Continue reading »]]> I haven’t been inspired to write much about my training. It is happening. It is going pretty good. First race is next weekend. I’m feeling ready-ish. I feel like each individual discipline is solid, but don’t know how they are all going to meld together at this point. But other than that, it gets boring to write about the same old same old. So, how about an update on baby Nate?

We are at 37.5 weeks – the home stretch so to speak. Jennie and Nate are both doing great. Jennie is absolutely adorable pregnant and looks like she swallowed a watermelon. Nate is passing all of his doctors appointments with flying colors. And when he isn’t sleeping, he is kicking the crap out of Jennie. It is amazing to be able to watch from across the room as he kicks and moves around.

The nursery is finally completed. It has been 100% functionally complete for a while now, but we wanted to put a few final touches on the room which we did in the past couple of weeks.

Once the walls were painted, Jennie got to work painting the wall quote. We chose an Irish lullaby to go above his crib.  We used an LCD projector to project the quote on the wall and then Jennie used paint pens to paint it on the wall.

We ended up going through 10 paint pens to copy the entire quote, but it was worth it don’t you think?

The next project was to repaint a rocking chair for Nate. The chair came from Jennie’s parents and is the rocking chair that she was rocked in as a baby. We wanted to freshen it up with a new coat of paint though.

I used some of the extra spray paint to paint some letters that Jennie picked up. The funny thing is that Jennie had originally bought the letters “E”, “A”, “T” with the intention of hanging them in the dining room. Then she found an “N” and with a quick rearrangement, we had some art for Nate’s room.

Recognize the shoes?

We got Nate’s dresser from Jennie’s parents and, like the rocking chair, was hers growing up. I added the changing table to the top. Rather than just put the changing pad on top (which was bound to slide all around under a squirming baby), I built a frame that will help hold it in place.

The next project was a bookcase. It came from my grandpa and just needed a fresh coat of white paint. Nate better like to read because he sure has a lot of books already. And I have a feeling that he and Jennie will be making plenty of trips up to the library.

One of the final touches we did this week was hang some art that Jennie had been working on. The blue ultrasound picture was a a Mother’s Day gift to Jennie (from me). I got the idea from this site, but figured I could make one cheaper myself. Thanks to a Facebook deal on a canvas print, it was much cheaper than having it made.

And finally, Nate is all ready to run. We just got a jogging stroller (a BOB Revolution SE) from my dad. We also got Nate’s first pair of Saucony running shoes from a friend of ours. I think he is ready to go!

Now we just play the waiting game… June 15th is the due date. Anyone have any guesses on when he will actually arrive???

Continue reading »]]> Two weeks ago, Jennie and I did the Rivertown Races Half Marathon & 5k. Half Marathon for me. 5k for Jennie and Nate. This was a fantastic race! Especially considering the fact that most of GR was underwater and the race had to be relocated at the last minute. Despite the relocation, they put on a near flawless race for their inaugural year. My goal for the race was to improve my PR from a couple weeks earlier (1:31:06) and officially best my unofficial PR (1:29:XX) that I ran during the first half of last year’s Woodland Marathon.

I met up with a couple guys from the RunGR group before the race. They are both much faster than I but figured that I could try and pace off of them a least early on. As soon as the gun went off, I took off and quickly found my groove. I knew that I would have to shoot for a 6:50 pace to hit my goal. After getting comfortable in my pace, I hit the first mile in 6:27. Yikes. A little too fast. I tried to hold up a bit for mile 2 and pulled back to a 6:36. Better, but still fast. However, I was comfortable, so I decided to just go with it. I kept my teammates in sight in front of me and used them to judge my speed. Around mile 4, I had a guy catch me and I chatted with him for about a mile before I dropped back. It is nice how much having someone to run with makes the time fly by.

In no time, we hit the turnaround point of the out and back course. It was a small race so I knew I was only 12 or 13 guys back from leaders at the turn. I was still feeling great and at that point and I knew that I pretty much had my goal in the bag unless something catastrophic happened.

The back half of the course had quite a bit of uphills which explains why my early miles were so fast – they were downhill and I didn’t realize it. The worst of the hills were from miles 9 & 10 where my pace dropped to just over 7:00 min/mile pace. I got passed by a couple people during this stretch but as soon as the course flattened back out, I picked the pace back up. I was super impressed with how much cheering the fellow runners did. I felt like I had a constant stream of cheering and I passed runners still headed out to the turn around. I did my best to smile, clap, and return the cheers.

In no time, I was on the last mile. Up until this point, the miles seemed to just be clicking by with relative ease. The final mile, however, seemed to take forever. At each corner, I could see two people (one of whom I knew) behind me and I was determined to hold them off. As I passed by the one runner’s husband and daughter, I could hear them cheer her name so I knew she was right on my heals. It gave me the motivation I needed to keep the pace up.

In the end, I managed to hold them both off and finished in 1:27:57 – good enough for 15/145 OA and 6th in my age group. A whopping 3+ minute PR! I can’t wait until I turn 30 this summer though. This makes for the 3rd race of the year where I would have podiumed in the 30-34 age group. haha. Oh well!

We followed up the Rivertown Races with the River Bank Run this past weekend. This is 9th year in a row that I have done the 25k – gotta keep the streak alive. Out of all those years, there is only one year where I haven’t gotten a PR, and I was hunting another one. I have had the goal of going sub-1:50 in my head since late last year so that is what I was shooting for. Actually, after doing the math, I was modified my goal to 1:48:30 which would be a 7:00 min/mile pace.

We got to the race super early because the 5k started at 7:20 and Jennie was running it. I had hoped to watch her race before I started at 8:20, but because of a new staggered start, it took Jennie over 15 minutes to even cross the start line. I was able to see her get started, but by that time, I had to start to get ready myself.

I lined up with the 7:00 pace group at the start. My intention was to stick with them until the halfway point and then work on picking up the pace if I felt good. That isn’t quite how it turned out though. Right out of the gate, I set my own pace and clicked off the first two miles at 6:50-ish. A few miles later and I had already built up a full minute buffer between myself and the 7:00 pace group.

In the past, I have sort of struggled with my pace a bit at this race because there are so many people. I do better in smaller groups and often having all the other runners around makes it harder for me to focus on my own race. Not this year though. I completely zoned out, found a groove, and ran my own race.

The hills of Butterworth slowed me down a bit as usual but I was taking them in stride and not discouraged. However, at mile 13 the wheels really started to fall off and I had to hold on for dear life. This is totally my fault as my training for this race was a bit sub-par. My 2 long runs leading up to the race were two half marathons; I never ran the full 15.5 miles ahead of time. Nor did I do the recommended hill workouts. I paid for it during the final 2.5 miles.

Thankfully I held the final miles at a 7:00 min/mile pace so that I could hit my goal. I crossed the finish line in 1:47:58 shattering my previous PR by 6+ minutes! I couldn’t be more happy with the results.

