This Sunday I have a triathlon in Brainerd.  I usually try to do one tri a year because they are a lot of fun; you get 3 sports for the entry fee of one event.  Last year I was runner-up in the tri mainly due to my slow swim time.  I lost overall by about a minute but gave 2.5mins away on the swim alone.  So I either have to run and bike faster or swim faster(in a straigth line hopefully)… hence my adventure to the pool with Grant and Marybeth.  I tired to swim laps but my open wounds on my hand did not like the chlorinated water so I watched Grant splash around instead.  By this weekend I should be all closed up so I’ll probably go into this tri with zero swim time under my belt.  That’s OK because I plan to make up for it in the run and the bike.  Mark Brynes is barrowing me his TT bike and aero helmet so that should cut some time off.  Last year I averaged 24.2 mph and this year I would like to top 25.  Here is a pic of Grant having fun atthe pool and a pic of the speed machine.  Mark will get me his Disc wheel for the rear tomorrow so I’ll have that going for me as well… I may even look like a time trialist… maybe…

Today I was in Hayward, WI for VO2 max testing. If you are not familiar with the process I’ll explain it briefly. You get a mask put on your face and breath air through a tube which is connected to a machine that measures how much oxygen you process and how much CO2 you exhale. You get on a treadmill and start running while your coach increases speed and grade until you give up or pass out from the effort. This is done in an attempt to measure aerobic proficiency and progress. Results: I am fitter than 2 months ago. My max is very very close to 80… for those of you that care. I don’t really like to read into this number too much because it is only one element of skiing fast… but, a high level of fitness is one element that cannot be missing if one wants to ski fast. The remaining elements include but are not limited to technique, nutrition, race wax, ski selection, base structure, recovery level, mentality, efficiency, and strength.

Here is one of my favorite pictures to explain how one feels after a properly executed V02 max test. This was taken shortly after the breathing tube was pulled out of Mr. Kris Freeman’s mouth (he is the #1 ranked distance skier in the US currently). Pic taken from TeamToday.org

The Alumni race went very well on Saturday morning.  I won, which is good, but I was happier with my time… 12:25 for  4k or about 5:01 mile pace.  I got a sweet olive branch wreath to wear for placing in the top 3.

Here is a pic from Grant last weekend.  He was at my parents place trying to help sell stuff because my parents had a fundraising garage sale to help with some of my ski expenses.   Actually just enough money was raised to help pay for a medical expense I incurred this spring because my doc want to check out my heart after hearing a murmur… I got a clean bill of health after a ultrasound and the murmur was chalked up to excessive stroke volume… I hate when I have to spend money at the doc just to find out your healthy.  I would much rather be using that money to buy my plane ticket to Anchorage for Senior Nationals in January.

Hey All, here is the pic of the hole burned in my ski boot from my fall… not a problem… my boots now have more ventilation for rollerskiing during hot summer days!

This Saturday I have my first running race of the summer (besides 3000m time-trials).  I know, summer is almost over, but I have been spending a lot more time on the bike and rollerskis this summer than pounding the pavement.  The race is the Osseo High School Cross Country Alumni race… 4k I believe… all on the ski trails in Elm Creek park.  It should be a good time, seeing all my old running and skiing teammates and meeting the new high school runners.  It is usually a tall order trying to not get beat by any highschoolers.