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! 

33 days left

There are 33 school days left for me. This year has gone by very quickly. When I look back on this school year I can't help but think of how far we have come as a class, and how far I have come as an individual.

I can't say the beginning of the school year was easy. It was the hardest thing I have ever experienced. There were many, many long hours and times of frustration. Seemingly, I had no idea what I was doing. I understood the curriculum, but teaching is far from just the material. I had no idea what to expect.

When I look at our class now I know that we have a great community here in room 34. We have come so far this year. I am very proud of each and every one of the students that has passed through my door. It is hard to think that in just 7 weeks I will be saying, "See ya later," to them.

I will blog more soon. I promise.

It has been a long time

Wow. It has been quite some time since I have posted on the blog. Many things have happened over the past month. All of them are great things.

I decided not to race the City of Lakes Loppet. I wasn't doing a lot of distance when I went skiing. Most times I went out it was for about an hour, but not more than 90 minutes. I didn't want to embarrass myself out there and I just didn't feel like racing. The course is fantastic and the atmosphere is 2nd to none, but in the end I felt going for an easy ski was more enjoyable that day. Not to mention that it was very expensive. 

Teaching has been going incredibly well these past couple months. Everything seems to be coming together lately. Whatever we have got going on seems to be working. I don't go home stressed out anymore. We have had maybe 1 or 2 "off" days since the new year, but that is fine. Many people have commented to me about how things have changed for the better in this classroom. The atmosphere is a far more cheery place. the students are happier and we get along very well. I believe there are many factors that have played into making our classroom a far more positive place. The biggest one being that I am happy. I didn't even realize how unhappy I had been, nor how that was affecting my entire life. I am enjoying and loving life now. I have found a great balance between school and my life outside of the classroom. It feels great to be happy.

I am also looking at getting a new car. Yes, a new car. My Subaru is at the point where it is leaking coolant too much and I really need to get it fixed... The big part about fixing it is that it will cost me about $1,000 to do that. I don't want to invest in a car that I have no idea how long it will last! I am thinking I may be better off buying a new car that will be in great condition and I won't have to worry about it. I have test driven a couple cars and I am pretty certain that I will be getting a Volkswagen Jetta. They get great gas mileage, are reliable, look cool, and I know people who have and love them. I just need to make it happen!

I will post again soon...

Alright cold

Another non school day because of the cold weather! This week is crazy. It's also conference week. There is so much to do with so little time! It is ok though as it is only 1 week. I can survive that.

City of Lakes Loppet is Sunday and I still haven't signed up for it yet... I am having doubts on if I want to sign up or not. It costs a lot and I haven't been too diligent on getting in my long skis this year! Decisions decisions...

I went to the beer dabbler Saturday and had a blast. It was stupid cold but it was a great time. Great friends and great beer. We only got 1 picture because it was so cold! Wish I would have gotten more.

Paige and me before we froze!

Cold day

Another school closure due to cold weather. Which left me alone and bored at my apartment. Speaking of which, my apartment is very clean now! It's weird not going to school!
Then today I had a great day at school. Everything just went very smoothly and there were no issues. Makes my day far less stressful and in turn, I am far happier.

There is now talk of schools being closed on Monday because of cold weather again! Dang MN is hitting us hard.

Short post

Whew. Busy busy. Lots of stuff to do. I have been having some interesting days at school. Some great things and some that could be better. Overall it's been fun and exciting. We had a couple days off because it was so cold! I don't ever remember that happening in all my years of school.

The good thing though it's that most days I leave right around 5 pm. I gotta make sure I am getting time in for myself to ski or run. I have been skiing more than running though... oh well! I think I may go classic ski tomorrow after school. My goal is to leave school at 430! Yes yes yes. Then it will be a nice long 3 day weekend.

Here is a pic from my ski at the U of M golf course. It was a perfect day. Even the moon came out to welcome me.

Xmas has come and gone

Another xmas had come and gone. It goes so quickly that it makes my heart ache a little bit. I love listening to Christmas music, but can only really do that in December. Too short for my taste, but then again it makes it that much more special! One special thing that happened this year was that the Pedersen clan got together for the first time in a few years. There were a few people missing, but it was still a good time.

I pulled in a fairly good haul for gifts. I got a helmet cam, some Oakleys, a sweet shirt, a fantastic coffee mug-that I can't bring to school because of how great it is! Plus some other cool stuff too. Twas a good xmas for all.

I have been working out a lot lately. Doing lots of skiing and running with some biking thrown in for good measure! The trails in the metro are great right now and it makes the skiing that much better. I feel like I am getting into pretty decent shape.

Here are a couple pics from my ride. Maybe next time I will have video???

Oh, p.s. I have a mtn bike now. Boom!

Snow

Well we did get a good amount of snow over a couple days. Traffic was terrible the past two days. It also means that for me I need to wax my skis! I also gotta get my trail pass for Three Rivers Parks... ugh lots to do.

Maybe I will also do some lessons for then as well... who knows.

