I Tri Because I Can

Week that was in training and some tips

2012-02-13T09:24:00.000-06:00

If you can get a gym within 3 miles of your house and has child care for most of their open hours... jump on it!
Nothing has been more beneficial to my training or general fitness than becoming a member of a gym that has convenience written all over it.

If we are at home over the weekend, we can grab the kids and be to the gym in 15 minutes (7 to 8 minutes of travel time).
We can work out as a family... sort of. The kids have a fun area where they can run around and Em and I can get our workout on. It limits the number of times we have to alternate who works out and who watches kids and that dance. Around 2 hours all told to get kids, go to gym, workout and get back home. Then, it's all done for the day and we can focus on fun and chores around the house.
If we want, we can meet up after work and it works out great to have the person that gets this kids first get them and head to the gym and we all meet up there. Get the workout on and get home.
We still have a few issues when the kids area gets full, but out of 3 weeks, we only had that issue once.

Lets look at the numbers:
BIKING - 52 miles
RUNNING - 21 miles
SWIMMING - 5800 yards
TOTAL TIME - 09:52 hours

They are getting there! Running and swimming are looking pretty good while I'm able to get two strength sessions in a week. Works well not to bulk up, but to keep strength up and protect against injuries.

I do want to pick up the bike miles. Last week, I had issues towards the end of the week getting up for an AM trainer ride. I'd like to get 70 to 90 a week starting now on to bring up the bike splits from last year.

Lord knows I won't be getting it in outside since it's suddenly winter in Kansas City! We are forecasted to end up with 4 inches of snow with a nice ice crust topping when it's all over. We have been pampered by 50 degree days around here and look to get back to them by the end of the week!

Have a good week and hope winter is treating you right!

Roxy sales, Quicksilver sale, Onlineshoes.com sale and more

2012-02-12T07:50:00.006-06:00

Roxy Activewear - Sweet New Styles For Spring. Free Shipping On All Orders. Shop Now!

Saucony sale

2012-02-11T07:39:00.006-06:00

Saucony Flash Sale - Save Up To 50% On Men's & Women's Running Shoes At TheClymb.com. Expires 2/13/2012 At 9AM PST.

65% Off Scott Running Shoes At LeftLane Sports! Shop Now, Sale Ends 2/17.

Take an extra 10% already marked down Winter Clearance items! This week only. Shop now at Shop-Denali.com. Use Coupon Code: xtra10d when checking out. Now through 2/15/2012. Coupon Code: xtra10d

Save 60% on Brooks Womens Green Silence Minimalist Shoes Only $40 at EMS.com. Shop Now!

News from pool side with Swim Meister Tony

2012-02-10T12:28:00.001-06:00

Even though we haven’t really had a winter (not yet at least), spring is just around the corner, and your warm weather activities will be here before you know it. Are you ready for it?

First, local upcoming events:

March 5, KC Blazers All-Relay Masters Meet: I love this meet! Relays give you that sense of team work that swimmers sometimes miss out on. I really love this meet because I get to help other swimmers that probably will never have a chance at an individual National Top Ten time, earn a Top Ten time on a relay. That is the main idea of this meet, and every year, swimmers of all abilities find themselves on a National Top Ten List. You can do that too! Meet info here.

March 31, Breadbasket Zone Championships: This meet is in St. Louis, which is hardly local. But, several local swimmers are planning to go. It’s a 2 session meet (Sat afternoon & Sun morning), so you can get in more events. I went to this meet at the same location several years ago, of course it was a good time. Meet Info here.

April or May; I have been assured there will be a meet at the new pool in Lees Summit. They have it narrowed down to 2 weekends this spring. Details to come.

July 5-8; USMS Summer Nationals in Omaha

I’ve always thought that adult swimming needs an ambassador, a huge name that people might follow and think “Hey, I might give that a try!” That person may have arrived. Since his retirement from cycling, rumors have swirled of Lance Armstrong taking a stab at the Ironman Triathlon World Championships in Kona, HI. None of that has been confirmed, but here are a few things that have. Lance is a registered member of United States Masters Swimming. He did compete in a swim meet last month for the first time in more than 25 years. And last week, in response to a USMS tweet asking people about USMS Spring Nationals, Lance replied “It’s on my calendar!” Who wouldn’t love the chance to race Lance Armstrong? I admit, the thought entered my mind, but I won’t be in his age group at the Spring Nationals. I WILL be in his age group at the Summer Nationals meet in Omaha that I already plan to attend. Will Lance attend that meet? See more on Lance as a masters swimmer here.

