A descent long run

Yesterday I got out for my weekly long run.  12 miles avg 7:20/miles.  Not too bad.  Especially since I ran a little too hard early on.

Split	Time	Distance	Avg Pace
Summary	1:29:05.1	12.14	7:20
1	7:24.9	1.00	7:25
2	7:08.1	1.00	7:08
3	7:03.1	1.00	7:03
4	7:17.6	1.00	7:18
5	7:16.9	1.00	7:17
6	7:20.7	1.00	7:20
7	7:25.4	1.00	7:25
8	7:30.8	1.00	7:31
9	7:27.5	1.00	7:28
10	7:29.1	1.00	7:29
11	7:19.9	1.00	7:19
12	7:21.4	1.00	7:22
13	:59.9	0.14	7:21

After I settled into a rhythm I kept it fairly even paced.  Hopefully in 3 weeks when I've built my long run up to 18 miles I can avg close to 7:20.  

Tomorrow I had planned on running a 5k to set a benchmark for my tempo runs.  Well race time temp is supposed to be 11f.  Bit too cold for accurate times & to keep all my bits from getting frost bit.  That means plan B.  I figure I can run a 5k at 1:20 per/mile faster than I ran 12 yesterday.  Add : 30 seconds & tempo runs will be at 6:30.  Kinda where I figured I should run them.  Plus now I can "sleep in" & not have to risk another case of frost bite.  HMMM Probably should have used this as plan A to begin with..

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Updated Fri, Feb 10, 5:13 pm CT

 

Lego Robotic Arm

I like Robots & Legos. Combine the two for awesomeness.  Plus the soundtrack isn't too shabby either.

Tonights I can't sleep entertainment

Holy Hell these guys can jumar!  Watching this on the Netflix.

Watch "To the Limit Trailer" on YouTube

31 days in January

Back in December I decided i need a goal for January.  Out running one day I was thinking about how lack of consistency has been my Achilles heel with my work schedule.  What better way to be consistent than to run every day in January.  A goal was set then.  On New Years Eve I went for a run to start me on my way.  32 days later I had done it.  Granted this minor streak pales in comparison to my streak in high school which was 400+ days. 

The hardest part of the month was running on the days I worked.  I bucked up & got up early to go out regardless of weather.  It did help we had crazy good weather all month.  I did have to make a few runs in the dark after 9pm but I manged.  

I ended up with 188 miles for the month.  With weekly totals of 35, 40, 45, & 50.  I took a few days off last week to recover.  I did manage to get out on the bike a couple of days last week to enjoy the 60 degree February weather.  Now back at it.  The next 4 weeks I'll work on getting my long run up to 18 miles.  Start hill repeats to build strength for speed work later on.  Tempo runs that are at or about 30 seconds per mile slower than what ever time I run in the 5k I'm doing Saturday.  I'll start working in more rides as well( outside of my work commute).

As for the rest of 2012?  No real plans yet.  Going to play it by ear & see how it goes.

*** a side note: this is the 3rd time I've typed this post out, thanks to the mobile blogger app crashing & not posting/deleting it the first 2 times.

If I was Contador....

Guilty or not I'd flip PRO cycling the bird & say screw it I'm done. PRO cycling is quickly becoming a joke.  Your guilty until proven innocent.  There is no rhyme or reason to any of the suspensions anymore.  A lot are retroactive so in effect not suspensions at all.  Then guys come back dope again, blah blah blah.

I'm not even going to voice an opinion on Armstrong. Yet if your a conspiracy theorist his case getting dropped days before Contadors suspension should fuel that for awhile.

This is a very telling quote about cycling today.
"It's a sad day for Alberto Contador; its a sad day for cycling, I think people want to kill off cycling." Eddy Merckx via Velonation.

Mint 12 trials & tribulations

As I've mentioned I've made the plunge to Linux.  Running Ubuntu 11.10 on my new computer I just built.  Need to do a post on it.  The old computer for now has gone out to the garage with a spare monitor.   I'm also now running Ubuntu on it  till I get another hard drive then I'll set it up to dual boot Windows.  Also kicked around the idea of turning it into a server.

