The Fine Line

Winter Travels

2012-01-29T21:42:00.002-06:00

Over the last few months I have spent a lot of time traveling. In the middle of December I went to Boston for a meeting. After that I headed home for Christmas and was hoping to spend as much time as possible skiing. Unfortunately Mother Nature had other plans- I only was able to ski four times! Other than the lack of snow it was great to be back in Minnesota for a few days. I was able to see my family and spend some time with my friends. My family spend Christmas at the cabin which is always a blast. There was just enough snow on the lake for perfect lake skiing! For New Years I headed back to Colorado to spend some time in Vail with friends. We spend a few days dodging rocks on the mountain. There was enough snow to ski but it was pretty thing in places. On New Years Eve we decided to hike into the mountains. We cooked dinner over the fire, and looked down at the fireworks. It was an amazing vantage point to see the fireworks from, being able to look down on them from the top was awesome! Once it was too cold to stay out any longer we began our hike home. It was a great way to spend the New Year!

I left Vail and dropped some friends off at the Denver Airport, from there I headed back the the Springs where I repacked and headed to the airport myself. My flight headed to Orlando, from there I drove to Clermont. USA Triathlon sent me to help with the Elite Triathlon Academy's winter training camp. It was a great opportunity to work with some of the best up and coming triathletes in the country. They had a great week of training in Clermont, a hot bed for triathletes in the winter months.

After a little time in the Springs I went to Denver to help coach a camp there. It was a great group of athletes to work with. They were from all across the country and most of them had not met before. I have never been to a camp with such excellent group dynamics. Everyone trained hard and looked like they got a lot out of the time they spent in Denver. Each night after dinner one person in the group gave a presentation on a topic that was important to them. These led to excellent discussion from topics ranging from psychology, altitude, nutrition and lessons learned from years of racing. All in all it was a great time all around.

The travels continue next weekend. I am headed to Houston to watch my grandpa play his alumni baseball game in Houston, Texas. It will be great to see the family and the game!

Thanksgiving: Great Snow, Great Skiing, Great Friends

2011-12-04T13:37:00.001-06:00

Thanksgiving was a great time this year. It always is but this year is especially awesome. It began with a drive to Vail for opening day. I arrived the Thursday before Thanksgiving to surprisingly little snow. On Friday the mountain looked a little bear and it would be a madhouse with everyone there for the first day of the season Kristen and I decided to head to the Nordic center. It was the first time I had gone cross country skiing in Vail. There were some bare spots but it was all in all a great ski! Getting on snow the first time of the is always a little shaky but it was fun to get out. We spent the rest of the day walking around Vail Village. That evening we headed over to Minturn for some live music.

On Saturday I continued my journey north. As I left Vail it began to snow. This seemed to be a trend for most of the drive. About an hour north of Vail I encountered a semi that had rolled over and was across the entire road! At this point in the road The cab was hanging over the guardrail and we had to drive on the shoulder to get around the accident. The drive remained snowy until I reached the interstate. On I80 the road cleared up a bit until I was 3 miles from my exit where the road was closed! After I left the freeway I headed north again up to Jackson, WY, from this point until the far side of Teton Pass the drive was beautiful! At the the top of Teton Pass there were lots of cars parked and people skinning up the mountain. The snow looked amazing! The drive continued uneventfully until I was 60 miles outside of West Yellowstone when it started snowing hard. The last few miles took about two hours to drive but I made it. The best pert is that there was some warm Wild West pizza waiting!

The week of Thanksgiving was filled with skiing, coaching and catching up with friends and family. It is always great to spend that week in West because EVERYONE is there. I am especially lucky because I get to spend the holiday with my family. The week turned out to be one of the most beautiful weeks I have ever spent in West Yellowstone, warm and sunny with plenty of snow, it doesn't get any better than that. We had some great coaching sessions. All the athletes were excellent, they made great progress technically while getting in some great volume over the week. It is amazing for them to be able to have the opportunity to spend an entire week focusing on training. I remember how great that opportunity was when I was in high school. The amount of work that goes into the trip behind the scenes is astounding. The trip leaders and parents that accompany these athletes do a great job making sure the kids are able to not only have a trip but an affordable trip which is equally as challenging.

