Steve in a Speedo?! Gross!

RACE DAY!! (And New Year's Cards)

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Stenzel) — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 14:30:00 +0000

I've set this post to publish while we are getting ready to start today's race. I'm using this as a final reminder to myself:

- Start conservative and build if you can. Don't be stupid right away.

- Try to keep them all under 7 / mile, but be ready (and OK) with anything.

- 6:30 / mile puts you at 1:25:xx, and that'd be SUPER! Start slower than that and see if you can build to faster than that during the latter part of the race. (Hopefully it's not slick and windy... that'd take it's toll.)

- Check your footstrikes a few times throughout the race to take your mind off the "hurt" of racing. You've done a decent job over the last 9 months at bringing your footstrikes up from 165ish to 180ish. See if you can keep that up to avoid too much heel-striking throughout the race.

- Remember, just HAVE FUN! Your "A" race this year is competing in the entire MDRA Grand Prix series... NOT just this one race.

At last year's race (where I did the half and Pharmie did the 10K just like we're doing today) is where we announced that Pharmie was pregnant:

Pharmie coming to the finish with her "Henry bump!"

And since I'm showing off old photos, I just put together our last 5 year of New Year's Cards. Check these out for a bit of a trip down memory lane:

2008: that's my first 70.3 and 140.6 on the right. (Click the photo for a larger version)

2009: the year of "Steve's Ass" being prominently displayed on our New Years Card.
(Click on the photo for a larger version)

2010. (Click the photo for a larger version)

2011.

2012. (Click the photo for a larger version)

Of the 23 photos in our past 5 years of cards, 5 didn't contain photos of Pharmie or I (they were "cats" or "Henry and cats" photos). Of the remaining 18, HALF (9) were at races and 4 more were during some sort of training session. Awesome.

Back with a race report soon!! Have a great weekend!

p.s. Have you entered my Gu and Pearl Izumi giveaway yet? Follow that link to enter!

Friday Funny 276: Nice Abs

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Stenzel) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 23:03:00 +0000

Oh wait....

Pharmie and I are heading off to the Securian Winter Run tomorrow! I'm racing the half marathon, and Pharmie's doing the 10K! Keep an eye on my Twitter page and my TwitPics page (both are also embedded on the right side of my blog), because I'll maybe send out a pic before and after the race.

Oh, and I hope to race with the "Tutti Frutti" shorts on the outside of my tights, so if you're down there for the race, you'll be able to spot me:

Friday Funny 275: Sexy and I Know It

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Stenzel) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 17:50:00 +0000

If you're a "regular" here, you've seen this video. It's my 2 brothers-in-law and myself cheering for the TC Marathon in farm animal costumes while dancing to "Sexy and I Know It" after the 3 of us had just finished the TC 10 Mile:

Direct link: http://youtu.be/FmNAplgJs9E

Well, there are a lot of spoof videos to this song. Here's a pretty "clean" one from Elmo called "Elmo and I Know It:"

Direct link: http://youtu.be/RWF86D_UNxc

"Uh-huh... I make art!" Nice. Love it.

And here's a slightly dirty one (really no dirtier than the original) called "Gassy and I'm Bloated." This could possibly be labeled as "genius." Really.

Direct link: http://youtu.be/IaMvwjFwI6g

(You might need to log in to YouTube/Google/Blogger to be able to view this last one due to possible age-restrictions put on this video.)

What a great way to start the weekend... :)

Friday Funny 274: Baby Bjorn

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Stenzel) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 11:28:00 +0000

Sure... I do PLENTY of things with little Henry in our "Baby Bjorn," but THIS is a bit too much...

And on that note, here are some safe baby handling tips:

'Sh*t Triathletes Say' & My Half Marathon Plan

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Stenzel) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 13:26:00 +0000

I've probably said about 1/4 of these. This is great:

Direct link: http://youtu.be/1KTEgLKhjIw

Let's talk strategy for the half marathon this weekend. Here are some POSSIBLE splits:

FOR A HALF MARATHON:

6:19 / mile pace = 1:22:48 (my current 13.1 PR)
6:30 / mile pace = 1:25:13 (what I'd be THRILLED with)
6:43 / mile pace = 1:28:03 (my current "winter" 13.1 PR)
6:52 / mile pace = 1:30:01 (what I REALLY hope to break)

So I hope to go out "easyish" around 1:30:00 pace. Then I should be able to pick it up near the middle and work my way down. Running 6:30 / mile pace would land a GREAT finishing time, and I really don't think I can quite hit that. But, throughout the race, I'll probably note how "far back" from that I am - it's easy to do the math and say something like "Every 2 miles should be another 13 minutes, so at mile 8 I should be at 52 minutes. Well, I'm at 54 minutes, so I'm 2 minutes off my 'thrilled' goal right now."

If you remember, I got in some good long runs through December and early January, but I haven't done much of anything in the last 2 weeks. So I'm not sure that I'll have a good "feel" for what pace I'm supposed to be running. I'll try to watch my splits and keep it around where I HOPE to finish. Last year, I kept all my splits under 7, and I'd like to do that again (if possible).

