Change is coming...

A good friend once told me that life is more than just multi sport, and while I understand that fact and truly believe him, things are moving quick here in the land of Keep Moving Forward.  That's not a bad thing either.  many people have commented on all the stresses happening in life lately, but the way that we look at it - there's really nothing exceptionally BAD happening.  No one has died, no one has lost their job, the sun is still coming up and things are going well.

For those that don't know and are completely lost by the not-so subtle context above, here is the run-down of things happening in life lately that's causing this blog post:

1. I'm getting married to my best friend and future Mrs. Keep Moving Forward in about 2.5 weeks (not like anyone is excited and counting down or anything!) and we're travelling to Naples, FL to tie the knot :-)
2. We're travelling immediately afterwards to Costa Rica for our Honeymoon and will return home to Rochester on June 3rd.
3. We're moving to Ohio on June 8th. (yes-that's only 5 days after we come home from the honeymoon) You see, Kim got a huge promotion at her job and subsequently will be working out of the corporate HQ in Columbus, OH.  My work is currently allowing me to work remotely from home which is awesome, and helping the transition immensely.  
4. We're also building a house, but to compound on the problem, it's not going to be completed until mid-July.  So that means staying in an extended stay hotel for a few weeks while the house gets finished up.
5. Since about March, Kim's been on a schedule with the new position that requires her to be in Columbus about every other week.  
6. Kim also had to turn in the company car and we had to buy a new vehicle for her.  That's pretty much all taken care of right now, but it was still good stuff that happened in the last few weeks.

So with that all being said, there are a lot of other things in there as well that coincide with the 6 big stressors above.  Like we had to organize finances and get the mortgage paperwork together.  Get all of this stuff done semi-remotely as Kim was in Columbus every other week and I have still been in NY.  Along with showers, bachelor parties, an intense house-hunting weekend trip to Ohio, a trip to hike the Grand Canyon and everything else, it's been a little hectic in our world lately.

Taken 3/27/2012

4-6-2012

4/24/2012

5/7/2012

But with this being a multi-sport blog I wanted to let you all know that I've been still pounding out the hours in prep for Rev3 at Cedar Point this September and I've been consistently in the 20+ hours of training per week club since about the first week of February.  But with training so much and everything else still going on, I've cut back on racing for some time until September.  I just hopped into a trail race on Sunday and that was a blast, but I'll post a separate entry about that later.  I wanted to shoot up a few good pics of the house progression and my most favorite from the Grand Canyon trip.

Life's been crazy, but good lately.  Just wanted to share the journey.  Keep training hard friends and I'll see you on the roads and trails.  Cheers.

Seneca7 Relay race report

Well it was that time of the year again to run the insanely fun Seneca7 relay.  We had run the race last year and had an absolute blast doing so.  Race report from 2011 can be found HERE.  But I digress, this was going to be a new year with a semi-new cast of characters, but still the same bad race at the same bad time. 

Our team name this year was going to be an homage to the previous year where we were known only as, "Dude where's my car?" for being the innovators that we are and one of our teammates coming up with the crazy fun idea that we would ride bikes instead of drive a van around the lake.  If you read the report from 2011, you'll realize that along with having a ridiculously hilarious time during the day, we got a little lost.  (Thank you Matt...haha!) but anyway, our team name this year was none other than "Dude, where's 414?" because that was the infamous left hander that Matt just flew by and proceeded to climb about 1000' vertically within 4 miles and make a 4mile leg into a 10 miler.

But this year we had a distinct Buffalo contingent of two runners from last year Steve and Charlie (who are both crazy Iron-folk and young guns with a newly christened ultra-running background) Steve did a 50 miler this past winter and is focusing on the NYC marathon this year and Charlie was silly enough to complete a 100 miler this past winter as well within 24 hours.  Both solid guys and they brought with them our 7th runner and just really funny guy Joe.  Joe I had met in 2010 when we were killing time in line to register for IMLP and he added a good tone to the day (along with throwing down some difficult legs)

Photo credit Charlie Watson

The Rochester crew consisted of myself, Tim Howland (if you don't know him, just read through some old posts and peruse the comments section.  You'll laugh hysterically.) Brian and Ian.  All of whom are great friends as well who I've run with for the last several years and had MANY a fun time with.

