Do You Go Commando? (seriously!)

Go Commando - As looked up in the urban dictionary:

1. Not wearing any underpants

2. If a person is 'going commando', they are not wearing any underwear.
It is called 'going commando' because of an old practice in the army, where, so you didn't shit your underwear in battle, you didn't wear any - and therefore could boast that you didn't shit your pants.
However there is a 3rd definition-

3. An adventure 5K hosted by Team Ortho on June 25, 2011 in Hastings, MN!

HA! So if you clicked on my blog to read about Going Commando as per the urban dictionary (which I think most guys have done at some point) you will be severely disappointed.  However, if you want to learn more about the Go Commando Adventure 5K that I will be doing with some friends tomorrow check out this link.  It looks awesome! Mud, waterslides, walls, jumping through fire, and more awesomeness!  PLUS Beer! What can you not like?  I will hopefully have some pics up of the race and my costume later this weekend.  I am thinking some cutoff jean shorts, ripped t-shirt, bandanna, and sunglasses...kinda like a 70&80s redneck hybrid...stay tuned!

In other news I really worked hard this week with swimming, biking, and running! 15 days til the LTF Triathlon!

Anyone else done an adventure 5K before? Let me know!

If you haven't checked out part 2 of my Minneapolis Half-marathon Race Report check it out here

Have a great weekend!

Minneapolis Half-Marathon Report: Race day!

This is late, but I have been working on this one for awhile here and there. It's a long one!

After the LLS inspiration dinner we headed home and got the kids to bed with grandma's help.  I then laid out all my stuff for the race (shirt, shoes, etc) packed my bag with extra clothes for after, and went to bed.  Before I knew it, the alarm went off at 5am to wake me up.  I groggily got dressed and then had a quick breakfast of bagel and cream cheese and a banana and drank some gatorade (yummy).  I then drove downtown to the Depot to meet up with the Team (check in at 6 am..whew!) while Maria, Grandma and the kids were coming down around 9:30 since it would be hard to keep the kids occupied for so long.  I nabbed a free spot on the street across from the Depot and headed over and met up with my Teammates.  We all were milling about, getting last minute touch ups:



Team Ironman!





Like the Tutu? Custom made I hear....




Dana was showing off her decorations in the back...really


I was taking pictures and of course talking about this or that and finishing up my Gatorade (bottle #2) because it was cool (60) but it was going to be a sunny warm day.

Me getting a picture taken of me getting pictures...hey it was early!

Everyone had a lot of friends and family there to wish them well and also to man/woman cheer stations.  Mark, who was running with us but then got injured and couldn't race, showed his support for dressing up as a member of the TNT cheer squad with Elizabeth's sister.

Kamberg, Krysty, Klapatch and Krew.  Like those shades Mark!

After everyone had checked in, we had our group photo at 6:20 and then we all went en masse to the start line. 

All 84 of my Teammates!!! GO TEAM!

At that point it was deserted with 30 mins or so till the gun went off, but there was a silver lining (or porcelain I should say) to getting there early.  NO LINE AT THE PORTA-POTTIES!  Which I definitely needed to hit up before the race started after all the Gatorade I had drank.  Before I did, I got a picture with my Teammate, Phil at the start line:

Ready to bust out 13.1 miles!

The corral started to fill up, and the sound of slamming porta-pottie doors soon began to take up a rhythmic beat to the counterpoint of the all the voices of the runners as all 4,800+ began to gather.  I took up with 5 of my Teammates (Ashley, Sherillia, Megan, Elizabeth, Larry) and chatted about the race as we waited.  Soon enough there was 5 minutes before start and you could feel the energy start to ramp up.  Sherellia and Ashley were a little nervous, but I was mainly pumped because it was sunny! And I had some Coldplay blasting through my headphones, so it was a perfect way to start! Lets go!

Mile 1-2:  After the start I ran with Ashley and Megan, dodging some potholes in the street until we turned and ran down past the Mill City Museum/Guthrie and headed toward Nicollet Island. I felt good, we were going a easy 11 min pace, until about 1.5 miles in my calf clenched up real tight.  I kept going hoping the pain would subside.

Miles 2-3:  After almost another mile of running and pain getting worse (I was starting to limp/run) I stopped and stretched my calf for 30 seconds, then started walking to see if that felt better.  It did, and I stopped 2 more times to stretch and then was joined by one of my Teammates, Rachelle, and we started running over the bridge to Nicolet Island.