After a great Thanksgiving dinner I headed back to Colorado Friday morning. Instead of heading straight back to the Springs I went to Steamboat Springs to spend some time with my cousin Fred and his wife Penny. It was great to see both of them and see the sights of Steamboat. Fred and I went backcountry skiing on Rabbit Ears Pass on Saturday and Sunday with Buster. Both skis were great. I also got to see Howelson Hill, the home of the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club. It looks like a great facility. Alpine, jumping, cross country all housed in the same location. They even have a weight room on site. Not only does it look like a sweet facility it works. This club has produced 79 Olympians! The number only becomes more impressive when Steamboat Springs' population is 12088. Saturday evening Fred, Penny and I went to the hot springs just outside of town. It was awesome! Looking up through the steam and seeing the stars was sweet. Luckily we were able to stay on our feet because the areas around the spring were treacherous with all the ice on the ground.

After a great trip I headed back to the Springs. It was tough to come back to the lack of snow, but it was good to be home.

2011 USOC International Altitude Training Symposium

2011-10-09T16:11:00.004-05:00

This past week I was lucky enough to attend the USOC’s International Altitude Training Symposium. The opportunity to listen to some of the most renowned researchers in the field was pretty awesome! The presentations were a mix of hard science and practical experience from coaches, researchers and other practitioners. Speakers included Dr. Levine and Dr. Stray-Gunderson, researchers that first experimented and found the efficacy of living high and training low. Some of these presentations were quite technical but they have led to improved performance because of their practical significance.

When I arrived at the symposium on Wednesday afternoon I ran into one of the U.S. Ski Team coaches who I have known from racing in the Midwest. Not only was it nice to see a familiar face, it was great to catch up with him and talk about how coaching at the international level compared to his past experiences at the club level. I also ended up sitting by one of the coaches that I met in Buffalo at the USAT Coaching Summit. The three of us spent most of the three day symposium together. It was really neat to be able to compare the different models used by triathlon and skiing to produce great Olympians. I kind of felt like a mediator because I had the most insight into each but the people I was with were definitely more versed in the intricacies of their respective sport that I so it was great to be be able to learn from each of them.

At this point in the game I am a fan of the skiing model. There was a great presentation by the Nordic combined coach and a few of the members of the combined team. They not only discussed how they use altitude but the structure of their team. The residence program they have in Park City creates a team environment that fosters competition and camaraderie that creates champions, as was exemplified in Vancouver. The success of the Nordic combined team at these Olympics was previously unimaginable. They are also using a different periodization model than I have seen in other ski programs; while this is an important part of their success I believe that the team atmosphere created by the residence program allows this model to be successful.

I have heard that more business takes place on the golf course that in the office. This after hour’s business was demonstrated at the symposium. Each day at least one of the presentations contained the phrase “last night we were discussing this during dinner and…” While the only golf course I saw during the symposium was abandoned, which is a good thing because golf is not my strong suit! Each day after the symposium everyone went out for dinner. The first night the group I was with ran into a contingent from USA Speed Skating. It was interesting talking to them about the differences and similarities of speed skating and skiing. I also met people from swimming as well as a couple of coaches from Spain and Brazil.

After the symposium concluded on Friday a few of us went to the incline. The incline is a one mile hike that gains 2000 feet over that distance! It was a pretty sweet experience made better by great company. The hike up was quite challenging to say the least but once at the top there was a great view of Manitou Springs and Colorado Springs. Instead of hiking down, which I have been told is quite taxing, we took the Bart Trail down which is a four mile trip. It was a great conclusion to an awesome few days!

Colorado Springs and USA Triathlon

2011-09-29T19:47:00.004-05:00

A few weeks ago I moved to Colorado Springs to work for USA Triathlon at the Olympic Training Center. I’m sure it will take a while to get used to working for eight hours in my cubicle but there are millions of other people doing it in the United States so I should be able to survive. So far living in the ‘Springs’ has been uneventful. I have begun to explore some of the parks and trail systems which seem pretty nice. There is a definite southwestern feel here that is obviously absent in Minnesota. Colorado Springs is said to be the most dog friendly city in the country which is quite apparent. There are dogs everywhere! It is pretty crazy.

Today I went for a ride and was passed by a group of riders from the Garmin Cervelo Team. It is pretty amazing how many elite athletes reside here (though it is not surprising as it seems to be a great place to train). Working with the elite triathletes has been interesting. I don’t get much interaction with them outside of swim practice but that time has been fun. Watching them train is the same as watching any other group swim, be it the U of M, or a high school practice, these guys just go faster and farther. This brings up the statement that there are no secrets to training. People claim to have them but they are not out there. Great coaches are able to identify what workouts and periodization will allow each athlete to reach their potential. They are good at using the information at hand, no secrets. Central Cross Country Skiing has the motto of ‘Dream. Plan. Execute’. This motto is applicable at every level. The difference with the athletes at the OTC is that they dream a little bigger, make their plan harder, and execute it with more precision that most other athletes. These factors coupled with the drive and ability to handle this amount of stress allows them to be the best in the world.

