Emerald Ash Borer

Well - I didn't think it would happen so fast but the Emerald Ash borer is in our back yard :(

As you drive around Mason you can see hundreds of dead trees on the side of the road or highway.

And now my back yard. Out of all the Ash trees only 15 are being treated (about $100 per tree).

The only upside was that I thought 100% of our trees were Ash but it turns out only 90-95% of them are!

I took some pictures to remember our backyard at it's peak.



 

Little Miami Triathlon - Spring 2013 Results

The SPRING 2013 Little Miami Triathlon on June 2nd results blog!

With rain in the forecast the weather turned our sunny and 72 at the start and 78 at the finish. Maybe a little hot but overall great weather.

This year we had 2 team participate:
Dave and Jesse were STILL TAPERING.
I was alone in a kayak.

Again we didn't have any ATHLETIC SUPPORTERs to cheer us on but the athletes had a good time.

I also want to comment that there were noticeably less participants this year (850 instead of 1,150). I think the increase in the cost of the race was a big factor. They were continuously selling out in previous years so it makes sense to rainse prices but they may have gone too far.

Also the new timing chips attached to the back of the race numebrs had a double sided sticky tape that when it got wet it bled blue ink on my white (expensive) jersey. We have washed it and stain sticked it a few tims but there is still some ink on there :( Next year I will remove the tape backing before the race.

As we were getting out of our cars and putting out stuff together I saw someone wearing a yellow Boston Marathon 2013 official shirt. It caught my eye becase it was so recognizable from TV and all the coverage this year. I guess if you raced in the Boston Marathon this year it would stick with you.

On to the results: I heard that Jesse had a Personal Record (PR) and Dave was a few seconds from his PR so great job by the STILL TAPERING team. I found out that they had a secret training program the week before by snow-shoeing in Alaska. I'll have to try that next time.

I ended up generating data to prove that if you don't exercise much you are slower than when you exercise. Hopefully that motivates me to find more time to exercise even with a baby todler. It had been a year since I raced the Little Miami Triathlon (LMT) because we attended a wedding in Boston the race before.

Side note: This was the first LMT that I didn't wear my Apple Jacks jersey. While it is a crowd favorite I am cooler in my Garneau breathable jerseys.

 

Kayaking ~6mi [64 min, +5 mins from last SPRING]
This was my first time ever kayaking and I think I prefer canoeing with a partner. The advantages to kayaking woud be that your time is not dependant on yourpartner and therefore more consistent year to year (to track improvement etc).I also believe that in theory the kayak could be faster than a canoe. The disadvantages to kayaking are that you have no one to talk to for an hour, it takes more effort and energy to kayak, and you can't really grab a quick drink or eat anything because no one else is paddling.

While I was grabbing one of the old or normal kayaks someone who works at Morgan's canoe told be to grab one of these green kayaks. he said they were faster. That is probably true. But he forgot to mention that the shallow wells would quickly fill up with water. I spent an hour sitting in water with my shoes mostly under water. With every stroke water dripped down into my kayak. This is the first time I realy ever got wet in this triathlon. Fortunately I had tri shorts on and good socks so it wasn't an issue but more of an annoyance.

Next time I will try to find a canoe partner, otherwise I will grab one of the older kayaks.

 

Running ~5mi [67 min, +4 mins to last SPRING]
I remember feeling good on the run considering I hadn't run much. I think the weather was cool enough for me to feel pretty good and not get my heart rate too high. Not much else to say. I wish I could run a 10 min mile. Probably time to see a pulminologist.

Killer Hill + Transition ~0.5mi [10 min, -2 min from last SPRING]
The course up killer hill was new with more stairs built in. I think it was a little longer but not as steep and I liked it. It seemed easier and I set my best time. That being siad I saw more carnage on the hill than I remember seeing before. Usually I am the one leaning against a tree to catch my breath but there were multiple people around me suffering against a railing or tree. I felt great when I got to the top and I was ready for the bike.

Biking ~18mi [77 min, +2 mins from last SPRING]
I knew getting on the bike that I wasn't going to break my PR. I was pretty far behind my times. Dave and I started the bike together and I went out and gave it a strong effort and Dave stayed right with me just about the whole time which is awesome. I ended up cramping a bit on the hills at the end and Dave finished the bike first. Jesse was already in the club house for 40 minutes.

I noticed that more of the bike ride was tar and pitch surface (the cobbles) and I think mile 3-11 and 14-16 are now rough road. Also this year the wind was in a different direction which was nice for some of the typically harder parts in the wind but I think it was subtly tougher as you were headed into the wind later. But nothing could be as bad as when Jesse and I biked 50 miles in 20-25 mph winds so the wind was fine.

As for the temperature it was a bit hot by now on the bike and I finished both water bottles but it was fine overall. I was basically slower all the way around so it is time to work out this summer.

If you read this blog to this point you must be interested enough to try it in the Fall of 2013! I'll see you there!

Calvin's Challenge 2013

I had this on my radar fora while but this year Jesse, Dave and I participated in Calvin's Challenge.

Calvin's Challenge is a 12 Hour Bike Race is held each year on the weekend before Mother's Day, starting at Shawnee High School in Springfield, Ohio. It's a race to see who can bike the furthest in 12 hours. There is also a 6 hour bike race, a 100 mile time trial and a 50 mile time trial.

One of the things I like is that there are TONS of different tipes of bikes at this event.
• 3 Tandem classes
• Singlespeed/fixed gear
• Recumbents
• Hand Powered Vehicles (HPV)
• High wheelers
• Triples
• Trikes
• 2-person team
• 4-person team
• Ellipticals

Or one of those crazy old bikes but with aero bars!

This year we even saw some scooters (kick bikes). They were a debacle in the wind. Which brings me to this year's race. This year Jesse and I participated in the 50 mile TT. Dave was recovering from being sick and still tapering for the next event so he did the shorter loop TT.

It was cool at the start and WINDY! It was 60 degrees and cloudy with 20-25 mph winds in the begining. It was weather where you question why you are doing your first long event under these conditions. If that wasn't bad enough the first 30 miles in almost all seriousness was into the wind. At the 25 mile mark we were on pace for a 5 hour time trial. I thought maybe we should have just enetered the 6 hour race! I recall really long stretches where I was working hard and going 8 mph. Fortunately the last 20 miles was away from the wind and it was warmer and sunny. I think I was averaging 18-20mph the rest of the way and finished in under 4 hours.

All in all I was glad I did it. I hadn't ever spent 4 hours on the bike and I was surprisingly not that tired at the end. I ate plenty of energy bars on the way which really helped (about 1 entire clifs shot block per hour). I wore bike shorts but wish my seat were more comfortable. Either my gel seat is too worn in or a slightly stiffer seat would work better with padding from bike shorts (tri shorts actually).

I was really glad Jesse wanted to do the 50 mile TT with me and I plan to add Calvin's Challenge to my annual events. I plan to eventually step up to the 6 hour race and the 100 mile TT.