We made it back to Colorado. Glad to be back permanently with Cori, Coen, and Emma.

Lowertown Arts Festival

Cori, Coen & I met Jessi, Gage and Taylor at the Lowertown Arts Festival in Paducah last Saturday, to just hangout. 1st priority was getting lunch. I opted for a gyro from one of those festival trailers, not exactly authentic. Spent most of my time watching Gage eat a corndog for the first time. He was really confused about the stick. Amy Lavere was playing on the stage. Great tunes, think I'll try to pick up her album this week. Ran by the Maiden Alley Cinema tent. Cori, my Mom, and I caught the Kite Runner here. Unfortunately with Coen, we haven't been able to catch very many shows here. They are now running a "Guys Night Out" & "Chick Flicks" promo. They are showing Fight Club on June 30th sounds fun.

We then browsed a few of the galleries. I made one purchase from Enrique Gonzalez who was in from Lexington for just 2 days for the showing. He had some really fantastic horse racing paintings, but I chose the following. Bet you can't guess why?



photo quality isn't that good, took it from my phone. It's 24 x 48, and makes a nice addition to another cycling painting I picked up in Florence a couple years ago.

The kids only lasted another 1 hr before the sweltering humidity and heat intiated some mental breakdowns. After a stop at Etcetera Coffeehouse for an Izze Sparking Grapefruit soda, we called it a day.

Ch-Ch-Changes

So a lot has gone on in the last month. Coen is walking pushing a cart and is cutting the top 4 front teeth. He's been working on breaking them through for what seems like 2 weeks. Should be any day now. I can't believe how fast it is going by. Gets better everyday. He's also starting to mimic which has been fun as well, just gotta keep him away from my brother now, or he'll constantly have his hands down his pants scratching his stuff.

On a professional note, I took the the Director of Pharmacy position at Memorial Hospital of Carbondale. I'm really excited to get started. The Hospital is growing, has a new CEO which I really like, and there are several opportunities to make improvements in the pharmacy department. I think it will be challenging, and will give me some valuable experience for the future. I'll even have a chance to get an MBA paid for at SIU. With the new job, also means we'll be moving to Carbondale in the next year. I'm disappointed that I'll be moving further away from my brother and his kids, but excited to move to a college town. Plus I think the cycling is going to be a lot better.

Cori and I had been unhappy with our work situation, which was in turn, making living in Paducah not fun as well. We did consider moving back to Denver initially, but the thought of moving that far away from family again wasn't ideal either. So we decided to get jobs we think we'll really like and go from there. If we find that it wasn't just the jobs, then we may make the move back to Denver someday. I do think we'll like Carbondale, but we'll see.

On another note, I've been able to start riding more consistently. I've got some good rides in the last 2 weeks, slowly buidling up the miles. I'm targeting some races in August and September to be ready for. Hope I can stick to my plan.

River 2 River Relay

On April 18th the Pope County League of Extraordinary Sportsmen tackled the 80 mile River to River Relay. We had Damon Turner, Dustin Turner, Jess Taylor, Clint Taylor, Brian Levin, Allen Clay, Justin Wolff, Gordon Dugan, and myself. This was my 2nd year participating. I don't enjoy running, but have a good time hanging out with the guys and telling stories. We all met at the Dixon Springs Chocolate Factory, after loading Wolff's suburban, and exchanging the customary insults to one another, we headed over to the start. Apparently the insults took longer than expected and we missed our start time. Oh well, we just had to start 30 min later, and they corrected our time. During the drive over, we decided who runs what stages, through intense negotiation and peer pressure. Damon has always been our ringer, but broke his foot falling out of a deer stand this year. (side note: It was his 2nd time falling out of a deer stand. 1st time fell asleep, 2nd time stand broke) He got no sympathy and still had to run the hardest stage. Since I signed on last year as an alternate, I used that to my advantage to only have to run 2 stages instead of 3. I did however get stuck doing the 2nd hardest stage and the longest. My goal earlier in the year was to average under a 7min/mile. During training I could do it no problem if the terrain was flat, but considering the elevation changes on my stages, I was hoping to keep it under 7:30.

I started with Stage 7. I knew the first hill would be hard, but didn't realize how steep it was the last quarter mile. It took me 8 min to get to the top. Unfortunately the downhill was just as steep and hurt just as bad. I finished the stage in 23:14 for a 7:44 min/mile avg.

As soon as I finished I grabbed some water, and put my Ted Hose on, and grabbed some lunch. I tried to keep my feet elevated and stretch at every stop, but it gets a little crowed with 8 grown men in one car. My next stage was 16. Knowing how bad the downhill on my first stage hurt, I knew I was in for more of the same. The stage didn't disappoint. I also got to run in the rain, which was good and bad. It made the downhill a little slippery, but gave me something else to think about besides my legs. I ended up finishing in 29:30 for a 7:17 min/mile avg. Overall I was happy with my performance, next year I think I'll try to find some flatter stages to run, or at least cut out the long steep downhills.