Race morning was pretty darn chilly out and the high for the day was supposed to be about 45 or so.  I think I speak for the entire team when I say that we all probably had some trouble packing our backpacks for the day as it was hard to find enough clothes to stay warm, yet not enough that you would sweat a lot and then get chilled.  I don't know about the rest of the team, but I know that I FROZE all day and didn't really warm up until about 10pm after a good shower and about 5 bowls of chili. (which left some dastardly effects....but I digress)

Leg #1 was pretty chilly, leg#2 seemed to warm up a tad and I was able to run in shorts and a t-shirt, then leg #3 the sun must have gone behind a cloud and I was forced back into shorts and 2 long sleeve t's.  The race went great though despite the cold and some of the Garmin files for the particular legs that I ran can be found here:

Leg #3 - http://connect.garmin.com/activity/172902922

Leg #2 - http://connect.garmin.com/activity/172902791

Leg #1 - http://connect.garmin.com/activity/172902752

As you can see, we all (at least I kinda did) fell apart late in the day and everyone was complaining about having to bike in.  Brian at one point bought some beef jerky and we all kinda devoured it at an exchange point midway through.  The weather would have been great if we were in a van, but on the bikes, wearing helmets and sunglasses, most of us got REALLY burnt from the sunglass line down on our faces.  

I'll take that as a badge of honor.  :o)  When the final leg came up, our anchor man Joe was leading the charge to the line and we were all limping home via bikes.  He held on strong though and we made it to the line in 7th place overall and that was good enough for the fastest "eco-friendly team" there!  So with that came a recycle box of swag (each person got all this stuff below) and we got our picture taken on the apple crate podium that was on stage.

It was a long day after we went off in the last wave (they apparently seeded everyone this year, which was a great idea for the fast and slow folks alike) we all seemed to finish AROUND the same time and hung out in the cold and had some delicious veggie and meat friendly chili and some brews.  All in all a really fun day on bikes and running with everyone and I'm super stoked to see this race grow so much.  Upstate NY needed something crazy like this and I can totally see it turning into something like Reach the Beach or Hood2coast in the upcoming years.

Final results can be found HERE and looking at that we were able to hang onto 6:42/mile pace and got marked as the fastest eco team. (a recognition that was truly earned that day due to the cold) Also as a nice feather in our caps, we were crowned on the record boards found HERE. Pretty cool indeed. But fun day and good swag aside, this race is one you'll want to check out in the future.  Totally fun experience!  But now back to multisport work once more.  September is coming soon so be safe out there friends, be sure to train hard and stay out of the sun. Cheers.

2011 USAT year end rankings

I received this email in my inbox the other day and just like last year, I've become another bridesmaid, but not a bride. This is like the 5th year in a row, so I'm not complaining, it's nice to be included on this list.  I guess I just need to race more, but the more years I have in this sport, the less I like to bury myself with racing every weekend (and I can't afford it either!) I think I'm much better with longer efforts and only a handful of races each year.  Train smartly friends, cheers.

Life...oh and block 3

It's been another long while since I've posted last, but things are good.  The reason there is a photo of Ferris Bueller and the gang above is that this past few weeks/months can best be described by one of my most favorite quotes from this 80's cinematic gem:

"Life moves pretty fast, if you don't look around once in a while, you might miss it" - Ferris

Things have been on overdrive here in the land of Keep Moving Forward.  There are some big changes on the horizon in life and that's allowed the multisport to take a back seat for a minute.  now that's not saying that I'm slacking on training or anything like that, just some other large items take a priority in the grand scheme of things.  Kim and I had moved in together and co-existed for a few weeks now and it's going really well.  Nothings changed and that's the way it should be I think.  We've got this big-ish day planned for 5/26 and that will be a blast along with an awesome trip to Costa Rica immediately following (you might be able to call it a honeymoon...oh and did I mention, it's all inclusive and paid for by her company?...totally awesome!)