Tony Rezek
Chapter President, Kansas City, MO
(913)424-7601
tonyrezek@train4autism.org
http://train4autism.org

Ruckus KC Price Change‏ coming this Friday

2012-02-09T16:07:00.000-06:00


	PRICE CHANGE FRIDAY Ruckus Kansas City / March 31st

With the price change coming up on Friday, we've had a ton of you signing up to secure your spot.

Whether you are going to run in the Heater or the Challenge, dial up your distance and save some dollars!

Register Today!

The Clymb sales

2012-02-09T07:02:00.006-06:00

Shines So Bright Flash Sale - Save Up To 60% On Spy, O'Neill, VonZipper, Kaenon & More At TheClymb.com. Expires 2/10/2012 At 9AM PST.

KAVU Flash Sale - Save Up To 60% On Men's & Women's Apparel & Accessories At TheClymb.com. Expires 2/13/2012 At 9am PST.

Casual Footwear Blowout At LeftLane Sports! Save 60% On Shoes From Patagonia, Etnies, Osiris, Reef, Sole And More! Event Ends 2/15.

Love The Outdoors Sale - Save Up To 35% On The North Face Jackets, Vests & Performance Shirts At Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC). Expires 2/29/2012.

My new gym, Healthridge Fitness

2012-02-08T07:42:00.000-06:00

It's not a national chain, but it's pretty sweet...
Healthridge Fitness opened around 2004 I think. It's around 3 miles from my house and I tried them out when they originally opened. While I wanted to join, two things prohibited me. Cost and availability. They were much higher than my 24 Hour membership and they did not have a gym by my work for lunch workouts.

Fast forward 8 years later with a wife and two kids. We checked them out 3 weeks ago and we were sold. Here's the points that sold us:

Cost. When I added my wife to the all club deal at 24 hour, it increased the cost of 24 hour fitness, making it more realistic to switch to Healthridge.
Child care. Healthridge is from 8am to 8pm during the week and 10am to 4pm on weekends. 24 Hour only has certain times of the day over lunch and after work, and it varies by club. The kids area is expansive with a jungle gym type of setup in one room and a open gym with basketballs, video games and movies. Our daughter cannot wait to hit the gym now! Even our stranger-danger 1 year old son doesn't mind going. Bonus!
Locker room UPGRADE. Double the bathrooms stalls. Double the showers and the showers are individual stalls with a small space for setting your things in and then a curtain separated shower area. They have a sauna and steam room for each women's and men's locker rooms. They even have a separated family locker room for men and women if your child is over 2 and opposite gender so you're not damaging them for life by taking them into the wrong locker room. They have towels, carpet, TALL lockers, reprogrammable locks so you don't need a lock and you can use any locker. They also have enough space between benches and lockers to accommodate people and stuff so you're not waiting for someone to move to get changed! It's AWESOME!
Classes. They have the typical spin and aerobic classes, but they offer masters swim, boot camps and a few other special classes. They only problem is that you have to pay extra. And that extra is not cheap. So, it's a bit of a drawback, but I have Rev Gym that's more affordable and I feel like I would get more out of. I did try a Pilate's reformer class and THAT was TORTURE. Trying to figure out how to afford it.
The pool. They have a large lap pool, but the also have a separate pool for kids, families, and water classes. No more sharing the lap pool with the water walkers. One problem is if you want to swim laps, then you have to time it when a masters swim class isn't going on. Otherwise, you may not get a lane.
Parking. Since this is a large gym in a business park, parking is PACKED after work. You could have a nice half mile walk to the front door if you don't want to troll the parking lot looking for a space.
INDOOR TRACK! Last weekend, I needed to run 10 miles and the family wanted to hit the gym. What to do? We all went and I ran the indoor track. It was the first time since I have owned a Garmin that I calibrated the foot pod and ran indoors. I think it was around 0.02 off, so I ran more than 10 miles. But from the screen shot of my Garmin connect data, it was pretty sweet to run on an indoor track and incorporate speed work and have a controlled atmosphere. No hills and wind, but you can kick it up a notch to make up for not working as hard.
They have an indoor triathlon! I will probably sign up and try it out since it's so close to the house. Should be fun!
It's only 8 minutes from our house! There's no excuse like "we have to drive 20 minutes to get to the pool" to hit laps or the treadmill. Get the kids packed up and hit it! (hit the gym, not the kids)

I'm sure there are more points, but overall it's a WORLD apart from 24 hour. But, when you think about it, you pay for the differential. It's a little more than 24 hour, but it saves us time from driving 10 to 15 miles to get to a pool and the convenience of kid care all day is such a bonus! You can now cram a workout it when you get the kids fed and good for an hour, plus they run off energy in the kids area so EVERYONE is wiped out heading home.

