Injuries

I've never broken, popped, bruised a rib before.

Well, I did pop a rib out a few Monday's ago. Along with another few friends that have also come down with sickness, a crash and burn while running and putting a hurt on his back, we've been a bit broken lately. It's pretty tough. Middle of summer is such an amazing time in Alaska and we're restricted by our bodies.

This brought up a lot of feelings for me. I really wanted to do well at the Soggy Bottom 100 coming up on August 4th. I can still have a good race but how a good race is defined is different now that I've had to dial back my training intensity and volume.

Endurance sports success can be defined by how well you do in standings, but even more importantly is how well you do for yourself. Perhaps you don't place where you wanted to, maybe a PR isn't on the table, or even finishing might be really tough at this point. But the primary concern is that you dig. I've found in these moments just how amazing I can be. At least that's what I tell myself. Haha

I hope you all are having a great summer. I've been experiencing many amazing things and even though my rib is a bit buggered up I'm really excited to see what's next.

Here are some recent pictures. Till next time, be nice to yourself and others :-)

Ugh so cute. One of my adventure partners :-)

My little old lady. She's slowing down a bit but she still has a big heart!

I had an amazing 37th birthday with some amazing friends. Thanks for everything!

Little Su 50k

If you haven't started looking at the weather on the Iditarod Trail, now might be a good time. Haha

Iditarod Trail Invitational

A couple teammates of mine are racing the Iditasport, Tim Kirk is going to McGrath and Andrew Cunningham is riding his bike to Shell Lake and back. See their trackers here.

Iditasport Live Tracking

This past weekend, one of the best 100 mile races was put on by a great group of folks. The Susitna 100 is such a fun event (sadly I haven't raced the 100 mile distance the past two years with it being a week before the Iditarod Trail Invitational.)

Susitna 100 start. Front row starting with Megan Chelf on the left, Laura (1st place lady,) Dusty, Josh (1st Place) David (3rd Place) and Tim (2nd Place.) Photo Credit Andy Romang

I participated in the Little Su 50k which races on the 100 mile course with exception of a couple miles to close the loop. I enjoyed riding with my good friend and awesome teammate Danielle and another teammate Brant for the first 6-8 miles then decided I felt a little racy and started to put in a bit of an effort. I was happy with my pace on the second half of the race and caught my teammate Oliver who followed our team motto (Blow up early, struggle to finish.) Just kidding buddy, nice job out there hanging with the fast folks for so long.

Little Su 50k Start. Danielle is in the Grey/Blue coat with grey helmet, Brant is in the Revolution Racing jacket. Photo Credit Andy Romang

Photo Credit Andy Romang

 Then the fun part of the event weekend starts, I boogied up to Deshka Landing and EagleQuest Lodge to see the racers come through mile 62 on the 100 mile event.

Laura, Dusty and Nick at Eagle Quest. Photo by me

Josh Chelf edged out Tim Berntson at the finish. They both had a great race and are awesome dudes! Way to go guys.

In a weird twist of fate, my emotional support human Laura Fox finished fourth overall in a sprint finish after the second group missed their turn after Cow Lake and rode 14 miles off course. Part of me is really bummed for my friends who went off course, but part of me is really happy that Laura, Nick and Dusty did a great race and benefited from their prep work and knew the course well.

Just finished a sprint with David Berg. Damn near a podium! Photo Credit Andy Romang

Dusty with a cool beardcicle. Photo Credit Me

Laura and Nick at the finish line. They look pumped? Photo Credit Me

I'm going to ride my bike a little bit with some gear and see how it feels. Till next time. :-)

Life and Training updates - 2018

Holy cow it's already 2018, and January is done!

I have some cool frozen beard pics and ride shots from this past week to share:

Denali in the background.

Critter tracks

Exploring new trails.

Windsock trail never disappoints.

Corral Hill Kiosk. I think it was -22 at that point on the river.

Sleeping Lady from Big Swamp trail.

Swamp thing?

You know you want to look at a close up of my beard. Haha

I have to admit, that I've never really done structured training before this year. In the past I just rode my bike till I was tired on the weekdays and rode for a long time on the weekends. It was apparent last year to me that I could not just lean on that training method. I also noticed that the minimal strength training I did last year seemed to help my back a lot. So this year I dove in. My friend Nico started a personal training studio last year and he has been riding really strong and looks absolutely ripped! Laura and I decided to give the strength and conditioning classes a try.