For now I'm going to use it to test run different Linux distros.  First up is Mint 12.  I've read how elegant & user friendly it is so worth the try.  I downloaded the iso & made a bootable usb. FYI wicked easy in Linux. 

Go to boot it & get:

Vesamenu.c32 not a com32r
Boot:

WTF? You ask. Well me too.  Since Google is a new Linux user best friend I googled the error.  Once again Google FTW! 

Turns out its a problem with the distro.  I found A way to fix the code but didn't feel like screwing up my copy. 

But there is an easy fix. When the above error comes up type:  LIVE

yep that easy. Now I'm in full Mint 12 trial mode.  So far so good.  Good enough I might switch or dual boot it with Ubuntu to really mess with Amber.

Where the F?#$! did Scott go??

Anyone that might even remotely read this has probably figured out that over time I quit posting here for various other social media venues.  Not really quit posting just quit using it for anything else than a place to dump stuff I wanted to remember later.  Pretty boring I know but I was very hooked up in other social media outlets & Blogger just took too much time & was frankly a pain in the ass to access from the mobile device I had for the last few years.  Well things have changed, as again any of you who would read this have figured out.  I've severed social media ties.  OOPS Where did Scott go?  No where just less on the net lately.  I have a new mobile device which makes Blogger less of a pain.  Plus now I'm not ate up with Twitter, Facebook, G+, etc maybe i can make a post or two here to let the 7 people who occasionally read this know I am alive.  

A lot has changed in the last two months.  My email addie is the same so if you really need to get a hold of me there is that.  My phone # is different.  If you don't have it I'm guessing you don't need it.  I have a more current mobile phone platform. Android.  Lets face it Blackberry's days have come & gone. Actually right now I'm re-purposing my Storm2 for K2 to use (to watch Gubble Puppies on).  That show is baby crack.  In the last year its the only thing we have found that can chill him out.  I'm not thrilled about plunking him down in front of the tube but if it stops the screaming then sign me up.  The Storm2 will become diaper bag defense when were out & he looses it; like tonight at Hinode, thank you You Tube.  

OK got a little of course there.  Anyway I'll try & update this a little more to keep the net up on my doings.  Hopefully CX will be part of those doings in the fall. I've missed two seasons now & i'm getting the itch pretty bad now that the season is over. Go figure.  State TT falls on one of my days off this year so that will be a focus for sure.  Not won a 40+ State Jersey yet...  Running has become a focus again, more on that later.  I've been geeking out on a new computer I built.  I'm now almost 100% Windows free.  New computer is running Linux 11.10.  Amber hates it but I like.  I say almost 100% Windows free, Mia has a computer in her room running XP.  Less face it its hard to sever all ties with Windows.  

Ok enough for now.  More later.

Android Blogger Test

Not much here. Just testing the Blogger App on my phone. Perhaps more to come later.

Can't we just go home?

Ronaldo's son not much of an F1 fan

Best Bunny Hop Save Ever

Morvelo: Ride everything

Thanks to GeWilli for the heads up on this one.

Unusual F1 camera angle

Not seen this angle before

Carry On.......... not much to see here

Carry On by andybe29

BRM V16 Engine Sound

Sauber F1 wind-tunnel

Its said Sauber has one of the best wind tunnels in F1.  Another video from their factory tour series.  THis one actually has SOUND!

The car is a  scale model.  I think I read somewhere its like 60% the size of a real car.  How cool would that be to have in your garage?

Sauber makes an F1 car in silence

Besides the total lack of sound pretty cool.

Bottom Bracket Compatibility chart

Got this off Bike Rumor.  Kind of handy.

Course Tape - Minuteman Road Club CX from Russ Campbell on Vimeo.

Course Tape - Minuteman Road Club CX from Russ Campbell on Vimeo.

F1 2011 - Red Bull - A lap of the Buddh International Circuit in India

I'm guessing the Red Bull that spins is Webber

RIP Dan Wheldon

More F1 Pit Stop Fire

After more Pit Stop Fire You Tube searching found this gem.  Schumi's car catches on fire & it doesn't even phase him & goes on to win race.