Last weekend I went to the Elite National championships in Buffalo, New York. It was fun to travel with my co-workers and get to see an ITU draft legal race. It definitely plays out different than your typical non-drafting tri. After the race three of us ran back to the hotel to grab our swim suits and headed back to the course for a swim. This made Lake Erie the third of the great lakes I have swum in. After a quick lap around the course we headed to the Anchor Bar to experience the original buffalo wings. We got there and there was an hour and a half wait! We decided to skip it so we would have time to visit Niagara Falls. The falls were less impressive than they are from the Canadian side but still fun to see, especially at night. The next day we scheduled plenty of time for the Anchor Bar!

After the triathlon Sunday and Monday were filled with a coach’s summit. It was very interesting to sit and listen to the coaches of national team athletes and how they all interact with each other and their athletes. After a day and a half of meetings we tried to head home but were delayed an hour on the plane in Buffalo. We made it to Chicago just in time to miss our connection but finally made it back to Colorado Springs. We were the lucky ones; one of the people in our group was delayed overnight and did not get home till Tuesday!

Shootin' the Breeze

2011-02-21T19:18:00.017-06:00

This weekend got off to a great start. After driving up to Duluth Wednesday night I headed to the Ridge Thursday morning to help wax for Duluth East Nordic. Luckily the temperatures did not change much because it was already tricky enough without having to guess what the temp would be at race time. The even better part was we nailed it! On a tough day we had great skis, fast and sticky all at the same time. At one point on the course while I was testing it was easy to look around and see that I was the happiest coach on the trail! The great wax helped but the both the boys and girls skied great races. Both teams were just ahead after the skate race and solidified their victories with a solid performance in the classic. While the girls were expected to be in the mix the boys came into State ranked 5th so they pulled off an 'upset' to those who underestimated them. It's funny because after being in the cities every coach I talk can't impress upon me enough how difficult their section is but when it comes down to it Section 7 has been a dominant force almost every year. It was great to see Duluth East win the boys and girls titles for the third time (of the six times it has happened).

After the excitement at the State meet I stayed up north and coached with the Duluth/Cloquet CXC Master's Chapter. We had an excellent ski Saturday at Snowflake Nordic Center. The course was quite fast but much more skiable than I had anticipated. As always the volunteers did and excellent job grooming. After the ski I headed to Carlton for the Trampled by Turtles Concert. Having never been inside Black Bear Casino I was surprised to be engulfed by a cloud of smoke when I stepped inside. Luckily the conference room did not allow smoking. The concert was awesome! Trampled has put on a great show every time I have seen them. Their skill on their instruments is hard to beat. They play at tempos that are extremely fast but never miss a note!

During the session with CXC on Saturday I heard there was going to be a biathlon race at Snowflake Sunday. I decided to dust off my rifle and give it a whirl! Luckily for me it was quite windy on Sunday. This is a huge advantage if you haven't shot your rifle in three years. After the first shooting Phil Rodgers and I were in the lead. During the second shooting Phil left the range quicker than I did and was about a penalty lap ahead. On the third shooting we came into the range for our first standing shooting. It was next to impossible for me to keep my sights trained on the target. The gusts were blowing my whole body around! Phil kept his lead and I knew I would have to hit at least one to catch him in the next shooting. During the next lap we both came to the conclusion that it was better to just shoot fast and get on with things instead of waiting for a good shot. I cam into the range just as Phil took his first shot. During the quick succession of shots that followed he managed to hit one. I fired quickly and missed all five as Phil clinched the win.

After the race I headed to Cloquet for another session with the CXC Master's. There was an excellent turnout! We had a great ski in the wind and twigs that had blown onto the trail. After skiing and talking about the Birkie for a few hours we parted ways and I headed into the blizzard that was engulfing the Twin Cities. Luckily I made it to Forest Lake before it got really bad. All in all it was a great weekend of waxing, coaching, racing and hanging out with friends and family!

West 2010

2010-11-24T16:38:00.002-06:00

After a long trip on the bus ninety skiers including myself safely made it to West Yellowstone, Montana. On the way we saw twelve cars in the ditch. One of which was one group from St. Olaf. I was extremely happy to be riding the bus! After a slow night of traveling we make it to West in just under 24 hours after we left Duluth.