After the race we cleaned up and met up with the RunGR group for some Mexican recovery food before promptly passing out on the couch for a long nap.

Thanks for reading!

Continue reading »]]>

Update: I had this post scheduled to go out this morning, but had to come back and make an update after the tragedy in Boston yesterday. I am deeply sadden by everything I am hearing out of Boston and my prayers go out to all those injured or killed. My hearted is buoyed by the sights and reports of runners running back into the chaos to help the victims, donate blood, and simply pull together as a community. It gives me chills to think that if not for 12 seconds last March, we’d probably have been there today. If you have a race shirt, wear it today in support of the victims.

Race 1: Martian Half Marathon

About two weeks ago, I won a free entry to the Martian Invasion of Races from the Refuel With Chocolate Milk group. With a 5k, 10k, half marathon, and marathon available, I ended up deciding on the half marathon. Part of me wanted to do the full, but I knew that there is no way that I would be 100% ready so I decided to play it smart. In the end, it was a really good decision.

My goal for this race was to simply use it as a training run. In the back of my head, I had a plan of shooting for a 7:30min pace for the first 7 miles and then picking it up to 7:00min for the final 6. However, once I got started, that quickly changed. I logged a 7:04 for the first mile and felt great. I tried to reign it in for the 2nd mile, but my split was even faster. So, I decided to just go with it.

I was cruising along and feeling great. I ran with the same couple of guys pretty much the whole race. We traded spots back and forth every so often. It wasn’t until mile 11 that my legs started to feel tired. At that point there was no way I was going to let myself slow down though.

I ended up finishing in 1:31:06 (6:59 average). 57th out of 1953 overall and 8th out of 83 in my age group. This actually goes down as my “official” half marathon PR. My unofficial half marathon PR is the first half of the Woodlands Marathon last year where Jeff and I did 1:29:XX. But this is my fastest stand alone half marathon time thus far.

As for the race itself, I really enjoyed the course this year. They had to make a last minute change to the course due to flooding. Typically, the course is a long out and back. With the change, we instead weaved through some neighborhoods and loop around different areas. It was a much more manageable course and much more spectator friendly in my opinion. The only problem with the changed course is that the full marathon racers started an hour and half or so before the half marathon and did two loops of the course. This meant that as we were starting, the full marathoners were starting their second loop. I felt so bad for them because all of a sudden they had hundreds of people with fresh legs zipping by them. In their shoes, I would have been very demoralized. Overall, it seems like this race has grown a bit too big over the past couple years since I last raced it. With all the events, it just seemed super chaotic at time. Granted, they did their best to keep it organized, but it still seemed like a lot was going on.

Race 2: Fisk Knob Time Trial

The 2nd race of the weekend was the Fisk Knob Time Trial. I raced this last year and was anxious to get back out there and better my results. Unfortunately, the course changed this year and it was only 15 miles instead of 17.5 so no direct comparison. Plus, the weather this year was much less conducive to fast racing than last year – barely above freezing with blowing wind.

After layering up in as many layers I could stand and still be able to move, I started to do a warmup. That is if you can really call it a warmup. I was FREEZING. I spent about 20 minutes riding around to get comfortable. It also gave me a chance to test out my new wheel cover. I was a bit hesitant to break it out for the first time on such a windy day but after 20 minutes, I knew it wasn’t going to be a problem.

Right out of the gate, I started to hammer it. I knew the wind was going to be at my back for the first half of the course so I decided to just go with it. I caught my first rider about 2 miles in and then set my sights on the next person.

Before I knew it, I hit the halfway turn around. I knew that the 2nd half of the course was going to be tougher with the headwind and that it had a lot more uphills to make up for the downhills on the first half. I dug deep and just focused. A few miles later and I was making the final climb to the finish line.

I ended up finishing in 39:10 which earned me a podium spot in the Cat 5 division – 3rd out of 40. 

Yes, that is snow. It freaking snowed after I was done.

And on top of that, I won a 6-pack of New Holland Monkey King beer in the raffle! Double win!

Stay tuned for a review of our new bike rack. Short review… I LOVE IT!

Continue reading »]]> With another year of training underway, I decided to create some baselines to work with. This involved figuring out my specific zones for each discipline. I have sort of done this in the past, but never really knew what I was doing or really used the results beyond the test. However, now that I have a power meter, I figure that I better actually make the most of it.

There are numerous different ways to calculate your power & heart rate zones and I decided on using Joe Friel’s method which you can read about here in detail if you want.

Biking

I did the bike test first. This involved 30 minutes of pure pain on the trainer last week – 20 minute warm up, 30 minute time trial, and then a 10 minute cool down. Using the Friel method, your FTP is your average power over the 30 minute time trial. A lot of methods use a 20 minute time trial effort and then taking 95% of your average power as your FTP. In the end, both test appear to have given similar results.

You can see where the pain occurred.

I definitely started out too hard and then began to fade off a bit towards the end. Also, I couldn’t seem to find a single gear to hold. In one I would struggle to keep 90RPM and the other I was spinning out at 105RPM. So, I started to switch back and forth between gears each minute as you can see by the peaks and valleys.

In the end, I finished with an FTP of 275W and a power to weight ratio of 3.7 which puts me in the range of a “good” Cat 3 rider. I’ll take it!

Broken down, my new power zones are as follows:

Zone 1: 151 or less
Zone 2: 151 – 203
Zone 3: 204 – 244
Zone 4: 145 – 289
Zone 5: 290 – 330
Zone 6: 330 +

I have an outdoor time trial this weekend and it will be interesting to see how my numbers compare in an outdoor, race setting.

There was a minor fail I the test though. I forgot to wear my HRM. Doh! With the power data, I shouldn’t have to worry about HR zones too much on the bike, but it would have still been good to have.

Running

As for the running test, I did that tonight on the treadmill. The Friel method also uses a 30 minute test for the run. However, with the run test, the first 10 minutes of the test are thrown out and only the final 20 minutes are used.

I started off with a 15 minute warmup at 8min/mile pace before ramping it up to a 7min/mile pace. Then, for next 30 minutes, I bumped up the pace gradually every 5 minutes until finishing at a 6min/mile pace.

In the end, I finished with an average heart rate of 157bpm for the final 20 minutes.

Using Friel’s calculations, my new heart rate zones are as follows:

Zone 1: 0 – 133
Zone 2: 133 -  140
Zone 3: 141 – 147
Zone 4: 148 – 155
Zone 5a: 157 – 160
Zone 5b: 161 – 166
Zone 5c: 167 +

Swimming

I hadn’t planned on doing a swim test, but I actually realized that I did one without knowing it. The Friel method recommends doing a 1,000yd time trial and dividing your time by 10 to calculate your T-time. As luck would have it, I just recently did an indoor triathlon with a 15 minute all out swim. I was timing my own laps using my stopwatch and hit the 1000 mark in 14:15. That puts me at a T-Pace of 1:26/100 yards.