Miles 3-7:  Wow. I felt great during these miles (minus the uneven cobble stone streets) and I even sped up and had to slow down because I felt so good.  The calf wasn't angry at me anymore and I cruised along and ran across the scenic Stone Arch Bridge.  Someone saw me and took a pic:

Bald head and nice ass, huh?

I guess they got my good side on that one!  Alie's picture had fallen off by then (I was asked 3 times if she was my daughter) probably because I was sweating so much!  I continued across the bridge waving like a ham at the photogs (was hoping I would get in the paper, no luck) hit up the water station and ran through the finish, and then thats where the party ended.

Miles 7-9.5:  HILLS. AND I MEAN HILLS.  There was a big ass hill to climb and soon as we passed mile 7, it was a doozy. I was working to get up it, and people were walking as fast as I was running...yeah I'm slow.  But I persevered and kept going and around mile 8 was a TNT cheer squad waiting for me:

Thanks Sandy and Mark!

Buoyed by the cheers I kept going despite now my calf was hurting as well as my feet (did I mention I had done one long run of 8.5 miles only to prepare for the race? Apparently my feet realized this and were not happy!).  The turnaround was soon, so I kept going and smiled for Paul, another Teammate taking pictures as we all passed by.  I have to say after the race, everyone was like Jamie you were smiling the whole time! Which was true I guess, I kept smiling and yelling encouragement the whole way to the Team (I know I am THAT guy who shouts and pumps his first and yells "WAY TO GO" alot, and I am sure some people wanted to punch me!).  I was having a good time despite my foot/calf pain.

All smiles and wave...is this a parade?

Miles 9.5-12.5:  I was run walking at this point, forcing myself to keep up with this one guy who had a Celtic cross tattooed on his leg. I wasn't going to let him out of my sights. I got a reprieve going back down the big hill, but then had to go up another. I fell in step with the celtic cross guy and we chatted as we both recovered.  This was his first half, and the heat was getting to him (75 isnt hot but in MN it feels like it!) I was feeling better, and I saw that last hill looming before me.....

12.5 to the 13.1:  I slowly pushed up the hill, knowing the end was near.  At the top I slowed to get my breathing under control, and I could see the flag lined path to the finish. I picked up my legs and started again, and I heard the crowd ahead.  In my mind I thought, finish strong! As I came around the turn I could see the final stretch and I gave it my all and sprinted toward the Finish.  I blew past a lot of people walking and heard Maria and some of my Team start shouting go Jamie!  I kicked it up at the last 20 yards and blew past the 75 year old power walker in the neon green runners shorts (he did the whole thing walking and nearly beat me....good for him).  Wahoo!!! I did it! Here's me at the finish:

Why are my eyes closed? Do I do that when I sprint?

My official time was 2:46:16 I think. I'll take it! After struggling with injuries all season I am happy to finish!


Post-Race:  My mom, Maria, and the kids got there 15 minutes before I crossed the finish, there were issues with the light rail so had to take the bus.  I was glad they got to see me finish, and my Mom was very proud to see me accomplish that.  I grabbed my medal and some post-race food (most of which the kids ate) and went back to the TNT tent and got my stuff.  We didn't get a chance to stay too long, my Mom's flight left at 2pm for NC, so we went home and had lunch and took some pics with grandma before she left.

The race was great, our Team raised almost $165,000 for blood cancer research.  That is truly amazing!  Alie, my personal honoree, couldn't make it to see me finish, but she was there with me when I crossed that line.  Team in Training is a wonderful program that can help you achieve things you never felt possible mentally and physically.  The people I have met and trained with since February are now my friends, and its been awesome!  I will continue this fall with the Team, and I currently training for my second marathon! 

Next up, my goals on my upcoming triathlon.....but here are some more photos of my TNTers during the race:

Betsy, Val, and Kristine our Coaches!

Lauri, a survivor and our Honored Teammate

Go Tanya! This was an awesome pic of her, all smiles!

Go Bob and Megan!

Way to go  Elizabeth!

Elizabeth K was also all smiles!

Another First: Open Water Swim Tonight!

