I've always wanted to have my own blog - now I do! My blog will contain things about me and what's going on in my life, including: races & training, family, business news and other interests!
Monday, January 10, 2011
Erich's Blog: New Week!
Erich's Blog: New Week!: "Well, it's a new week with some fresh snow falling to the ground. I guess that means I won't be running or cycling outdoors again this..."
New Week!
Well, it's a new week with some fresh snow falling to the ground. I guess that means I won't be running or cycling outdoors again this week! :)
Last week ended pretty quietly. Kathy and I were able to get into the DAHLC on Saturday to complete our training weeks. Kathy did a full triathlon (cycle class, 4 mile run, swim) while I "took it easy" with a 90 minute spin class and a few weights. This week begins the next 3 weeks of "heavy" weeks, starting with a heavy bike week.
Training This Week, Next
Since it is a heavy bike week (~100 miles or 5 hours), I'll be front-loading my miles into Monday through Thursday as we are headed to the West Coast on Friday. I'm crossing my fingers that the weather will be nice in L. A. and I can do some outdoor running on the weekend!
It sounds like Coach Jason will be joining me for some miles today as well. We're planning a spin class for later, likely followed by some Expresso bike miles afterward for me. I'll also likely do at least one double class later in the week, Tuesday or Wednesday. That should get me enough hours this week.
Next week will be a little tough with heavy run miles. I'll be in L. A. through Wednesday, so hopefully a couple long runs at the beginning of the week will carry me over.
Newport Beach Riding Adventure?
I went online and did some research last night on renting a road bike and doing a little Monday riding adventure. I'm having descent success in finding businesses who rent bikes - BUT - not businesses who rent 62 cm bikes. I'm hoping to find something but if not, I might be stuck renting a 58 cm and making do. I'm finding some SWEET (and difficult) rides along the Newport Beach coast heading south. Could be a scenic and fun/crazy ride! I'll keep you posted, so that if you hear about some Midwest dude who got squashed on Highway 1 south of Newport, you may be able to positively identify me.
On a related topic, if anyone knows how to sync a "map my ride" route to my Garmin Forerunner, I'm all ears. I haven't taken the time to read the 60+ page manual for my Garmin, but might need to this week. I've got a couple of routes others have put out on the "map my ride" site, but I don't know how to load them into my watch. Ahhh, technology.
Congrats to Baby Sinnwell!
It was a pleasure to be in attendance at Harper Sinnwell's baptism yesterday. Good food and conversation followed. Harper's older sister, Lydia, is getting quite mobile these days! Thanks, Lydia, for telling me "buh bye" for 20 minutes before we left the church. :)
Races For Summer
Kathy sat down yesterday afternoon and planned out all the races she wants to do during the summer. In terms of races, it appears we'll only be head to head in one, since she does more tri's and I do more du's. What's interesting is that du's tend to be more in the early spring and late summer, while tri's are plopped right in the middle of summer. So...while it creates a really crazy summer for us both, running to one race or another nearly every weekend, it's nice in that we can see each other race and cheer on the other. Last year we ended up in so many races together, we rarely got to see the other race.
What this means for friends and family is pretty clear - if there is an event between late April and late September you're hoping we'll be able to attend, it's best to check soon! We've already registered for a small handful but will be fully committing to the rest in short order.
Last week ended pretty quietly. Kathy and I were able to get into the DAHLC on Saturday to complete our training weeks. Kathy did a full triathlon (cycle class, 4 mile run, swim) while I "took it easy" with a 90 minute spin class and a few weights. This week begins the next 3 weeks of "heavy" weeks, starting with a heavy bike week.
Training This Week, Next
Since it is a heavy bike week (~100 miles or 5 hours), I'll be front-loading my miles into Monday through Thursday as we are headed to the West Coast on Friday. I'm crossing my fingers that the weather will be nice in L. A. and I can do some outdoor running on the weekend!
It sounds like Coach Jason will be joining me for some miles today as well. We're planning a spin class for later, likely followed by some Expresso bike miles afterward for me. I'll also likely do at least one double class later in the week, Tuesday or Wednesday. That should get me enough hours this week.
Next week will be a little tough with heavy run miles. I'll be in L. A. through Wednesday, so hopefully a couple long runs at the beginning of the week will carry me over.
Newport Beach Riding Adventure?