So, testing is complete. Time to start continue to build!

Do you do FTP or HR testing? If so, what method do you use? How often do you repeat the tests?

Continue reading »]]> I am not really intending on doing weekly summaries (been there, done that), but I at least wanted to do one for the first week of training as a way of officially getting back in the groove.

I mixed around some of my workouts to fit my work schedule, but I managed to get all my workouts in. Overall, I felt great doing the workouts. My hardest day was a bike and swim back to back which is actually something I have never done before. Let’s just say, I am very glad the swim is the first leg of the race.

For my weekly speed work, I did the Irish Jig 5k – an annual tradition. The start is only a mile away and they have nice swag (tech shirt and pint glass) so it is hard to pass up. It is crazy how much of a difference a year makes though. Last year it was 70* at the start and I wore shorts and a t-shirt. This year it was a feels like temp of 18*. Brrrrr!

Last year vs. this year. Hello Nate (and nipples).

As 5k’s go, this is a bit of a tough course only because the first mile is all down hill and then the 2nd mile is all up hill. That means you get flying out of the gate faster than you should and then have to hold on for dear life. To add to the pain, this year we had a headwind for the entire 2nd mile.

I picked a bad starting position and spent the first half mile weaving and trying to get in a good position. Never the less, I ended up finishing in 19:45 (43 seconds slower than last year) good enough for 11th out of 211 in my age group. Considering I recently recovered from the plague flu, I really happy with the outcome. It is right where I had hoped to be at the start.

After finishing, I walked back to the start line with Jennie for her race. Men’s and women’s races are separate because it is such a big race – 4700 racers this year. I jumped in and ran with her for part of the race too. It was great to run with Jennie and Nate. We also got to see a friend who did IMMT out there (24 weeks pregnant) kicking butt too.

Later that afternoon I wrapped up the day’s workouts with a 2:40 trainer ride. We had Skyfall from Netflix so I hooked up a projector I have from work and watched that while I rode. Jennie and Bailey got the comfy spot on the futon. My legs were toast after an hour and the rest was a struggle.

Finally, you may have seen on FB that my Grandpa passed away this past week. Thank you very much for everyone who left a comment, texted, email, etc.. It really means a lot. While he was in an assisted living center, he went quicker than anyone foresaw. However, he did go peacefully and on his own terms. He was a great man and will remain in our hearts forever.

159 Days. The countdown is back on the sidebar.

Continue reading »]]> Today kicks off the official start of my 2013 season. I’ve had a few fun races earlier this year, but all of my training has been completely unstructured. It was a lot of fun and gave me some time off mentally. However, now it is time to kick things into gear. Today is 24 weeks out from Michigan Titanium so I’ll be starting a 24-week training plan (basically the same plan I used to train for IMMT and IMWI).

Week 1 starts off nice and easy – only 11 hours of workouts. Today is a 1 hour bike and 1 hour swim. It should be interesting as they will be my first workouts in a week since getting sick. I tried to work out a couple times but was reduced to a fit of coughing. Fingers crossed!

As for a race schedule, here is what I have so far for this year. If there are any races you are going to be at, let me know so I can look for you!

Irish Jig 5k – 3/16 – This is a hard one to go fast at for me because it is fairly crowded. So much so that the men’s and women’s races are separate which is nice because Jennie and I get to cheer for each other. A couple weeks ago I had hope to flirt with a PR here but this flu has shot that idea down the crapper.

Barry Roubaix – 3/23 – I did this race for the first time last year. 35 miles of dirt and gravel roads. I have a nicer bike for this years race, but it really all comes down to road conditions. It is taking longer to warm up than last year which could make things interesting. Plus, the course is slightly different and they opened up registration to an extra 1000 riders.

Fisk Knob TT – 4/14 – Again, another repeat from last year. I’m hoping to crush the hell out of this time trial. 17-ish miles of all out speed with a killer climb to the finish line.

Rivertown Races Half Marathon - 4/27 – A new addition this year. Actually a brand new race altogether. I’m running the half and Jennie & Nate are doing the 5k. It was cheap and should be a good warm up for the River Bank Run.

River Bank Run 25k – 5/11 – A annual tradition. This will be 9 in a row. Depending on how training goes over the next couple months, I will determine if I am going to shoot for a PR (1:54-ish) or just try and maintain my 2 Hour Club status.

Trifecta - 5/19 – Not sure if this is happening this yet or not. I missed doing this one last year and want to check it out. 42 miles of dirt roads and single track visiting 3 different trail systems.

Grand Rapids Tri 70.3 – 6/9 – I’m looking forward for a comeback after a frustrating race last year. The bike course is slightly different than last year; a bit hillier but smoother roads so it should even out. However, it is 6 days before Nate’s due date so it could be a potential DNS.

MSU Gran Fondo or Reeds Lake 5k & 10k – 6/29 – I still have to pick one of these two events. I’m leaning towards the Gran Fondo because it is brand new and will be the first Gran Fondo in the area. The Reeds Lake 5k & 10k (you can race both because of staggered start times) is close to home though.

Tri Del Sol – 7/20 – Taking things back to where it all started. Tri Del Sol 2008 was my first tri ever. I did it again the following year but haven’t been back. It should be fun to see how fast I can go while doing endurance training.

Millennium Triathlon - 8/3 – Bringing back another race from my early days. I’ve done this one twice (signed up 3 times but the 3rd was cancelled because of weather).

Michigan Titanium 140.6 – 8/25 – The big races of the season. After volunteering last year, I am excited to participated this year. While not a Kona Qualifier, the smaller field should allow me to hopefully place fairly well. Plus, it isn’t every day that you can sleep in your own bed before an ironman race.

Reeds Lake Tri – 9/7 – This has become perenial season ender for me.

Bridge Run – 9/15 – This one has never fit into my schedule before and I have never raced a 10 miler before. I get a free entry this year though as part of the RunGR group.

Grand Rapids Marathon – 10/19 – Now that I have Lifetime Registration, why not? No idea what the plan will be but I would definitely consider doing MyTeamTriumph again like this past year.

There are a few other races and events that I would like to do, but they are secondary and it all depends on what my schedule looks like when it gets closer.

Ride Around Kent County – 5/18 – I did this 2 years ago and it is an awesome training ride. 150 miles around the county.

Greenville Tri – 6/2 – A buddy of mine is organizing this one and it would be great to support it. It all depends on Nate’s schedule for it though.

Jenison Tri - 5/18 – A new event this year – probably the earliest outdoor tri in the area. At this rate though, they better hope the water is warm enough for a swim.

Lowell 50 Spring/Fall – I did spring 28 mile course and fall 50 mile course last year. I’m going to be a fair weather racer this year though. If the weather is looking good, I may sign up at the last minute.

Honeycreek Duathlon – September – This was a fun event last year and I might go for it again if the weekend is open. I actually think duathlons might be harder than triathlons (at least for me). The run at the beginning really cooks the legs for the bike.

