Lutsen 99er... I mean the 69er!

Well, I finished the Lutsen 69er a couple weekends ago. I am finally getting my blog up about it.

I originally signed up for the full 99 mile race, but when I was one week our from the race and I had been on my bike maybe 4 times since signing up I decided that I needed to step down a bit. Ultimately I was thrilled that I payed the extra 20 bucks and shortened my race. It was by far the best choice I have done thus far. I don't think I would have felt good adding on an extra 3ish hours on the bike up there.

Lisa and I headed up to Grand Marais on Friday after she got off of work. We didn't get up there until about 10 p.m. It was a very long drive, especially when we hit road work before Hinkley. Our hotel was incredibly nice as it looked over the bay in Grand Marais. I do really wish I could have enjoyed the view more, but I only got to see it in the early morning before we headed to the race start.

View from the hotel room in Grand Marais. 

Once we left our hotel we headed to Lutsen Mtn to pick up my race number and get ready for the start. I was very nervous that it was going to rain all day, so I packed my rain jacked into my frame bag. The threat of rain the day prior and in the early hours seemed to show that it was going to rain all day. I was not excited about that. It was helpful to know that the weather report showed that the rain was likely to hold off for the most part.

The race started off without a hitch. We left Lutsen Mtn and headed down toward highway 61. Once we made it to there we went north for a mile or so before turning west up Caribou Trail. It was a long 5 mile climb up to the top where Caribou Lake was. We rode past Cathedral of the Pines Camp. I used to go there every summer since 3rd grade all the way through high school. It was fun to see it again and have all of the people there out cheering the racers! I felt a lot of nostalgia when I was riding past camp. I have a ton of fond memories from being up there.

Once we hit the top then we went downhill for a bit before turning right onto some forest roads and snowmobile trails. The race continued on with some gravel roads, snowmobile trails, rocky descents, jeep trails, and obviously tons of fun. The miles kept ticking by me and I was really enjoying my time out in the woods. Around mile 24 or so it started to rain. There was some lightning that I was hoping was camera flashes, but nobody had a camera nearby. Once the rain started it was about an hour or so before it stopped. It wasn't anything too terrible, so I didn't put on my rain jacket.

I will add the disclaimer that I paused the writing after the above section. It has now been about six months since this race. The details are fuzzy, but I do know it was one of the most fun races I have ever done. I will definitely be there in 2017.

I will also sign up for the 69er again as it was the perfect distance.

I will try to blog more soon, but I have not done anything too exciting.

Saturday

Well, I have remembered that I have a blog so I am back on it! There isn't too much that is new with me. School has been busy and still super awesome. MGMS is a really great place to be.

I did finally get in a long ride this past Monday. I spent 3 hours on the Pugsley. It was the longest I had been on a bike since June, so I was getting pretty tired the last 50 or so minutes. I rode from my place up to Elm Creek. I then hopped onto the multi-use trail with grand plans to bike around the park to the mtn bike trails. Once I got partway around the park I was at about 1 hr 30 min. I stopped at a sign to see how far I had left., and I realized I still had about 10 miles to the trails and another 12 miles of single track. I decided better of it all and turned around and headed home. It was a good decision as I don't think I would have survived another 2+ hours at least of riding.

It was still a really great time out there. I do love winter riding. I have also signed up for the Twin Cities Marathon again. I am hoping to really crush that course and beat my time from last year. So far I haven't been doing much running, so I am only dreaming at this point.

Other than that stuff, I have nothing else to say for now.

Peace.

Getting near to the end of the year

Hard to believe that 2015 is nearly finished. Lots of great things have happened this year and I can't wait to see what 2016 brings. I am hoping to sort out what races I would enjoy doing this coming year. I have an idea, but I don't know exactly what I am going to be doing. Planning isn't the easiest thing I have ever done.

Training lately has been doing a run here or there and then biking to school. When I ride bike to school it usually takes me about 15-20 minutes to get there. It goes more quickly riding the Cross Check and longer riding the Pugsley. Some days I can convince myself that I did a workout when I was riding to and from school. I am hoping to use winter break as a time to recharge and get back into the swing of things. Not having snow makes it really hard for me to be motivated to do anything. I am still hoping for tons of snow. I have had my fingers crossed since November.