I went online and did some research last night on renting a road bike and doing a little Monday riding adventure. I'm having descent success in finding businesses who rent bikes - BUT - not businesses who rent 62 cm bikes. I'm hoping to find something but if not, I might be stuck renting a 58 cm and making do. I'm finding some SWEET (and difficult) rides along the Newport Beach coast heading south. Could be a scenic and fun/crazy ride! I'll keep you posted, so that if you hear about some Midwest dude who got squashed on Highway 1 south of Newport, you may be able to positively identify me.
On a related topic, if anyone knows how to sync a "map my ride" route to my Garmin Forerunner, I'm all ears. I haven't taken the time to read the 60+ page manual for my Garmin, but might need to this week. I've got a couple of routes others have put out on the "map my ride" site, but I don't know how to load them into my watch. Ahhh, technology.
Congrats to Baby Sinnwell!
It was a pleasure to be in attendance at Harper Sinnwell's baptism yesterday. Good food and conversation followed. Harper's older sister, Lydia, is getting quite mobile these days! Thanks, Lydia, for telling me "buh bye" for 20 minutes before we left the church. :)
Races For Summer
Kathy sat down yesterday afternoon and planned out all the races she wants to do during the summer. In terms of races, it appears we'll only be head to head in one, since she does more tri's and I do more du's. What's interesting is that du's tend to be more in the early spring and late summer, while tri's are plopped right in the middle of summer. So...while it creates a really crazy summer for us both, running to one race or another nearly every weekend, it's nice in that we can see each other race and cheer on the other. Last year we ended up in so many races together, we rarely got to see the other race.
What this means for friends and family is pretty clear - if there is an event between late April and late September you're hoping we'll be able to attend, it's best to check soon! We've already registered for a small handful but will be fully committing to the rest in short order.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Mid-Week Update, New Purchase, Big Wins for "Any Given Night"
The Week So Far
In all honesty, I was surprised at the level of interest my new blog generated. Thanks for caring as much as you do! I mean that sincerely - I really thought I might be writing to myself and three other people. If you're interested in receiving a notice when I post a new entry, go to the top of this blog and click on "follow." Having a bigger audience is much more motivating!
A few of you asked me after my initial blog about what I do specifically for training each week. Coach Jason has set up a basic 4-week rotation for me. It's pretty simple: hard bike, hard run, hard both, recovery. Hard bike doesn't mean all hard miles/minutes, just heavier (around 100 miles) with some high intensity/moderate intensity rides. Hard run is similar - 35-40 miles of running with some tough, fast intervals and less easy stuff. On a "heavy" week, the other activity is lessened. For example, heavy bike means only 20 miles running. Heavy run means only 60 miles biking. Heavy both is the toughest week, followed by a week of recovery. Unfortunately, recovery doesn't mean you get the week off, it only means a few less miles and relatively no hard stuff.
So...this week is my recovery. I thought at the beginning of the week I'd be able to skate through and feel great. However, I'm learning quickly that the 3 previous "heavy" weeks really do grind on your body and you start to feel all the little "ouch" areas on the recovery week. So basically you spend the recovery week licking your wounds so to speak and getting ready for the next 3 weeks of hard stuff.
I'm about half way through my running/cycling miles for the week and have gotten the moderate cycling work out of the way. I have easy bike miles left, one moderate run and some light strength training. Kathy and I will be heading into the gym on Saturday morning for a 90 minute spin ride (she might do a 45 minute class - we'll see) and I should hopefully have Sunday to rest completely!
I know some of you out there are pretty routine strength training people. I'm not sure how to feel motivated to do weights as some of you are. I do two strength training sessions per week and it's the low point in my time at the gym. While I can physically feel and see the results before my eyes, that's about all that keeps me doing it. What's the secret? I'm probably not going to look like (nor do I want to) those guys who grease themselves up and walk around flexing their muscles in small tank tops. :)
Big Wins For "Any Given Night"
Okay, enough about training. Now you see why my wife believes I'm obsessed. Some of you know, other don't, that I play volleyball year around. Dan & Susan Crowell invited me to play on their co-ed team a couple years ago. The team name is "Any Given Night." I never knew the reason for this name until Susan explained it one night. Apparently, the team's view is that they can win...or lose to any team on "any given night," meaning we can be really great and really awful depending. Last night we did a little of both, but more the former, sweeping our opponents. We came back from a 7 point deficit in the third game to seal the sweep. It was an exciting one!
I'd like to publicly thank Ms. Julie Majerus for her help in finding this team. I played on Julie's team for a few years before deciding to find a new team at a higher competitive level. Julie could have just said "good riddence" and life would have gone on. Julie truly took the high road and introduced me to Dan & Susan. So, thank you, Julie!