In the end, I really just want to have a FUN race and not put too much pressure on myself. As he said in the video above: "I have a race this weekend, but it's just a 'B' race." :) Ha! And Pharmie's racing the 10K at the same race, so we'll both be out there together!! Go Pharmie!!

Oh, and little Henry got his first haircut on Tuesday night. He was a CHAMP!

If you haven't done so, make sure to enter yesterday's giveaway!! Thanks everyone!

p.s. I think I'll wear the "Tutti-Frutti" shorts over my tights for the race. Snazzy! :)

An "Island Paradise" Giveaway!

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Stenzel) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 10:33:00 +0000

Yeah. That's right. Steve in a Speedo can send you on an island adventure.

Wait, no I can't. I definitely can NOT. Nope. Can't. Sorry.

Here's what I CAN do. I can make you THINK you're on an island adventure.

Mid to late January is the most depressing time of year. I hear a "report" about that on the news every year: something about Christmas being over, holiday bills coming due, spring still being a long ways off, blah, blah, blah.

So how about 20 "Island Nectar" Gu Roctane gels?

It will let you dream of warm, sandy beaches with it's tropical flavor.

And just in case you're like me and stuck someplace cold, how about a BRIGHT Pearl Izumi Thermal Run Hat to "brighten" your winter mood?

These Thermal Run Hats are made with fast drying, odor absorbing P.R.O. Thermal fabric with Minerale (unreal technology that makes garments and gear incredibly more breathable). They come in black, red, white and screaming yellow. The winner here will get "Screaming Yellow" since it's UBER bright and actually useful for these winter months when it's darker and you need more bright pieces to be seen.

The winner of this giveaway will get 20 Island Nectar Gu Roctane Gels and one Pearl Izumi "Screaming Yellow" Thermal Run Hat:

ALL YOU NEED TO DO TO ENTER IS TO COMMENT ON THIS BLOG POST! Holy crap. That's easy. So do it. Now.

BUT WAIT!
*said in my best "infomercial" voice*

The people at Gu and Pearl Izumi have TWO sets of gels and hats to giveaway!

I'll give one set to a random commenter on this blog post, and I'll give another set out to those "social" folks hooked up in all kinds of social media. If you "like" Gu and Pearl Izumi on Facebook, and then send out this tweet...

Island getaway? Nope. How about some great tropical @GUEnergyLabs and some @pearlizumikody gear from @SteveinaSpeedo?! http://bit.ly/yAxKX

... you'll then be in the running to win ANOTHER set of GUs and a hat. I'll pick a winner from those that sent out this tweet.

So that's 20 Island Nectar Gu Roctane Gels and a great Pearl Izumi hat for a commenter on my blog...

... and ANOTHER 20 Island Nectar Gu Roctane Gels and a great Pearl Izumi hat for someone who "likes" Gu and Pearl Izumi on Facebook and sends out that tweet!

Quick side note on this Gu Roctane.... Roctane is my gel of choice for hard workouts and racing. I mentioned all my details on that in my race day nutrition post. I'll have 2 Gu Roctanes on me for my half marathon this weekend.

*Gulp* THIS. Weekend...... Crap.

OK, comment NOW (on this post) to be entered to win, and LIKE Gu and Pearl Izumi on Facebook and send out that tweet to be entered AGAIN (if you'd like)!! (Your blog comment can be anything - if you comment "Unicorns are just Horny Horses," you're entered!) I'll pick 2 winners in about a week - sometime around Wednesday, February 1st. Check back to see if you've won! Thanks for entering everyone! And thanks to Pearl Izumi and Gu for the sweet gear!!

Don't Be That Awkward Runner

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Stenzel) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 14:50:00 +0000

OK, OK, OK.... I've been saying there will be a giveaway this week for about a week now. I'm being held up on the other end. Sorry for the delay. I'm going to stop saying "there's a giveaway coming SOON" and just wait until I can say "there's a giveaway NOW!" But there isn't a giveaway right now, so I can't say that just yet. Sorry for being a douche.

To apologize, here's a video of awkward running strides. Don't be one of these guys:

Direct link: http://youtu.be/nGojEyYBmwc, sent to me by Kelly Z.

I think I can be a little "dandy" at times, and at the end of a longer race, I think I've moved a little like "stiffy" before. Hey, it happens.

Back soon with some goals for this weekend's HALF MARATHON!

Race Week! Half Marathon This Weekend!

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Stenzel) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 15:03:00 +0000

The second race in the MDRA Grand Prix is this upcoming weekend. I had some great long runs over the past month (including a confidence-boosting long run 9 days ago), but I haven't done much since, and that has zapped any confidence built from those recent long runs. I'll just ease into the race this weekend and see what I can do.

Last Tuesday, Pharmie and I headed to the Metrodome for some intervals. We brought Henry again, and he hung out with one of us as the other ran hard:

Blogger buddy Steve Q was finishing up his run when we got there, so he hung out with Henry too:

I love their matching smirks! ;)

Here was my workout:
(remember, the Dome is about 600 meters around)

- 2 lap WU: 2:52, 2:55

- 10:19 stretching while Sarah did 2 laps.