I highly recommend Healthridge if you are in the area!

Sweet mini ANT+ stick!

2012-02-07T13:58:00.000-06:00

DC Rainmaker found a sweet mini ANT+ stick that doesn't stick out 2 inches from your computer and get in the way. It's pretty sweet and works with Garmin devices!

Ray's blog post here.

Get your Giants gear... if that's what you're in to.

2012-02-07T07:32:00.004-06:00

VIVOBAREFOOT Flash Sale - Save Up To 70% On Men's & Women's Minimalist Shoes At TheClymb.com. Expires 2/9/2012 At 9AM PST.

55% Off 66 Degrees North Winter Apparel At LeftLane Sports! Shop Now, Flash Sale Ends 2/13.

Use coupon code WETSUITS-2012 and save 15% on all 2012 Triathlon Wetsuits. Also all Wetsuit purchases qualify for Free Shipping at TriVillage.com. Coupon Code: WETSUITS-2012

Price Increase tonight for Ruckus Run Kansas City

2012-02-06T14:50:00.000-06:00


	PRICE CHANGE THIS WEEK Ruckus Kansas City / March 31st

Waves are starting to fill up for the Ruckus Kansas City.

There is a price change for both the 2-mile Heater & 4-mile Challenge at midnight.

Save some money, save your spot - register today!

Jayhawks lose, Giants win, friend is on suicide watch

2012-02-06T08:09:00.000-06:00

So I have a friend that breathes Kansas Basketball, Chiefs football AND Patriots Football...
So with the Chiefs kind of sucking the past few years, he's turned his attention to the Patriots since they actually have a chance to do something. Think of his utter dismay when the Jayhawks lost to Missouri by 3 Saturday night after suffering a 11-0 run to end the game and then his beloved Pats fall to the Giants in the Super Bowl. He's in suicide watch as I type this...

After a solid 9.5 hours in week of training, I was able to keep the momentum going...
BIKING - 50 miles
RUNNING - 18.5 miles
SWIMMING - 4600 yards
TOTAL TIME - 08 : 01

I need to get in more riding, but I'm happy with the increase in swimming to get back to speed and staying up with the running to capatilize on the PR from my last 10k.

This weekend brought some stomach issues. I'm not sure if it's stress unduced from some outside issues, something I ate or something I am eating. Tums has been my friend, but I'm still able to get the workouts in. Hopefully this passes SOON!

I must admit my wife and I are enjoying the new gym. More to come on that and all of the additional offerings it has that makes training with a family MUCH more feasible!

NFL board shorts?

2012-02-04T07:49:00.002-06:00

So I saw this for sale and honestly, I never considered they existed. Get board shorts with your fav NFL team. Interesting...

Super Bowl Special Get 10% Off NFL Boardshorts At Quiksilver, Offer Expires 2/7/2102 @ 3 PM EST. . Coupon Code: NFL10

All US orders over $50 Receive Free Standard Shipping. Shop Now! Coupon Code: Ezyship50

HI-TEC Flash Sale - Save Up To 65% On Men's & Women's Jackets, Vests & Footwear At TheClymb.com. Expires 2/6/2012 At 9AM PST.

Men's Footwear Sale - Save Up To 70% On Keen, Reef, Salomon, Teva, Timberland & More. Expires 2/6/2012 At 9AM PST.

55% Off Salomon Winter Activewear & Apparel At LeftLane Sports! Shop Now, Sale Ends 2/10.

50% Off All Salomon Footwear At LeftLane Sports! Shop Now, Event Ends 2/10.

@flexrsports Sports Bottle review

2012-02-03T08:11:00.001-06:00

Did you check out the article on green running HERE? It lays out 7 steps that you can take to reduce your impact to the environment when you’re out getting your workout in. Well, now there’s another step, FLEXR Sports Bottles.

You can’t escape training for endurance events without using sports bottles for fluids. Sure, during running you can get away with cups at aid stations and the fluid belts, but more often than not, sports bottles are a part of your routine.