Fun, New Purchase
Back to training just for a second. I've been finding through my training that it's often times hard to motivate myself to get into the gym, particularly on weekends when it's cold and I just want to stay home. I've been asking/begging/harping on Kathy for over a year now for us to purchase an indoor bike trainer. For those not familiar, a trainer is a stationary object you place your road bike on, which allows you to cycle on your bike indoors. You can park it in front of a Sunday football game and ride out the game.
I'd been hinting to Coach Jason about borrowing his trainer. I don't think he really uses it, but likes the idea of having it just in case he wants to slap the road bike on it some day. Anyway, he must have been viewing Craig's List and found me a used trainer for $65. I went and looked it last night and bought it on the spot. The guy said it has less than 5 hours of use (and I believe him). So...now I truly have no excuses for not getting my bike miles in every week.
Incidently, this is the second time Coach Jason has located a cycling item I've ended up purchasing. He also found my road bike on Ebay about a year ago that I subsequently bought and love. I think he might be my good luck charm.
Okay, that's good enough for today. Stay tuned to learn of my upcoming trip to California and a possible bike rental/cycling adventure!
In all honesty, I was surprised at the level of interest my new blog generated. Thanks for caring as much as you do! I mean that sincerely - I really thought I might be writing to myself and three other people. If you're interested in receiving a notice when I post a new entry, go to the top of this blog and click on "follow." Having a bigger audience is much more motivating!
A few of you asked me after my initial blog about what I do specifically for training each week. Coach Jason has set up a basic 4-week rotation for me. It's pretty simple: hard bike, hard run, hard both, recovery. Hard bike doesn't mean all hard miles/minutes, just heavier (around 100 miles) with some high intensity/moderate intensity rides. Hard run is similar - 35-40 miles of running with some tough, fast intervals and less easy stuff. On a "heavy" week, the other activity is lessened. For example, heavy bike means only 20 miles running. Heavy run means only 60 miles biking. Heavy both is the toughest week, followed by a week of recovery. Unfortunately, recovery doesn't mean you get the week off, it only means a few less miles and relatively no hard stuff.
So...this week is my recovery. I thought at the beginning of the week I'd be able to skate through and feel great. However, I'm learning quickly that the 3 previous "heavy" weeks really do grind on your body and you start to feel all the little "ouch" areas on the recovery week. So basically you spend the recovery week licking your wounds so to speak and getting ready for the next 3 weeks of hard stuff.
I'm about half way through my running/cycling miles for the week and have gotten the moderate cycling work out of the way. I have easy bike miles left, one moderate run and some light strength training. Kathy and I will be heading into the gym on Saturday morning for a 90 minute spin ride (she might do a 45 minute class - we'll see) and I should hopefully have Sunday to rest completely!
I know some of you out there are pretty routine strength training people. I'm not sure how to feel motivated to do weights as some of you are. I do two strength training sessions per week and it's the low point in my time at the gym. While I can physically feel and see the results before my eyes, that's about all that keeps me doing it. What's the secret? I'm probably not going to look like (nor do I want to) those guys who grease themselves up and walk around flexing their muscles in small tank tops. :)
Big Wins For "Any Given Night"
Okay, enough about training. Now you see why my wife believes I'm obsessed. Some of you know, other don't, that I play volleyball year around. Dan & Susan Crowell invited me to play on their co-ed team a couple years ago. The team name is "Any Given Night." I never knew the reason for this name until Susan explained it one night. Apparently, the team's view is that they can win...or lose to any team on "any given night," meaning we can be really great and really awful depending. Last night we did a little of both, but more the former, sweeping our opponents. We came back from a 7 point deficit in the third game to seal the sweep. It was an exciting one!
I'd like to publicly thank Ms. Julie Majerus for her help in finding this team. I played on Julie's team for a few years before deciding to find a new team at a higher competitive level. Julie could have just said "good riddence" and life would have gone on. Julie truly took the high road and introduced me to Dan & Susan. So, thank you, Julie!
Fun, New Purchase
Back to training just for a second. I've been finding through my training that it's often times hard to motivate myself to get into the gym, particularly on weekends when it's cold and I just want to stay home. I've been asking/begging/harping on Kathy for over a year now for us to purchase an indoor bike trainer. For those not familiar, a trainer is a stationary object you place your road bike on, which allows you to cycle on your bike indoors. You can park it in front of a Sunday football game and ride out the game.