Our team goal was to go under 10 hrs and we finished in 10:00:37 so we have some unfinished business there. We finished 21st in the open division and 53rd/232 teams overall. Not bad for a bunch of guys just getting together.

Also my Newton shoes were great on the flats and uphill, but were awkward running downhill. I still really like them, and I felt more efficient and didn't hurt near as bad after finishing compared to last year. I personally think they are the real deal.

Pics courtesy of Clint Taylor






I should also mention this race finishes in my hometown of Golconda, Il. We even got our team pic in the local weekly paper. Glad we didn't choose Renis Pinkles as our team name.

Newton Neutral Racer

So I bought a pair of the Newton Running Neutral Racers a couple of months ago, to try before the River 2 River Relay race coming up. Last year I ran in a pair of Saucony Progrid Triumph 4. I originally chose these, because they felt best out of my few options available in Paducah. I don't dislike these shoes, but I found it difficult to change my running style and I always felt beat up after a run of 3-5 miles. These however are my favorite pair of shoes, when it comes to strength training.

Regarding the Newtons, I should preface this brief review with the following information. I don't really like running, but have a great time doing this relay race, and have considered doing a triathlon in the future, so I casually run from Jan-April. I know very little about proper running technique or training. I decided on the Newtons after reading a couple different reviews and watching some video's. I was basically looking for anything that would make me more efficient and comfortable. My goal was to find a shoe that would be comfortable and light that I could use to run 5-10k distances.

Initially I started with short runs of only 1 mile to familiar with the shoe, and allow my feet to adjust. It does feel different at first, especially for me, as I was a heel striker. I did have a little soreness in my Tibialis Anterior muscles. After 4-5 runs I started to increase my distance, and have had no problem sense. Currently I'm running 4-5 miles 3 times a week at a pace of 8min/mile. I plan to start increasing my pace with a goal of running 6-7min/mile for the R2R. For reference, last year during my first leg of the race I averaged a 6:30 min/mile for 3 miles, and a 7:30 min/mile for 3 miles on my last one.

I do think the metatarsal pads on the bottom of the shoe, train you to run on that part of the foot. It feels really uncomfortable in these shoes to go back to striking the heel. I have also noticed that they have made me more conscious of not overstridding. This may become more of a problem as I try to increase my pace. They are super light, but I've never felt that I needed more cushioning or support in these. My only complaint is that they do feel awkward running down moderate hills, but again I've never found this comfortable. Some complaints that I've read about are: (1)They aren't good to use on the treadmill....I've used them on the treadmill several times and have had no problems. (2) They wear quite quickly....Mine have minimal wear after about 40 miles. I have no desire to become a long distance runner so I don't see this being a problem for me. I don't think they would be the ideal shoe for marathons, but I could be wrong. I also don't believe you will want to run sprints in these either, but for moderately paced distances of 5-20k I think they are great. I should also mention that I haven't tried any racing flats, which also are highly recommended for those distances.


I'll post another update after the Race. Wish me luck.

Wildwoods

Yesterday I was in STL for a StLCOP Alumni Association Board meeting, and to get Cori's car serviced, so I thought I should squeeze a ride in if I could and get some of the climbing I miss down here in KY. I stopped by Mesa to give DB a shout and catch up. Unfortunately I needed a Conti GP 4000 tire to get my ride going. Mesa didn't have one not in some funky color, so I stopped by Maplewood and got some major stick shock. $69 bones for GP 4000? UGH! That's $17 more than they are listed at Excel. After a veggie burger and some cucumber chips from OR Juice & Smoothies in Clayton (DB recommended) I headed out to Six Flags to get my ride on. It was a great day ~60 degrees and sunny. I had to cut my original route short, due to running late for my meeting, but still got plenty of climbing. My legs were cooked, considering this was my 5th ride since Oct.

Here is the route. Hope to get back soon for some more.

Back in the Saddle Again!

Finally....Got my new ride built last week after having to hunt down some parts that were holding me up. I haven't ridden since October of 2008, and it felt great to get out, even though I'm lacking any type of endurance or power at the moment. The next week will be spent, just try to get my bootie accustomed to sitting on a tiny little saddle. I was sore after my first 30 min ride. I forgot how bad the 2nd ride feels, but I got through it. Mentally I feel like a new person. I can't believe how much I've really missed the bike over the last couple months. I'm hoping to be race ready by June, I guess we'll see how well I can stick to a training program with a little one at home.

Lance and Yellow Devil

Also Funny

On live broadcast, you could see the other riders come up and give Lance High-Fives. Personally all the people running in the road was getting annoying and dangerous.

Oops! My Bad!

Not sure if you saw this or not. I think Chris was on the rivot and not thinking to clearly. Wish I could hear what George said to him. I just find it funny.