Race T-Shirt Roundup!

I'm a little behind on the ol' race t-shirt roundup, so let's get right to this one:

Today, we've got the Beaver Freezer Triathlon t-shirt from the race in early April. I have to say it was a bold choice going with the colors from the Motherland...the House of Orange...that's right, Holland, baby! Otherwise known as the Netherlands. You don't see too many orange on blue shirts, so it's definitely got originality going for it. It's a tech shirt, although a no-name brand. And it's got a tight weave, so it would be good for spring or fall as well as summer. Too bad they didn't use the Beaver on the Bike logo from the back as the main logo...I love that logo!

Overall: B+

Don't worry...they're not pink!

So my son Payton is in big-time training for the 1k run on June 6th...the Girls on the Run 1k run on June 6th...the "I'm not wearing any pink Girls on the Run shirt" 1k run on June 6th...

If you have similar concerns, don't worry - I checked it out today in the KidSpirit office and the shirts are officially blue. A nice gender-neutral blue.

It's always something...

RACES FOR WEEK OF JUNE 8th TO JUNE 14th

June 12th / Fremont Fun Run 5k / Fremont, WA

June 13th and 14th / Blue Lake Sprint and Olympic Triathlon and Duathlon / Fairview, OR

June 13th / The Human Race 10k and 5k / Bellingham, WA

June 13th / Helvetia Half-Marathon and Drop Top 10k / Hillsboro, OR

June 13th / Teton Dam Marathon, Half-Marathon, 10k and 5k / Rexburg, ID

June 13th / Sound to Narrows 12k and 5k / Tacoma, WA

June 13th / Relay for Life 5k / Tualatin, OR

June 13th / Tesoro March Point Run 10k and 5k / Anacortes, WA

June 13th / Beach to Chowder Half-Marathon, 10k and 5k / Long Beach, WA

June 13th / Berry 5k / Marysville, WA

June 13th / Five Mile Lake Triathlon / Federal Way, WA

June 13th / ARC in Motion 10k and 5k / Vancouver, WA

June 14th / Footzone Dirty Half Half-Marathon (hope you're in - it's full) / Bend, OR

June 14th / Race for Sustainable Schools 10k and 5k / Eugene, OR

June 14th / Run with Pride 10k / Seattle, WA

June 14th / Portland Drag Race 1 mile run / Portland, OR

Ouch...

Or...

Heart of the Valley Triathlon Race Report!

First, the summary, then the details.

Summary:
Slow and painful.

Details:
There are going to be some complaints...sorry. Just remember, I'd rather be racing in a horrible race than doing just about anything else, and even at a race like this, where I didn't come close to my goal time, I'm always happy I did it. If nothing else, it was a good workout, right?

Well, to start, AA Sports needs to work out some way to not make the people in the late swim waves wait for hours before the race. You could only pick up your packet the day of the race and they closed the packet pickup at 7:45am because they wanted everyone at the race before the first heat started at 8:00am. In theory, that's great. Equality in action. Make everyone show up at the same time. In reality, it doesn't work. I arrived at Osborne Aquatic Center at 7:15am to check in and my heat started at 10:15am. That's too long to sit around a pool deck. If anything, it's unfair to the people in the later heats. By the time I started, people from the first couple heats were down at the Diary Queen having a Peanut Buster Parfait.

Anyhoo, in the water at 10:15am and pretty good for about six laps...then we started bunching. You'd think that a 50 meter pool would afford plenty of space for passing. You'd be wrong. For whatever reason, the six of us in ol' lane number four had a lot of trouble getting around each other. I came out of the water in 12:04 for 750 meters - 15th overall and almost what I was hoping for, but I was gassed from trying to fight through everyone.

And that's the end of the highlights.

T1 was pretty good, but the first steep hill comes up so fast, two blocks into the bike course, that I hadn't caught my breath from the swim. The rest of the bike course went like this: hill, hill, hill, hill, hill, dead squirrel, hill, and I came into T2 about three minutes slower than my latest practice ride on the same course.

T2 fine and I was out on the run course. No complaints here - it's actually a very flat and fast run course, but I was just toast after the hilly bike ride. Fork me, I was done. A very, very slow 5k later and I came around the Linus Pauling Middle School track for the last 400 meters...which is always a good way to end a race.

Post race was great: hot showers in the OAC, good food, and absolutely amazing weather for the second straight tri, so not all was bad.