LongevityLab

So far, I feel pretty damn good. I've never had any confidence in my shoulders since popping them out in high school. I have since developed more strength and confidence to do heavy lifts with my upper body and shoulders with their teaching. There is a great community growing over at LongevityLab and I'm glad I get to be a part of it. :-) And, they have adorable shop puppies!

I picked up a smart trainer late last winter and have been riding the heck out of it (as much as a fat biker can anyways.)

Cycleops Magnus

I've been using it in conjunction with their smart phone app Rouvy Mobile. I can upload trainer workouts from Training Peaks so I don't have to adjust much while training. It's pretty nice.

Training Peaks
Rouvy

This past weekend I put in a lot of miles. I literally killed my Garmin battery, attempted to sweat out my gear, tried some new food, played with pace over a long day and overall had a damn good time even if I did freeze my water tube a hundred times. Haha Thanks to Adam and Angie for opening up their home to stinky, long distance bikers. Without you guys I wouldn't be able to try a lot of this stuff out.

That's all I got for now, I'll update you guys in a week or so. Happy riding!

Palmer the lab

I purchased a DSLR and was going through a photography phase. Puppies are great subjects and work for cookies. :-)

Over 10 years ago a bouncy, furry little yellow Labrador puppy came bunny hopping into our green yard and into our hearts. Little did I know, my whole life was going to change.

I was going to college to be a automotive technician, I was a C-130 crew chief and I had a habit of partying a little too hard and a little too often. It didn't matter how hung over or how late I was out Palmer was always there to be a friend. Maybe I'm just a weird dog person but it really seemed like he knew when I was hurting or when I was happy and was always by our sides to share and be friendly.

Fast forward after getting in trouble, I started working in construction administration and I recognized that I needed to make some changes in my life. I was overweight, my back was bothering me, I had a tough time tying my shoes. My diet consisted of various forms of fast food, energy drinks and a chewing tobacco habit. I had this energy that I enjoyed spending on motor racing but it seemed that I was not satiated by it. Around this point, my dad had a Specialized Rockhopper FSR (with rim brakes and a y frame.) Palmer and my dad would head out to Far North Bicentennial Park for bike rides. Man I tell you, Palmer and Dad really loved their bike rides in the park. Winter came around and they didn’t skip a beat, they hooked up to the ski-jor harness and kept on trucking through the snow.

One of the first changes I made was taking our dogs Palmer and Dot for a long walk. My father has always had an influence on my interests and it wasn’t long after that in 2009 that I bought my first nice bicycle, a Cannondale Quick CX. I would ride all over the place. I started to bike-jor with Palmer and Dot. I started spending a lot of time on the bike and outdoors with Palmer and Dot. It wasn't long before I started to really fall in love with cycling. The rest is history...

Below are some pictures of Palmer and our pack. I spent a lot of time thinking about all these great things to write and share with you all. But really, I just miss this puppy a lot. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about him and his goofy personality. Some days I cry, some days I laugh.

A great way to remember Palmer is to give your puppies a pat on the head and a treat for their bellies. Take them to the dog park, let them run through the deep snow (if we ever get any.) They won't ever forget it. :-) <3

It was always really enjoyable for us all to go on long walks. Sachi the Setter on the left, Dot in the middle and Palmer on the right. PC Me

You wouldn't guess that just a few weeks before this Palmer had major knee surgery. He really loved the underwater treadmill.

The little black thing is Emma. She's a Schnoodle (Schnauzer and Poodle mix) She really loved snuggling up with Palmer. PC Dad or Geri Hodges

This photo really captures Palmer and Dot's personalities. Dot is a Border Collie. They love the water. This was at Little Campbell Lake. PC Geri Hodges or Dad

Yes, Palmer stole second base. Haha PC Dad or Geri

Puppy selfie with Dad. PC Dad

Palmer, Emma and Dot doing their thing. They really like sitting on the couch. PC Geri Hodges or Dad

One of Palmer's last trips to the ocean. Old boy really loved the water. PC Geri Hodges or Dad

This was the last time I saw Palmer in Bend, OR. I remember sleeping in Dad and Geri's motor home and Palmer slept on the bed with me all night. I really miss this dog.