Ever leave a bottle sitting out after you drank most of the drink? Ever try to get the dried crust out of the bottom when you remembered to clean the bottle a week later? Me too. I’m usually on point with washing a bottle out after a workout to place in the dishwasher for a final cleaning, but I do miss a bottle here and there at least once a week. Some bottles I can get clean, but some end up in the trash.

There are a lot of solutions in the sport bottle industry. Some have a screw-top and a screw-bottom where the bottom comes apart at both ends for easier cleaning access.

FLEXR takes it a bit further with disposable biodegradable bottle liners. They bottles are flexible and designed to use a liner that you simply take out, throw away and replace. Sure, you produce a little more waste, but the liners are biodegradable and in theory you should be able to use the bottles as long as they will last. This would eliminate tossing the bottle for dried crust you can’t wash off. The liners are BPA free so there’s no chance of getting harmful chemicals from the liners from your sports drinks, especially if they are somewhat acidic.

It’s all good in theory, but how will they stack up in the real world?

FLEXR shot me over a remote bike hydration kit, 21 ounce round bottle with sleeve and a 28 ounce flexible bottle with liners to try out.

From the slideshow pictures, you can see my bike setup. You can see on their product view how they set up their hose system, which may or may not work for your bike. I have my Garmin seated on the stem, which got in the way of how they used their kit. I was able to adjust and make it work. They provided zip ties that helped. After the initial setup, I hit the trainer for a 20 mile ride with variable drill sets. With a tri bike, you won’t always be in the position to get to the hose to take a drink. I set it for access while in the aero position which left me with extra hose. Not a real problem as you could cut it shorter if needed. It worked well and I didn’t have to sit up to grab a bottle during the ride, but the mouthpiece didn’t work as well as I hoped and I just removed it and used the adapter piece to drink from. It worked fine for me.

I’ve left the kit on my bike and I plan on using it this season. It will provide fluid access when on long aero stretches that normally I would have to sit up to grab a bottle. You do need to be careful when disconnecting the hose from the bottle. Make sure to get as much out of the hose as possible or you will end up with a nice puddle when it drains, just a heads up. It was nice just to take the bottle off and toss the liner and set it up for the next day on the counter by my Push Endurance for a refill.

A nice perk is the bottles come with an initial supply of liners so you don’t have to buy a bunch of liners to get you started. One drawback is you need liners to match the size of the bottle. They have 8, 16, 21 and 28 ounce sizes. Make sure you order the right refill!

With the flexible bottle, you cannot use them without the liner. The design allows air to flow out from between the liner and bottle when you squeeze to get your drink. If you were to not use a liner, fluid would squirt out of the hole unless you used some ingenuity and taped the hole shut. Not all is lost if you run out of liners.

I used the 28 ounce bottle at the gym for a few dreadmill runs. Nothing’s more mundane than a long run on the treadmill. I’ve always brought my drink with me in the standard sports bottles, so at least I had a baseline. It’s not a huge revelation of a difference when just using the bottle to drink from. An advantage is the FLEXR bottles are easier to squeeze and required less sucking than a standard sports bottle. You lose a little breathe with a standard bottle whereas the FLEXR you can just squeeze and drink.

With this system, it does require more setup time. You can’t just fill and go. You have to make sure you have a fresh liner in properly and then fill ‘er up. At times I reused the liner if it was only a day between uses, which works great until the liner bunches around the lid and you cannot get a proper seal from the cap. Then you get a leak. With new liners, that wasn’t an issue. I pushed the liners beyond their design. =)

It’s been great to bring them to work with a supply of liners to stay hydrated during the day. I’ve left the setup on my bike and will continue to use during the season. I’m not sure if I would go out of my way to purchase a bottle with a liner, but I’m also one of those people with a vehicle that gets 15 miles per gallon. I’m all about environmental friendliness, but I don’t live it in every aspect of my life.

If you are high on minimizing your carbon footprint, you found a good solution. You use less water to constantly clean bottles and the liners are biodegradable. You just pull the old, trash it and pop in a new liner. Fill and go. Repeat as necessary. I’ve left my 28 ounce bottle at work for two weeks and I’m not worried about remembering to take it home and clean it since I have a supply of liners to get a clean bottle to drink water from during the day.

FLEXR provides a good solution in the sports bottle industry.

Footwear sales and a couple other sales if interest.

2012-02-02T07:22:00.006-06:00

Sessions Flash Sale - Save Up To 55% On Men's Snowboard Apparel At TheClymb.com. Expires 2/6/2012 At 9AM PST.

60% Off Cyclelogical Apparel At LeftLane Sports! Shop Now, Event Ends 2/8.