But in all honesty, with all of the chaos and change, I've looked forward to my workouts and getting in the miles.  For this block of training I was up over that 20 hour a week barrier and biking a RIDICULOUS amount while also hitting the gym to increase leg strength.  And let me tell you, it's paying off.  Might not see it right away, but boy do I feel stronger on the bike lately. It helps that I've been trying to take FULL advantage of rest weeks and last week was a whopping 3 hours and 50 minutes of TOTAL workout time....for the week.  Rest hard my friends. 

There are a lot fo changes to announce this season and I'm still gunning for a sub 10 time at Rev3 Cedar Point full iron distance race in Sandusky, Ohio.  But with that being said, I took a good long look at some of the other races and things on my calendar this year and have thinned out the race schedule a bit.  I think I've written before about the proverbial "stress budget" (an idea from a solid tri coach, Jesse Kropelnicki) before, but I think the "stress budget" is going to overflow if I start racing a bunch in the middle of all of the chaos of the next few months...

But, those announcements will be coming shortly.  My companies office is actually moving locations tomorrow and being the IT manager in Rochester, I've had a little bit of stress on the job keeping everything in line and staying organized amongst the move.  But a good rule of thumb is the title and namesake of the blog.  

A good friend and fierce competitor, Nick Brodnicki, just actually posted some "good advice" up on twitter, which was what appeared to be a mantra of sorts of "Keep Moving Forward".  Good advice all around.  I was looking to get the Kona M-dot filled in on the ankle tattoo I have and was checking out the "Living Color" facebook page for the tattoo shop in Rochester where I usually go and was checking out some of the photos of the ink there and came across this one.  Looks like I have some dedicated blog followers in the area! hah.

 I'll post more about the "updates" and all in a few weeks/days, but until then, keep rolling, enjoy this crazy ride and train hard my friends.  See you all soon, cheers.

Medved Winter Adventure Challenge race report

A few weekends ago I had the privilege of racing alongside my good friend Tim Howland for the 4th annual Medved Winter Adventure Race Challenge.  We'd raced it together in 2010 and I have a race report up from that year HERE.  This year was going to be a little bit different as there was hardly any snow (just a light dusting) and there was the addition of a 5k "snowshoe" race before that was factoring into your final score and time from the adventure race. 

Our good friends Laura and Ian Webber were the brain children behind this race from day one and they've had the great fortune of working alongside the folks at Medved Running and Walking and Goose Adventure Racing in an effort to make sure things run smoothly. I've always enjoyed the Goose races and it helps when you're friends with the Race Directors.  The race is loads of fun and the twist of the 5k prior this year was fantastic as well as it drew some folks in that weren't doing the AR and you had to pace yourself accordingly. 

The morning of, I met Tim in Webster Park and we both suited up for the 5k which started 45 minutes prior to the official start of the AR.  We got the bikes situated and were ready to roll.  I was stoked to see if we could win ourselves some sweet swag as this race NEVER dissappoints.  This year would be no different, but I digress.  let's get back to the start.

The 5k went off and there were two high school kids that immediately took off like a shot.  I was leery of chasing them down as I've been neglecting my running lately, but I know I can thro down a fast 5k if needed.  About a half mile in, I was able to pass them both while going uphill and I took the lead.  I was a little scared and thought twice about slowing, letting them re-pass me and saving myself for the AR.  But, what was rolling around in the back of my head was the fact that we needed to put as much time into the following teams in the AR as there was a slight time bonus for our finish.

I took a nasty spill in Webster Park somewhere in the singletrack and came down on my left knee pretty good when my feet slid out from underneath me on some ice.  I bounced right back up, but I think I brused my bones pretty good on that fall as my knee is still tender to the touch at the spot I came down on.  No worries, the pain was totally worth it when I hit the line in first and realized we had a 90 second advantage on what we thought would be our biggest rivals in the AR.  The icing on the cake was that I won a free pair of shoes by winning the 5k and I was in dire need of some new training shoes (the ones I was running in had 550+miles on them!!! Results for the 5k are found HERE.