F1 POV cam

Started watching this:




& started looking for other POV vids:





Which of course let to Pit Fire Videos:





Then to crashes:

Senna

This is from the 1991 Autosport awards.  If you haven't seen the new Senna Documentary, find it & watch it.  Even if your not an F1 fan watch it.  One of the best documentaries I've ever watched.

Barrier Crash OUCH!

You know it had to hurt but wow is this not the funniest thing ever.

Teahupoo surfing

Surfing & base jumping are about the only things left on my bucket list.  I'm guessing its the sound track but this is  just WOW!

First run in awhile

When for a short run before work tonight. Its the first run since my back went out & the chiro said don't run for awhile. Well 56 days later I decided with the nice low 70 temps it was time. Amazing how slow it was & how much it hurt. Mia's school puts on a 5k towards the end of October. Guess I'd better get some miles in or I'll embarress her with how slow I'll run.

Sac is Starting to get fun

There has been a lot of trail work at Sac in the past year or so.  The trails are looking good & the randomness is gone.  Now nice long single track sections.  Still a flat mecca.  Can't remember the last time I rode out there & didn't get a flat.  Rear tire today.  Guess if I'm going to keep riding out there I need to go tubeless.  Very fall like today.  Cool temps, overcast & lots of leaves falling.

Tony Kanaan gets airborne

2011 GP2 Spa-Francorchamps Crash Fabio Leimer

Watch closely you'll see a heavy crash were the GP2 car breaks up then the driver hops out & runs away like it was nothing.  If your an F1 fan I highly recommend you start watching GP2 if you aren't already.

Eau Rouge footage from Spa

This footage shows how steep Eau Rouge is. Better so than any of the TV coverage I've seen

Hamilton and Kobayashi collide, Spa 2011

Mia's 1st day @ Kindergarten

Snuggling on her last night of freedom

Breakfast

All ready to go

Posing in front of her new cubbie.

Mia has a friend already.  Bailey went to pre-school with Mia

BRAAAHP!

Pretty cool

Renault now making F1 airplanes?

Renault cars have gotten a lot of air time this season.  Petrov went airborne in Malaysia.

Then today Heidfeld caught some air in Germany.

Renault hasn't had the season they thought they would.  The car just hasn't been performing.   It sure does fly well though.

My old Back is killing me

Once again my back has decided to remind me its back there.  Pain got bad enough last week that Friday I broke down & went to the chiropractor.  Being a little naive about chiropractic care I thought it would be crack crack & away you go feeling hopefully a little better.   Nope I got a full on exam & x-rays.  A follow up appointment was made for Monday & away I went.

Over the weekend I tried to not doing anything to make my back hurt worse.  Mostly do nothing, use some ice, &  get Amber to massage my lower back some.  Most of this helped & by this AM my back was somewhat feeling "normal" .  Normal for my back is pretty sore mostly with a constant bearable pain being present.  More on this in a bit.

My chiropractor visit started with the Dr. going over my x-rays & saying yes your back is jacked, just not that jacked.  Hopefully with some work it can be better but since I'm getting older & I've put treatment off for so long probably 90-95% is all I can ever expect.  Which right now would seem freaking awesome!

Today the Dr. used  some activator method of manipulation (seems like complete hoakem to me) & some electro stimulation ( from past use this works).  I'm happy this chiro is more PT oriented than manipulation.  After the electro stim they sprayed me with Biofreeze.  I felt better after but I'm thinking this was more electro Stim & Biofreeze (Amber has access to this at work & shes not a big fan).  That said Wednesday when I go back I think I'll skip the Biofreeze to see if there is a difference.

Several hours later & my back isn't killing me.  Maybe this course will get me to where I can not have to be crippled 80% of the time.  The immediate course of treatment is 2x/week for 3 weeks, then 1x/week for an additional 3 weeks.  When I saw this on the sheet my first thought was wow I guess my insurance does cover chiropractic (turns out it does, coincidence?) Regardless I'm going to follow the plan for a change.  After I'm out of the cripplng back pain phase I'm going to get some PT type stuff, core work, flexibility.  All things I know I need.