I have difficulty motivating myself to get out and run. I have slipped into a ritual of staying up too late and not running in the morning. Perhaps I could even have running stuff with me at school and run after I teach? Although now that we have snow I think that time will be reserved for skiing!!

Running around in the area by new place it's really fun though. There are hills, spectacular houses, and lots of new run routes for me to explore.

Tonight I must admit is a night for me to bum around and watch a Christmas movie. Love Actually perhaps?

Restful week

Well, report cards are done for my students. I had a successful thanksgiving. Now tomorrow I get back to the grind of school.

I am looking forward to getting back to a new trimester at school. I have learned a lot over the past couple months to say the least. I know that this go around I will enter student's grades way before the last possible day. I am going to make sure I get in some social studies and science. Perhaps art as well? I am not an artist, so it is very difficult for me to teach art  to anyone. The crazy thing is that there are only 15 days of school until winter break!!! That is fantastic news for me, but that also means I got some work to do. I am looking forward to it.

Yesterday I ran twice and then did a ton of lower leg work. I am sore. I haven't done that much in a long time. Now I need to make sure I get in some fantastic skiing and running in this winter! Perhaps biking? That means I need to get a fat bike though, and some better winter cycling shoes...

Lots to do

People are out in West Yellowstone getting in some serious skiing. Apparently it is fantastic out there! I wish I could have joined them. Alas! I have to get the kiddos' grades turned in on Wednesday. I will have a busy few days a head of me.

I went for a solid rollerski on Saturday with Grant while Adam biked along side us. Adam froze while biking. I felt somewhat sorry for him. It was kind of funny though. I was happy he toughed it out. We did almost 10 miles and I am feeling it today in my shoulders and back.

Now all I have to do is keep up with my running and then Hady will run with me once more.

2 days left. 2 days left. 2 days left...

Winter is coming

The high for the next couple days are going to below freezing. I am very excited about that. That means snow is coming! I am very excited to start skiing. I am very close to French, Elm Creek, and Baker. There will be no excuses for me not being able to get in some solid workouts this winter.

There are 12 days till the end of the trimester at school. I have a great deal of stuff to get through in that time. I think I can get some great things done in the next couple weeks. Such as entering grades! Blah.

My goal for this week is to get up early everyday and run. I need to start doing that. I was able to leave school last week at a decent time which definitely was nice.

Teaching Teaching Teaching

It seems like my life has been consumed by school lately. I really need to get better about leaving at a decent hour. I feel like I just putz along once the students head out for the day. I do get some stuff prepped, but not nearly what I could accomplish if I stayed focused. I find it hard to concentrate some afternoons especially if I have had a challenging day.

This past week was definitely a memorable one. We had some really great points, and then some times that made the days rather difficult. They are all fantastic though. I am really happy to be teaching where I am. Where I find myself struggling is having multiple ways to teach a given topic. The teachers that have been there for years have many, many activities they can pull from their bag of tricks. I am still developing and honing in my skills. I find it helpful to journal about my days from time to time. I figure once I look back on them months from now I will gain really good perspective on how the year is playing out.

My goals for this week are to leave school at a decent time. Then also to really make sure I am actually getting in some workouts. I need to get back and focus on my running. No better way to decompress for me than to run.

Heck of the North

I am finally getting down to writing about this race. I would have typed it up sooner, but these past few weeks have been very busy with conferences at school.

I left for Two Harbors on Friday right after I got out of school. Drove up there and headed to the motel to meet the crew. Dino, Jo, Mason, Kasey, Eleanor and me. Lots of people (with bikes and gear) crammed into a smaller space. We spent the night getting everything ready and set for the day ahead of us. While getting ready, I was planning my potential dropping out of the race. I really had not ridden much this year, and especially have not ridden overly far nor long.

We awoke skies without storm clouds and temperatures that were not overly cold. I was highly surprised by that. If if had been raining at the start the likelihood of me not starting was 97% because in all of my arsenal for training in terrible weather I don't have anything waterproof (nor really resistant). Alas! This was not the case. I had on my arm warmers and a vest at the start. Once we loaded up the cars we set forth on our adventure we made our way to the local McDonalds and I got a big cup of coffee. I really don't like coffee, but it gives me a wicked kick of energy.

We arrived at the parking lot about 30 min before the start of the race. We turned in our drop bags, set up the bikes, and prepared all that we could. We then made our way over to the start. I was mentally getting ready for the day, and it sure did surpass anything I could have possibly thought up about this race.

The race started and we all stayed at a pretty casual pace. I knew if I would have tried to race my legs would have given out around mile 50. I am seriously lacking in the endurance department.We all stuck together for the first part of the race. Within minutes we started seeing people pulling over to fix flat tires. I bet there was 10 within the first 6 miles. The weather was perfect at this point. I had on my vest and arm warmers, and it was all I needed.

About 10 or 15 miles into the race we turned down what would be one of many snowmobile/ATV trails. Tall grass, and lots of bog mud. These sections were not easy. There were big rocks and large, standing pools of water. I would be biking and then I would hit some mud and lose all momentum. It was then time to hike a bike. I felt alright walking my bike when I saw those who had to walk their fat bikes.