POW Flash Sale - Save Up To 60% On Men's & Women's Winter Gloves At TheClymb. Expires 2/6/2012 At 9AM PST.

Get 40% Off Asics Mens GT 2160 Road Running Shoes at EMS.com. Shop Now!

The week that was, last week and some numbers

2012-02-01T14:42:00.000-06:00

Last week saw the start of the racing season with the Groundhog Run in Kansas City.
It's always a good event and has its share of shortcomings, but overall it's money. It was nice to get a PR by two minutes and time will tell if that will be a theme for the year. If you are around and have the means, get in there and run it!

Last year sort of hit a lull after Ironman Kansas as worked picked up and summer was in full swing. I didn't perform like I wanted to at Ironman Boulder 70.3 and I definitely didn't have the training volume I was looking for. I wonder if I can do it all and still stay with the training....? =)

Speaking of training, lets look at the numbers.
BIKING - 35 miles, do'h, fail
SWIMMING - 8300 yards, sweet!
RUNNING - 18.3 miles, includes Groundhog Run
TOTAL TIME -09:26 - in that is 2 hours of strength work here and there

I'm definitely happy with the time I was able to put in. I wish it was more related to continuous volume and long sessions as most of it was broken up to when I could get the training in. You take what you can get when it's not your full time job, right MACCA?

Coming up next besides the super bowl...
Super Bowl Sunday means one thing... Kansas Basketball is my only viewing option for sports until NFL pre-season after this weekend. Even at that, KU most of the time fails me in the tourney and leaves me with plenty of free time to train.. or something like that.

My next event could be an indoor tri at my new gym (more on them later) or an off-road duathlon in Lawrence, KS. I need to check out what the family schedule looks like to see if either make sense to fit in.

Up after that is the Heartland 39.3 series. Very excited about this. It will be interesting to see how I stack up as they have filled 400 spots for the series sign up.

Hip Hop Affiliate Sales

2012-01-31T07:32:00.000-06:00

GoLite Blow Out Sale Up To 70% Off Apparel, Packs, Travel Bags...Hurry While Supplies Last!

Tasc Flash Sale - Save Up To 60% On Men's & Women's Outdoor Clothing At TheClymb.com. Expires 2/2/2012 At 9AM PST.

60% Off Dragon Sunglasses & Apparel At LeftLane Sports! Shop Now, Event Ends 2/5.

2012 TLC Groundhog Run Race Recap - 1/29/12

2012-01-30T15:29:00.000-06:00

What's more fun than running in a cave?

To clarify, the cave is a system of tunnels and areas dug out for office space and storage. It's been around for a long time and Sunday was the 30th Groundhog Run that meanders through the caves.

I've run the sucker for the past 7 years... amazing. It only seems like last year I wondered over and ran some odd race in the caves when it was like 20 degrees outside.

Ever year I have run, it was the 10k. They have a 5k and a 10k, which the 10k is just the 5k course ran twice (that's 2 loops for you counting at home). Sure, it may get a little boring seeing the same caves for 2 laps, but it's 68 degrees, flat, no wind and no precipitation. Score. It's a great setup for a PR, which I alluded to in the preview post HERE.

Some highlights over last year are a MUCH IMPROVED system to park and get to the cave entrance. Used to you had to park at a casino across a decent sized highway and cross over. So, you needed to wear cold weather clothing to get to the race where you will be just fine wearing shorts and a t-shirt to run. Anything more than that for the run, and you will be overheated in a hurry.

This year, they parked racers at the casino and provided buses to get us to the cave. It was seamless. Plenty of buses so the only wait was loading people. There was at no point, that I saw, where people were standing around waiting for a bus. Even afterwards, they had buses constantly lined up waiting for people. They only issue were line jumpers not waiting their turn to get on a bus and headed over to buses further down the line.

I arrived at 7:50am (5k started at 9am) and that was just in time before the real traffic hit. I'm not sure how it went for everyone after that, but it seemed to be somewhat smooth.

I do wish, probably like all 3500 racers, they provided more than 20ish port-a-potties. The lines were horrendous. If you waited too long to get in, you were looking at a 25 minute wait to relieve yourself.

My plan worked out well to run the 5k for my wife who was MIA as a warm up. I even had time to hit a port-a-potty on the course. The only issue was the guy with no patience PRYING the door open on me before I was done. Dude... patience. If the slot is red and you have to pry the door open, someone is in there.