Time to get back to training. See you out on the trails.

Heart of the Valley Results!

Yikes, that was a tough one. Photos and a full race report to come soon.

In the meantime, here are the results:
linky-link

50 Meters is Hard...

So they switched the Osborne Aquatic Center Pool to 50 meters today to get it ready for Monday's HOTV Triathlon. Why not take it for a test ride, said I. It'll be a nice little practice run for the race...

Wow...it's been a long time since I've done laps in a 50 meter pool. That baby is loooooong. Swimming in 25 yard pools all the time really doesn't get you ready for a swim where you don't get to push off a wall every 30 seconds. I was already a little worried about the hilly bike course, and now I'm a bit worried about the swim as well.

Ah well, it's just another race. Start slow, finish strong...or how about start slow, finish...yep, just finish.

Let's race.

RACES FOR WEEK OF JUNE 1st TO JUNE 7th

June 6th / Dog Island Run 10k / Guemes Island, WA

June 6th / Girls on the Run 5k / Corvallis, OR

June 6th / Run to the Border 5k / Blaine, WA

June 6th and 7th / Granite Man 60k run, 30k run, 5k run, Off-Road Tri, Off-Road Duathlon / Jacksonville, OR

June 6th / Race Beneath the Sun 5 mile / Bellingham, WA

June 6th / 3 Rivers Race Against Domestic Violence Marathon, Half-Marathon and 10k / La Grande, OR

June 6th / Silver Falls Challenge 5k / Silverton, OR

June 6th / The North Face Endurance Challenge 50 mile, 50k, Half-Marathon and 10k / Bellingham, WA

June 6th / Duvall Days 10k and 5k / Duvall, WA

June 6th / Flight for Sight 10k and 5k / Everett, WA

June 6th / Moses Lake Family Triathlon / Moses Lake, WA

June 7th / Furry 5k / Seattle, WA

June 7th / Race for CARRA 5k / Portland, OR

June 7th / Chum Run 5k / Langley, WA

June 7th / Vancouver Waterfront 12k / Vancouver, WA

June 7th / 10 Cane 10k and 5k / Tigard, OR

June 7th / Komen Race for the Cure 5k / Seattle, WA

June 7th / San Juan Island Marathon and Half-Marathon / San Juan Island, WA

June 7th / North Olympic Discovery Marathon, Half-Marathon, 10k and 5k / Sequim, WA

Best Running Song for May!

Well, I couldn't wait too long to post this classic - I've been running to this one for years, and it works every single time. It's "Save Me" by the Tea Party. This guy, Jeff Martin, has a whole lot of Plant and Morrison running through his veins, and the feeling he puts behind his vocals can really help you get through that 10k. In fact, hook this one up to your iPod and Nike+ and time it right as a power song...have this song going full blast at about the 4:15 mark and you'll just blow by people as you approach the finish line.

Another great thing about this song is that it's long enough to get you a ways on down the road. The Youtube version hits 5:48, but the original version you can get from iTunes runs 6:37! And it's worth every penny of that 99 cents.

If you like this one, Tea Party has a bunch of other songs that will get you going as well. I'd recommend "Temptation."

I know, I know, you're thinking, "ok, he's gone England, England, Canada, for his last three songs. Does this guy even know any American bands?" Yes, yes, I do and I'll prove it to you next month.


Thanks to Anissa Thompson of Carson, CA for the great tea party shot.

Now we're getting into it!

Ah, June is coming near and races are littering the landscape. There's nothing better than being able to pick and choose from dozens of races every weekend in the NW. Do your community and the environment a favor and pick a hometown race for your next effort...then ride your bike to the start line!

Let's race!