3 x 1800:
- 2:03, 2:04, 2:03 = 6:10
- 3:11 rest
- 2:05, 2:04, 2:01 = 6:10
- 2:54 rest
- 2:04, 2:06, 2:00 = 6:10

- 4:51 rest
- 2:46 easyish 1-lap CD

Talk about consistent!! Each 1800 was 6:10 on the nose, and that equals about 5:29 / mile pace. AND that was 12 seconds faster (on average) than when I did a similar workout 2 weeks before!

Henry with Pharmie after she finished her intervals!

So Saturday is the half marathon! I'm still HOPING to set a "WINTER half marathon PR" of sub-1:28. I think I'll start out around 1:30 pace (6:51 / mile), and hope I can drop in with a negative split. Who knows. We'll see.

Oh, and here are 2 bonus Henry photos from this weekend. Pharmie had to work, so Hank and I hung out together all weekend long. Saturday was DEFINITELY a "sweatpants" kind-of-day for BOTH Henry and me:

And here's Henry sitting on the kitchen floor as I put the finishing touches on a pot roast I was making:

Race this weekend!! Back with my "Securian Run" half marathon report in a week!

Giveaway in a day or 2! There's some sweet stuff hopefully coming your way to help cure you of the "winter blahs" shortly.... so check back for that!

Can You and 2 Speedy Friends Beat a Pro Triathlete?

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Stenzel) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 13:10:00 +0000

I LOVE this idea that Gear West Bike and Tri is promoting (and hosting). It's a simple "contest" that goes something like this:

1. Sign up to race a triathlon as a relay with 2 friends.

2. Finish that race in a time that is better than Gear West's "in house" pro triathlete David Thompson (DKT).

3. Win swag.

DKT on GWB&Ts blog

Here's some info from Gear West's blog:

Simply register your relay team to compete against David Thompson on the same course at the same time. All you need to do is have a relay team with a faster official finishing time than David’s finishing time and your team will win the following items:

1. 1 Blue Seventy PZ3TX Swim Skin or Reaction John Wetsuit.
2. 1 Pair of Continental GP4000 Tires or a Giro Savant Helmet.
3. 1 Pair of Run Shoes valued up to $100 at Gear West Ski and Run store.
4. Free entry into the same event the following year for your team or one team member.

Matt contacted me and said: "I would like to say team Happy Pants has a shot....... but I am also realistic." I feel the same way. A quick look at the numbers will tell you that DKT is MUCH more amazing than Team Happy Pants. At the 2010 Gear West Duathlon (where DKT and Team Happy Pants both raced), DKT posted a 17:10 first run, a 26.4 mph bike average, and a 16:30 final run. Team Happy Pants turned in a 18:53 first run, a 23.3 mph bike average, and a 16:53 final run. (I was proud to have the 3rd fastest final run, only behind DKT and Patrick Parish.) We finished 7 minutes behind DKT! (And the race only took about 75 minutes, so a 10% difference is pretty big!)

You maybe haven't heard of pro triathlete DKT, but he's no slouch. He finished FIRST in the Rev3 series in 2010, and had a great year last year. At Hy-Vee 5150 Championship Triathlon in Iowa this past summer, the 3 people who finished just BEHIND him were Matty Reed, Chris McCormack, and Andy Potts. Yeah... you've probably heard of THEM.

Click here for details on this "Beat DKT" idea. And sign up if you can find some speedy friends.
Click here for DKT's blog.
Click here for an article about DKT finishing Rev3 Cedar Point and winning the series.
Click here for a slideshow of DKT at Rev3 Cedar Point.
Click here for a story about his "secret food" that he used at his first Iron Distance race... it's interesting...

Back with a GIVEAWAY in the next day or 2 (hopefully...)!!!

Winter FINALLY Came to MN

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Stenzel) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 19:07:00 +0000

Thursday, we woke up to temps that were 10 to 15 degrees BELOW zero here in Minnesota. Add in the wind, and the windchill was 20 to 45 below zero!!....

And this guy (Justin Schuetz) decided to take his beard for an epic bike ride:

Photo posted on the "Bike Walk Twin Cities" FB page

Awesome.

(The icy beard makes him look really old, but I'd guess he's around my age from the non-icy photos I've seen.)

Friday Funny 273: Bill Gates is Coming On To You

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Stenzel) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 23:13:00 +0000

On a totally unrelated topic... if you haven't seen yesterday's post about life-long exercise, click here (or scroll down) to check it out.

There's a GIVEAWAY coming sometime next week! Check back for that!

Friday Funny 272: It's Best To Just Fit In

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Stenzel) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 18:20:00 +0000

I imagine it to be like this every time I "manscape."

Friday Funny 271: You Can Do It!

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Stenzel) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 12:11:00 +0000

Reason #2,682 To Be a Triathlete

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Stenzel) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 11:17:00 +0000

(The first 2,681 reasons have to do with semi-legitimate reasons for men to shave different parts of their body. But you already knew that.)