Iceman – 11/2 – This is a huge bike race up north. It is already sold out (filled up in 32 minutes) but they allow transfers.

Le Tour de Donut – September – Just depends on what else is going on but definitely a possibility if not simply for the donuts and cider.

Augusta Ironman 70.3 – 9/29 – This one has the potential to be a blast. Huge blogger meetup and a great race. It would, however, involve a 16 hour car ride with a 3 month old.

How is your training going? What are you big events for 2013?

Thanks for reading!

Continue reading »]]> I’m Sick (In my most pathetic Sheldon Cooper-esq voice)

I finally have a few minutes to post an update. Why? Well, because I am laid up sick. I woke up with a sore throat on Friday. On Saturday, I slogged through an 11 mile run, which at the time seemed to help, but was probably a bad idea. I then stood around in the cold while volunteering at a race that afternoon. I finally threw in the towel on Sunday halfway through a 3 hour cycling class. I didn’t necessarily feel bad, I just had zero energy. Monday, I still had zero energy but thought I was on the mend. Unfortunately I took a giant leap backwards last night/this morning. I actuall took my first ever sick day at work after having worked at the same company for over 11 years. It basically boiled down to the fact that I was up all night coughing and barely slept. Not pleasant at all. I started running a fever today which is just crazy because I can’t even remember the last time I had a fever since I so rarely get sick.

It is looking like days completely off from training today and tomorrow. Here’s to hoping I am back as a productive member of society by Thursday.

Moving on Up Down

Despite being sick, I was able to finish off my new basement office space and get moved in over the weekend (yes, I’m sure I probably should have just rested but it isn’t in my DNA).  I started this project after finishing up the bathroom and it ended being a bit more involved than planned. Initially, I had planned on just getting up the walls and drywall. However, a good deal on some laminate flooring prompted me to go all out turn it into a full blow office space. I still need to put in a drop ceiling, but will wait for the ceiling tiles to go on sale.

I’ve only worked down there one day but I think it is going to make for a great space. It nearly double the size of my previous space which means I have more room to store some of tri gear. I definitely need to buy a space heater though as it was hovering below 60* yesterday. Once summer gets here though, it is going to be nice and cool in the summer heat.

Baby Nate Update

Getting my office moved was step 1 in prepping for Nate’s nursery as he is taking over my former space. With my stuff moved out, there shouldn’t be too much to do other than repaint and decorate. Fingers crossed that will be my last big project for a while.

Jennie is doing great with the pregnancy. She looks super cute with her bump and continues to run. Things definitely seem to be getting more difficult for her (getting up from a seat, bending over, etc.) but she is a real trooper and has a great sense of humor about it. She has to have a great sense of humor though when I jump into the room, shake her belly, and say, “And Jennie’s getting laaarrrrrggggeeerrr.” (If you don’t get that joke, watch this).

We started the craziness of shopping and putting together a registry last weekend. Somehow, I still don’t quite know how, I managed to make it out of Babies ‘R Us in one piece. Epic craziness. So much stuff – much of it useless IMHO.

We have one more monthly checkup and then our bi-weekly checkups start. That means that we are wrapping up the 2nd trimester. Not only that, but a lot of the prep classes Jennie signed us up for will be kicking off.

Bring it on T3!

Continue reading »]]> So this happened yesterday…

Yep. I bought a PowerTap.

I have spent the last two offseasons on the trainer using the TrainerRoad software which has given me the opportunity to train with Virtual Power. VirtualPower is essentially an estimate of your power output based on the trainer you are using and your speed/cadence sensor. It has been a huge benefit to my workouts so I decided to take the plunge and have the option to train with power on and off the trainer. Plus, now my power readings on the trainer will be accurate measurements rather than the Virtual Power estimates. And as a bonus, the wheel (which I got used from a teammate) even came with a Wheelbuilder AeroJacket for racing!

For all the other power heads out there, any advice for a newbie? I’ve already downloaded Golden Cheetah and got a copy of Training and Racing With a Power Meter to read. What else should I know right off the bat?

I am actually excited to do my first real FTP test, but probably won’t get to it until the weekend or even next week.

Thanks for reading!

Continue reading »]]> It’s done! At long last, it is done! We have finally finished our giant bathroom remodel. Now that we have been using the newly remodeled bathroom for over 2 weeks, I figure it is time to finally get this post up.

Warning. This is a super long post. Probably the longest post I have ever done. I thought about breaking it up into multiple posts, but I figured this is the sort of post that might only interest some readers, so I figured I wouldn’t drag it out. So, if you haven’t lost interest yet, sit back, grab a drink, and enjoy. (Special “Thanks” goes out to my beautiful wife who not only took time to edit this post for me because I was sick of looking at it, but also for putting up with nearly 4 months without a main floor bathroom.)

Let’s go back to where this all started. Here is what our bathroom used to look like.

While functional, we absolutely hated it. From the fake stone surround, to the almond fixtures, to the green floor tile, it all had to go. One thing that you might not be able to see is the fact that there is a window in the shower. Look closely. See it? Oh, that’s right, the previous remodel covered it up. However, because it is a brick house, the window still existed on the exterior. Classy.

So, our main goals for this remodel were to replace everything and re-expose the window. Not that big of a deal, right?

First step was that everything had to go. Let the demolition begin!

The stone surround actually came down fairly easily. Just a little muscle and it was out in no time. Jennie got to take out some aggression on the drywall.

It was quick work and eventually we found the hidden window! It immediately became apparent as to how much natural light we were missing out on without the window. The window itself left a lot to be desired; glass block and an aluminum clad tilt-in window that had seen better days. The insulation was a joke as well. It was sporadic at best, and I doubt it was really doing any good.

Demolition actually was a fairly slow moving and tedious process for a couple of reasons. First off, we didn’t rent a large dumpster or anything, so we were bound by what we could fit in our weekly trash can. We did amass a pile of debris in the garage in between trash can fillings, but we didn’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves. Also, as you might be able to see in the picture above, the previous remodeler put in horizontal furring strips. I’m still not 100% sure why they did this other than to possibly ease the hanging of drywall over some uneven studs. However, they also glued the drywall to the furring strips as well as screwing them down. This made pulling down the drywall a much bigger job than usual.

There was just a little water damage around the window frame. Thankfully, though, the damage all appeared to be very old and had already been partially fixed. We’d still need to remove and replace some of the structure around the window though.

Once I built up the framing around the window, I was able to measure for a replacement. This is one of the reasons why we started the project so early. I knew that ordering the custom window would take 2-3 weeks— during which time, we would essentially have a hole in the side of the house and we wanted the weather to be warm for that.

With the replacement ordered, it was a bit of a waiting game for it to come in. As soon as it came it, I set about installing it. For this step, I used plenty of online resources for tips. Probably the best resource I found was a series of videos at Fine Home Building for How to Install a Full-Frame Replacement Window in a Brick Wall. These videos were super helpful at guiding me through the necessary steps to properly install, flash, and insulate the window.