In fact this spring I half assed core & flexibility & I went awhile with out back pain. Go figure.  Guess its time to quit half assing & do it right.  I'll see how it goes then figure out a "training plan".  For now it looks like little to no running & limited biking.  Bang for buck that means trainer I guess.  With it being a 1000 degree seems best anyway.  Going to put a real crimp in me breaking 17:29 before I'm 40 though.

Cross Isn't far off

Do this race!

Random internet finds...my old mtb

Found my old mtb for sale on the Webs. It needs a good home you should buy it. It was my Adventure Racing work horse. Logged a lot of night miles on it. Highly modified since I owned it but well cared for & still a good ride.

Memorial Day Weekend

Bit late I know.

Worked Friday night. Saturday AM rode home & watched F1 quali. Perez from Sauber hit the wall HARD! He's a lucky boy for not being hurt worse.

Loaded up the kids & Amber drove us to mom & dads at the lake. I caught a few z's. Mostly just jacked my neck up. After getting to mom & dads took a nap in the bedroom with no windows. If I ever build a house I'm putting a windowless bedroom in it for sure. Its naptastic!

Saturday night watched I am Number Four with my sister & neices. Not bad for a teen action movie. Guess its based on a series of books?

Sunday got up & watched F1 with dad. Great race made even better by Kobayashi getting 5th. He lost 4th on the last lap to Webber. Guess that's ok since Webber set fast lap after pacing.

After the race the Espenkotter's came over. Went out on the boat for a bit. The lake is higher than I've ever seen it in 30+yrs of going to the lake. After boating had a really good dinner.

Monday hit the lake again. Only out for a few hours and got sunburned. I had on SPF 50 on too! Sun off the water effect I guess.

Poor Alex is sick with colleck(sp?). He has the most pathetic sounding cry. Really makes you feel for the poor kid. My allergies are getting better. Maybe one of these weeks the whole family can be healthy for a week.

Baby Whisperer

Got woken up at 2 today by a very pissed off Alex. He was in full fledge thermo nuclear meltdown. Amber wasn't having any luck getting him to calm down & sleep. I used my patented bounce him while laying on a yoga ball method & he was out in less than 5 minutes. What can I say I'm the baby whisperer. Lol.

Being up very early decided might as well get my run out of the way. Knocked out 6 miles at 7:11 pace w/ avg HR of 142. Not too shabby. Slowly getting to where I want to be.

The Garmin Forerunner 210 is an awesome training tool. Its so nice to run & plug it into the computer & have all my data. Much more useful data than I got from my old Polar HR monitor.

we're falling apart over here

Seems the whole family is under the weather.

Amber's allergies have been so bad she came down with bronchittis. A round of antibiotics for her.

Mia is working on her second round of antibiotics. She now has a double ear infection & her Dr. mentioned perhaps a 2nd set of tubes. Poor kid.

Alex has a tooth coming in so he's all drool.

My allergies have moved into my chest. I'm hacking up some nice lung biscuits. Its not slowing me down. Actually running seems to help. Can't wait for this to pass.

I haven't forgot about this blog yet....

I'm trying to keep this thing going. Hard to find a few quiet moments anymore to sit down & type out a post. Going to work on that. With no races to blog about I'll have to write about the mundane.

Alex is getting bigger & some what easier to handle. Though I imagine that will change again once he starts cutting teeth. Amber told me this morning she thinks one is pushing through on the bottom. Hopefully teething won't be as bad as his colic but with our luck so far I doubt it. I will say he is taking longer naps & now he's on fruits & veggies he isn't in constant freak out mode. He does have some doozies when he gets tired. Sunday night had to take him outside at Olive Garden so not too risk getting asked to leave.

Saturday we had a small bday party for Mia. Just a couple of kids at the Lighthouse lanes. It was a pretty good time. Turns out I'm WAY better at Wii bowling than the real thing. Amber Greek made Mia an awesome Tangled themed cake which I ate way too much off.

Saturday night Amber & I ditched the kids. Went to Nakatos for dinner then went out for drinks before hitting the Hampton Inn so we could sleep in Sunday morning for a change. My gift to Amber for her birthday.

While having drinks I got to have a few Mother's Towheads from the new brewery in Springfield. Its at the old bakery on College. From what I hear they just brew & bottle there & don't have an actual bar. I do recommend trying it if you can find it. Applebee's on south Glenstone has it on tap.