On our first night a few of the adults and I decide to go out for pizza. On our way there we were pulled over by the overzealous WYPD for jay walking and not walking in single file! We almost talked ourselves into a ticket but more about the police later. We finally made it to Wild West Pizzaria. Its reputation of best pizza in the west is well deserved!

From Thursday to Tuesday West Yellowstone has gotten four feet of snow! Yesterday we were experiencing a true blizzard. The two roads in out of town were both closed. The streets were lined with stranded semi's. With up to 30mph winds and heavy snowfall it made for some exciting video technique sessions. As I walked to the trail head with the CXC Masters we had our second run in with the WYPD. We were yelled at for 'obstructing traffic' which meant that there were four masters walking side by side with one truck following us. The police SUV was in the oncoming lane with his lights on and started yelling at us for our inconsiderate behavior.

Today when I woke up it was negative 17 degrees. By the time I skied it warmed up to negative 4. It was the first day I was able to ski more than 1km from the biathlon range! I met up with some of the CSS guys and skied Windy Ridge.

I have yet to check out the Mexican restaurant that is located in the school bus. It has to be good because it looks so sketchy! I will hopefully get to eat there before we leave on Friday.

I will put up some pictures later in the week. It is hard to take photos of the same landscape that I have photographed for 11 years!

Fall 2010

2010-11-01T13:41:00.008-05:00

When working races in Duluth you get to see some beautiful sunrises!

Lots has happened since my last post, but that is to be expected when it was in March! This fall I have started school at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. It is a much different experience than that of St. Scholastica. The reasons for this are the size of the institution, the courses, and living in a large city. While I enjoyed my undergraduate experience immensely I am glad to get another perspective on my field of study. The U of M has such a large variety of course offerings it makes the curriculum very specific for what I want to do. At the same time I am very glad to have such a strong background in physiology. If I didn't have that I think I would spend all of my time trying to catch up and understand the material instead of being able to apply it to sport and endurance performance.

Enough about school. This fall I have been racing a few of the cyclocross races in the Minnesota circuit. They are super fun for anyone that has not experienced them. It has been fun riding my bike regularly again. That hasn't happened since I was in high school! A key aspect of sport specific training is when you change sports to change the mode which you train for them. Until this fall I have dabbled in triathlons and a few mountain bike races but have never seriously ridden my bike.

Jake rocking some Superior Performance bibs!

The final weekend of October brings us to the Halloween Hustle. This year it was an even bigger success than it was last year. With a 50% increase in participation and many more elaborate costumes it was a fun morning. Luckily it was a beautiful day for October in Duluth. Eric Hartmark posted the top time for the men, and Amanda Lepisto for the women. For the costume contest the winner was a ghost that would have passed for an actress in a Steven King movie. In second place there were some very scary clowns, and in third was Captain Underpants. For photos and results visit www.superior-performance.net. The most inspiring scene of the day was the participant that completed the 5km course with Cerebral Palsy. He is an inspiration to all that were there. In the world of sport we get wrapped up in faster, higher stronger and tend to forget there are those that do not have a choice when it come to being their best. They are required to go to extraordinary lengths to accomplish the tasks that most of us take for granted. Thanks to all that participated. A special thanks goes to all the volunteers and sponsors, without you the race would not have been possible!
Captain Underpants!

After the race my attention was turned to pumpkin carving. With only a few short hours until Halloween myself and a few friends broke out the knives for the 10th Annual Pumpkin Carving Party Contest. There were many brilliant pumpkins (and watermelons). After the carving was completed the judges chose the Vikings helmet as the winner. The artistic license that was taken by the watermelons was also awarded! Miraculously for the first time in 10 years nobody burned the pumpkin seeds- I guess it helps to have them cooked by a professional.

Moab

2010-03-28T11:16:00.007-05:00

This year for spring break some friends and I again traveled to Moab, Utah. This year after a massive advertising campaign we were able to entice more people to join us! It was a great time. In stead of talking about it check out some of the sweet footage we were able capture!

Sibley

2010-03-10T14:25:00.002-06:00

This past weekend some friends and I traveled to Thunder Bay for what is now the Sleeping Giant Loppet. We all had a great time! Mason won the classic 50km and Jeremy was 11th in the 50km skate. Andre and Nikolia went one-two in the 50km skate! Joe and I had an epic showdown over the last 500m. I went out very conservatively and didn't see Joe after 4km into the race. At about 30km I felt good so I decided to step it up and push it into the finish. At the 40km mark the course became very wet and slow, it was about 45 degrees Fahrenheit. As I came to the final kilometer I saw a skier in a white headband, exactly what Joe had been wearing. Since I had only 1km to go I decided to catch him. As we cam to the final 500m I came along side him and we sprinted to the line. Here Joe make the mistake of lunging the foot without the chip attached! In the results I beat him by about a second but since there were no cameras we will never know where Joe's other foot was.