I ended up trimming out the exterior of the window with a PVC brick molding that won’t rot and looks nice with the rest of the windows on the house.

With the window in, I insulated the entire bathroom. Rather than just insulate the exterior wall, I figured it wasn’t going to cost much more to insulate the entire bathroom. It was pretty incredible how big of a difference getting the window and insulation installed made. The room warmed right up and was super quiet.

And this is basically where the project got put on hold. With the weather remaining warm out, and the purchase of a new mountain bike, I found better things to do.

Eventually, the weather cooled off and I decided that it was time to get back to work. Next up was drywall. I still had some plumbing and electrical to do, but I could at least start on getting the drywall up on the ceiling and walls without utilities. I used a t-brace made out of some scrap 2×4 so that Jennie could help hold the drywall for the ceiling in place while I screwed it into place. Because Jennie was helping, no pictures of that. I used standard drywall for the entire bathroom rather than any cement board or green moisture board, which is what you’d typically see in a bathroom environment. I’ll get to why in a minute.

Jennie and Bailey sacrificed their office area as the staging area for the project. Bailey made extra sure to keep an eye on things for us.

With most of the drywall up, I had to finish up the electrical and plumbing work. As part of the remodel, we decided to switch the positioning of vanity and toilet. Previously, you entered the door with the toilet on the left, then the vanity, then the tub/shower. We wanted the toilet between the vanity and the tub/shower, so the plumbing and electrical had to be moved. We also found a great ceiling fan/light combo, rather than just a ceiling fan, which would require additional wiring.

While doing the electrical, I also framed out the new medicine cabinet, a Cartwright Medicine Cabinet from Restoration Hardware.

The electrical was a breeze… except for a faulty switch that wasted my time until I tried a different one. Oh well. It is always something. Plumbing, however, was a bigger issue. There were a couple issues involved with the plumbing. First off, the original plumbing came up straight through the floor. Unfortunately, this wouldn’t work with the new vanity we had purchased. For the new vanity, the plumbing would have to come up in the wall space. That leads into the second issue; directly below the base of the wall was a floor joist, which made installing the pipes a challenge. Each of them had to be curved slightly to orient around the floor joist. The PVC waste line, however, could not be curved like the copper pipes. So, instead, the waste pipe had to be routed around the corner thhn down through the available open space.

In order to run the PVC, I had to notch some of the studs. Don’t worry though, MattyO, I reinforced the crap out of both walls. I just forgot to take a picture of that.

Unfortunately, this wasn’t the last of the plumbing issues. The final issue with the plumbing was the fact that our main shutoff valve for the house doesn’t entirely shut off the water; it still trickles out slowly despite being shut off. This makes sweating copper pipes nearly impossibly– pipes with water in them don’t heat up enough to solder them. Thankfully, I discovered an awesome product at Home Depot– SharkBite connectors. I was skeptical at first of their simplicity, but they lived up to the reviews. They are fittings for copper pipes (and other materials) that simply press onto the pipe with no soldering or tools required. They were the perfect solution to the problem. They are significantly more than plain old copper fittings but they saved a major headache. You can see a couple of the SharkBite connectors (right angle elbows) below.

Along with connecting up the copper pipe, I had to tie in the PVC waste line to the main stack. This wasn’t a huge job, but it required lots of figuring on how to route the pieces so that they made the correct angles.

With a break in the weather, I took the opportunity to install the proper ceiling fan vent on the roof. Previously, the ceiling fan in the bathroom simply vented into the attic, which is a big no-no because it can cause moisture build-up and possibly mold in the attic.

With a hole cut in the roof, I better figure out what I am doing now.

Whew. I figured it out. I then tied the fan to the vent using an insulated pipe.

Unfortunately, this is the portion of the work that (I think) ended up injuring my abdominal muscles. You see, the only way in and out of our attic is through a narrow opening in the back of a closet. I really have to twist and contort my body to simply pull myself up. I honestly can’t imagine being any bigger than I currently am and still fitting. Anyways, I had to contort and lift myself up and down from the attic at least a dozen times as I worked on this project. It was after that when I started to have pain in my right upper abdominal. And (stupidly), I didn’t back off from training and made it far worse.

Next up was getting the floor prepped. As you can tell from the picture below, I still have a bit of drywall to do, but I wanted to get the floor backer board down while I had some extra room to work with. In order to get the floor in, I had to remove the old toilet waste pipe because we were swapping the position of the vanity and toilet.

The old waste line (and connected waste stack) was cast iron, which can be very difficult to cut through. I was actually dreading this task because I knew that if something went wrong cutting out the toilet flange, the project would get expensive very fast. I borrowed my boss’s reciprocating saw, picked up a Lenox Diamond saw blade and got to work. Thankfully, it all went great, it just took awhile. Cutting through cast iron is a slow process and it took a good 20 minutes of cutting just to make it through the 3” pipe.

With the pipe gone, It was time to get the floor in. I used 1/4” cement board on the floor. This was used primarily to create a solid, smooth surface for adhering the tile. Because of the small space, I had to cut the board into smaller pieces than planned in order to get it into place. Once I had it dryfit, I labeled each piece and then pulled them out so I could mud them in.

With the pieces out, I applied a basic cement-based mortar to the floor with a 1/4” square-notched trowel. I did one piece at a time and then screwed down the pieces with cement board screws once they were in place.

With the new sub-floor in, I could finish off the drywall. I was to the piece I was dreading. This piece, along the wall with all the fixtures would require a bunch of holes cut in it to allow for the rough plumbing. I actually had what I would like to think was a brilliant idea on how to handle this. Using a scrap piece of drywall, I would hold it in place where each pipe was and cut the necessary holes. Because it was scrap, I had some wiggle room and could recut the holes if my measurements were off.

Then, I would take the template, line it up with the actual piece and transfer the markings. And it worked perfectly. Ok, almost perfectly. The template worked great when I actually used it correctly. As you can see below, I misaligned the holes for the shower valve and tub spout. Whoops! I accidentally flipped the template over when transferring the marks, so my measurements were off. No big deal though, I patched the holes. They would eventually be covered by tile anyway.

On to my least favorite activity. Mudding. It is the absolute worst. It is time-consuming, boring, and messy. After taping all of the joints, I got to work. It took a couple applications of mud before I could start sanding.

And then things really got messy.

I actually do have a sander that attaches to a shopvac, which is supposed to keep the dust down, but it is a pain to work with. Sure, it keeps the dust down, but you are constantly fighting the suction of the shopvac and it wears your arms out pretty fast.

With the drywall mudded, and sanded, I could finally start putting the room back together. This was really the turning point of the project. This whole time, I felt like I kept making more of a mess and the project seemed never-ending. However, now that the walls were up and prepped, it really felt like I could see the finish line.