This image speaks for itself:

This image is part of an article that Laura McIntyre (a physiotherapist and 2:52 marathoner) recently wrote about. She noted that "20 weeks of resistance training in older adults can result in a 1 kg increase in lean body mass. This is in contrast to a 0.18 kg annual decline that often occurs with a sedentary lifestyle beyond 50 years of age."

Here's more of what Laura has to say:

Lifelong intense activity is encouraged. A Canadian study looked at highly trained lifelong (30+ years) runners and compared them to healthy recreationally active young and age-matched controls. They looked at the number of motor units which consist of one nerve together with all the muscle fibers it stimulates. Normally the number of motor units gradually declines with age. The masters runners had a greater number of motor units compared to their age-matched controls and a similar number compared to the young. The authors concluded that lifelong high-intensity physical activity has the potential to limit the loss of motor units associated with natural aging well into the 7th decade of life.

Older athletes are pushing the limits of what was previously thought impossible. At this years Scotiabank Toronto marathon 100 year old Fauja Singh finished the marathon and 80 year old Ed Whitlock finished in an astonishing 3:15. For most sports there is a well-maintained but declining sports performance well into the 60’s years of age. Rowing has shown well-maintained performances into the 70’s.

The view that at an advanced age, load-bearing intensity should be reduced in order to avoid injuries and chronic overuse is widespread and not supported by recent evidence. Healthy aging adults should be capable of safe participation. The risk of side effects is very low if the dose is adapted to the client. However, adults who are pregnant, frail, have a disability or a medical condition should consult a health professional to understand the types or amounts of physical activity appropriate for them based on their exercise capacity and specific health risks or limitations.

As is generally accepted for novice trainers of any age, resistance exercises should initially include a period of low volume and low intensity before gradually progressing over time. Once familiar with resistance exercises a classic training program consists of 3 to 4 sets of 10 to 15 repetitions at an intensity of 70 to 80% of a maximum lift where the maximum lift can be assumed. A selection of 8 to 10 exercises performed on 2 non-consecutive days per week is recommended. Optimal training in older adults is fundamentally similar to optimal training in younger adults.

Older adults may need more recovery days and reduced frequency of either high volume or high intensity training. Cross training might be particularly useful for the recovery days.

Lifelong exercise has many benefits. Get out there and enjoy your training.

Actually, that's the majority of what she had to say... I wanted to quote almost all of it. For more on this (including references), go to Laura McIntyre's article here.

Now, as she says, get out there and enjoy your training!

Me? A Calendar Fold-Out Model?

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Stenzel) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 15:39:00 +0000

Close, but not quite.

In my last post, I noted that Matt, Henry, and I made a quick run out to Gear West Bike and Tri on Saturday. While we were there, we picked up the new "Gear West Midwest Multisport Calendar" with Dan Hedgecock all over the cover:

You may recognize Dan from my "Kitten Mile" a few months ago:

Wow. That photo. Too many stories.

Anyway...

As Matt, Henry, and I were heading home, Matt was flipping through the calendar. "Ha! You're in here!..." Matt said. Just inside, there was a list of Multisport Resources, and I was the 4th from the top!!

It says:

Steve in a Speedo - iwannagetphysical.blogspot.com
Steve Stenzel's blog gives a unique take on racing and training. He has a huge following because of the way he makes us all relate to his perspective on what we all do as endurance athletes. Perfect for when you want to look at the lighter side of racing.

I had no idea they were putting that in there! Thanks for the kind words, Gear West B&T!! And I find it really funny / odd that I'm 4th from the top - ahead of DKT (their great in-house pro-triathlete), Slow Twitch, USA Triathlon, and Active.com! Ha!

Further inside the calendar are photos of lots of people I know. There are 4 I want to show. First, here's Claire Bootsma:

She can be seen in that "kitten mile" photo above, and she also whipped my butt at the Waseca Sprint Triathlon this past year:

Kortney Haag has a great spread in the calendar:

You might remember Kortney from my Gear West Duathlon Race Report, or from my post of some of the super muddy photos that showed up after the muddy race. Kortney lost her shoe during that race:

(Oh, and we still have an empty container that Kortney brought over [along with her boys] for Pharmie and I just after Henry was born - it was filled with a delicious quinoa and chicken dish! We'll get back that to you sometime, Kortney...)

I didn't see Tracie Kent much this past year, but she's in the calendar:

Here she is about to take 3rd in the Chisago Lakes Triathlon in 2010 (where we were cheering on Matt at his first tri):

Finally, speedy Chad Millner was also featured in the calendar:

Here we are in an ~~awkward~~ awesome photo from "MN Tri Night" about a year ago:

Is it awkward that his wife took this photo? Maybe...

IDEA FOR 2013: Maybe I should put together a calendar of awkward photos of all of my speedy acquaintances. Sort of an "uncool" version of Gear West's calendar. Or... if I still want my "racing buddies" to talk to me... maybe I shouldn't...

Oh, and there's a GIVEAWAY coming next week! Check back for that!

Long Run, Tri Shop, and Marathon Trials

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Stenzel) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 12:04:00 +0000

Saturday was a big day. It started with me getting out for an early morning long run. It was one of the coldest days so far during this warm winter:

Just below 0 with the windchill.