I ran the 5k around 26 minutes. Not too fast, not too slow.

It worked great as I felt awesome in the 10k with my Faas 400's.

My plan was to take it around 8 min/mile for mile 1 and try to slam 7 min/mile for the rest.

Here's my splits. I didn't have my foot pod set up and being in caves, no GPS for distance but luckily they had mile makers. ;)

Oops. I guess 7 min/mile for 1-5 and 7:30 for the last mile will work. That's good enough for a new PR by 2 minutes! SCORE!

Hopefully the new running PR's are a good indicator of this year. I've been improving the run year after year, but last year it seemed it was at the expense of the bike. I'm trying to get more time on the bike without losing momentum on the run (no pun intended).

I also like what Bob Mitera says on his blog. It's about showing up and doing the work. If you skip workouts and keep changing your plans or goals, you won't improve.

My official time was 43:56 (46:02 last year), good for 94 out of 1171. Not too shabby. My age group was 15 out of 86. It's a warm fuzzy feeling to know I can keep improving year after year.

Check out the top 3 10k times HERE.

Top 3 5k times HERE.

Up next... maybe Trolley Run, maybe God's Country Off Road duathlon... time will tell!

What's the plan for 2012?

2012-01-27T10:03:00.001-06:00

Here's what the plan for 2012 looks like.

Groundhog Run 10k this weekend. Should be a good time in a cave... that's what she said.

March 31 is Commando Run and Ruckus Run Kansas City. Two obstacle course races in 1 day... should be interesting.

April 14, Rock the Parkway half marathon - part of the Heartland 39.3 Race Series.

April 22, Kansas Half Marathon - part of the eartland 39.3 Race Series.

May 12, Run with the Cows Half Marathon - part of the eartland 39.3 Race Series.

May 20, Kansas City Triathlon, olympic distance. First tri of the season.

June 2, Hospital Hill Half Marathon. Generally it has been in the middle of June and been routinely humid, but earlier this year so I'm hoping for less humidity.

June 10, Kansas Half Ironman. Since it's in my back yard, might as well. =)

July 1, Epic Dartmouth in Canada. This is a big maybe. I need to get some help from partners to make this happen. The organizers are very cool, but it's a little cost prohibitive to fly up there.

August 26, Chicago Triathlon. Another big maybe. It might even be sold out by now.. If it is, fate has fixed the delima for me.

September 22-23, MS 150 to Lawrence, Kansas. I've ridden the Missouri one in the past, but I think Lawrence tops Sedalia, MO, for the overnight stop.

Races that I have not signed up but may sneak in:
God's Country off road duathlon in March.
Midwest Tri series - these will happen, I just need to get signed up. Race in July and 2 at the end of August.
Heritage park and Shawnee Mission Park triathlon - Heritage was COLD ass last year! I ran SMP one year and that was the 3rd year straight it was called for weather.
Kansas City Marathon in October... not sure. The North Face Endurance challenge is coming back in November and I'm eyeing the 50k.

Ruckus Kansas City Rules

2012-01-26T09:05:00.000-06:00

Groundhog Run 10k coming up!

2012-01-25T07:17:00.001-06:00

This Sunday is the start of the "season" for me!

I'll be lacing up the Puma's for the Children's TLC Groundhog Run. It's in a cave system that's used for office space and storage. It's pretty massive and HEATED! Running in winter at 68 degrees with no wind and relatively flat course is a dream come true. Usually, at this time of year we have snow, ice and frozen tundra in Kansas City. This winter has been a little different and it probably would not have been horrible to have a run outdoors, but that doesn't take anything away from the event.

Jan 29, 2012, MVT Presents Man Vs Groundhog Run 10k - in the news and on the Internet! By the way, if you are looking for some exposure for your business or interests, check out MVT for a chance to get your t-shirt worn during the race.

If you remember last year, I got hassled by railroad police for crossing train tracks at the wrong place. I think that guy was either pissed he was there early on a Sunday having to watch train tracks or he gets his giggles in life from hassling people. He seemed to enjoy his role of being a jerk.

Needless to say, he accomplished his mission as I will make a clear cut effort to cross at the right place and avoid any problems this year. Not really for the fact I respect what they are trying to do, but to avoid dealing with a jerk before a fun event.