The next day we skied at Lappe, during another beautiful day! It was a great course, fun climbs and some exciting descents. All in all a great weekend!

Bond Uni

2010-01-20T21:00:00.003-06:00

It seemed like the first time arriving on campus after my stressful day on Sunday. After moving into my room and unpacking a few of my thing I walked over to campus and took care of some administrative business, registering for classes and the like. After this was concluded I took a campus tour.

The campus is gorgeous! The photos on the internet do not do it justice. For a school with approximately the same number of students as the College of St. Scholastica, Bond Uni has easily twice as many buildings. The other amazing thing is that all the buildings are laid out in a precise order because they were all built at the same time. They are all (except the Health Science and Medicine building) built out of large blocks of sandstone. The facilities in this building look like a four star hotel as you walk into the lobby. The entire building is decorated with Aboriginal art.

The campus is built around the central lake/fountain called Lake Orr. The outskirts of campus are lots of pine trees while the interior is palm and eucalyptus trees. As I walk around campus I hear people speaking a multitude of languages, everything from the Asia to Europe is represented.

Over the past week I have been exploring the area as much as possible. On my runs I try to see as much of the surrounding communities as I can. It is a very confusing area. The streets are not laid out in any sort of grid whatsoever. The area of the Gold Coast is more like a county than an actual city. Each of these little areas are governed by the City of the Gold Coast.

Most of the areas on the eastern coast of Australia in Northern New South Whales and southern Queensland are governed by this principal. Brisbane is broken into communities all under the name of Brisbane but if measured by square kilometers it would be one of the largest cities in the World.

I started classes this week. They have been interesting so far. I have one every evening Monday through Thursday from 5-8pm. This is nice because it leaves lots of time for studying and exploring the area. This semester I am taking the following: Psychology of High Performance Sport, Leadership, Communication, and Negotiation in Sport, Project Management in High Performance Sport and Doping and Detection in Sport. The best part about the classes is that they are very usable! Not only will they be extremely helpful in my field but they will also provide useful skills in any aspect of life.

In my program there are only two students, myself and a woman from California. There is also on Australian man that is doing the program part time so he is in a few of our classes. All the professors say the Uni prides itself on small class sizes but this is a little extreme! All of my professors have been very helpful so far and are very knowledgeable in the subjects they are teaching.

Surfer’s Paradise

2010-01-14T04:46:00.003-06:00

This excursion to Surfer’s Paradise was quite unplanned! I had expected to arrive at Bond University (Uni) on Sunday, January 10 at about noon. I then got the address of my residence and walked, about 800m, to my housing. There were only two catches, first I had about 150 lbs of luggage and the second they were closed on Sundays! The third party that I booked my room through failed to mention that while we had been talking about my moving in on the tenth that this would not be possible!

Luckily the woman that I spoke with at the Uni on campus accommodation center was extremely helpful! She booked me a room in a hostel in Surfer’s Paradise and called a cab for me. Before I knew it I was off! This hostel was far less desirable than the one I stayed in while I was in Brisbane. It was actually quite a dive but there were some very welcoming people staying there. After I was all checked in I walked about the town. There were some very nice canals that I walked along before I became oriented with the town.

I went to a nice bakery for lunch. It was located in a shopping center that bordered a nice courtyard that showed a movie on a giant screen above it each afternoon. People were sitting on this grassy opening in bean bag chairs just watching the movie.

I then made my way through the maze of shops until I finally came to the beach! It was quite a scene. The beach stretches as far as you can see. There were people swimming and sunbathing. It was neat to watch the Surf Life Savers in action. They made sure that everyone swam between the flags. All of the beaches are marked with red and yellow flags where the beach is safe to swim. Outside of the flags there are dangerous riptides. The Aussies and especially Queenslanders take their surf lifesaving quite seriously. I saw while watching for about fifteen minutes tow custom trucks, a jet ski and a helicopter all patrolling the beach!

After I hung out at the beach I made my back through the shopping centers to the hostel. There I hung out with some of the people staying there and read my book.

More Wandering

2010-01-09T05:37:00.005-06:00

Today I filled the morning finding out when I need to catch my train to the Gold Coast tomorrow morning. After that I went the the Queen Street Mall and wandered around the shops. After that I visited some parkas and museums.

