Multisport Athlete

I was able to take off for a couple of hours today to scout the Greenbelt for the route I would like to use during the 1/2 marathon I'm promoting. Met Kerkove, Carlos, Father of Carlos, and Super Saul on my way out of Hudson and they were rolling in. I had a nice tail wind on the way north to the Greenbelt. This area has been flooded for much of the spring and 2 more inches last week didn't help.

I arrived at the shelter on the north side of Ridgeway Ave. and headed out for some mileage readings. I came across my first wet spot within a mile, no big deal. Then I came to the next one, It was a dry run bed that was full of water about 8 feet across. Well, I needed a mileage count so I slammed into it, hub deep and I was stopped! Didn't fall but had to dismount and would have soggy shoes and fox socks the rest of the ride.

I came to several more more low spots, I did eat it on one causing a soggy ass and wet cell phone. I should just leave that thing at home! Finally I made it to the dike, and crossed back across the creek to take a lap around Greenbelt lake. Then back into the single track to cross all the same low spots again. By now I'm a wet muddy mess, no worries. Up a small hill and then the only true single track in the Greenbelt. Total mileage was 6.8, not bad.

I then headed to the south side it was not as wet but plenty sandy and parts of the trail had fallen into the creek, yikes! I completed the south side with less drama than the north and had a mileage of over 7 for the south. Sweet, a total of 13.1 shouldn't be a problem for the trail run. And the cool thing about running is plowing through a stream or creek isn't a big deal and people kind of expect it. I think this should be a good event.

Ok, I'm out. Short week and the shop is busy, should be interesting.

Ed

Just got off the phone with Buchandale from the 12 hours of Branched Oak race in Nebraska. Carl took a top five finish and Kerkove got his first win of the season. Nice job guys! Check their blogs for details when they return to Iowa.

Ed

Just now getting some energy back from this weekend. The Up Side Down Du went pretty well.
Tough course and it was an eye opener to some.
Super big thanks goes out to everyone that volunteered. I really appreciate it.
Here is a full race write up.
Enjoy some pictures. Or not, blogger is f'ing up. Only two pics tonight.

Tonight I went out just after 9:00pm for a 50 minute base run. It's pretty common for me to run later at night and I usually don't worry about the safety aspect. Well, tonight's run was a little creepy.
First off I was excited as I was trying out a product from fuel belt that had a water bottle, gel flask holder, and 4 other pockets for keys, mp3, or whatever. I was impressed as how well the belt balanced everything, it really had very little bounce to it. And when you consider what you get to carry and not have to plan water water stops on a long run, I can deal with a slight amount of bouncing. It also sat well around my waist and small of my back, I really didn't mind wearing it. My long slow base runs usually take place on the nature trail that runs with hwy 63. I run this trail for one reason and one reason only, it's flat! 10 minutes in I went to reach back to take a drink from my standard 20oz water bottle and the fun began, I had a heck of a time getting it out of the holder. I get it out and launch it 4 feet off into (dark) grass next to the trail. I now stop, get the bottle, take a drink and place it back in the belt, two hands were required for this.

3 minutes later I'm crossing the first bridge outside of town and I hear a noise and see an odd shape next to the trail. This scared my lock-laces right out my shoes so I yelled, "YEH!". And someone said "Hi" back to me. Some older guy on an old schwinn with no lights telling me he just tossed his chain and complaining about how hot it was. I offered services to help with the bike but he said he just fixed it. So kept running north towards Waterloo. Now my mind was playing with me, I looked over my shoulder every 2 minutes waiting for this guy to come up behind me with a chainsaw or something.

I made it to my turn-around point and headed back to Hudson. The ditch water was nasty and I think I heard a crock or two. To add some much needed (yea right) drama to the situation there was a lightning storm building to the West. So I reach the bridge were my new buddy was (my mind is still messing with me) and he is still there. I ask if he was ok and he said yes, he was waiting for a friend to meet him. OK, that confirms it...........Drug drop, I'm out-a-here!
As I was running through Hudson on the sidewalks I had a black cat cross my path. GREAT! Could this get any better? Actually it did, my cool down was spent under a light sprinkle. Hate the lightning, love running in the rain. It's a good, right Blue!

I tried removing my water bottle from the belt 3 more times during the run. Each time it required 2 hands and I had to stop to remove, and reload it. I'm going to see what I can do to make adjustments, and also try a smaller diameter bottle.

Ed (still alive)
OUT!

What a start to the morning. Katie has been working late this week so I have to pick Ainsley up from the sitter. That means no time to commute to the shop, bummer. Last night Katie said her mom was picking up Ainsley today so I could ride, yea!! Well this morning Katie couldn't remember if her mom was just coming over or picking up Ainsley and coming over. Hummmm, ok I will drive my truck to the shop. So Katie and Ainsley are gone and I get into my truck and battery dead! Someone (me) left the dome light on last night. Grrrrrr, this is Thursday not Monday right? So now I sit at home like a 19 year old that just got a DUI waiting for my father to come over and take me to work. Man I'm a loser.

I leave you with Ainsley performing a self massage. I wish I could reach back there, but I cannot. So I'll be getting a free massage at this event.

Last Sunday was the Camp Ingawanis XC MTB Race. Over 70 hours of trail work and countless more hours of planning went into the event. Saturday the course was fast and everyone was pumped about Sunday. Mother nature was pumped to...........pumped to blast down 30mph winds and 3 hours of rain on everyone at the camp. The race did take place and event directors Casey Dean and Carl Buchanan did a fantastic job of changing plans with the weather. Nice job guys! It was a day everyone will not soon forget. Below are so photos from the day.

Wait sorry, where have I been? Well, I could go into what has shook out in the past 2-1/2 weeks but that would take toooooo long. So lets just fast forward to now. Currently the 'ploder is in the shop getting ______________ replaced. Just fill in the blank cause the mechanic can't! Not his fault, just can't figure it out. So KT has my truck and I have the solo-one, sweet!
Twin Six, Recover-ease, and KINeSYS have all joined CVA as partners. That is super cool.
Sweet ass MTB race on Sunday at Ingawanis. DO IT.

Ok, this post has as much flow and my bike handling skills. It's killing me to type it, sorry for what your feeling.

Out