I am hoping to do another marathon or two in 2016. I really enjoyed Twin Cities Marathon and would like to best what I did last year. I also would enjoy doing some fat bike racing, and potentially doing some epic bike race. My definition of epic is 100 miles in mild weather. I don't think I could hack something like the Arrowhead 135 (yet) or the Ride the Divide. I am thinking more of doing a 50k trail race or perhaps doing Heck Epic. I know they are two totally different races, but I am in the mood for something different and new. I am always open to other suggestions.

Until next time!

Peace.

Hello?

Hello? Is it me you're looking for? I can see it in your eyes. I can see it in your smile. You're all I ever wanted.....

Ok, I am back. It has been quite some time since I have posted. Busy? Lazy? Forgetful? Lack of caring? You know it!

I will get better at posting more on here, but for now I will just keep it simple.

Updates would be: Lisa and I moved to Plymouth and live in a little condo that we are renting. We love living out here. I love that I am about a 15 min bike ride from school. Oh, I teach at Maple Grove Middle School now. I love it! 6th grade MN studies is super fun to teach and my students are all awesome. I am super happy where I am at. Love my new school. Oak View will always be my first home and I learned so much from being there.

I ran the Twin Cities Marathon back in October. It was the best race I have had in a long, long time. It may even be the happiest I have I have ever been during and after a race. Everything went perfectly for me that day.

I think that I shall hold out and save everything else for another post.

Later!

Wow. Time Flies

This won't be a long post. I am a busy man.
The school year ended very well. It was a great way to begin the summer. I learned a great deal that I will take with me into my 2nd full year of teaching! Which starts in just a few short weeks.

Summer has flown by too quickly. I have had a great summer thus far. Went to Oconomowoc over the 4th of July weekend to visit Lisa's parents and go to a graduation party. Lisa and I also went to Colorado for about a week. It was great. I will post more about that later. Then we were up in Duluth for All Pints North. Which was incredible and crazy.

Working at the bike shop has been good. It is a fun place to be. I don't work too much and it is nice to have a flexible schedule.

I have been doing some running, rollerskiing, and biking. Not as much as I would like, but I am enjoying what I am doing. Racing has been going well, nothing spectacular, but nothing bad. I'll take what I get.

Soon I will post more. When I feel like it.

Summer is soon

There are 8 days left of school. If I really want to count there are only 5 instructional days left. It still blows my mind as to how quickly the school year went. I am happy that I will be teaching 6th grade again next year.

I have also done 2 races so far this year! I ran the Race for the Cure and the Gear West Duathlon. I was happy with how both of those races went for me. Especially considering how I haven't been working out as much as I would like to. The duathlon was very fun this year. I have not raced a duathlon in quite some time. I forgot how much they hurt! My legs felt terrible after that race, as well as my lower back. I don't ride my El GoGo very much (maybe a few times a year). Riding in that position killed me. Am I getting too old???

May is here

It is now May. There are 22 days of school left. I still am in shock as to how quickly these days have passed. It is hard to think about the end of the year. I will do a big reflection at the end of the year, so I won't ramble on right now.

I have decided that I will only work at Gear West this summer. It was a very hard choice to pass over working for Three Rivers again. It was a difficult decision, but one that will make me happiest. Not because the job was bad. It boils down to the fact that I have a tough time not working too much and saying "no." I loved working for Three Rivers and I met some great people there. All of the fun I had working still cannot replace what is truly important- time with friends and family. I felt as though I had no time to relax and enjoy little things in life. I became stressed and didn't even know it. There were many days that I didn't even have time to go for a run, or bike for that matter. I don't want to go though that again.

 I remember a piece of advice given to me by a good friend from Three Rivers when I told her that I would be happy work weekends during the school year. She said, "Don't. I won't let you. You will be busy enough during the week and need time for yourself." I listened to her. It was the best decision I could have done. My teaching did keep me plenty busy and having the weekends to do as I please definitely helped me. I can't imagine how different the year would have been had I worked every single day. 

I think things turned out better than I could have ever hoped for. 

Oh yeah, I almost forgot. I went on a bike ride today!