Surly Trail Loppett

Today marks the first official day of Fall and that means that race season is coming up.  I have been training a pretty high volume of hours this year and now is the time to drop the volume and increase the intensity. After several 20+ hour weeks of training this week was only 15 hours.  I kept the frequency of workouts the same but instead of 2.5 hour I might only run for 1 to 1.5 hours.  It felt great.  My decrease in hours timed well with the Surly Trail Loppett 1/2 marathon.  The loppett events are awesome, and become even better because I can walk to the start from my back door.  I actually ran and picked up our bibs during for my pre-breakfast 15 minute jog.

Participants in the Fast Kids 1km Fun Run

After starting slowly I worked my way up to the group racing for 3rd place.  At mile 10 my legs left me and I dropped off the 1 hour 22 min pace and the other two guys in our group.  I ran it in at 1:25:30 which is still a time I am happy with.  The race has grown in the last few years from under a hundred participants to selling out at 900 participants which is pretty cool.  There are some strong runners in the group to push the cross country skiers including race winner and former Team USA Minnesota athlete Chris Lundstrom.

Madshus Posters hot off the press for this weekends big Hoigaards Tent Sale

It was nice to have an easier week with a busy weekend.  On Friday and Saturday, Caitlin and I helped customers at the Hoigaards huge annual tent sale.  Hoigaards is one of our new sponsors and they had a great sale weekend.  It was a blast to see and meet so many skiers, plus they had some fantastic deals.

Setting Carter up on a pair of Madshus Nanosonics

Team Madshus: Caitlin, Ben (Madshus Sales Rep) and I 

Glacier ski testing, 90s, and the end of summer 5km

Madshus Photo Shoot on the Eagle Glacier

We made a big move this spring switching to Madshus skis, boots, poles and bindings.  I had the opportunity to test some demo Madshus skis in June, but in August I had the opportunity to test my own skis.  Skiing on snow in the summer time is pretty special and requires a little effort and some extra dollars.  There are two summer skiing facilities in North America.  One is on the Haig Glacier near Canmore, AB, Canada and the other is on the Eagle Glacier near Anchorage, AK.  I hadn't been on snow in July or August since 2010 and this spring we decided that we needed to make it happen.  In seven days on the glacier I had my best week of training of the year.  Not only did I get in over 28 hours of quality on snow time but I gained a ton of confidence in my new skis.  I used to dread racing in warm conditions, but now with my new skis I am excited for them.  I skied most days with a camel-back so I didn't have to stop.  We did take one day pretty easy and modeled in a photo shoot for Madshus.  They flew up my friend and photographer Charlie Renfro to take photos.

Signing in the attendance for Run Club

I had hoped that our summer travels would coincide with the annual heat wave in Minneapolis.  Unfortunately we were off by one week and we returned to 90+ degree temperatures at home in Minneapolis.  Thankfully the shorter days of late August meant that the mornings weren't too unbearable but it did cut down on our number of Run Club sessions outside.  Our big summer goal for Run Club has been the Heart of the City 5km.  The running race was yesterday down in Burnsville, MN

We met at the Club at 6:30am but that didn't slow Janaya and I down.

The Boys and Girls Club kids were each paired with a running buddy so that they could each run their own race.  Terrell is one of our youngest but also one of our strongest runners. 

Caitlin and I raced the 5km as well.  I gained a lot of respects for moms, dads, and coaches out there who run races with their kids.  We had a busy morning of getting everyone into their running clothes, pinning on numbers, tying shoes, getting fueled (thanks to Fruit Share for the grapes and apples) and all the necessary pre-race activities.  It makes me really appreciate all the support I receive from others, especially on race day.  It was really cool to see the kids run the 5km race.  I ran back to cheer them in and could only keep up for a few minutes.

The Boys and Girls Club crew after a fun morning of racing and supporting.  We celebrate our accomplishments with a party at Grand Slam.  I thought that everyone would be worn out but we rallied for mini-golf, bumper cars and laser tag.