ANYWAY, Em was suppose to run the 5k (the 5k starts at 9am and they all finish before the 10k starts), but it's looking like that won't happen. I'm tempted to wear her bib and use the 5k as a nice warm up. I've run 7 10k's and last year was my PR at this very event for a time of 46:02. Now, I did set a PR at the 5k distance in December at the Jingle Bell run, which I was trying to get sub 20. I'm always competitive to do better than the previous year, which would mean another PR. I think my off-season has gone well, but this run is usually a barometer of where my fitness is at this point.

I did get my VO2 max tested and it was too bad. If you want to know what it was, you have to be on the email newsletter list by Friday! Sign up under my profile to the left. I'll put it in there this weekend. Nice teaser, right? =)

I would like to say I'm going all out, but there are a lot of factors beyond race day that may play into how things shape up. You know, things like port-a-potties, kids and too many things to count.

Stay tuned for the report next week.

More Gym stuff with @Happy2HurtYa

2012-01-24T09:03:00.000-06:00

That's not training, that's torture!
Is it possible I pay John at Rev Gym to torture me at his X-Camp classes?!
Today's workout called for 22 push ups and 8 jump-chin ups starting every 1 minute for 30 minutes. So you get to bust out 22 push ups and then rest until a minute is up, and then hit 8 jump-shin ups and rest until a minute is up. We did that 15 times. For those of you keeping score, that's 330 push ups and 120 chin-ups in 30 minutes. Then we followed that with 50 box jumps. I know have jello arms and 13 blisters on my hands. And I PAY for this! Ya!

The numbers from last week...
I've been trying to hit the bike hard. Last year was the year of the run as my times improved in the run leg, but my bike splits took a dive. It's time to put it all together!

BIKING - 74 miles
RUNNING - 15 miles
SWIMMING - 6000 yards
TOTAL TIME - 08 : 19

Solid week of ramping up for the season!

Some thoughts about gym going...

Do you really need to light one up immediately after you step out of the door of the gym? Really?
It's always entertaining to watch a muscle head need a cheek of chew after a good lift.
There is a lot of fake baking orange people than I have ever noticed at the gym before. Has anyone noticed them from the men's locker room? You can tell by the multiple tan lines at the shorts waistband since it's winter and no one is tanning outside.
Scary to see a guy walk by in the shower area with a thong tan line... ew cold shudder.
Why must you leave your dirty workout clothes all over the benches when you shower? This isn't your bathroom or bedroom. Pick it up!
Gyms - please install more benches. The ratio of lockers per foot of bench length is not adequate. Think about it. Lunch and after work rush is pretty thick regardless of the resolution run.
Don't STEAL OTHER PEOPLES' CRAP!

Kansas Basketball, NFL playoffs and training, oh my!

2012-01-23T07:43:00.000-06:00

KU hoops, NFL playoffs, trips to the gym, 2 kids and bills, oh my...
So to hit the high point of the post for today, the weather in Kansas has gone haywire. High of barely 30 on Saturday meant a either a trainer ride in the basement or spin class at the gym. Luckily we got kids packed and ready for the gym in time for the 10am spin class.

For the single or no kids crowd, training on the weekends is a dance of compromise, planning, timing and luck. You have to consider your spouse, kids, to-do list and your wants. I think we covered the bases by hitting the gym so Em could work out, the kids ran some energy off in the play area and I got most of my spin class in. Darned 24 hour fitness and their rules that you have to show ID to get your kids if they are hungry or want a bottle! What happened to the good ole days of not being responsible for lost kids or kids that went home with the wrong people?

I only missed 8 minutes of the end of spin class. At the time, it was the end of the world, but I got over it. Sort of. =)

But since we hit that in the morning, we had the rest of the day to try and balance EVERYTHING else.

Sunday was an 8 miler on the treadmill. We balanced this day with kids napping at home with Grandma baby sitting and Em and I got our workouts in. Does anyone else sweat like a pig on treadmills? It doesn't help that they have NO fans in the workout area. I could have ran outside since the Kansas weather went from 30 Saturday to 50's on Sunday, but it was windy and we needed a spousal compromise so everyone got what they wanted for the day.

And what's up with a Kansas thunderstorm on January 22nd? That just doesn't fly with me.

If you have not been paying attention, I picked up some more writing...
Yes, I still work a day job, and no, I don't write instead of work.

And now I write about the Kansas Jayhawk Basketball team, because as we all know, no one has an opinion about it and I'm the only one that matters, right?

Check it out, subscribe or like the FACEBOOK PAGE.

What winter (not really in Kansas right now) weekend would be complete without NFL playoffs?
Patriots vs Giants rematch? Seriously?
I was ok with Ray Lewis not going back, but fumbling a punt return to send the Giants to the super bowl? Really? I'd rather have seen Pats vs 49ers for something new. Oh well. I just hope the commercials are worth it!