So, onto the tile work. But first, a little waterproofing. For this, I used a product called Kerdi by a company called Schluter. I first learned of the product on This Old House. After doing a bit more research on the product, it seemed like the definite way to go. Waterproofing was a definite concern based on the previous water damage I uncovered, and the fact that we have a window in the bathroom, which can be an avenue for future water damage. The beauty of the stuff is that it completely waterproofs the bathroom. Once it is installed, you could technically start using the shower; tile is unnecessary and essentially becomes decoration. This is why I used standard drywall for the entire bathroom, rather than using a more typical cement board or greenboard. Schluter actually recommends (and requires for warranty) that regular drywall be used because the product adheres better. Other materials can suck the moisture out of the mortar used the apply the Kerdi, resulting in possible adhesion problems.

Anyway, I can’t say enough good things about this product. If it only works half as well as they say it does, it will be well worth it. It is super easy to put in. All you need to be able to do is work a pair of scissors and a trowel. Cost-wise, it was worth it. The product itself was about $250 to do our entire tub surround. They also make specialty products if you are tiling a full shower (no tub) or other non-typical installations.

I started by putting a narrow band right around the tub. This makes it easier when putting up the wall pieces because you don’t have to be as precise with them and it is easier working with the small pieces.

The larger pieces went up one wall at a time, with the back wall requiring two pieces. Simply trowel on some mortar, push the Kerdi into place, and then smooth it out. I used a plastic trowel to smooth it and work out any lumps or air bubbles.

One piece up. Easy as pie.

Before we had covered up the rest of the walls, we signed our work.

Probably should go back and change that to “2012-2013”. haha.

While I worked on hanging a piece, Jennie measured and cut out the next piece I would need. The material itself is like fabric and cut easily.

In a few short hours, I had the rest of the Kerdi installed. Properly wrapping the window took some extra time, but I wanted to make sure I got it right as the window was one of the main reasons I wanted to use the Kerdi in the first place.

If I had to do it over, the only thing I would do differently is that I would not have mudded and sanded the corners in the shower area. When I was finishing the drywall, I used corner tape and finished off the interior corners, which is what you would normally do for a painted wall. However, you do get a bit of build-up from the layers of mud. Add in the little bit of build-up from the Kerdi and it starts to get pretty thick. Not a huge deal, but lesson learned.

With the Kerdi in place, I could start to figure out a tile pattern. Jennie picked out a classic white 3”x6” subway tile. So, using some tape, I marked off the wall lengths on the floor. From there, I could play with different layouts to find what worked best. Mainly, I was trying to avoid any awkward seams or rows that had really narrow pieces at the end. With the size of the tile and walls, I was actually able to find a pretty good pattern simply by centering the middle tile on the wall and working out. This doesn’t always work; but in our case, we got lucky.

With the pattern laid out, I headed into the bathroom to get to work. I started by attaching a ledger board to the wall roughly one tile height (3”) up. I had some reservations about this because it required screwing through the Kerdi membrane, which I worked so hard to install, and I didn’t want to jeopardize the waterproofing. However, Kerdi makes a sealant for just this such thing. Having the ledger board makes it a lot easier to get the first row in nice and level– especially when you live in an older house where nothing is level. In our case, the tub is ever so slightly out of level (probably due to the house settling over time). So, by using the ledger board, I could make the tile level and then worry about fitting in the bottom row at the end.

Each row of tiles had to have the two end pieces cut. I had two pieces of equipment on hand to aid in this. First, I borrowed a wet saw (tile saw) from our neighbors. Second, after reading up on it, I bought a tile snapper. Initially, I thought the tile saw was the way to go; but in the end, I used the tile snapper for 95% of the cuts. It was super easy to use and didn’t make a mess like the wet saw.

I really took my time at first, making sure everything was lined up perfectly. The tiles we bought didn’t have built-in spaces like some tiles do, so I used 1/16” spacers to give everything a uniform look. Working with the spacers did slow thing down a bit; so given the opportunity, I’d probably look for tiles with built-in spacers next time.

After I got comfortable with the process, it really started to fly. In no time, I had all of the walls done. I still had to go back and do the bottom row though. For this row, I am really glad that I had the wet saw. Because of the tub being out of level, each of these tiles had to have a little bit shaved off the bottom– something that wasn’t possible with the tile snapper. Once the bottom row was in, I lined the perimeter of the tub with a matching bullnose trim piece.

As you can see by the orange on the walls, I sort of overestimated the sizing of the Kerdi. No problem there though. I simply used a utility knife to cut it along the tiles’ edge and then peeled off the excess. I had to sand and re-mud a couple spots (ugh), but it was better than underestimating.

After the tile set overnight, I could start grouting. For the walls, we used a white unsanded grout. My only recommendation here is do NOT buy premixed grout. I originally bought some while it was on sale, then proceeded to read nothing but bad things about it, and ended up buying the correct type from The Tile Shop. Take the time and mix it yourself.

Getting the grout in really made a big difference. When it is just the tile on the wall, it never looks great. All the imperfections are magnified. Once the grout was in, it looked awesome though.

With the grout in and dry, I could tackle trimming out the window. For this, I took some measurements and then assembled the entire unit before installing it. This way, I avoided nailing through the trim and thus through the Kerdi waterproof membrane. The entire window trim unit was built with Azek PVC-material, which is a non-wood product. This is key because now there is absolutely nothing in or around the window that is susceptible to rot. The window is vinyl. The framing is wrapped in Kerdi. And the trim is PVC. To install the window, I used a generous amount of adhesive (Liquid Nails) and then caulked around the entire window with silicone caulk to further prevent water issues.

Tada! The window! This baby is waterproofed and sealed so tightly it could be used on a submarine.

Let the painting begin! My favorite interior decorator (Jennie) picked out a nice dark gray color for the walls. First though, I had to put on a coat of primer and drywall sealer. That went up quickly though. Next was the ceiling and then the walls.

We opted for a Valspar Ultra, which is a no-VOC paint. This was pretty nice because you don’t get the typical paint smell and it is safer when you have a pregnant woman in the house. It claims to be a “one coat” paint, but I have never found a “one coat” paint that actually was… So, we ended up with two coats of it for full coverage.

While the paint was drying, I decided to start reinstalling the shower fixtures. And ran into problems. Part of the remodel included changing all of the fixtures to white with brushed nickel accents (handles, faucets, etc.). Well, the brushed nickel replacements for the shower didn’t work.

It is hard to tell from the picture, but the shower valve and tub spout were positioned too closely together for the new handle to fit. In fact, I had to even notch out the escutcheon plate in order to even get that to fit before I realized the handle wouldn’t fit. The only solution was to undo the work I had just finished up.

Off came the tile. Well, off came two tiles to be more precise. Understandably, I was hesitant to start ripping out tile, but there was little else I could do. Thankfully, the two tiles I had to remove came out easily .

