See Nancy Run. Run Nancy Run.

On Saturday, Nancy ran the 2009 Journeys Half Marathon in 2:19:12, continuing her streak of ever-better times. It was a cold and windy day in Eagle River, but it was still fun to be at the race, and to celebrate afterwards.

Nancy at the start, smiling despite a few flakes of snow.



They're off!

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I navigate a back road to my spectating point about 4.5 miles in.

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At the finish, free food in hand, moments before a quick dash to the hot tub.

Weather, shoes

My calendar said "65-90-minute walk" for this weekend. I put it off on Sunday, and regretted it on Monday. Nancy and I headed out in Laurium on Monday afternoon, and braved the 35° blowing rain for a total of 10 minutes. Happy spring. Ugh.

I got the planned 45-minute walk in last night, though at a slower pace due to a sore ankle. The shoes I've been wearing, Adidas Boreal Trail, seem to be very wrong for my feet. They roll my ankles inward, which puts a lot of strain on the outside of my lower legs. They're okay for bicycling or walking on softer surfaces, but they're killers on hard surfaces.

I ended up switching to my trusty Vasque Sundowners. If I had to walk across the country, I'd probably choose these boots. They're really sturdy and comfortable, but probably weigh 3-4 pounds, which can be a little annoying for normal walking. So I'm doing research on walking/running shoes, and will probably buy a new pair soon.

Evening walk, Saturday

Great day for a walk. I meandered around Calumet and Swedetown, and included a short loop on the back of the ski trails. Nancy headed out earlier for her run, and I met her halfway into my walk.

I need non-100%-cotton socks, according to Nancy. Maybe my feet move around too much in my shoes, but there's a little chafing at longer distances. Of course, it could have something to do with my baby-soft feet.

Time: 1:09:09
Distance: 4.39 miles
Pace: 15:46/mile

Evening walk, Thursday

The weather was a little better tonight, and Nancy and I took a nice walk on a loop starting at my office.

Time: 45:10
Distance: 2.82 miles
Pace: 16:03/mile

Fitness schedule

Nancy has a...compulsion...to keep track of all her fitness activities in great detail. Some of it might have rubbed off on me. I decided to add my fitness stuff to a Google Calendar, and then added a condensed version of it to the sidebar on the right. I use my own scripts to grab data from a GPS device and generate a track image, and then manually enter summary information in the description field for each activity.

Anyway, here's the track from yesterday evening's walk.

Roller ride, Monday

Tonight was my first "extended" ride on my new toy, a bicycle roller. I did about 20 minutes at an unknown speed (reasonable cadence on the middle ring and mid-high rear cog). This was my second time on the roller, and I'm getting the hang of it. I can now go for five minutes at a time without needing a quick "hand out" to balance myself.

I like the roller so far, and it seems sturdy enough for my clydesdale frame. It was completely an impulse purchase, as Performance had a good price ($90), and I had just found Grandma's Christmas check while cleaning.

I'm hoping to keep at this until spring. Getting a bike computer soon will help, since my normal odometer (GPS) doesn't seem to work very well here for some reason.

Nancy FTW!

On Sunday, Nancy completed her first competitive running race, a half-marathon in the Fox Cities Marathon. She ran the 13.1-mile course in 2:39:48, less than 10 minutes from her target pace. Yay Nancy!

I acted as the traveling cheerleading squad, and rode my bicycle around the marathon course area, stopping to cheer at a few locations. Here's my traditional biking map from that day.



In all, the even was very well-run (ha), Nancy did great, and I can stop embarassing her with my GO NANCY sign (though maybe I should keep that with me, just in case).

Afternoon ride, Monday

Distance: 18.84 miles

Nancy, James, and I went for a longer ride today, starting at Nancy's house, going to Chassell, and coming back on US-41. It was a nice ride, even though it started raining about five miles in, and continued for the rest of the ride.

James was nice enough not to lose us, except on one long downhill on Pilgrim Road, where he probably came very close to 50 MPH (I only hit 42.4, and can't crank faster than about 36 MPH anyway). Despite the rain and heavy traffic on US-41, it was a fun ride, and I'm glad I went along.

Evening ride, Monday

Distance: 8.69 miles

Nancy and I went for a more relaxed "exploratory" ride tonight, heading up to Kearsarge. But the ride ended early after I broke a spoke and we had to turn around.

This was my first ride (other than the ride back from the bike shop) with the new stem installed, and I really like it. It gives me an additional inch or so of rise in the front, without making the reach too short. My hands fared much better after tonight's ride.

Morning ride, Thursday

Distance: 8.29 miles
Average speed: 15.2 MPH

Ugh. I didn't stretch or do a cool-down walk after last night's ride, and even though it was an "easy" ride, I really felt it this morning. I wanted to do at least 10 miles, but struggled to get in what I did.

Evening ride, Wednesday

Distance: 5.63 miles

Just a short, slow cruise around town tonight. I found and put the toe clips back on the pedals last night, and adjusted them during tonight's ride. During the last couple of "harder" rides, I noticed my feet moving around a bit, so hopefully the clips will help keep them in place.

Evening ride, Monday

Distance: 7.45 miles

Nancy and I cruised around Calumet tonight for a "recovery ride". We took it easy, which was hard for me, but also good for me, since I need to figure out how to pace myself.

I also put another three miles in this morning, riding to and from the bike shop, and then trying out some different stems. I found one that I liked, but it had a crack in it, so another is on order. Anyway, my total distance for the day is around 22.7 miles.