I'd been hinting to Coach Jason about borrowing his trainer. I don't think he really uses it, but likes the idea of having it just in case he wants to slap the road bike on it some day. Anyway, he must have been viewing Craig's List and found me a used trainer for $65. I went and looked it last night and bought it on the spot. The guy said it has less than 5 hours of use (and I believe him). So...now I truly have no excuses for not getting my bike miles in every week.
Incidently, this is the second time Coach Jason has located a cycling item I've ended up purchasing. He also found my road bike on Ebay about a year ago that I subsequently bought and love. I think he might be my good luck charm.
Okay, that's good enough for today. Stay tuned to learn of my upcoming trip to California and a possible bike rental/cycling adventure!
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Training and Races for 2011
As I elude to in my "about me" section, I've become a fairly strict (some would say obsessed) multi-sport athlete. In some ways, my wife is right in that I'll plan my day/week/month around getting my training hours in at the gym. However, I've discovered, even in my rookie season of racing, that I have some natural strengths that others don't. I'm actually a pretty fast cyclist (faster than most anyway) and running comes fairly natural. Though I'm not the fastest guy out there, I also don't have years of training under my belt.
I also have a great "coach" and friend, Jason Sinnwell, to help me train correctly. He's an excellent runner and does a good job in providing me with a doable workout plan weekly. It's nothing overly world shaking but it keeps me grounded and accountable.
So...you might be wondering what events I'll be racing in this year. The list, thus far, is pretty long. By September, I'm convinced I'll be ready to take some time off!
Falls Duathlon - Cannon Falls - April 30
Cinco "Du" Mayo - Stillwater - May 7
Oakdale Duathlon - Lake Elmo - May 14
Du at the Dam - Coon Rapids - June 25
Turtleman Du - August 13
Minneapolis Duathlon - August 27
Mosquitoman Duathlon - September 4
Treadman Duathlon - Pine Island - September 11
Park Tool Duathlon - Lake Elmo - September 17
Cannon Wells Duathlon - Faribault - September 24
Of these, I've raced in all but the Falls, Cannon Wells & Turtleman. Turtleman used to be a tri but was moved to a duathlon for 2011. The others I've done as at least a relay in the past. Mosquitoman is a tough R/B/R/B/R event and was super competitive last year. Minneapolis is the largest by far (and my best % place overall in 2010). Treadman is a local event with many people I know - it's by far the toughest bike course of all events.
I hope to also do some local running races, probably as long as a 10k. One of my friends, Dan Roellinger, is a pretty good runner locally and I'm hoping to keep pace with him this year. If I'm fortunate, maybe I can even pull out a victory over him this year. Dan claims he doesn't care about this, but I think he will the first time I finish ahead. :)
That's it for now. I'll provide updates on training periodically.
I also have a great "coach" and friend, Jason Sinnwell, to help me train correctly. He's an excellent runner and does a good job in providing me with a doable workout plan weekly. It's nothing overly world shaking but it keeps me grounded and accountable.
So...you might be wondering what events I'll be racing in this year. The list, thus far, is pretty long. By September, I'm convinced I'll be ready to take some time off!
Falls Duathlon - Cannon Falls - April 30
Cinco "Du" Mayo - Stillwater - May 7
Oakdale Duathlon - Lake Elmo - May 14
Du at the Dam - Coon Rapids - June 25
Turtleman Du - August 13
Minneapolis Duathlon - August 27
Mosquitoman Duathlon - September 4
Treadman Duathlon - Pine Island - September 11
Park Tool Duathlon - Lake Elmo - September 17
Cannon Wells Duathlon - Faribault - September 24
Of these, I've raced in all but the Falls, Cannon Wells & Turtleman. Turtleman used to be a tri but was moved to a duathlon for 2011. The others I've done as at least a relay in the past. Mosquitoman is a tough R/B/R/B/R event and was super competitive last year. Minneapolis is the largest by far (and my best % place overall in 2010). Treadman is a local event with many people I know - it's by far the toughest bike course of all events.
I hope to also do some local running races, probably as long as a 10k. One of my friends, Dan Roellinger, is a pretty good runner locally and I'm hoping to keep pace with him this year. If I'm fortunate, maybe I can even pull out a victory over him this year. Dan claims he doesn't care about this, but I think he will the first time I finish ahead. :)
That's it for now. I'll provide updates on training periodically.
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