The first point of attraction I saw was the Botanical Garden. It is just outside of the government buildings. There are many ponds and wooded areas. The park runs along the end of a point that is surrounded by the Brisbane River. Other interesting features in the Garden are a very large outdoor theatre and a mooring for sailboats.

The first museum I looked at was the Queensland Maritime Museum. It was quite riveting. The history of Brisbane is directly tied to the water. The museum covered history from the beginning of the cities roots and but revolved for the most part around the dry dock that was built in 1881. There was also a lot of information on Australia and Queensland’s involvement in both World Wars.

This boat was used to sail from Canada to Australia. It is less than two meters long.

On my way from the Maritime Museum farther into South Bank I wandered through a market. It was neat seeing all the different local crafts. There are quite different than the ones found in the USA. After this I walked past the City Beach to the Queensland Museum. I got there just before closing and wasn’t able to see much more that part of one floor. Next time I am in town I will have to go back and see what else there it has to offer.

After the museum closed I went back into South Bank and had an amazing fish sandwich next the City Beach. I don’t have much experience with seafood but it was pretty good!

Getting My Bearings

2010-01-08T07:08:00.000-06:00

Today I went on a four hour walking tour of Brisbane. It was quite interesting. The area where my hostel is and the train station nearby are nice but not nearly as clean or as impressive as I had heard Brisbane is. The tour I went on showed the cities beauty and intrigue beyond doubt.
I have been surprised to learn that many people smoke in Brisbane! Especially the people from about 18-25 (those are the ones I have had the most contact with). Today also learned that there are no punitive damages in the Queensland court system and they have no offense that would relate to vehicular manslaughter. I was in a bike shop talking with one of the employees and he had been hit by a car. He said that the police came and did nothing, not even call an ambulance as he was bleeding all over the street. The driver got off scott free! Luckily the cyclist made a full recovery.On my way back to the center of downtown I passed the public man made beach. It looks pretty nice. Tomorrow I hope to have time for a swim.The tour guide said that it wasn't safe to swim in the river because of the sharks that live there! A little past the beach was a large screen that as showing a tennis match being played here in BrisbaneThe finals are tomorrow so I expect to see a large crowd gathered.

After my tour I went to a museum that we passed along the way. It was the Commissariat Store. Here I learned that the city that is now Brisbane was a penal settlement for second offenders, or those that committed an offense once they arrived in Australia. Free settlers were not allowed to live in the area until the convict community was disbanded in 1839. From here I went down the pedestrian mall and looked in various shops including some sporting good shops that had some sweet cricket and football jerseys!

The Far Side of the World

2010-01-07T00:08:00.000-06:00

24 hours and two days later I have arrived in Australia! It seemed like this day would never come but looking back it happened all too quickly. I don’t think I could ever have fully prepared for this experience; it is much more daunting to be on the opposite side of the world than to talk about it. After the two layovers I had a smooth 14 hour flight from Los Angeles to Brisbane. Upon arrival I breezed through immigration and customs. I then caught a train that dropped me off about 3/4km from my hostel. The last time I had been outside it was about 7 degrees Fahrenheit (negative 14 degrees Celsius). When I arrived it was 27 degrees Celsius (80 degrees Fahrenheit). This was quite shocking to my sweat glands as one might imagine! Luckily for me it was overcast so I didn’t get my first sunburn.

After checking into my hostel (where none of my credit cards worked) I had about 2 hours before my room would be ready so I walked around town. I found a nice park. I thought the layout was very similar to that of a zoo, except there were no caged animals. I did see a lizard with a tail that was about 14 inches long, about twice as long as its body. Hopefully I will get back there with my camera as it was quite pretty. I saw my first Peugeot that was not a bike! That was pretty exciting. While I was walking around town I saw two police cars with body kits pull over drivers on two separate occasions. I have no idea what they did wrong but the police cars looked quite sporty, not like the burly ones in the USA.

When I finally was able to move into my room it was time for a nap. The room is quite nice, sparsely furnished but quite clean. I have WiFi so the Skyping is working out well for communication. I even used it to call Wells Fargo about my credit card issue. I have also been able to text through my email.

I will try to take some pictures tomorrow and show the sights. I can see the river from the hostel and I am going to see if there is a bike path or anything to run on tomorrow.

Why Australia, Why Bond

2009-11-02T16:29:00.000-06:00

Many people have asked me this question, why Austrailia, why Bond Univeristy. I recently had to put it all into words for a fellowship application so here it is.