OPEN WATER SWIM: I will swim with the fishes...err well you know what I mean.
(or the weeds! Check out my Update below)

Well, I will be doing my first Open Water Swim (OWS) tonight at Lake Nokomis.  This is the location also for the swim portion of the Mpls Tri on July 9^th.  Nervous? Yes. Wondering how cold the water will be? Yes, BUT I will be wearing a wetsuit (another first!) and I am hopeful it will keep me warm and aid me in the swim.  I am losing my tri virginity left and right! (Ok that’s a bad joke).  Coach Teresa said there is no set length we are doing, but I am hoping to try to do the .4 miles that I will be doing for the Mpls Tri. Maria and the kids will be coming to see me try to swim in the lake, and we may have an impromptu picnic after which depends on how the kids are.  Hopefully she will take some pictures of me in my Neoprene clad glory (oh yeah!).

I did almost 3 mile run with the Team yesterday, and my SI pain was ok, and the knee stopped hurting after I warmed up. We did Kenyan Out and Backs, 10 minutes out and then we had to run back the same distance but in 8 minutes.  We did this twice and I managed to do .74 miles out and got back with 10 sec to spare.  That was a little hard, so I did a much slower pace for the second repeat and came back with 45 seconds to spare.  We did more core work and lots of stretching.  Not a bad workout!

Enjoy the day, look for some OWS pics tomorrow!

UPDATE (6/17/11): No pics (Maria had a hard time watching our crazy kids run in and out of the water and not get trampled on by our large (20+) tri group as we practiced entering and exiting the water.  Wetsuit was great, the water temp was 70, so it was nice to have in the cool water.  It made me very buoyant and I could easily float on my back and front.  Def worth the money, but....


I CHOKED!!!!



Besides....I freaked/choked when I started the swim.  I encountered apparently a very common occurence: weeds.  However at the time, it felt like I had a fish net wrapped around my feet, and I panicked (never minid I had a wetsuit on that would keep me from drowning) and I struggled and got free and swam back without finishing.  FAIL.  I tired again after everyone got back, and what do you know, this time I got my feet and hands tangled in the weeds.  OK, someone needs to take an underwater weed whacker or something to these damn things. Coach T suggested I do a lap in the cordoned off swimming area which was thankfully free of weeds, which I did.  I got a cramp in my right calf (probably from all the frantic kicking I was doing) which was painful, but that was near the end of the workout.


Final Thoughts: I NEED TO OWS!!! At least 3 more times in the next 3 weeks before the race to solve my 
1. Nerves
2. Sighting issues (like the crow flies is right!)
3. Confidence in the water
4. Get ready for the real deal!


Anyone have any thoughts or suggestions on what to do?  I appreciate any feedback!



Minneapolis Half-Marathon Report: My 2nd event with Team in Training! Part 1 Pre-Race!

Go Team!

One week ago (June 5th) I ran the Minneapolis Half-Marathon with Team in Training.  This was my second event with the Team, and it was an amazing way to run a race with 83 of your friends, and help raise money to find a cure for blood cancers.  I ran this race also in honor of Alie, my wife's coworkers daughter who will soon be 9 years old and has fought leukemia 3 times.  She is an inspiration to all of us on the Team, and I ran in honor of her and so decorated my shirt (really all Maria, she is the puff paint queen!)

My shirt was pretty visible...maybe thats why they took so many photos!

Pre-Race: TNT Pasta Party/Inspiration Dinner

On Saturday, the night before the race, Team in Training hosted an Inspiration Dinner/Pasta Party for the participants and their families.  Its a time to fuel up some carbs before the race and to remember why we are doing this, in honor, in memory of family, friends, and loved ones stricken by blood cancer.  As a mentor, I got there early and we had a red carpet for all the participants to walk down as they came in, we made a lot of noise!

Lots of Cow bells! Couple people looked shell shocked from the noise!

Once inside, everyone got to eat some nice pasta, salad, and chicken.  I had to man the incentive table for a bit (hand out shirts and goodies to the top fundraisers) and Maria took a picture of me being goofy with the cheer supplies

What does that mean in flag language? All clear?

