself and Jake included. I was in charge of the cleaning before and after the meal and Kathryn was hostess. The guests arrived around 6:30, and we started with meat, cheese, crackers and fried spinach as people arrived and we got drinks sorted out. Next was the meal. Jake made leek soup for an appetizer, a salad with balsamic vinaigrette, potatoes, veal ruladen, and Bluephie's carrot cake for dessert. All of it was very good and everyone was very impressed by Jake's culinary talent. At 8:30, we finished eating and considered going to the bars. We had this thought the rest of the night as we chatted and played Catch Phrase. We really didn't need to go out because I was a good host and kept the drinks topped off properly.

(I'll post some pictures later today.)

Reclaiming My Good Name

(Why Blogging is More Fun with Venom...albeit fake)

So, if you have have been reading my blog posts from this week and if you've seen girlfriend 2a's defaming of me on her blog (http://alp-asthewheelturns.blogspot.com//), I feel I need to defend my good name.

I have been called out for not running outside Tuesday when the temperatures were in the low single digits, the winds were 30mph and it was snowing...so sue me. I've gone out running twice this winter when it was below zero, she did not, so I have a hall pass (neener, neener). The reason I did not go out and run is because it would have been dangerous to run on ice. The high that day was 45 and the low was -5, it started the day with rain, then it changed to ice and last snow. I didn't feel like it would be safe to try to run on top of that mixture especially when visibility when heading into the wind was greatly reduced. Not running outside in dangerous conditions for forty-five minutes for not being able to train for four months is a trade-off I would gladly make.

For the record, Fraulein Trainsalot (in her mind) is pleased as punch each time she makes it to a training session, either by herself or with someone else, like it is a great accomplishment for her and the rest of the world should look to her as a beacon for training guidance and we should all feel fortunate that she decided to grace us with her presence. Please! Congratulations. You showed up. Here's a medal. This isn't third grade rec soccer, Princess. You have to show up and bring it. Showing up isn't some great success. No one cares. Talk to me at the end of the race or training session. Fist bumps only for doing. Just because you're not on a specific training program doesn't mean you can stop training. There is no off-season, toots.

That's enough from me. Tonight I'll be riding inside for two hours, watching the Badger game. This weekend I'll ride inside again Saturday morning for two hours and get out Sunday for a long run, 90 minutes. All of this I will be doing alone, just like this week, next week, and next weekend because 2a has another excuse, big surprise. 'New boy' might be impressed that you show up, but I'm not...not impressed at all. See you... some time...eventually...maybe.

Oh, and thanks for going out to eat last night. It was fun. Have fun in San Diego.

5-5 (that last five-liner doesn't count)

Goals and Races for This Year

So yea, I have to come up with some more blogs, so I'm posting the races I'm planning on doing and my training plan for the year ahead.

Last year, my training was focused on Ironman. I focused on the Madison Marathon at the end of May, the Blue Mounds Classic in July and then the Wisport World Championships in September, hosted by my team Brone's Bike Shop. Besides those, I raced a full road schedule and trained for the Ironman. This year, I want to focus on road cycling, marathoning and staying in shape for 2009 Ironman Wisconsin, respectively. For running, I plan to run the Madison Marathon May 27th, Grandma's Marathon June 21st in Duluth, MN and probably the Chicago Marathon October 12th. For cycling, I plan to race every USCF cycling race around southern Wisconsin that I can and hopefully the Bob Cook Memorial Mt. Evans hillclimb outside of Denver with other teammates from Brone's Bike Shop. Mt. Evans is the highest paved road in the world, and since I'm a climber, this seems like a good idea. Unfortunately, this coincides with the Blue Mounds Classic, another good climbing race I won last year after years of great results. Beyond training for cycling and running, I plan to swim and lift regularly, and train with friends.

That's it, I'm off to train...alone...because girlfriend 2a is too busy for me...at least now I can be fast.

4-4

My other girlfriend won't get off my back

I've been told that my blogging quantity and quality has been sub-par according to some unseen blogging standard. So, after snarky blog posts on other blogs (http://alp-asthewheelturns.blogspot.com/), I have decided to blog to defend my good name.

This blog was started to highlight my Ironman race and to cut my 2007 Ironman Wisconsin race report from one large, unmanageable email to smaller blog posts, complete with pictures. Since then, I have posted accounts of some of the races I have done and a few posts from time to time about random stuff. Most of the blogs this winter have been short, uneventful and infrequent, due to the lack of racing and a general lack of updates other people would find interesting. This reality has seemed to not pacify critics (girlfriend 2a) who is frankly not been that great of a backup girlfriend now that she's found more of a permanent boyfriend. Also, the seriousness of her training has also been called into question after missing last week's regular Tuesday run because of cold and wind (10 with 15 mph is not 'bad' weather) and this week because she's busy (but has plenty of time to see 'new boy'). She didn't even run two weeks ago when only another layer and a face mask was required (-5 is still very runable). Though she might come back with a retort that she trains more often, this is actually my off season, which will end next week with the start of my Madison and Duluth marathon training and my road cycling training.

While not all of us have jobs which allow us to do nothing but blog for days at a time, most of us do not, so we are resigned to blog in the evenings and on weekends, unless the wife insists on going to the Home Depot to redo the bathroom because it looks 'old'.

I am still a blog behind, but I will try to post my goals and races for this coming year if I can get my taxes done this week. Yes, I am working on my taxes already and nearly have them done.

4-3

Girls, girls everywhere

I originally purchased my house with the thought of having a few friends live with me to help pay the mortgage and offset some of the utility costs, but things didn't work out quite as well as I had hoped, so Jake and I moved in August 1. Jake is one of my best friends and we've lived together for the past few years. Jake's a great roommate and I'm glad he's living with me in my house. A month or two ago, my girlfriend Kathryn received an email from one of her professors saying that two girls from Nebraska were looking for a furnished place to live for two months. Things worked out well, and Sara and Ashley moved in a week ago. They are both Physical Therapy students from Nebraska-Omaha who will be graduating in a few months. Kathryn was able to sub-let her apartment for the remainder of her lease, so she moved in this past weekend.

Sara, Peter, Kathryn out one night

So, for those of you scoring at home, three girls and two guys in one house, kind of like one big funhouse. I'm glad to have the extra people to help pay the mortgage and utilities. Plus, it's also fun to have a bunch of fun people together. I also had another friend look at my house this weekend to rent after Sara and Ashley move out in March.

More people = more better.