I bought a fancy new pressure gauge, and discovered that I was running between 85 and 90 PSI instead of the 100 I was shooting for. Tonight's ride was at 100 PSI, and I could feel the difference.

Morning ride, Monday

Distance: 12.22 miles
Top speed: 34.4 MPH

This morning's ride was an exploratory one. I rode some roads I'd never been on before, but spent a lot of time turning around and waiting for traffic. My GPS doesn't stop averaging when I stop moving, so I didn't record an average speed today. I put my top speed above for the purposes of bragging.

I was on a lot of rough pavement and some short gravel patches today, and my new tires held up fine. They're stable in sandy corners, and fast on the smooth stuff.

This morning, I am in awe at the natural beauty of this area. Tamarack Waterworks Road passes through marshes, with thick grass and cattails swaying in the breeze. I rolled by a flock of geese, sleeping on the edge of a pond, not six feet from my path. I don't think I'll ever get tired of the Keweenaw.

Morning ride, Sunday

Distance: 10.50 miles
Average speed: 14.8 MPH

Today was my first extended ride with my new road tires. They're much faster; I feel like I can maintain 20 MPH now at the same effort it took for 16 MPH before. My average speed would've been higher today if it weren't for a still-mounted chain untangling and the return climb from the first section of the "Death Coast to Hancock".

I'm happy with the width and performance of the tires. I went with the 1.5-inch width, and feel like they'll handle the cracked pavement without sacrificing too much speed. I had them at 100 PSI for today's ride, and will try 110 tomorrow.

This was also the first trip out for a new pair of gloves. They didn't help, and hand numbness is still the biggest distance limitation for me. I think it'll have to be a new stem, to get me more upright and take some weight off my hands.

Triathlon and Hunter's Point

No rides for Thursday or Friday, since my bike's been in the shop (a broken spoke on the rear, new tires, and both wheels trued). I didn't ride this morning, since Dad and I left early to cheer on James in the Copperman Triathlon 2007 in Copper Harbor.

After the triathlon and lunch, we hiked out to Hunter's Point.

Morning ride, Wednesday

Distance: 8.05 miles
Average speed: 14.2 MPH

I awoke this morning to my bedroom window fan blowing out of the window and crashing to the floor. I fought that same wind all the way out on my ride this morning. It was fun coming back—I did a mile or so at 21 MPH—but overall it drained my energy.

I'm still having trouble with numbness in my hands at the end of the ride. That's pretty much the limiting factor to the length of my ride at this point. I'm planning to swap in a stem with some rise, but haven't had time to try out a few at the local bike shop.

Morning ride, Tuesday

Distance: 7.94 miles
Average speed: 15.1 MPH

The weather was nicer this morning, though it was still humid and a little hazy.

I headed straight for M-203, but ended up doing a little less distance than I had planned, due in part to taking a "diagonal" cut through town, mostly so I could scowl at Cross Country Sports. At this point, I'm not sure why I ordered tires through them, since they didn't really have any advice for the type of tire I was looking at, and now they've managed to royally screw up the order. Hrmph. I'll have nice, new road tires as soon as the snow flies.

Morning ride, Monday

Distance: 5.51 miles
Average speed: 14.2 MPH

Ugh, Monday morning. Lousy weather: overcast, windy, and humid.

Just a shorter ride around town this morning. Still not pacing myself like I'd like to, and I forgot to borrow Nancy's GPS. Maybe tomorrow.

Morning ride, Saturday

Distance: 8.47 miles
Average speed: 14.8 MPH

This morning's ride felt really good. The weather was very nice this morning; in fact it got a little cold in the shadows when I first took off (around 7:00).

I was surprised to maintain a 14.8 MPH average. I intended to take it easy today, and have a long, slow ride. But I'm not too good at pacing myself yet. I might borrow Nancy's running GPS, which has alarms to keep you at your target pace.

I headed straight for M-203 today, and it was pretty nice again. Quiet, no traffic, fast.

Morning ride, Friday

Distance: 7.70 miles
Average speed: 14.4 MPH

A fun ride this morning. I got a late start (7:00), but it was cooler this morning than yesterday, and slightly breezy. I spun out to M-203, and it's much nicer than I remember. Smooth, wide shoulders, no traffic, and I could average above 16 MPH on the stretch I rode without too much trouble. It's a lot easier riding there than in town, even if I'm riding roads that don't make me stop all the time.

Morning ride, Thursday

Distance: 5.06 miles
Average speed: 13.4 MPH

Didn't get up early enough to beat the heat this morning. Started yesterday with a 10-minute cool-down walk after the ride.



I rode James's road bike (Trek 1500, I think) last night for a few minutes. It's fast, and not uncomfortable at all. I'm really looking forward to getting road tires on my GT. They should be in any day now.

Morning ride, Wednesday

Distance: 5.28 miles
Average speed: 13.8 MPH

A good ride this morning. The first with my new rigid fork, which makes me feel like I'm wasting less energy articulating a front suspension.

Morning ride, Saturday

Distance: 6.33 miles
Average speed: 13.4 MPH

A nice ride in Copper Harbor, mostly on US-41. This was the first test of my Aero Tech Designs cycling shorts, and they're a lot more comfortable.

Morning ride, Friday

Just a very short spin before I determined that my legs needed a rest today.

Morning ride, Thursday

Morning ride, Wednesday