After a bit, Maria and I sat with our friends Bob and Bonnie who were racing in honor of their uncle, Dwayne, who passed away from leukemia (they and their cousins and Bonnie's mother, Mary, formed Team Ironman in honor of Dwayne's battle with the cancer, he never gave up).  At this point everyone was in mass food consumption high gear

We then had a guest speaker take the stage, a TNT alumni who spoke of his reason for joining TNT; the death of his brother from AML.  Running became his way to deal with the anguish and loss of his brother, and with TNT he has raised over $20,000 for blood cancer research in the hopes of finding a cure.  We honored one of our Teammates, a survivor, who passed away midway thru the training season, and Coach Val gave a very rousing poem send off for our group (it was title the "Night before the Marathon").  We ended with our cheer and tried to get a group photo....

Too many ppl taking pics at once!

It was a nice way to prepare mentally for the race the next morning, and to reflect on the many reasons why I run.  My TNT group had so many amazing people, all of us united for one goal, which made it such a close-knit circle.  We had went through trials of pain, anguished over injuries, but had been uplifted in spirit and body by what we had trained for and overcame. I look back and I was happy to be a part of that, and it's why I came back this fall with the Team. 

Well that's its for now but part 2: Race day will be up soon!  Maybe I should title it Part 2: the Minneapolis Half-Marathon (or thank you Coldplay, Katy Perry, and Nikki Minaj for helping me up the last 1.5 miles of hills!) Seriously last 3 miles were rough!

Speaking of Katy Perry, check out her latest video....Kenny G is alive!?!?

25 days til my First "Real" Triathlon!

My "First" Triathlon!

25.  Twenty-Five.  XXV.....days and counting to the Lifetime Fitness Triathlon (I guess its the Minneapolis Triathlon now) on July 9th.  I am doing the Sprint distance, so .4 mile swim, 15 mile bike, and 3.1 mile run.

It will be my first triathlon (not counting my indoor I just finished) and I have this excited/nervous/pumped/crazy feeling going on!  Initially I really wanted to train hard for it, but with injury and also participating in TNT, I didnt get as much in as I wanted, BUT the most important thing is that I have been taking swimming lessons (Beginner's Master's Swim at Eagan LTF is awesome with Coach Teresa!).  Here is what I am doing in the days coming up to the race:

1.  Bike 
Get on it! I don't have a road bike, just my trusty Schwinn, which will have to do.  I haven't logged a lot of miles, which I need to remedy soon.  I did get fitted for my bike at the local cycle store, and I rode it briefly down the street and it feels much better than before.  I plan on riding the LTF course at least 3 times to get familiar with it (find a place I can collapse safely on race day). 

2.  Swim
1. I have been progressing nicely in my swimming if I do say so myself, the Master's class is really helping me in that aspect.  I need to build more endurance and work on getting that effortless feeling in the water without using my fins.  I practice without and I feel like my kick isn't strong enough, but I think the power in my stroke is good.  

2. Open Water Swim:  this Thursday!!!!!! My swim coach is having an OWS at Lake Nokomis on Thursday, so I will be joining them and I will be wearing a wetsuit!  Another first for me!  I rented one from Urban Tri (they are an awesome Tri store that just opened off of Lyndale Ave in S. Mpls, check them out!).  Its right by Minnehaha Trail, so you can bike all you want and stop at Urban Tri fuel up and they even have shower facilities!  They were very helpful and I recommend going there.)  That was an experience trying it on, I guess that's what Batman feels like when he wears his outfit. I love me some neoprene!

Run 
1.  Recovering from the Minneapolis Half the legs are doing better.  I went to the chiropractor yesterday since my nagging SI joint pain came back after the race.  It feels so much better now.  I will be training for a marathon with Team in Training so I will have plenty of time for the run.  I just keep telling myself, its only a 5K....after a combined 15.4 miles of swimming/biking.  No biggie, I got it in the bag.   

Final goal:  To enjoy and have fun with my first Triathlon experience, and to not collapse, or pants my poop....really! I got that quote from Marathon Thoughts, check it out below:

All hilarity aside, I am definitely pumped and ready for the Mpls Tri in....25 days!

Lifetime Fitness Indoor Triathlon Race Report: part 2 the Bike and Run...Finally!

Yes I know this is way late...but I won't list the many excuses, but will finish up my race report.  AND I have another post on my Minneapolis Half-Marathon, so double your reading/viewing pleasure! Or something... :-)  You can check out my Minneapolis Half-Marathon recap here (link will be up soon!).


LTF Indoor Triathlon part 2:  I spun and I milled!