I ran a 13+ mile loop along the Mississippi:

I had a 2 mile warm-up, hit some hills at a decent pace between miles 3 and 5, and then wanted to do 6 miles at half-marathon pace. (My next race is the "Securian Run Half Marathon" in just under 2 weeks!) My "race pace" miles were 6:48, 6:33, 6:28, 6:10, 6:04, and 6:20 (the last one was a "long" mile). Those six were ran in 38:23, at 6:23.8 / mile pace. I was happy with that! I finished 13.08 miles in 1:29:56.

I think I can say this now: I'm hoping for a "WINTER half-marathon PR" at the Securian Run. I've done 5 winter half marathons over the last 4 years, but 2 of those were cut short (1 because it was too cold, and 1 because a volunteer told us to turn around too soon). My current "winter half-marathon PR" is 1:28:05, but the short half marathon last year would have been around 1:25 had I kept up the pace and the race was a full 13.1. If it's a nice day in 2 weeks, I'd love to be able to hit about 1:26ish. We'll see.

Anyway, I finished the run and snapped a photo of some ice forming on my face, stubble, and hat:

Then, brother-in-law Matt stopped over, and we headed out to Gear West Bike and Tri along with Henry. Matt needed some new swim gear, and I needed them to look at Pharmie's bike. I snapped a photo of Matt and Henry with Henry STARING at someone getting a bike-fit on the trainer:

Then that afternoon, I watched the Olympic Marathon Trials coverage on NBC. I wanted to look for some local Minnesotans. I don't know many of the guys in the trials, but I knew 3 Minnesotan woman: Michelle Frey, Nicole Cueno, and Jenna Boren. And I don't "know" her, but I recognize Minnesotan Katie McGregor.

Michelle was the one that signed my cover of Runner's World when she appeared on it:

Nicole and I first met at a 5K a few years ago (where I had to out-kick her for the win), and then we ran the Securian Run Half Marathon together last year. Here's a photo of her running next to me from my race report from around mile 4:

(And here's a link to the video I took during the half marathon last year where Nicole can be seen a few times. Oh, and Michelle's in that video too!)

And Jenna and I officially met at a race a few years ago, and we run into each other at "Dome Running" now-and-then. We just talked about the Trials 2 weeks ago.

Here were 2 photos that friends put on Facebook of Jenna and Nicole after the Trials, but before the NBC coverage. This let me know what they were wearing so I'd know what to look for on NBC:

Jenna pre-race

Nicole post-race

I snapped some photos of the TV screen to try to get photos of people I knew:

Men's start

Women's start

NICOLE in the blue sports bra to the right!!! GO NICOLE!

JENNA in the white just right-of-center on the outside! GO JENNA!

Katie McGregor hung in the LEAD-PACK for the first half - that's her to the far left!

MICHELLE in the red! (Photo found on Facebook today from Gary at Charities Challenge)

In the end, out of 152 female finishers:
Katie McGregor finished in 11th in 2:34:01 (+8:23)
Michelle Frey finished in 22nd in 2:37:03 (+11:25)
Nicole Cueno finished in 58th in 2:42:33 (+16:55)
Jenna Boren finished in 63rd in 2:43:04 (+17:26)

Nice work ladies!! See you at the races this summer!

On the men's side, Minnesota had 3 guys in the top 20! Nice job fellas!!

If you're a local runner, check out this video showing many of the Minnesotan men in the Trials training on local trails (many that I'm on for 90% of my runs!). Nice work in Houston, everyone!!

Henry's First Trainer Workout

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Stenzel) — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 16:36:00 +0000

On Thursday night, Pharmie was going to hit the trainer:

Henry came down to check on Momma.

He liked her R2C aero bars:

Smooches from Momma as he watches Coach Troy on the TV.

And then "it" happened. Henry got down into aero of the first time!! (On his 7-month birthday!)

Just a little note on your fit, Henry: your seat's a little high.

Make sure to check out the Marathon Olympic Trial coverage on NBC this afternoon (Saturday) from 2-4 pm (central time). I'll be looking for a lot of our Minnesotans! Good luck!!

Friday Funny 270: ACTUAL Soup Cooking Directions

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Stenzel) — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 00:13:00 +0000

Oh, and if you're a "digital photo nerd" (more specifically a "Photoshop nerd"), you'll love this spoof commercial on my photo blog.

Happy weekend!

Friday Funny 269: Marathon Thoughts

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Stenzel) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 17:27:00 +0000

This IS safe for work, so turn up the volume (you NEED to hear it), and enjoy!

Direct link: http://youtu.be/NsMw10KVVCk

I've done the SAME THING that he did at the 1:30 point. (You can read about it around mile 7 & 8 in my 100% Irish for a Day 10 Mile report, and then see who I was talking about in these photos.)

"How did my heart get a knife?!?"

"Thank you Rob Thomas!!!!"

And on this "marathon" note, be sure to check out NBC tomorrow for Marathon Trial coverage from Houston. It's from 2-4 pm central time.

Friday Funny 268: This Is Why I'm Broke

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Stenzel) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 12:05:00 +0000

One of my former students turned me on to ThisIsWhyI'mBroke.com. They don't sell anything... they just point you toward some of the best stuff on the internet.

