take yer pick

Rounding out 2009 was great!! My trust is all of you had a MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR!! Immediately after cyclocross I jumped into a three-week mini camp to see whether my ultra stuff left the body, mind & soul or not. Getting out w/Dave and Jonas when on foot has been new company worth having along because each of them are very ambitious. All weekends I've ran in the 1:45 - two and a half hour range. The sudden growth in volume has my IT band chirping only a little and using the foam roller is calming it down again. Following a Saturday run like this I'd enter Sunday knowing Tim is wanting to bike four hours out on the Fox Farm Road area of town. On the 20th of December he scaled back his usual eight-hour efforts to gladly accommodate me as all those bouts were taking a toll on him. We always have solid rides together and this was a change for me since I rarely hit the roads in the winter. There is so much to do right now.?!

Since the holiday blizzard that delivered plentiful snow on the Eve w/a spring rain on Christmas Day made doing anything on the pavement less desirable! However, if you want to play w/any of these bad boys pictured then you're in luck. Yesterday, I'm pretty sure I recruited another snowshoer in Dave Hyopponen. In his debut, we covered 8.5 miles in one hour 15 minutes going up thru Lester, over on Amity and down Hawk Ridge. He's shopping around now for a more light weight pair so look out racers!

Jen's Birthday shares New Year's Eve and I chose the Iron Range on all places. Everything turned out awesome and she had fun. We ate dinner @ Elroy Supper Club in Britt, MN. Hunkered down in our jacuzzi suite for awhile before heading over to Giant's Ridge to celebrate in the Lodge where a band was playing. On January 1 we drove north of Virginia to ski @ Big Aspen. A trail groomed classic only is managed by the forest service and offers tranquillity for those needing to escape the urban city parks. Only a single track made from behind a snowmobile gives an opportunity for an intro level experience to back country.

My racing outlook is pretty bleak. If I enter an event then it'll be a decision made last minute. Cutting the four seasons right down the middle has been working excellent. Winter & spring as the foundation builder preceding summer & fall as GO TIME! Staying in touch w/running is certain but don't consider myself as one. Cycling has fully sunk its claws into me as goals present themselves more clearly.
Speaking of which, I'm going for a steamroller in a bit...