I also cut an access hole on the opposite side of the wall, which made it easy to work on. All I had to do was lengthen one little section of pipe at least an inch. It was so frustrating because I have no idea why the previous remodelers didn’t do this in the first place. I ended up lowering the tub spout down about 2” to give everything the room it needed.

Once the paint dried and I had the tub fixtures squared away, I could start working on the floor tiles. Again, I deferred to my interior decorator on this one. If you remember, we had the large, ugly, green tiles on the floor previously. We wanted something light in color and small in size in hopes of making the room feel bigger. After going back and forth over lots of options, we ended up with a white 3/4” hex tile from The Tile Shop.

It turns out that small tiles, despite coming on 12”x12” mesh sheets, are very difficult to work with. Even though the tiles are on sheets, they are prone to the joints changing shape and the sheets getting stretched or compressed. I found a blog post over at Remodelaholic that gave me lots of good tips on how to get started and best work with the tile though.

Step one was doing a dry layout of the tile and cutting the pieces that needed to be cut. Cutting this tile was probably about the only easy thing about it. Because of the small shape and mesh backing, it was easy to cut the tile to fit around the toilet flange, walls, and door. I simply cut out the necessary tiles with a utility knife by slicing through the mesh backing. Once in place, I labeled each piece’s position on the floor with both a number and arrow indicating the direction that should be facing the tub.

And then I got to work setting the tile. One sheet at a time, I troweled on the mortar and scraped off the excess with a notched trowel. I carefully laid each sheet before pushing it into place. The trick I learned by the end of the project is to line up the sheet you are putting down with a sheet already in place and then just slide it over into position. That way, you have at least one dimension lined up from the get go. If you try to just set it in place, it will always be off and you will have to align it on both dimensions.

As each sheet went in, I used a board and rubber mallet to gently tap on each sheet to make sure all of the individual tiles were level. I had been warned that it is easy to get one or two small tiles that stand proud of the rest of the sheet, which can cause an unevenness or sharp spot once the floor is finished.

I gave the tile overnight to set up and came back the next day to grout. Unfortunately, I had to do a little bit of repair work before I could grout. With the small tiles, it is easy to missing a spot with mortar or simply not get enough mortar for each individual tile. With larger tiles, this isn’t an issue because if you only get mortar on 75% of the tile, it is still going to stick without a problem. I was able to repair the floor fairly easily. However, for a few frustrating spots were only one little tile refused to stay in position, I used Jennie’s hot glue gun to hold it in place temporarily, knowing that eventually the grout would hold it in its final position.

With all the tile in place, I mixed up some grout. Like the shower, we stuck with a white grout. However, this time, we switched to a sanded grout, which is better for wider joints and gives a little bit more traction to the potentially wet floor.

Done! Once I got the grout in, the tile looked awesome. It was definitely worth the headache to get the look we wanted. I also put in a base cove tile around the perimeter of the room. This serves as both a base trim and a way to cover up the jagged edge of the tile.

With the floor done, it was time to start putting the room back together. I got the toilet, vanity, and medicine cabinet installed. Getting the main floor toilet installed was rapidly becoming a requirement with a pregnant wife.

We are getting down to the home stretch. And I know what you are probably thinking. They did all that work, and they left that ugly tub in there. Never fear! That was one of the last steps of the project. Our tub was in great shape and there was nothing wrong with it, except for the color. So, rather than go through the added expense and time of replacing it, we had it refinished. There is a local company called Bath Masters that handled this. I called to schedule an appointment, and they had a guy over the next day. He taped off the entire room, sandblasted the tub to deep-clean it, and then recolored and reglazed it.

The whole process took less than 3 hours and was totally worth it. It only cost $250, which is a huge savings over what a new tub would have cost considering how much extra work it would have been to remove our old tub and install a new one.

With the tub done, it was time to do the final caulking. I’m still not quite comfortable freehanding my caulk job, so I taped everything off first. While it takes a bit of extra time, it really makes the job a breeze.

And with that, the project was basically done! All the was left was “final” decorations.

Tada! With and without the shower curtain. We have the old shower curtain back in place for now so we can use the bathroom, but we are hoping to eventually add a glass partition wall instead. We still have to shop around for that though.

I had to stitch together some pictures in order to get the vanity and medicine cabinet all in one picture, but now you can see how everything ties together.

After struggling with what kind of towel bars or hooks to buy, we came up empty. So, instead, I made a custom one to fit our needs. It was easy to make and just uses some blocks of wood as “hooks”. One towel for me, one for Jennie, one for Bailey, and one for Nate.

Jennie picked out (and actually photographed), the artwork for the bathroom. She picked two pictures from our Hawaiian vacation to fancy up the place. They worked out perfectly with the color of the bathroom.

Overall, this was an incredibly fun project. Yes, it was a lot of work. In fact, it was a lot more work than I originally anticipated. But, in the end, I finished it. This project is the biggest project that I have completed by myself. In the past, I have had the help of my dad for my big projects. And while he did offer an abundance of advice and information along the way, I was able to do all of the work myself on this project. It was really a confidence boost to get it all done.

One of the questions I got a lot during this project was, “How do you know how to {insert project }?” And the truth is, I just figured it out. I grew up with a dad who did all of the home repair projects himself, so I picked up quite a bit there. When there were things I wasn’t sure about or needed to learn more about, I hit the Internet. I found a ton of super helpful sites, including John Bridge’s forums, which provided a plethora of ideas and advice.

So, there you have it. The giant bathroom remodel is done. On to the next project… finishing off (another) part of the basement and relocating my office.

Thanks for reading!

Continue reading »]]> This past weekend, I ran a last minute half marathon as well as finished up 9 day virtual Tour of Sufferlandria on the bike. Needless to say, my legs are pretty beat up from it all.

Tour Of Sufferlandria

The Tour of Sufferlandria was advertised as “The world’s toughest indoor cycling tour.” And while it was my only indoor tour to date, I have to agree. TrainerRoad and The Sufferfest videos joined forces to offer a 9 day tour during which time you would ride all 12 Sufferfest videos. TrainerRoad is software that you run on your computer which communicates with your ANT+ devices to generate a “virtual power” profile. Using the virtual power, you are given an onscreen workout to follow. If you are interested in learning more about TrainerRoad, check out DC Rainmaker’s the king of all things fitness tech) posts about it (here and here). Or just head to TrainerRoad and sign up for a free 30-day trial.

Overall, the tour was a blast and I would definitely do it again next year. It really motivated me to get on the trainer each day so that I wouldn’t get “dropped.” In fact, I might even incorporate a mini 5 or 7 day “tour” into my training plan this year.

Day 1 – 1/26/2013 – Hell Hath No Fury

I started the day with a 10 mile run that was at a much harder pace than planned. And with part of the run through some sandy, slushy snow, my legs were wore out. Never the less, I hopped on the trainer to spin it out. It actually helped my legs recover a bit and I felt better when I was done. 8 more days of this? I can handle that.