Here are 5 FUNNY items from their site:

My Dad would like this!

Yes please.

Reason #16 I wish I was a woman: lack of back hair.
(I could actually use this.)

Reason #17: I'd wear this.

Here are 5 AWESOME items from their site:

Yeah, that looks practical.

Honey, if you're reading this, I've already bought this for Henry's room.

2012: the year I get FAT because of this.

Finally, here are 5 NERDY items from their site:

I could play Madden 94 on the go! (Really, I'm QUITE excited about this!)

Oh. God. Yes.

So check out ThisIsWhyI'mBroke.com for awesome / funny / nerdy gifts.

And scroll down to yesterday's post to help me come up with a final goal for 2012! Thanks everyone!

Goals from 2011 / Goals for 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Stenzel) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 11:14:00 +0000

At the beginning of 2011, I posted my goals for the year. I had 4. This is what I wrote:

- Train up for Liberty Oly as my "A" race. Sub 2:15!! Around 2:13 would be a-m-a-z-i-n-g.

- Use the word "lollygag" more often. It's highly underused, and it reminds me of my Dad.

- Chocolate. That's all: chocolate. Eat more... eat less... whatever. We'll see where this one goes.

- Run more. This is the big one. In the past, I would ALWAYS say "Oh, I need to 'let my running go' a bit and focus on making my biking stronger." Well SCREW THAT this year. I enjoy running! I'm going to do what I like and run!! I still LOVE doing multisport events, and I'll still race them as much as I can. But if my biking slides a bit, so be it.

Well, here's my "1-year-later" response to those 4:

- I missed Liberty because my wife was giving birth. I still wrote a "race report" though! :)

- Shoot, I don't remember saying I should use "lollygag" more often. I have to stop blogging when I'm drunk.

- Regarding chocolate: I've been eating more. I blame my wife (as most husbands do).

- My running mileage was a little less, but I spent about 2 months injured. It's always kind of a "jerk" thing to say, but I'll still say it: if I DIDN'T get injured, I would have had my highest running mileage year ever. If. Oh, and that part about letting my biking slide?... Yeah, I did that. In my "Year in Review" post, I noted that it was my lowest mileage year ever on the bike, and it was the 2nd year in a row where I ran more miles than I biked.

Here are my FIVE goals for this year:

- Run more. Henry likes this. I like this. It's the easiest to do with a little one around who likes stroller rides. So this one is a no-brainer.

- Stay as injury-free as possible. Again, a no-brainer. I need to keep up my PT leg exercises. This might mean less speed-work and more endurance work. I think I'm OK with that.

- Run as many of the "MDRA Grand Prix" races as possible. I'd love to see how I could do in a series that spans distances from 1 mile to 26.2 miles. (Here's a little more about the Grand Prix from a post earlier this week.) One side-note: I might end up cutting back some mileage if I AM able to race a lot - I find out that since I got old (about 2 years ago), my body / joints / tendons really need a few days of rest after an "all out" short race. So if I do more of these races, I think I'll end up putting in a little less mileage. So be it.

- Just "be fit." I started saying this at the start of the winter, and I'll be saying it for about another year. With Henry around, I'm not about to always be saying "Honey, you've got to watch Hank because I NEED to get in this 90 minute run that consists of a 20 min WU, then 6 descending miles starting at 6:20 pace dropping down to...." Nope. Not doing that. Training hard / running road races / doing triathlons is just a fun hobby of mine - I can't let "training" get in the way of important things like family. I still need to find a way to be healthy and "stay fit," but I'm just saying I might be doing more longish / easyish runs with Henry in the stroller vs short, hard, explosive workouts for speed.

- What should my 5th goal be? I'm taking ideas from you guys. In 2010, I finally stopped being annoyed at finish-line shot of me hitting my watch that I made it a yearly goal to get as many photos like that as possible. Here's what I came up with for 2010:

In 2011, I didn't really make it a "goal," but I ended up wearing my "Tutti Frutti" shorts for EVERY multisport race of the year:

2011 Duathlons: Apple, Gear West, Oakdale, and Cannon Falls

2011 Triathlons: Life Time Fitness, Waseca, and Lake Marion

So I've done watch shots and porta-potty shots (and even unofficial "tutti frutti wearing") as "yearly goals" - where do I go from here? What should my final goal be for 2012? I'm open to suggestions...

2012 Meet of the Miles Results

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Stenzel) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 14:09:00 +0000

The results are in. Here's how I officially placed:

18th out of 136 overall

Over half of the people who beat me were 18 or younger. Speedy whippersnappers.

If you missed it, scroll down to yesterday's post for photos and a race report from the "Meet of the Miles." And click here for the full "Meet of the Miles" results on the MDRA website.

Photo from Paul of Sean and I before the meet

Paul's photo of me during the mile
(I think this was at the 800 m point when I really made my move)

Back tomorrow with my goals for 2012.