First race of the year coming up!
Man vs Groundhog Run! 10k This Sunday! Who's in? I'm looking forward to running "competitively" again and getting my race on. I'm not sure about setting a PR from last year, but more to come on that this week!

Rock the Parkway January enewsletter

2012-01-21T16:55:00.000-06:00

Rock The Parkway January

E-newsletter

Host Hotel Announced - The 2012 Rock the Parkway host hotel is the Overland Park Sheraton Hotel at 6100 College Boulevard, Overland Park, KS, and they have offered Rock the Parkway registrants an $89 room rate. Go here for more information or to reserve your room!

2012 Race Expo - The 2012 Rock the Parkway race expo will be held at the Overland Park Convention Center adjacent to the Overland Park Sheraton. More than 40 vendors will be there, together with music and lots of prize giveaways! Stay tuned for more information.

Heartland 39.3 Series - Rock the Parkway Half Marathon is the kickoff race for the Heartland 39.3 Series, three half marathons in four weeks this spring. Participants in this series, which also includes Kansas Half Marathon and Running With the Cows Half Marathon, will receive a commemorative medal and a free race photo at the completion of the series. Check out the website for more information. You can register for all three at one time until Rock the Parkway sells out, or you can sign up for each one individually, but go ahead and sign up for Rock the Parkway before it closes to make sure you can get in.

Rock the Parkway Groupie Runs - Join us on Sundays for the FREE Rock the Parkway Groupie Runs held at different locations throughout the area. These group runs are along an out and back course that allows runners and walkers to go up to 12 miles. More than 350 people have signed up for these group runs that will continue through the date of the event. Go here to sign up!

Psycho Wyco Trail Run: 50K, 20-Mile, 10-Mile

2012-01-21T12:13:00.000-06:00

t's less than one month away!

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Psycho Wyco Run Toto Run
50K, 10-Mile, 20-Mile Trail Run
8th Annual
"It's Kansas, how tough can it be?"

Web page:
http://psychowyco.com/id7.html

Online Registration URL:
https://enter2run.com/register/?event=6692

Join KC Running CO for one of these upcoming Lawrence races!‏

2012-01-20T12:00:00.000-06:00

LAWRENCE RUNNING UPDATE

FEATURED SPRING EVENT

Kansas Half Marathon,

10K and 5K

Sunday, April 22

Haskell Indian Nations University

The HyVee Kansas Half Marathon, 10K and 5K is new and improved for 2012 and registration is now available for only $45/$35/$25 through the end of February! The USATF certified course, which starts and finishes at Haskell Indian Nations University, has been modified to improve the accuracy and experience for participants. The post race food, entertainment, technical shirts and finisher medals for half marathon finishers will also make this event an annual favorite. In addition to the half marathon event, the HyVee Kansas Half Marathon also includes a 10K, 5K and 1K Kids Fun Run! Help support the Health Care Access Clinic and sign up today at www.kansashalfmarathon.com

We are excited to be working with several great organizations in Lawrence on their 2012 running events and want to encourage you to be a part of the fun at these upcoming events:

February 11 @ 9am - Love2Run Four Mile Couples Run at Free State High School

Celebrate Valentine's Day Weekend by teaming up with your loved one or friends and competing as a team/couple at the only TEAM/COUPLES run/walk in Lawrence. Let's find out who is the fastest couple in Lawrence. Support the Head for the Cure Foundation and register for $22/individual and $42/couple through 2/1 here.

March 3 @ 8:30am - Mufindi Orphans 5K on the Kaw River Levee at Johnny's Tavern

Join us for the third annual 5K Mufindi Orphan's 5K run/walk on the Kaw River levee starting and finishing at Johnny's Tavern. A portion of the proceeds benefits the Foxes Community and Wildlife Conservation Trust which benefits rural populations affected by AIDS and orphan care in Tanzania. Register for $20 through 1/31 here.

March 10 @ 8:00am - Shamrock Shuffle 5K on the Kaw Rive Levee at Johnny's Tavern

Wear green and join us for this 23rd annual event, held in conjunction with the Lawrence St. Patrick's Day Parade and benefiting local charities. Race participants receive a T-shirt and an Irish breakfast compliments of Johnny's,

the St. Patrick's Day Parade Committee and Sponsors. Sign up for $25, or $20 for registrants under 18 years old, here.