I ran 8 miles this morning. Longest single run since I ran the 50k a few years back. Im doing a quick build phase before hitting the track.

Alonso's Quali run in Spain

Ride along in an F1 car filmed by @bsenna on his cell phone! Lots of donuts!! http://goo.gl/3AO68

Osama bin Ladens death

I'm torn in my feelings about bin Laden being killed.  At one spectrum I'm disgusted about the amount of jubilant celebration.  At the other I'm glad he is gone, not to the point I would celebrate death.  Death isn't a reason to celebrate.  Let's be real here a lot of men & women in the last 10 yrs have sacrificed their lives to get to this moment.  That in its self is a heavy burden.  But the bastard did finance a great tragedy on American soil.  This is one of those moments in history I'm really going to have to contemplate.  


There are so many thing s to think about.  My mind races faster than I can type for sure.  Without a doubt Osama's death won't bring on world peace.  I'm not even sure in will get the US out of Afghanistan any faster.  


Plus I'm sure the nut jobs will scream conspiracy since they buried him at sea.  I understand this fully.  It was wise to honor Muslim religious beliefs to not ask for more reprisals.  Plus it doesn't allow a shrine to be erected to him.  


This is definitely a turning point in history.  How we handle it is yet to be seen.  I am happy for all those who lost loved ones in 911 that 10 yrs later they get some closer.


I'm going to have to edit this post as I contemplate more..

Lean Green Running Machine 5K

Saturday was my first 5K of the year.  I went into it as a test race.  I'd trained pretty hard for several days prior & I just wanted an idea of where I was at speed wise.  Pretty good by the looks of it.  19:02 on a hilly course with a strong headwind every time I went downhill or on the flats.  I was pretty sore too, so I'm very happy with a time 2 secs slower than the Turkey Trot in November.  I would call this race harder than Turkey Trot if for no other reason than it has less people & I had to run most of the race by myself.  I ended up 4th overall & 2nd in 31-40 (strange age grouping)

I got a Garmin Forerunner 210.  Its pretty cool, especially the pacing feature.  It kept me from going out too hard & I was able to run descent splits.  Plus it up loads all my data.

Going to have to take it out riding so I can compare watts to GPS.  Now I can get me a Strava account.

Its good I live on top of a hill

Last night the rain across my road was the highest I've seen it in the 6+ years I lived on the west side of town.

 The water across the road flowed into the field.

From the field it was flowing across this section of road onto & covering the greenway trail.  Never seen it do that before.  The road in the first pic was closed for the better part of a year while the county was "fixing" it to stop this flooding.  Guess they should have added another culvert.

I worked two extra days this week & I had to drive to work all 6 days.  Its killing me.  Especially since the last 2 days I didn't even run.  Though yesterday I overslept.  Guess I was pretty beat.  The extra days(nights) do that to you.

Let it Rain, Let it Rain

Its raining a ton right now.  With predicted totals going as high as 9" by next Friday I'm itching for some whitewater.  Been too long since I've gotten the boats out.  These kind of totals mean Arkansas Creeking!  Hopefully I can get out next week for a quick trip down South.

I used driving to work last night to scope out a new route to work for riding.  I call it my rain route.  I have several ways to go to work but 3 of the 4 involve crossing Wilson's Creek.  Which floods pretty easy.  The rain route takes me right past one of the venues I'd love to hold a cross race at.  Maybe with all this rain I'll be motivated more for cross riding past it so much.

The weather is killing me

Crap like this has made me drive to work for the second day in a row.  I'll ride in rain but I draw the line at riding in severe thunderstorms.  The forecast for the rest of the week isn't looking any better.  Forecast is calling for upwards of 9" of rain in the next week.  I should be in Arkansas boating not at work.

Have managed to get in two quality days of running.  Hopefully I can keep up the good runs going into the duathalon series.  I do need to get in a 5K pretty quick to see where I'm at.  Next weekend I'm planning on hitting one & see if I've been making any progress. 