'Meet of the Miles' 1-Mile Track Meet

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Stenzel) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 12:05:00 +0000

Well, I got a late start to the track because Henry decided to shit everywhere. It wasn't as bad as the 2 photos in this post, but it still wasn't good. He had poop up his back, on his arm, and all over the sleeve of his onesie. AND he manage to get a foot-ful of poop too. Great. Here he is THRILLED to be taking a bath post-poop-plosion:

Oh, you can see his 2 teeth in this photo!
They came in on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Anyway, I got to the race, warmed-up a bit, and watched the SPEEDY heat start:

I was going to be racing in heat #2. I didn't know what to expect in this mile. As I posted yesterday, I have NOT been doing as much speed-work lately, and I HAVE been doing more longer-distance runs. Here are my 4 previous 1-mile times:

Dec 2008: 5:00.70
Jan 2009: 4:54.60
Dec 2010: 4:53.01
Jan 2011: 4:49.53

I KNEW I wasn't going to be able to keep descending it like that! Pre-race, I typed up what I thought my chances were:

- 4:49.5 or better (a PR): 2%. I can't COMPLETELY rule out a PR, but it is highly, highly, highly, highly unlikely. Highly.

- 4:50 - 4:55: 38%. Decent chance I'll end up here. I'd be REALLY happy with this!

- 4:55 - 4:59.99: 40%. Even better chance I'll end up here. I'll still be happy with this. Sub-5 is my main goal for this race.

- 5:00 or slower: 20%. Much better chance of this happening vs setting a PR. This is quite possible. I expect to be right around 5:00, either a little above or below it.

I gave my camera to Nordica, and I toed the line with 10 high-school boys. Really. Well, maybe 1 other guy was older than 18. But still... it was a little intimidating.

"TO YOUR MARKS..... GGOOOOO!"

I'm in the 2nd row under the 5.

Just like last year, I was nearly in last place in my wave right off the bat. I was running along side of one kid with only 1 runner behind us:

I'm in purple to the far left.

I got ahead of the kid I was right next to, and ran most of the race in 9th in my heat:

2 kids behind me.

Trying to work my way up.

FIRST 400: 1:14.9. "Decent. Good start. Keep the pace, Steve!"

SECOND 400: 1:15.7. "You're feeling good! Don't get any slower than this. Go! You're at 5:00 pace, but you've got PLENTY left to go sub-5!"

If you've read some of my 1-mile reports, you know that I usually slow up too much near the middle, and then have TOO much left at the end. Well, I was doing that again. I KNEW I was going to go sub-5 even though at the half-way point I was just over 5:00 / mile pace.

I hit the 800 meter mark, and I kicked it into another gear. After running most of the race so far tucked in 9th, I passed 3 kids in the first 50 meters of that next lap. Bam, bam, bam. Steve Q, Stephanie B, and someone else (I think) were all shouting "Nice move, Steve! Nice!" Thanks guys! Then I passed another runner in the next lap. I was now in 5th.

Photo from Stephanie B. I'm the blur to the far left!

2 laps left!

THIRD 400: 1:13.5. "Nice! Go! You can do better than that!"

Working hard with 1 lap left!

I caught 2 more runners in that last lap. Look at that photo above - I was behind a guy in orange. Look at this next photo of me heading to the finish - I put 10+ meters on that guy over that final 200 meter lap:

Hitting the line / my watch.

FOURTH 400: 1:09.9. "Whoa. TOO MUCH 'LEFT IN THE TANK.' Again. But nice job!"

4:53.86 officially!

I'm thrilled with that finish! It's my "middle" time of my 5 mile races, and I think that's just swell! I need to thank everyone for the cheers and support out there - I heard my name a few times each lap. Steve Q was watching my strides and telling me to keep from over-striding. Other people would be telling me when to "go." And thanks to Nordica for all those photos of me! Thanks everyone!

Here are a few more photos from the rest of the heats:

Willie running with the boys.

Many familiar faces in this one: Suzie, Chad, Sean and Paul!
(All to the left with a guy in red between them all.)

Tom (in white) in the middle of a pack.

Nordica's first track meet since 6th grade! (She's in the blue.)

Nordica had an epic battle to the finish line. OK, not "epic," but whatevs.
(That's Claire taking splits for Nordica to the left,
and someone on the right telling them their finishing places.)

This little boy was IN FRONT for most of the final heat! Everyone was cheering for him!

I cooled down a bit and headed home. It was a fun night catching up with old "racing buddies," and a successful race! Back with more results and some goals for 2012 shortly. Thanks everyone!

TONIGHT is the Kick-Off to the MDRA Grand Prix

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Stenzel) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 11:38:00 +0000

I'm trying it again this year. I'm dropping a big load of money (FIVE whole dollars) to take part in the Minnesota Distance Running Association "Grand Prix" series in 2012. (I signed up for it in 2011, and then badly injured my heel after only 1 Grand Prix race - here's a post where I showed the final rankings for 2011.)

The idea of the Grand Prix is simple:
- Race as many of the 14 Grand Prix races as possible.
- You'll be given points based on how you do against other Grand Prix racers at each race.
- The one with the most points at the end of the season wins.