Regardless, I went back and cheered everyone on.   Tim trotted in and I was glad to see he was saving himself for the AR.  We got our bikes ready, heard the instructions for the mandatory meeting and were off to grab the maps.  Things were pretty quick and we made a good decision to get the team challenge out of the way in the adventure race early.  This year was a two part-er and the first was to erect a tent and get in it, out of two hiking poles, some ropes and a tarp and tent stakes.  Easy.  Here is a shot of my buddies Doug and Ricky in their tent (their first adventure race too)

The next part of the team challenge was to build a fire big enough to burn a rope in half.  My teammate Tim took the knife and flint and we quickly picked up some kindling and he got to work trying to get some sparks to fly.  After watching him try to succeed to no avail (it was like trying to watch a midget hump a door knob - Dodgeball reference) I grabbed the knife from him, flung it open and showered the kindling with sparks.  (I'm an Eagle Scout after all) Tim quickly remembered the cotton ball in the map and directions (after he tried to rip one of the maps and wad it up as ignition) and our rope was the first one off. 

We then headed out on the bikes and were blazing thru the course.  This year was a little more laid out than in years past and unfortunately we were back and forth on the same road a few times, but it's understood as some of the other roads in Webster might not have been the safest to travel on via bike. 

Long story short (too late) Tim and I trotted back in to the cabin for some eats with his 4th and my 2nd consecutive Winter Challenge Adventure Race titles under our belt.  The race was a blast and we had a little difficulty with some of the checkpoints, but ended up finding them no problems.  We waited for the awards and came away with some sweet North Face duffel bags that had the race logo on them and are freaking bomb proof. They are fantastic.  I actually used them at the Cast-a-shadow 6 hour relay the following weekend and it worked great.

All in all, a great race with great friends.  Thanks to Brian M. for letting me borrow a mountain bike named Hambone for the 2nd year now and allowing me to be able to hit up another W with Tim.  Good times.  Cheers.

Winter life recap

There's been a whole lot going on in the wonderful world of "Keep Moving Forward" that have kept me busy and away from a computer long enough to not post any updates.  But alas, as it is a rest week again, I'm back at it, letting the world (or rather my two readers - HI Tim!) know what's been going on.
So, as I shot out in the last post, I was chosen to be a member of the Powerbar Team Elite for the 2012-2013 multisport season.  I'm floored to have been chosen for this team and stoked to represent such a great company (and of course get some delicious product) and I'm not kidding when I say I use it daily.  Below is a shot from a trainer ride a few weekends ago.  That wasn't all I ate...

But on the other front's in my life (and to stray away from all things multisport for a minute, this year has been crazy busy!  Kim and I moved in together a few weeks ago and that's been going really well.  We have gotten settled a bit and are finally figuring out where all the light switches are and in what drawers and cupboards our most used items are located.  All in all, it's been fantastic as I get to see her MUCH more often than I did when we lived separately.

One of the cool things about the new place is that we now have a spare bedroom that has been converted into what we have dubbed as the "training room" and it houses our two bikes which live permanently on the trainers during this time of year and also a bike tree with 2 spare bikes on it (my TANK and her mtn bike) along with a bed and also a flatscreen TV that's mounted waist high.  Why waist high?  Because it's the perfect height when you're tucked down in aero of course!  And if you watch as much TV on your bike as us, then it's absolutely perfect!

In regards to training, I've been staying busy, hitting about 20 hours a week average for this last block and taking the opportunity of the off-season to work on my weakness which is bike durability and bike strength.  I've started a weight lifting routine aimed to increase leg strength to increase the power that I can apply to the pedals.  I did a test earlier in the year that found out that I'm a weak cyclist and the leg strength needs to be increased. (bike strength=bike speed and increased power)

But on the other side of the coin, I've also been running a lot less (think 3x30mins a week) and POUNDING out the bike miles.  I'm feeling stronger and even though we moved apartments the last rest week that I had (thereby negating any rest that I would likely get that week) I'm hoping that after this rest period and next block, I will see some big gains on the bike.  I've done some racing and have a season planned out so far around some big things happening in 2012 (Grand Canyon hiking trip, our wedding, honeymoon in Costa Rica, Great Range traverse) so things are looking up. 

I'll shoot up a race report shortly for the winter adventure race my buddy Tim and I did, but until then friends, feet up and take that recovering seriously!  Cheers.

Great News....

I'm shocked to have been chosen, but still uber proud to announce that I will be representing PowerBar Team elite for 2012 thru 2013 seasons! Can't have been aligned with a better company and product that I use on a daily basis.  So excited!