RACES FOR WEEK OF MAY 26th TO MAY 31st

May 30th / YMCA Camels Back Duathlon / Boise, ID

May 30th / Newport Marathon / Newport, OR

May 30th / Canby 5k Fun Run / Canby, OR

May 30th / Walk and Roll 10k and 5k / Arlington, WA

May 30th / Stoller Vineyards 5k / Dayton, OR

May 30th / Issaquah Sprint Triathlon / Issaquah, WA

May 30th / Born to Run Challange 15k and 5k / Eugene, OR

May 30th / Dylan's Day 5k / Granite Falls, WA

May 30th / Monroe Country Fun Run 10k and 5k / Monroe, OR

May 30th / Making Room to Read 10k and 5k / Newberg, OR

May 30th / KeyBank Starlight 5k / Portland, OR

May 30th / Moving You Forward 10k and 5k / Vancouver, WA

May 30th / Sweet Home Dam Run 10k / Sweet Home, OR

May 31st / The Great Kilted 5k / Seattle, WA

May 31st / Run for the Hills 8k / Corvallis, OR

May 31st / Hockinson 5k / Brush Prairie, WA

May 31st / Hagg Lake Open Water Swim 4000m, 2000m, and 800m / Forest Grove, OR

May 31st / West Seattle 5k / West Seattle, WA

May 31st / Let'er Tri Olympic and Sprint Triathlon / Pendleton, OR

Thanks to the Hockinson Fun Run for the photo of the cow's nose...I love it!

Where's that second R?

It seems I've been focusing far two much on the first R lately and pretty much completely ignoring the second R, so let's check out some writing today.

We're going to go in the way-back machine and check out an old WoolleyScott post - maybe you'll like it and maybe you won't...but I like it and blogging is all about the ego-massage anyway. So without further ado, a little piece titled:

Best Thing Since Sliced Bread

Now I realize that Jen and I are not always your Wile E. Coyote-type geniuses when it comes to parenting, but this one was a doozy.

Note the dazed expression on the sprouts in the picture above. Note that, except for the insertion of Chex Mix, the mouths are quietly closed. Note that the “poke” fingers are strangely within their proper personal space.

I know what you’re thinking...some sort of kiddy-Xanax, right? But no, it’s actually a different man-made marvel.

In fact, I’d go so far as to say this is a technological breakthrough of the sort that hasn’t been seen since the introduction of the Ziploc baggie....or Glide tooth floss. So you see what I’m getting at here; it’s big!

See, in this piece of crap Chevy Mini-Van that we rented from Alamo (which makes a sound like the tranny is going to drop out every time I put it in reverse) has within it the miracle marvel.

Yes, the flip-down ceiling TV with dvd player.

Back to the “genius” parents for just a moment: when Jen and I bought our spanking new mini-van a couple years back, we scoffed (SCOFFED!) at the salesman trying to shove the dvd player on us. “Listen, Buddy,” we informed him. “Perfect parents like us don’t need a dvd player in the car. We talk to the kids. We TEACH the kids while driving the countryside. We don’t neglect our children by shoving them in front of a TV just to keep them quiet.”

Man, we were insufferable dorks back then.

Anyway, that dvd thing is a godsend. Let me tell you, when you’re tailing some Big Island Grandma in a 30-year-old Mazda pickup for 64 curvy miles at 30 mph, trying desperately to make it to the Black Sand Beach...well, I’m almost in tears just thinking about the peace and quiet in that van.

Well, except for the Bugs Bunny soundtrack going at full blast from the dvd.

A small price to pay for a little peace and quiet from the back seat.

Two Weeks and Counting...

to the HOTV! I rode the bike course again on Saturday and it was perhaps more brutal than I remembered. I've also seen deer all three times I've been on the course - this time one crossed just a short way in front of me on a pretty good downhill. I hope I'm not part of a Scott and deer-colored splat on the road at the race. Let me tell you, if a deer comes out in front of me on that first screaming downhill...there won't be anything left of me or the deer. Just notify my next of kin.

Sort of a light holiday week here, but good triathlon options, so...let's race!

RACES FOR WEEK OF MAY 18th TO MAY 25th

May 23rd / Spring Festival 10k and 5k / Moses Lake, WA

May 23rd / Mazama Fun Run 10k and 5k / Pocatello, ID

May 24th / Coeur d' Alene Marathon, Half-Marathon and 5k / Coeur d' Alene, ID

May 24th / Onion Man Triathlon / Walla Walla, WA (Hope you're in, 'cause it's sold out)

May 25th / Spring Festival Tri and Du / Moses Lake, Wa

May 25th / Heart of the Valley Tri and Du / Corvallis, OR

May 25th / Ridgeline Ramble 20k and 10k / Eugene, OR

Hello? Yes, Hi? Anyone...?

OK, I realize this isn't a problem for everyone...well, maybe it isn't a problem for anyone here in Corvallis because as far as I can tell, no one does it but me!

Yes, I'm talking about waving. Yes, waving. When I run, and bike actually, I give a quick wave to runners that are going by me the other way. It's just a friendly little gesture saying "I'm here running, you're here running, we're both here running, we've obviously got something in common, so I'm giving you a little hey-nice-job wave." That's it. I don't want to stop and talk. I don't want a date. I won't bother you. I swear!