Here are the 14 races in the Grand Prix this year (from the MDRA Grand Prix website):

January: Meet of the Miles (U-M indoors), January 9
January: Securian Winter Half Marathon, January 28
March: St. Patrick's Day Human Race 8K, March 18
April: Get in Gear 10K, April 28
May: New Prague Half Marathon, May 12
May: Brian Kraft 5K, May 28
June: Grandma’s Marathon, June 16
July: Richard A Hoska Rice Street Mile, July 26
July: Hagen Financial Run for Blood 5K, July 28
August: Rochester Half Marathon, Date TBD
September: Victory 10K, September 3
September: City of Lakes 25K, September 9
October: Twin Cities Marathon, October 7
November: Rocky’s Run 6K (cross country), November 4

You can run as many or as few as you'd like. They will take your best results from up to 10 races (so you don't need to race all of the races). And note how the race distances are from 1 mile (2 of those) up to a marathon (also 2 of those). I like that the Grand Prix is (seemingly) trying to find the best "all-around" runner.

FIVE THINGS REGARDING ALL OF THIS:

- Tonight's "kick-off" race is a 1 mile on the track. I haven't ran a mile since my mile PR last year at this race (4:49.53). As I'm running, I'll shoot for 1:14 / 400 for a total of 4:56, but I'll take ANYTHING under 5:00. Who knows. That brings me to my next point...

- I'm much more "ENDURANCE-based" this year, where I was more "SPEED-based" last year. Last year in the 4 weeks prior to this 1 mile race, I had 3 long runs of 10, 12 and 13 miles, a lot of 4-7 mile runs, and 2 short, faster races in there (a 1 mile and a 5K both on the track). This year over the last few weeks, I've had 4 long runs of 10.5, 11, 13.5 and 14.5 miles, slightly longer "middle-distance" runs (many with Henry), and NO races. This makes me nervous for how fast my short, fast, hard, painful 1 mile race will be.

- I REALLY want to stay injury-free for the Grand Prix this year. Duh. Let's try this for a change.

- I know that I WON'T race the first marathon in the series for sure. BBBBBUUUUUUUUTTTTTTT...... If I'm still injury-free, I'd CONSIDER signing up for the Twin Cities Marathon this year. It COULD be my first marathon finish! I'd have to go into the training with NO time goal, and hoping to "JUST FINISH" (and "finish injury-free"). But again, we'll see. I'm NOT saying I'm racing it.

- And regarding the race tonight, keep an eye on my Twitter page and my TwitPics page (both are also embedded on the right side of my blog). I'll shoot out some tweets and maybe some photos from the race. The race starts around 6:15 pm, and I'll be in the 2nd or 3rd heat.

Check back sometime tomorrow (hopefully) for a race report!!

Bye-bye from Henry and I:

(Bonus "Henry and Steve" photo from this weekend:)

Intervals at the Metrodome (with Henry!)

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Stenzel) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 16:45:00 +0000

Tuesday night, Pharmie and I hit the Dome for the first time since last winter. We've had such a nice winter so far, that we've been able to run fast and hard outside without the risk of slipping! (Note my intervals post from last week.)

This winter, intervals at the Dome were going to be different. We had little Hanky-Poo to contend with. Luckily, we set him up in a "nook" around the concourse at the Dome, and he LOVED watching the runners go by:

We also brought every toy in our house (apparently). Sheesh.

Pharmie and I were going to take turns running intervals and watching Henry. So Pharmie's recovery time would be spent hanging out with Henry for as long as it took me to run my interval, and vise-versa.

Pharmie wanted to do fast 1-lap intervals (just over 600 meters running on the "outside lane"), and I was going to do 3-lap intervals (around 1800 meters running on the inside lane). We each warmed-up for a few laps as the other watched Henry.

Hangin' with Henry during Momma's warm-up

Then I took off. Here's what I ran:

[lap + lap + lap = 1800 total time]

2:14, 2:03, 2:07 = 6:24

3:06 rest

2:06, 2:08, 2:06 = 6:20

3:30 rest

2:11, 2:08, 2:03 = 6:22

4:28 rest

My right foot was just a LITTLE sore, so I thought I'd just try to do 2 "faster" laps for my final interval.

2:10, 1:58 = 4:08 (for 1200)

That ended up being much longer rest than I usually give myself, but they were longer intervals than I usually run as well. I averaged 6:22 for the 3 1800s, and that is 5:41 / mile pace. That's not bad for this time of year.

Zoning out watching other runners

With a red-faced, sweaty Dad after my last interval.
Ooh, look! The "vein of approval" is out! :)

The 3 of us after Momma's warm-down.
(It looks dead behind us because it was nearly the end of "Dome Running.")

So yes, plenty of things have changed since last year:

1. I can't start at my normal LINE between sections 210 and 211:

2. My rest between intervals is going to be less controlled.
3. My rest is going to be spent entertaining a child and not stretching / walking / drinking.

BUT, this important point has NOT changed:

1. I can still go do intervals at the Dome. That's awesome.

The first MDRA Grand Prix race is Monday night! It's the "Meet of the Miles" indoor track meet. I'll be running! I will NOT PR in the mile, but I hope to go sub-5. But who knows. Back with a race report hopefully sometime on Tuesday!