Day 2 – 1/27/2013 – The Hunted

Bright and early, Jennie and I headed to Holland for the Frostbite Marathon Relay (recap here). My legs felt pretty sluggish the entire day but again, after I forced myself onto the bike, I felt better.

Day 3 – 1/28/2013 – Extra Shot & Fight Club

This was my first time doing the Extra Shot video. I didn’t really realize what an Extra Shot was until it was too late. It is basically a 20 minute race simulation that you normally do at the end of a workout. Because of that, there is no warm up incorporated into the video. And I didn’t plan for a warm up either. So, right out of the gate, I was trying to push a race pace.

Once I got to Fight Club, my legs were pretty beat up. Nevertheless I suffered through all 5 laps of time trialing effort with plenty attacks built in to keep the legs guessing.

It was actually a beautiful day outside and I sort of wished I could have ridden outside. However, it was still pretty wet and slushy so I would have spent more time cleaning my bike than running.

The weather tricked me though and convinced me to sign up for a half marathon on the following Saturday. Cue foreboding music.

Day 4 – 1/29/2013 – A Very Dark Place

Another brick day. I started with AVDP which is probably The Sufferfest video I have done the most out of all of them.

Afterwards, I met up with my run group for an 8 mile run with 4 miles of fartleks. It didn’t go so well. By the 6th fartlek interval my legs were calling it quits.

Day 5 – 1/30/2013 – Angels

Another crazy day of multiple workouts. I have a Wednesday night spin class that I had already signed up for and didn’t want to miss. I also didn’t want to get dropped. So, that meant hopping on the trainer in the morning to get in Angels.

That evening, I did another 1:15 ride with my class. Somehow, both Angels and my class ended up being low cadence, hard effort, climbing workouts.

I divided up the two workouts with a quick swim at lunch which probably helped my legs recover a bit in between.

The Tour was even tiring out Bailey.

Day 6 – 1/31/2013 – The Wretched & Long Scream

Day 6 was completely new to me. I had never done either The Wretched or Long Scream before. The Long Scream is a 30 minute race effort similar to the Extra Shot. Wow did that hurt, but I could feel my legs getting stronger the whole way through and actually set a 30 minute power PR in TrainerRoad.

In between the two videos, I had to stop by the team car (the kitchen) to refuel quickly.

Before the ride, I actually took a minute to race my saddle height. One of the guys at my Wednesday night class who does bike fits mentioned that he thought it looked a bit low. I had been meaning to get a proper re-adjustment because I had tweaked my position a bit at the end of last year. I ended up bring my saddle up 7-8mm and it made a big difference – more comfortable and more power.

Day 7 – 2/1/2013 – The Downward Spiral

I took a day of work on Friday because I had a lot to get done around the house. My dad helped install a new water heater. Ours wasn’t broke, but it was 21 years old and we needed to move it as part of the basement remodel any ways. After that, I worked on the basement some more. By the time I finished up, riding was the last thing I wanted to do. Nevertheless, fear of getting dropped got me on the trainer.

Day 8 – 2/2/2013 – There Is No Try & Revolver

Holy ouch. I didn’t realize these were two full length videos. I assumed that one was going to be a shorter (20-30 minute) extra shot. Somehow I saved my longest day for after a half marathon (report below). Smart move Kevin. Smart move.

Day 9 – 2/3/2013 – Local Hero

My legs were pretty beat up after the race on Saturday. We also had a party with family on Sunday afternoon. So, my ride ended up getting pushed back all the way to the Super Bowl. Jennie and I watched the first quarter of the Super Bowl before heading down stairs and hoping on the trainer together. Jennie rode alongside me for the final ride of the tour. Boy was I happy to be done!

Groundhog Day Half Marathon

As I mentioned above, Saturday was the Groundhog Day Half Marathon. This was a brand new race this year offered by Don Kern – the same guy who does the Grand Rapids Marathon. In true “Groundhog Day” (the movie) fashion, the course was repetitive loops. Three, 4.4 mile loops for the half, 6 for the full. I registered for the race semi-last minute the Monday before the race. On Monday, it had warmed up to around 50*, all the snow had melted, and it seemed like a great way to do a new race and get a long run in.

Fast forward to Saturday. Between Friday and Saturday we got about 8-10” of fresh snow on the ground. Because this race was entirely on the trail system near Millennium Park, it wasn’t going to be plowed. They were very forthcoming about this fact so I knew this going in.

Overall, it was a great race. Well, maybe “race” isn’t the right word. It was by no means a competitive race for me (or really for anyone I would guess) because of the conditions. It was more a fun long run with a couple hundred crazy friends.

They tried to send off the runners in a waves to keep us relatively spread out. The trail is a standard bike trail so not terribly wide. On top of that, it was really like running on a two-track trail. A 4-wheeler had driven the trail prior to the race leaving 2 ruts that the runners tried to stay in. That meant sticking to one side of the trail and then hopping to the other when you need to be passed. It was like running and plyometrics combined!

Because of the looped course, Jennie and Bailey got to hang out in the car in between loops.

"No, I’m not spoiled at all.”

It wasn’t too long before I was finished with my first loop. Back across the Start/Finish line, around a pole, and off to do it again. I ran most of the first loop entirely by myself and didn’t see too many other people.

I decided to rock the Hokas for this race and actually used my YakTrax which I hadn’t used in two years – we didn’t get nearly enough snow last year to make them helpful. They were almost a necessity for this race.

After hitting the turn around to start the 3rd loop, I picked up Bailey from Jennie and he joined me for the final loop. Yes, I know dogs are not officially allowed, but no one seemed to mind. I actually think Bailey got cheered for more than I did on the final loop. In fact, I am almost positive about it. He had a blast too. His tail was going a mile a minute the whole loop.

The 3rd loop was actually the slowest of the 3 though. Not going to blame Bailey though. It just started to get crowded as we caught up to some racers on their 2nd loop. Don’t want to complain too much, but there were some runners who could have been more courteous and moved over to single file rather than bunching up and blocking the whole trail. Had I been racing more competitively, it would have been a bigger pain, but as it was, the only inconvenience was having to trudge through the deep powder to get around them rather than being able to stick to the hard pack.

“Alright, I’m done. Where’s my biscuit?”

After the race, we headed back into the heated tent. Similarly to the Grand Rapids Marathon, they had chili, beer, and other goodies awaiting the athletes.

You gotta love winner’s awards – chainsaw carved groundhog trophy’s. If only I were faster… As it was, I missed out on an AG award by one place. I had a bunch of speedies in my age group – I would have been 1st if I was 30. Oh well! I’m happy with my race sweatshirt and finishers medal though – both sporting a running groundhog wearing sunglasses. I’m pretty sure both of those make it worth it.

Overall, it was a fun race. Super challenging, but that is part of what makes it fun.

Official Results