Bees Part II

Rain and more rain is soaking the mid-west, not the best training conditions. There was a break long enough to transport the bees to their new apartment. There was only one Bee suit and I had to thumb wrestle my Dad for it.....I lost.

Buzz Off......

Today is raining and have to wait for the weather to clear up before I attempt another run. My father harvests his own honey every year. Today he sent me up to Wisconsin to pick up a shipment of Bees.

Back in Chi-town

I'm back in the Chicago area for more work. This always seems to screw up my training but I'm trying to make an effort to keep in shape while I'm here. Over the past three days I've been able to log 4:26 running. I tried to get a long bike ride in but had some mechanical issues on a borrowed bike. Looks like rain for the next week so I guess I'll keep my running shoes on and keep putting on the miles.

Kudos to Kevin

Today I have to honor my friend Kevin (aka Chicken Legs) who just completed the Leona Divide 50 ultra marathon. Chicken Legs is the guy in the green helmet wearing the leg gators hoping it will make his legs look bigger. He's a runner, great athlete and phenomenal climber but has never run so much as a marathon. I'm not sure if he's ever tired a half-marathon. Anyway, he set his goal on a 50 mile ultra and pulled off a stunning finishing time of 10:53:10. It must be said that he woke up late and arrived at the race 8 minutes after the start making his true time a more impressive 10:45:10. His finishing time qualifies him for the Western States 100 in 2010 which he is now considering. My hat is off to his accomplishment....GREAT JOB C.L.!!!!

Back from the Desert

I took a little break from training and headed down to Las Vegas with Marsha for some climbing at Red Rocks. We hoped for some warm desert sun but endured cooler temperatures and even snow. We stayed at the Luxor where the people watching was very interesting. I have to say the casino clientele is a very sorry group. Together we bet $1.00 on a slot machine and lost it all...better luck next time.

Went to the gym today to work on chest and back. I'm getting much stronger and I'm starting to gain a little bulk. Just in time for summer. I'm gonna look sooo good in a speedo!

After my killer strength work out I went on a 1:20 trail run with my favorite running partner. She gets a little excited for our training sessions......

Dress for Success

The Clouds have moved in and it has been spitting rain off and on all day. I managed to squeeze in a 2:00 mountain bike ride on the single speed today and I have to say the trails are sweet.

One thing I notice here in Central Oregon is that every rider is sporting a fancy Kit. Could everyone be a sponsored athlete in this town? Do they buy these cool outfits or do they accept hand-me-downs like I get from Ironman Drew? My father got me into running when I was sixteen just as running was the new cool thing to do. Check out these duds. My Dad is on the left (matching outfit and awesome lamb chops) but I love the pajama / camo hat outfit on the right. Functional yet elegant...I love it!

Temperatures Spike - Time to Ride the Bike

Great weather continues here in Central Oregon with temperatures hitting the 70's. I dusted off the road bike yesterday morning and headed out for a 35 mile road ride west of town which offered great views of the mountains.




I went out on my ride looking cool in the old hand-me-down jersey I got from Ironman Drew. Later I found out he makes a habit of passing out his old smelly jerseys.

The ride was great but my legs feel weak and I should think about taking a day off. The weather man keeps predicting rain but with each failed forecast and continued sunshine, I just can't stop. I just returned from a 1:00 trail run on another sunny day. Give me rain or accept the pain - it can't be sunny forever.

I'm Back Baby!

Whew! It's been a long time!! I left Bend in early February for Chicago hoping to stir up some business. Business is what I got and it kept coming. Four projects later I finally returned to Bend at the end of March. My training has gone to hell and I lost a lot of what I gained going into the Boulder Mountain Tour. Oh well, spilled milk, water under the bridge, gotta make up for lost time.

Ullr the snow god blessed Bend with a nice Spring dump giving me four great days in the mountains. Marsha and I Skied Bachelor (my first day on the mountain this year) in some sweet powder and we took a little video to share.....

I woke up on day two to six fresh inches of snow and had no choice but to head for the back country. I decided to hike into Todd Lake and stay sheltered from the wind. By the time I arrived for my first turns a the top of the ridge the sun was shinning and winds were calm. I noticed some skin tracks heading off in a direction I had never skiied so I decided to see where they went. OMG!!!! I found the mother load! I think the next video will give some indication as to how excited I was.....

On day three I skated with hopes of flushing out some of the soreness from the previous days teleskiing. It didn't work. I was beat and my heart rate was through the roof. Still it was a nice sunny day and no better place to be.

Finally on day four I had to return to Todd Lake and take advantage of the great powder and my new little stash. At 6:00AM I headed up with Ironman Drew to see if we could still get good powder since the previous day was sunny. I had fears the snow would set up and we'd have to battle some crust. No such thing. The powder was perfect. I'll bore you with one last video....