Geeking out

Dual monitors for $10. That makes me happy, Amber not so much but she got a rug I got dual monitors. Priorities.  For added geekiness I took the photo with my Blackberry & sent it via the Bluetooth to my desktop.  Said Desktop now has Bluetooth thanks to a $2 dongle which really makes my inner geek happy.  Not bad for an ancient desktop with basically no modern features.

I've blown off my run the last 3 days & tomorrow isn't looking much better. Sleep hasn't been easy the last 3 days with F1 going on in China. Its impossible to not hear something in 3 days. Been going on internet lock down at 2am rushing home and watching the DVR for practice, quali, & the actual race.

Speaking of the race. WOW! Just WOW! Exciting is an understatement. I accidently saw who won before leaving work but still an amazing race to watch.

In the morning Amber has jury duty. She's all freaked out about being picked & have court for a week. I doubt that happens. When I get home from work got to take Mia to pre-k. Then watch Alex till Amber gets home. No sleep for me since he refuses to nap for more than 30 min. That said I don't see me getting in a run tomorrow unless its late tomorrow night.

Getting Amber a treadmill so it will be easier for both of us to run.

Short week for me 2 days off then back to work for 6. Going to have to force myself to run everyday. The Duathalons are approaching quickly. Need to hit a 5k before.

Saw the summer Waffle races on Facebook today. They align perfectly with my work schedule, the wrong way. If I'm lucky I'll get to race one of them, maybe.

Another Awesome Paris-Roubaix vid

The Slow Motion, black n white & the music make it seem like a war movie trailer.  Kind of appropriate since Paris Roubaix is a battle

I need an HD Pro cam

Got this off Tumblr

F1 Dukes of Hazard Style

No Spoilers Please

Right above this post is a link to my Tumblr. Mostly bike related reposts of cool bike pictures. I do scribble quick training notes there as well. Having a Tumblr app on my phone makes it easier to post quick stuff there instead of a full on blog post or a bunch of little posts here.

SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY! Big TV day Paris Roubaix live on the intrawebs then F1 Quali & the race on DVR. That means exiling myself from the intraweb from about 3am tonight till sometime Sunday when I'm all caught up. I like the surprise of watching the racing unfold. No spoilers please.

Sauber double scores points..Oh Wait no they don't

I got really excited watching the F1 race Sunday afternoon.  I had to DVR it as per the norm.  After an evening at a water park birthday party I was wiped & couldn't stay up.  Luck had it that I had to go to a bouncy house birthday party Sun at noon so it was late afternoon before I could watch the race.  A great race it was too.  I don't think the movable wing & KERS played as much a part as the tires did.  Most were on a 2 -3 pit strategy.  Except Sauber's Rookie Perez .  He managed to go with just one pit stop & finish just one place in front of Kobi who stopped 3 times.  I was ecstatic.  Both Sauber's in the points in the first race.  

I had been on s self imposed news/web blackout till I could watch the race.  As soon as the race was over I fired up Google Reader & my heart sunk.  Both Sauber's had been been DQ'd because of a rules infringement of the rear wing.  I won't go into detail I linked details below. The car showed pace & I think once all is worked out Sauber is going to surprise a lot of people. Perhaps even with a podium this season.

Scarbs F1 explanation

Good explanation here

Racecar Engineering updated overview of the Sauber C30

Via the F1 Fanatic live Twitter app

Sauber – Explanation of the rear wing infringement (Scarbs F1)

“Sauber have three versions of the flap available and two were brought to Melbourne. It seems the version raced was not fully checked at the factory and therefore the error was not picked up, whereas the other (un-raced) specification flap was checked and deemed legal. Not every car and every component gets fully checked by the FIA scrutineers. The cars will go through different tests at different points in the weekend. It seems the Sauber flap in question was not tested until after the race.”

Update: Sauber was going to protest but have admitted it was their fault & are taking the punishment.  It was a manufacturing error & one version of the wing hadn't been fully verified & of course it was the one that got them in trouble with the stewards.

Updates coming for sure

I have ride updates & for sure a post about the Melbourne F1 race coming.  Lets just say I'm gutted about the "official" results.

2011 Rides # 7, 8 , & 9 Three Days in a Row.

I know its lazy to do 3 rides in one blog but I was somewhat busy on my days off & this is the first chance I've had.