So how many people give me a wave back? Well, that would be...none. I can't remember a single person waving back at me in the past few weeks...and you pass a lot of people running here.

Maybe it's me. That's what I was thinking, but you know, I'm dressed, I shower occasionally, I brush and floss, I'm just not that scary. So I started testing out some theories. Maybe I was waving too late and by the time I got the return wave, I was already past. So I waved earlier. Nope. Nothing. Maybe I was too casual with the wave and they thought I was swatting flies or something, so I turned it up a notch. Got a couple of people giving me a good stare to determine if I needed them to call 911, but still no waves back.

So what's the problem? Are we really that anti-social? It's a wave, people. Now don't get me wrong, I've lived in places where you didn't wave at anyone or anything while running, you didn't even make eye contact for fear you'd get something thrown at you (yes, Birch Bay and Sedro Woolley, I'm talking about you), but this is Corvallis. People are actually fairly happy here.

Next person that doesn't return the wave is getting tackled. You've been warned.

That's Sidney waving in the pool. Do I know him? No. No, I don't.

That'll learn ya...

All right, let's talk Heart of the Valley triathlon. More to the point, let's talk Heart of the Valley triathlon bike leg. Let's see, how can I put this? As usual, I'll try to be delicate and understated.

It's freaking brutal.

Here's a quick rundown: Three blocks out of T1, you hit the first uphill, and it's long. Then a short downhill and another fairly steep uphill. After that follows a screaming downhill that has you praying that no deer will scamper across the road. Then a fairly flat section with a slight uphill. After a right and a left, you head up another long, shallow uphill and a nice downhill...that ends at the turnaround - a horrible spot for it - as you turn around, lose all your speed, and immediately head back uphill.

So there you have it, at that point you turn around and have to ride up all the downhills we talked about earlier. It's a tough, tough bike course for a sprint tri. And for someone like me - a triathlete that suffers through the bike leg - it's exactly the kind of course that should be avoided.

So why am I racing the HOTV when there's so many other tri's to choose from? Simple...I signed up before I rode the course.

That'll learn ya, indeed.

Ah well, no time like the present to kick up the bike training.

Delaware...come back - all is forgiven!

Sometimes you've just got to call people out. You've got to tell them why they're wrong and what they need to do different in there heretofore pathetic effort at life - an intervention of sorts.

And so it was with Delaware and their inability to have any resident visit The Two R's. I mean, really?!

But since my last post, where I called them right on out to explain their behavior, lo a Delaware resident, from the mighty metropolis of New Castle, has come forth to visit The mighty Two R's.

So all is forgiven. Oh, and it's forgiven to Montana, Nevada, West Virginia and Wyoming as well.

New Mexico, what the hell is your problem? The only state in the Union to never have a resident visit The Two R's.

Let's go run...I need to quit thinking about New Mexico...

RACES FOR WEEK OF MAY 11th TO MAY 17th

May 16th / YMCA Famous Idaho Potato Half-Marathon, 10k, and 5k / Boise, ID

May 16th / DuXtreme Duathlon, Road Runs, and Cycle Races - multiple distances / Pocatello, ID

May 16th / GOTR 5k / Longview, WA

May 16th / Deer Leap Half-Marathon Trail Run / Glide, OR

May 16th / Happy Valley Fun Run 10k and 5k / Happy Valley, OR

May 16th / Flyday 5k / Everett, WA

May 16th / UW Bothell 5k / Bothell, WA

May 16th / Falcon 5k / Hillsboro, OR

May 16th / Lebanon Sprint Triathlon / Lebanon, OR

May 16th / The Friar Trot 5k / Sherwood, OR

May 16th / Windemere Marathon and Half-Marathon / Spokane, WA

May 16th and 17th / Keizer's Iris Festival Half-Marathon, 10k and 5k / Keizer, OR

May 17th / Duck Bill Thrill Olympic Triathlon / Fall Creek, OR

May 17th / Nordstrom Beat the Bridge 8k / Seattle, WA

May 17th / Rhody Run 12k / Port Townsend, WA

May 17th / ASWWU TinMan Sprint Triathlon / College Place (Walla Walla), WA

May 17th / Capital City Marathon / Olympia, WA

Thanks to Win the West for the New Mexico flag pic - "It Goes as it Grows"...who knew?