Gatorade and water in hand I ran up the stairs to the cycle studio, and found a bike.  Music was blaring and the heat before mine was halfway thru their 30 min cycle.  Teresa, a friend from my Beginner's Master's Swim, was on her bike pumping away.  I gave her a thumbs up and cheered as I clambered onto my chosen bike (I had to pick the one with the biggest foot straps since I have ginormous duck feet, I didn't want my foot popping free, like it did the first time I tried a spin class).  The volunteers were awesome and got my seat adjusted to the right height, and I sett up my water and Gatorade and I was ready to go.  I started slowly biking, and we had 30 seconds til it was time.  Before I knew it they shouted GO! and I started spinning as fast as I can, which is pretty fast considering that there was no resistance!  That felt weird, but the object was to go the farthest as possible so they jack down the resistance to nothing.  I cam to regret that, but I will tell you that later.
Here's a pic of me on the bike:


Thumbs up!

 It was going pretty well, I felt good, and my new tri-shorts felt good too....(sidebar:  I should have used some chamois butter or bodyglide before putting them on.....there was some chafing later, not good.  Here's a product I saw at the tri store that made me laugh:  DZ-Nuts. And yes this is a real product, and its safe for work ;-)
Chafing aside I pushed hard at the bike, averaging about 29-30mph (no way I could do that in real life). I got another pic snapped at me with about 5 minutes left:




Working it!

 I pushed hard and was rewarded the last minute for my hard work, I ended up with 14.5 miles during my 30 minute spin. I mopped the sweat off my face and then headed to the exercise floor and got on a treadmill, and started it up.  I walked for about 3 minutes sipping Gatorade before the run started to get my legs going again.  I noticed my left knee was sore...not good.  Later on I think no resistance and maybe having the seat too low? resulted in the soreness.  As I blog, I still have that sore knee.  However, at the time I just pushed through, hoping my right calf would cooperate.  Teresa came by to cheer me on as she had just finished, and then I was off on the 'mill! 10 minute run, I can do this I said.  I set the speed for 6.0mph and went with it.  Again, I had one of the volunteers take my photo:




Still smiling!

 The run felt good up until about 7min, my calf was hurting.  I tried to ignore the pain but by 10 min, it hadn't let up.  I took it down to a quick 4mph walk and tried to walk it out a little for the next 2.5 min.  It was feeling better so I kicked it back up to 6.5mph and went for it (at the time I was just hoping to beat the old lady next to me, she had went 1 mile walking and I was at 1.2. Sad? Yep, but just wait till you hear that at my half-marathon I blew past an elderly power walker at the the finish, oh yeah!).  The last 2 minutes I cranked it up and did 7.0 and 8.0 mph:



So fast, my legs are a blur...

 And...it was over!  I ran a decent 1.81 miles in 20 minutes (decent for me anyways).  I was extremely happy, and glad I had done this.  My official score was 126 points, which was 13 out of 26 guys, not bad.  The indoor triathlon was a taste of what the real thing will be, at the Mpls Triathlon in July.  Maybe triathlons are my new "thing", especially since I have been suffering injuries from running, it would be a good way for my body to heal. Stay tune for more, but I will leave you with my post-race, I-Am-A-Triathlete photo



Still smiling....before I realized the chafing LOL!


Happy Swimming/Biking/Running!

Recovering from my Half-Marathon week(end)

Last week was a doozy....Mom came to visit, ran the Minneapolis Half-Marathon on Sunday with Team in Training (for more info check out the new issue of Runner's World!) I was very proud of all my Teammates and mentees I mentored through the program.  I didn't do the best, but was happy with not that much logging of long runs I was able to finish.  My calf/ankle injury did bother me, but I pushed through (it is still a little achy...is that a word?).  I had a great time, but was sad to see my Mom go, I do miss them being so far away in NC.  Then on Sunday, my 19 month old son came down with a high fever which he has had up til this morning....and the last 3 nights have been brutal, hence no race report yet!  I actually had something resembling sleep last night for the first time in 3 days!  Wahoo!  Here's hoping that will continue tonight and that these fevers are over after today.

Tonight I will do a light run with the Fall Team, and....finish some blog posts for your reading pain pleasure!  Tons of photos from the half-marathon, and I the complete Indoor triathlon report!