We lost contact with our group after a couple of these sections. I am still reflecting on how intense they were. In my mind the race was going to be mostly gravel roads, not bogs! It was an experience to say the least. For the remainder of the race it was just my little group. We stuck together in our little group. We did ride with others from time to time, but mostly it was just us.

The rain started around mile 30. People pulled on their rain jackets and I pulled up my arm warmers. Needless to say nothing about me was dry. We continued to bike through it all. Everything was getting super dirty and it was impossible to draft without eating gravel that was sprayed up from the tire in front of you! I was very much looking forward to getting the halfway point.

I would say 30 minutes before I got to the halfway point is when the negative thoughts started to creep into my brain. I was not wanting to continue. I was cold, wet, and cranky. It was good that none of us got cranky and negative at the same time though. That meant there was always someone to keep the spirits up and alive. We were getting close to Lester Park and I noticed my front tire was getting super squishy and I realized it was going flat. This just added to my anger and loathing for this ride. I was not going to change it until I got to the check-in point.

We climbed the 7 bridges road and made it to the check point. I really wanted to quit when I got there. I didn't want to deal with the flat tire, and I didn't want to be wet anymore. We ate our lunch and put on some fresh, dry clothes. I was glad I packed my leg warmers and long sleeve wind jacket. Then I got to work on my flat front tire. All in all we probably stopped at halfway for about 45 min. I really didn't want to continue, but there was nobody there to pick me up, so I kept on biking.

We left the checkpoint and continued in the rain back towards Two Harbors. I was in a bad spot mentally, for I wanted and needed to be done. I was becoming very frustrated. Eleanor was happily singing while I was beating myself down in my brain. Although in retrospect I know that cheery manners helped keep my spirit alive and well.

We kept biking and biking. We were making good progress and I was starting get get out of my funk. We were getting down to the last cue card and we were very excited. The one thing I didn't anticipate was 2 more sections of snowmobile/ATV trails. My watch died after 7:45 of ride time at mile 97. We had 7 miles to go. 7 miles... 1 cue card...I knew I could do it.

The last 7 miles seemed to take forever. I was on the last cue card and everyone was in the mental state where we didn't care anymore. At one point there was a huge standing pool of water. Nobody cared and we charged right through it without a 2nd thought. No more messing around and going around the mud and puddles. It takes too much time!

Then the most amazing thing happened. We crested a small hill and just in the distance we could see civilization! We saw the Basco clan and the finish line. It was an incredible feeling to finally be done. Our results said about 9:30 for total time out there. That was the longest I had ever been on a bike.

Once we were done we packed up the car as fast as possible. Mason, Dino, and Kasey were sure that we were going to drop out. They were happy to see that we finished. We then made our way to go get some well deserved pizza. I don't know if it was the fact that we had ridden almost 9 hours, but that pizza was some of the best I have ever had in my life. After we ate we went to Mason's sister's place. That is where we showered, had a drink, and then went to sleep.

The next morning I woke up to a bright, sunny day and surprisingly wasn't very sore. I could tell that I had ridden my bike for an extended period of time, but I didn't wake up feeling like I had been hit by a car. The Heck for me was more challenging mentally than physically. I had some very low points and also some really high points. I will be doing it again in 2014. Probably not on a single speed bike though...

We all had a great time (for the most part) and it was a great weekend with great people. I don't know too many people who would do a 104 mile race in the rain, over gravel, and through the woods.

Until next time! Bye bye.

First week of school

Here I sit on a Sunday evening. The Vikings lost, which is sad! The Packers lost, which makes me happy. I have spent 2 hours looking over what I am supposed to teach tomorrow, reading up on promoting harmony in my room, and finally attempting to wrap my brain around life.

The first week of school was an adventure to say the least. I got to school everyday at 6:40 a.m. or a little earlier, and then would get home between 7-7:30 at night. I have realized that NOTHING can prepare you for the first weeks of school unless you have been through them before. Routines, classroom procedures, routines, routines, and routines are more important that I had even imagined. I still have lots of things to work out, but each day has been more positive than the day prior. The days go by incredibly quickly. It seems that the day starts and then before I know it the kiddos are out of the room to go home. Then I sit down and check all the emails I missed out on and attempt to sort out the day in my mind. Reflection is a powerful tool that I am fond of using.

I do really like being at school. I am very happy for my choice in being an educator. I am excited about the staff I work with. All the 6th grade teachers are pretty fantastically fun and helpful. The school staff seems to get along quite nicely as well. Everyone there is very kind and encouraging. Right now I feel as though I barely have a grip on what I am supposed to do, but I know that this is very temporary. As the year goes on I will be able to breathe and complete what I need to do. My big goal of the week is to get the lunch count in on time!

In other news the Heck of the North is in a few weeks. Am I ready to ride 103 miles of gravel and crazyness? Mentally-yes. Physically- my legs will hurt. There are lots of people going . It will be a big ol' gravfest. Potentially I will have a new bike by that time??? If not it will be singlespeed the whole way. #crushgravel


Until next time!

-Mr. P.