My study in Australia will give me the practical skills to provide the highest caliber of coaching to both elite athletes and the general public. The program at Bond University will allow me to study state of the art testing of elite athletes. I will learn how to manage and coordinate elite athletic programs. The program at Bond University is on the cutting edge of high performance science. While studying in Australia I will learn how to develop an athlete so that they are able to reach their potential in sport. There are many coaches that base their training methodology only on personal experience. This method usually works only for athletes that have a similar physiology as that of the coach. The opportunity to study and complete a program that teaches the skills necessary to provide the best coaching and guidance to athletes will be a great asset.

The field of exercise physiology encompasses a large variety of sub fields from cardiac rehab to sports performance. At the sports performance end of the spectrum this study is important because it will teach me how to safely train athletes to push the limits of the human body. In sport there is a rampant problem of doping. From baseball to cross country skiing there are many athletes endangering themselves by using banned and often illegal substances. The program at Bond University will not only teach me how to detect these issues but also provide athletes with a coach that will enable them to compete at a high level without doping. I believe that every coach that can create an athlete that is both free of drugs and successful may be able to persuade younger athletes that sport is truly about dedication and hard work not a quick fix.

Australia is renowned for their development of elite athletes. They have sport programs that are far superior to the rest of the world and it shows in how many Olympic medals they have won in respect to their country’s population. The country of Australia is 52nd in world population but ranks 11th in the total number of medals won in the history of the summer Olympics. Worldwide there are only a few other academic programs of this caliber that focus on elite athletes and their training and testing.

One of the reasons for Australia’s dominance in global sports competition is the use of state funding. Australia values sport as a part of their culture. They are willing to invest in it not only as individuals but as a country through state funded sports institutes. In the United States the funding for such things in minimal. Most of the money for exercise physiology research comes from pharmaceutical and medical equipment manufacturers’ donations. This leads all the research towards cardiac rehabilitation and drugs or supplements.

I believe the greatest challenge facing America today is the obesity epidemic that is taking our country by storm. Approximately one third of Americans are obese. This number is ridiculous. A part of this problem stems from the sporting role models children have today. Many of these athletes, especially football and baseball players, are overweight. When an athlete like Lance Armstrong, Mia Ham or Michael Phelps has great international success they too can become the role models for Americans young and old. When Lance Armstrong won seven Tour de France titles people noticed and began riding their bikes more. He made a great form of exercise much more mainstream. Lance Armstrong’s coach currently provides fitness programs for average citizens to get in shape or achieve a higher level of fitness. This would not have happened to such an extent if it had not been for Lance Armstrong’s success as an athlete and role model.

While I don’t know if I will ever have the opportunity to work with an athlete able to win the Tour de France, the same principle can be used on a local scale. If an athlete becomes successful it will inspire people in his or her region to be more active and seek help in improving their fitness. I have already taken steps to implement my strategy for creating a healthier America. I have founded a company that will bring elite level coaching to all athletes, both recreational and elite. This fall I have been putting together an elite team to spread this thrill of fitness and exercise. This is the first step. I then plan to set up a lab so that I will be able to test athletes and average citizens to monitor their fitness levels and improvement. The positive feedback these tests can provide is excellent motivation for someone trying to lose weight or get in better shape.

I hope to learn valuable testing and coaching skills to help curb the challenges that our country faces from the obesity epidemic. I believe the use of exercise as preventive medicine will prove to be extremely valuable in the years to come. It will not only decrease personal medical expenses but will also increase the quality of life in the United States.

Bike Polo

2009-10-20T10:16:00.001-05:00

Last weekend I was in the Twin Cities for a concert and to visit friends. We saw The Hold Steady put on a great show Saturday night! On Sunday I went for a ride with Jake. We rode from Uptown to Theodore Worth Park. It was a great ride. The single track in the Cities is so much smoother than in Duluth. There were no roots or unwanted rocks. After two laps at Worth we proceeded to take a few laps around the lakes before calling it a day. On our way back we saw a group of guys playing bike polo. We asked if we could join them and they handed us bats. It was amazing to see such skill on a bike. These guys would sprint on their bikes right towards each other then whack the ball to their teammates with an ease that was impressive to say the least. This sport was super fun. The mixture of agility, speed and balance combined with a great need for hand eye coordination is extremely fun to play! I would encourage anyone that rides a bike to try it if they have the chance.

