Multisport Athlete

Hey all,
Just a quick rundown here of what's been shaking. Lots of irons in the fire this time of year.

Has spring sprung?? Some people go off a groundhog, I killed a fly today so I say spring is here.

My good buddy Dirty Dirtram was in town last weekend. He was kind enough to give a few of us an expert bike fit. Carl is liking how is Cannondale six13 is feeling. Clay did some changing on the set up of my Slingshot 650c tri bike. Changes included moving my cleats back 7mm, Raising my seat post, changing my seat tube angle from 75.5 to 77.5, and a minor aero pad adjustment. Oh baby do things feel better. I can't wait to hit a familiar tri course and put the hammer down. Thanks Clay!!!

Saturday afternoon was a trip to Adventure Land hotel and water park in Des Moines. Yes the water park was indoors. Several families from the fire dept went down. The kids and adults all had a good time.

I finally wore out my Smith shades so I purchased a pair of Serfas Sike's from Bike Tech. First impressions are they fit awesome, they are light, and clear. I'll give a better report after some athletic activities have taken place with them.

Trail Running Clinic hosted by CVA at The Runner's Flat on Thursday March 29th. 6:30pm speakers will be Scott Gall and myself. Yes, you can show up just to watch me speak in front of a bunch of strangers. No, I don't do the picture you naked bit, I picture myself naked instead!

Trail Work day this Saturday at 8:00am at Ulrich Park. Bring rakes, shovels, saws, gloves, and anything else you think will help. At this time no chainsaws or other motorized tools.

Thanks,
Ed

Need a little help from those that know GPS pretty well. I'm looking at purchasing this watch as a training tool and also a handy GPS unit to measure trail mileage for some of the CVA events. Will this unit factor elevation changes for accurate distance readings? I've heard some GPS give you a "flat land" mileage and then you have to enter the data into an elevation program to get the actual distance. Am I wrong? It this little unit worth $70?

• Face diameter: 1.5"
• A workout companion you should never be without--featuring contemporary Ironman* Triathlon® styling.
• GPS transceiver calculates speed and distance data and transmits to watch with synchronized Digital FM Signal for display.
• GPS transceiver includes strap to wear unit on the upper arm and belt clip GPS system automatically synchronizes time of day with GMT ensuring accuracy.
• 50 lap memory recall.
• Average speed or pace, maximum speed or best pace, and accumulated distance, continuous odometer, metric or English units.
• Other features include dual time zones, daily and weekend alarm, INDIGLO night-light, NIGHT-MODE feature and water resistance to 50 meters.
• Black resin case with a grey ring.
• Black resin strap with a stainless steel buckle.

So I had one of "those" runs tonight. It's a base run when you get in a groove, pain free, heart rate only moves up or down 2 beats over a 40 minute span and you feel like you could go forever. I love it.

Now, let's keep those temps rising cause I'm tired of wearing tights!!

I leave you with a picture of Chad Juel vs Chad Juel at last years Dirty Du.

From freak ice storms to 70 degrees, gotta love the Iowa weather.

So I was totally jones'n to get out of the shop today and go for a run. I have found it's much easier to tell a boss, "I'm taking the afternoon off" than it is to just up and leave when you are your own boss. But I ditched out around 4:15. I get home and step into the back yard and hear a lot of dripping. It was almost splashing, so I walked around to check it out and found a pond creeping it's way up toward my basement walkout, ahhhhhhhh! Not good, so I changed into some shorts and crappy shoes and put my sump pump in and fired it up just in time. I would have never expected that. All the snow on the upper deck and in the back yard had melted and made its way to the walkout. So, after that we grilled up some cheese burgers (yum) and ate supper. I wonder if Blue fired up the Weber and grilled some chubs?

After supper Katie noticed a couple packages at the front door. Santa Hammer Nutrition had brought me the goodies for the Ulrich Park Adventure Run. Huge thanks to Hammer and Carole. They have gone above and beyond to support the CVA events.


Monkeytron called later in the evening and we spoke for a bit. He says he's getter faster, it's all in his head. Speaking of monkey business Dirty is going to be back in town Fri, Sat, Sun. Looking forward to catching up with him and also getting fitted to my tri bike. Proper fitting is important and I will take all the help I can get.

So, after watching American Idol and putting Ainsley to bed I was able to go for a run. And a good run it was. 45 min nice steady base, feeling good. So I go my run, just not when planned and that's ok.

Finally get to ride outside today. Yesterday was primo conditions but we had Ainsley's "all family" birthday party so I was unable to ride or run. Today I need to go to the shop for a little bit so I'll get the Solo-One out and roll down the trail. Sweet!

"Want to" vs "have to"
So having the itch to get outside and ride/run means that training for me will be much easier the rest of the year. Why? Because last week my mind and body finally said I "WANT TO" go run, lift, ride. Prior to that my brain was saying, "you HAVE TO go run, lift, ride if you're going to do well this year". Well, I hate to say it but when I have to, I don't! When I WANT TO, I do. Maybe that's why I'm just a descent age-grouper and not a top 5 overall guy. Maybe that's why I'm always 5-10lbs heavier than I think I should be. Who knows? What I do know is that when my body says "I WANT TO!" Everything is good. It's like a caterpillar busting out of it's cocoon and spreading it's wings as a butterfly.
I'm ready now, time to fly for the 2007 season.

Ed

What a busy week last week was. Trying to get back to normal after the ice age took over for a few days. I got a few workouts in and they were good, I'm starting to feel better and better. Snap Fitness opened up last week. They are located at 18th and Main in CF. Stop by and ask for Adam, super cool guy with tons of energy.

Friday I met with Joel Anderson of Fox River Mills. I was seeking some type of partnership with them for the Cedar Valley Adventure races. Joel was digging the grass roots, off road, athlete based feel and he was in for the Ulrich Run. So, the first 100 athletes at Ulrich will get a pair of Fox Socks and if you are pre-registered you will also get the Gel Ready Race Belt from Fuel Belt. So for $18 your gonna walk away with over $20 in gear. Not to mention all the other cool awards and prizes from Serfas, Hammer Gel, Runner's Flat, Bike Tech, Snap Fitness, Johnson Chiropractic, and on, and on. Can you tell I'm pumped about this??? It's going to be a blast.

Have a good week, 40's by Wednesday, waaaahoo!

Ed