Ride #7 Windy
Saturday got out for a windy & slightly chilly ride.  Weird strong wind from the East which guaranteed riding home in the wind.  Nothing special just a quick couple hours to spin the legs after 2 straight days of running.  Legs were a little sore from running since hadn't been out since Jan 9.

Ride #8  Hour of Power
Sunday got out early so I could have most of the day free for yard work & to make sure the Frisco Trail was relatively empty.  I like to ride on the Frisco when I do certain power workouts outside since I can make the power chart look like I was on the trainer.  Very consistent.  I hit my goal numbers & even managed to end up with a pretty good Normalized Power for about 2 hours.  That's focused workout numero uno of the year.

 Afterwards I spent the rest of the day doing Spring yard work.  Mowed the yard. Yep it needed it already.  Semi aerated the dead spots in the back yard(thanks dogs) & put down 10lbs of seed.  Hopefully that will thicken out the clumps.  I've come to realize as long as I have two big ass dogs I'll never have a great back yard.  But hopefully I can do some damage control.  Also cleaned out the garden boxes.  Last fall & over the winter some weed took over.  Was a SOB to get out. Very thin web like roots that are hard to break up.  Didn't get potatoes in the ground so will work on that next 4 off.

Ride #9 Break out the razor Spring is here!
There was no way I could sport my winter hairy legs anymore, especially with 76f predicted for today.  A big South wind so decided to venture South for the first time this year.  Did the winter Wednesday night loop which gives me 2ish hours from the house normally.  I avoid South when its cold because of the low water crossings.  I've taken a winter bike swim in Jan before & don't want to do that again, ever.

Back to work tonight.  As long as things don't change this week I'm back on my normal 4&4 so hopefully can get some descent rides in now the weather is getting nicer.  When I decided to do the DU series I got a little panicked when it dawned on me how soon they are.  I laid out a pretty ambitious schedule but should be able to stick to it.  Its not how I envisioned the year going though since I wanted a super slow year with Nats in Jan but it might be good to get some fitness soon so I can race some this summer since I missed Cross last fall.

Also stay tuned for some news about the TT series.  If it happens I think its really going to grow the TT series.  Should find out details this week.

Motivation??

Crap! Guess I have some training to do if I want to win this series

2011 Ride # 6 Race #1 Frozen Waffles Training Race

Lets face it I had ZERO business racing right now but I made a deal & a deal is a deal. there

Jerred Brackett

@TheRealScottyD Oh man, that's a tough one...I'm such a sucky TT'er. But yes I will come out to one if you show up. Deal!

There you have it I did Frozen Waffles now Bracket will be doing some local TT's this year.  I say some because once he does one I think he'll HAVE to do more.  

I pretty much treated this like a $20 group ride.  Especially since there were just 6 Master's.  The 123 field looked descent size for an afternoon training race in Springfield.  I decided weeks ago I was going to mostly tail gun.  Little did I know the eventual winner(Mr. Ski Mask) had the same idea, except for different reasons.  A few guys tried to gap me off several times so I had to inform them I wasn't really racing so quit wasting energy on me.  

After the first 11 mile lap I knew I was screwed going up the Dam hill(it really is a hill up the back side of a dam not a Damn hill).  I'm down on weight but also down on mileage.  I held on & even took some pulls for the first 3 laps. 

On lap 3 I got gapped off a little coming up the hill after the lake.  I managed to tag back on.  After this I decided once we hit the dam hill again I was going to sit up about half way since my legs were burning & my left knee was hurting pretty good. 

 I thought about bailing & heading home to go to work(I forgot to mention I had to go to work a few hours after the race) but hell why not get some miles. So put my head down into the wind & soloed the last lap.  About got lapped on the line by Brad Huff winner of the 123 race(duh).  Oops.

Packed up my stuff rushed home & got ready for work.  Work SUCKED! not only was I tired from no sleep & racing but work was exceptionally busy.  Stupid day light saving time.  Always screws up the computers at work.  Pretty tired this am but going to put on my compression tights & sleep it off.  I might actually wake up to an inch of snow! Wasn't it like 70f Friday?