Volunteering

2009-10-17T11:14:00.000-05:00

It has been a while since I participated in an event as a volunteer. For over ten years my family and I worked an aid station in the Voyager Trail 50. We got to see everyone right after the infamous power lines on the way out and then on the way back we would have to tell them that they were much easier than they remembered. The fact that they had run 36 miles was a hard point to argue but we did our best. Lately I have spent a great deal of my time racing and have not had the chance to see the other side of a race which most consider a thankless job. Today I helped with course control for the Harvest Run. It was a simple job as most of the race was on the Lakewalk in Duluth, Minnesota so the race only had to cross one road. This road was not extremely busy to I was able to tend to my duties as well as watch the race. I was amazed at how many people thanked me while they ran past. To take the time and breathe to thank a race official is one of the most selfless acts I have witnessed. I know how precious each breath is during a running race, and what I would give for one more. The race was lucky it was a beautiful day, which made it easy to smile, and offer words of encouragement but I think that it could have been sleeting and it still would have been an easy job. It is amazing how nice it was to see the appreciation these runners and walkers had for those who help out with an event that they paid to participate in. The job was in fact far from thankless and I would encourage anyone who has run a race to volunteer, not only is it fun to see the other end of a race participants are quite gracious. This is a lesson I will remember the next time I pin a number to my chest, a small thanks or smile is worth the breathe that is lost.

Two in One

2009-08-30T19:12:00.000-05:00

Today I ran the 3000m time trial with the College of St. Scholastica Nordic ski team, then I learned that the Bangin' In the Brush trail run. It was interesting to experience these events with only 90 minutes separating them. Both were quite fun but the atmosphere was quite different.

The 3k tt was run on a track with aspiring young athletes looking to make their mark in the first test of the season. As we warmed up there was small talk but it felt forced. The tension came from nerves that would only relax after the race had begun and all that was left to do was run. There were no awards, and few competitors. Everyone ran for the team, their goals and bragging rights. It began without ceremony, and being a small field there was little of the jostling one usually experiences while racing on a track. The race lasted minutes, each step measured a precise distance over the track bringing the races closer to the finish. After 7 and half laps of spikes clawing into the track, and runners digging to the depths of their will power to post the best time they could the race was over. There was no fanfare, no crowds, only the marching band preparing for tonight's big game. The only person paying attention to these athletes was their coach, busily writing down times as each person crossed the line. As everyone filed across they shook hand gave their post run comments and or excuses then everyone filed off to grab a drink and cool down. The mood most decidedly different, relaxed if not light hearted. Then everyone jogged back to campus to prepare for the strength testing.

After completing the time trial Andre' Watt and myself, traded our spikes for trail shoes and headed up the North Shore to Korkki Nordic to run the 27th annual Bangin' In The Brush, a tradition I had not had the opportunity to participate in before today. As we pulled into the parking lot we were greeted with people chatting dogs pulling on their leashes and children playing. Everyone was enjoying the beautiful fall day. It felt like the summer never really came to Duluth. There were people of all ages milling about waiting for the festivities to begin. When they did so it was with a promptness that was not expected from such a relaxed event. It all began with the kids race, either one or two laps around the field. This was followed by cookies and ribbons for all participants. The cookies are why everyone is here, at least that is what everyone claims. All the racers then gather around the porch of the chalet to hear the pre-race announcements. In a nutshell, be careful, the course is rough at best, aptly described as a portage to put it into perspective for those that had not heard the legends of the race. With that the race began with only a handful of people rubbing elbows in the front line. After a lap in the field the 100 competitors ran into the woods for a grueling race with sketchy footing at best. As the race spread out there was lots of time to reflect on the pain caused by the long climbs and rolled ankles. Bangin' In The Brush is probably the slowest race in the area, the approximately 11.5k was won in just over 40 minutes with a competitive field. After the pack thinned all that was left were the trees, the uneven footing and the sweat dripping into your eyes. Then after the 'big hill' it was mostly down to the finish, a relief after the grueling run up to that point. After each racer crosses there is a smile and usually a friend standing nearby tells them they should have finished sooner, because that guy right in front of you did. This being laughed off returns the situation to its pre-race state, relaxed and carefree. There is no one talking on there cell phone because there is no service, no rushing to work because you can't miss the door prizes. After all everyone is here for the cookies. After everyone is finished the awards, the cookies everyone is waiting for can begin. It should be known that these are no ordinary cookies, they come from the Positively Third Street Bakery. Every year I take two bags of cookies on a trip to Colorado, here they are quite valuable. One bag gets a week of free lodging in Vail, a short walk from the mountain. The other is eaten on the way out so I am sure to have the first bag when I arrive. Yes, these cookies are worth the wait, even for just a chance to win a bag in the door prizes. After the festivities have concluded the crowd slowly disperses, some to the lake for a swim and others begin the return trip to Duluth on their bikes.